A Soldering Iron for Christmas

What was the price point and did you get it through Newark?

That's awesome to see! Congrats on getting one. I have zero doubt you'll find creative ways to use it.

FYI, for my "solder aid" kit, I have a tube of wire solder, some 70/30 IPA wipes (I couldn't find a higher % on wipes), and a couple of 0805 component strips: 1K res, 10K res, and 1 uF MLCCs.

One thing I think I need to add is some double-sided tape or sticky stuff to fix the workpiece.

I'll be interested in seeing what you put in your kit.

Mine makes me want to travel more, so I have more reasons to use it.

I purchased mine through amazon and had it not been for the eggnog in the moosemug I probably would have noticed the $15 off coupon, o well.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B089ZSG7XG/ 

The complete kit with free shipping was $150 CAD. baldengineer named another source at a slightly lower price point can't recall. And shabaz I believe purchased a slightly different (but similar) product at a lower price as well. I think there has been a usb powered soldering iron road tested recently too (can't recall the specfics). I think the ts80p is one of the more expensive usb (low voltage DC) powered soldering irons available 

Thanks I'm quite happy you motivated me to buy one!

"Solder Aid" That a great term! I started a thread here with a basic list  What would you put in a solder aid or emergency maker kit? 

Those are great suggestions I hadn't thought about a work surface perhaps I can add a small piece of 1.5mm plywood

Nice photos, it looks very thoughtfully designed! 

I was doing some investigating regarding USB-C PD power supplies, and it seems that some UGREEN ones may support a wider range of possible outputs than Anker supplies. In particular, Anker ones do not support 12V, they skip that and offer 15V instead. For the soldering iron I purchased (it won't be delivered until mid-January perhaps), 12V may be better, otherwise it will negotiate a lower voltage (9V). I'll try to compare it with Anker and UGREEN supplies.

Incidentally, it may be good for your kit to contain an earthing solution of some sort, e.g. an ESD strap, and a mains plug to provide the earth bonding point to the strap and to the iron although it may need a custom adapter cable of some sort. The photo below shows the USB cable with alligator clip that was supplied with a low-power (5V) soldering iron. Probably a nice niche business opportunity for someone to sell USB-C inline cables with an alligator clip or banana plug to help with this!

EDIT: Just noticed that it looks like your kit already includes an earth cable, which is great.

Thanks, though my images don't do it justice I would say the fit and finish is very similar to the manufactures own marking photos

Source: https://www.miniware.com.cn/product/ts80p-soldering-iron-main/

I was lucky in that I purchased a kit and a know working USB power supply was included

There also appears to be a list of compatible power sources for the TS80P I assume it would be similar to yours:

https://github.com/Ralim/IronOS/wiki/TS80-Power-Sources 

If I understand the manual correctly, I believe my iron would turn the heater off if the input voltage was 15V

Mine did include an earth cable, though it doesn't mount in a convenient location. I think I could cut back the overmolding of one of the USB-C connector and solder directly to the shell. Or perhaps some sort of inline USB gadget.

That looks familiar, you were one of the recent usb soldering iron reviewers! 

Nice, from that photo it looks like the USB supply supports a good range of voltages. 

Regarding earth cable, could it be intended for fitting in this screw-hole, or is that just holding the iron together?

Yes far as I am aware that is the intended grounding location 

They include a hex key as well, but its not ideal having another cable 

I double checked there is continuity from the USB connector housing to the iron body, so I don't see why the iron couldn't be grounded over the usb cable

There is also the "Pinecil" which is a usb-c powered soldering iron which appears to retail for $35 USD

https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart-mini-portable-soldering-iron/ 

But I don't know where you would buy it or if it is any good (perhaps this is what shabaz bought)