I don’t know why, but certain stuff really gets us going. Sometimes you look at something, and you just have to have it. Here’s a couple of things for your favorite nerd/geek/engineer/maker friend: the Boardganizer has several of us going for our wallets due to sheer “niftiness.” You have to watch the video to really see the caché of this multiple-project-enclosure …it can make a messy work bench tidy in seconds. You attach your boards to different panels, insert a hinge-pin between the panel-leaves, and it folds up into a multi-sided enclosure, ready to take to your makerspace. One analogy that might translate the aura of this thing to non-geeks is that it’s kind of like the Tupperware carrying systems, created for easing transport of 24 deviled eggs to the church Pot Luck.
Then there is the “intelligent” soldering station. The Weller WX2 has an anti-static touchscreen, intelligent sleep mode, and a multi-language display in case you want to practice your French. It also comes with a decoupled robot connection, and can manage a fume extraction unit. I can’t say that I ever needed a soldering iron USB connectivity, but this one has. It’s almost worth by just figure out how it works, and this is exactly what geeks are most attracted to. Then there are soldering stations that are practical for everyday use but within the average budget, like this Weller station, which is what I own. But now I’m certain I’m missing out on something, because my soldering station doesn’t have USB… I’m thinking that I probably need it, actually, because the decoupled robot connection might come in handy for automating household soldering jobs.
Lynnette Reese holds a B.S.E.E from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Lynnette has worked at Mouser Electronics, Texas Instruments, Freescale (now NXP), and Cypress Semiconductor. Lynnette has three kids and occasionally runs benign experiments on them. She is currently saving for the kids’ college and eventual therapy once they find out that cauliflower isn’t a rare albino broccoli (and other white lies.)