Tuesday Tooling: Flex-C-Friend

The TS100 is an incredible soldering iron, but it uses a DC barrel jack and not super cool USB C, because all the cool kids (I'm looking at you TS80!) use USB C right? With this new product your TS100 soldering iron can also use USB C power sources.

So what is it?

Flex-C-Friend from Brian Lough aka Witnessmenow is a USB C to XT60 adapter that enables the TS100 soldering iron to be powered from USB C power supplies that provide 15 to 20V.

So what did I buy?

From Brian's Tindie store I bought the Flex-C-Friend and an XT60 to DC 5525 barrel jack, which cost around £30. After a few days they arrived and I eagerly read the instructions, well a piece of paper that has a cartoon character explaining the operation.

Image Credit: Witnessmenow

Construction

Great PCB, really nicely made and it feels quality. The XT60 to DC 5525 cable feels really nice, silicon soft flex that won't snag and affect your soldering.

Assembly

Simple, check that you have the correct voltage, I used a Lenovo 20V 3.25A (65W) USB C charger that I use for my X390 laptop then plug it in to your TS100 soldering iron. Voila!

Heating up time?

At 20V my iron heated to 350 Celsius in approximately 10 seconds.

How did I test it?

I soldered up one on Big Clive's PIR LED controllers. No issues, no loss of heat. The TS100 got all the power that it needed.

Final Thoughts

If you own a TS100 and you have been looking longly at the USB C TS80, then this is for you! It works, no fuss or issues. you can use USB C power sources in the field, makerspace or zombie apocalypse.