adnonimape said:
Hmm, only 4 AA batteries=6V, but in a stun gun, you need a 9V battery, and it puts out (largest i've seen) 600,000 V.
Its possible to fry ur electronics with it..because 6v is not gonna get up to 800 degrees....it MUST put out more than 6v
Not True.
I own three Weller Soldering Guns. Three different wattage ranges and have been using them since the late 60's. Like welding, they operate by producing low voltage high current to achieve heat. They are basically a stepdown transformer, with a single turn on the secondary. They step 110 VAC down to something like .35 VAC at some ungodly high current. That's how transformers work. You either step up the voltage and lose current, or you step down voltage and gain current. More than once, after extensive use, I've had a tip burn out, leaving two conductors with a gap between them as opposed to a closed loop to generate the heat. In a jam, I've pressed the two conductors to the work I was trying to solder and the work closed the loop as opposed to the conductor. As the current passed through my work, it heated up. If the work was a solder pad, it heated up quickly as well as sputtering once it became liquified due to the alternating current. I'm sure the cold heat iron works under the same principal. Either it chops the DC voltage provided by the batteries into AC and transforms it down, or if you look closely, you may just discover that those AA cells are actually wired in parallel as opposed to series. That would increase the current capacity while maintaining only 1.5V across the electrodes. If you doubt the amount of heat that one or more AA batteries can produce, strip a piece of stranded wire and remove one strand. Put it across that single alkaline, or for better effect, nicad AA cell. Be prepared to drop the whole thing before it burns you though. With a nicad cell, which has lower internal resistance than a disposable cell, it'll make a 30 guage wire glow red hot in less than a second.
In a semiconductor junction, current flowing through it in excess of its rating will fry it just as fast as an ESD hit.
In the case of a simple solder pad, if the path of current flow is kept solely to that pad, there's no way it'll fry components attached to that pad. That's the hook. You gotta think about what you're soldering and how close it may be to adjacent circuitry. That's too much opportunity for human error in my opinion. As for heating something too much, you can kill electronic components with a conventional soldering iron almost as easily if you leave it on what you're soldering too long. That's why I refer to soldering as an art form. Very technique sensitive. Most components have an LTT rating. That's Lead Time Temperature. It is a specification that quantifies how long you can have a given soldering temperature present on a component lead before you run the risk of conducted heat causing damage. Mich43L had a good point regarding obstructing your view of what you're soldering. Any soldering device that does not let you see the joint as it's forming is an invitation to rework. No one likes having to wick off excess solder that wound up bridging to an adjacent point.
Last year, my wife and I were surfing the TV channels and up popped an ad for that Cold Heat iron. My wife, bless her heart, turned to me and said, "You have a birthday coming up, would you like one of them to add to your collection of pens, irons and guns?" That got her a kiss and a gentle "No thanks honey, but I appreciate the thought." Unfortunately, that netted me yet another cheesy sweater for my birthday, to hang in my closet with all the other cheesy sweaters...
Hoot
