[chbot] Lcd Problem

[Andrew Errington]

> Looking at doing a carputer. But Im still unsure, Im using the un-used
> ps2 port to draw +5v for the lcd. Its mounted in a lightbulb box. Its
> amazing how much difference a decent soldering station can help, I
> tried this around 6months ago with a cheapie $30 soldering iron.

Gnarly!  I built one a while back, for playing MP3s in the car.  It was 
most excellent- let me know if I can help with anything specific.

My soldering iron of choice at the moment is the Dick Smith battery 
operated one T2502.  It has a fine tip, and stays cold (??! No, that's a 
good thing!).  When you press the button it heats up in about 10 seconds, 
and you can solder with it for ages (or for a short time).

I see Dickie's now carries the ColdHeat soldering iron T2510.  I have heard 
these are very good.  The tip heats up almost instantly.

To run my soldering iron I bought a set of Varta fast charge AA cells and a 
charger.  They recharge in 15 minutes.  I used to use a gas soldering iron, 
but I found I was using a lot of gas (mostly because it seemed to excape 
from the iron over a few weeks if it was not used), and it was fiddly to 
light and took a couple of minutes to warm up.

I sometimes miss having a 'proper' soldering station on my bench though.

> > The next meeting will be 21 February, being the third Wednesday of an
> > even-numbered month.
>
> Excellent.
> I shall Attend.

Great!

A