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Soldering irons that plug in to an AC outlet are inexpensive and convenient, but one drawback to them is that they don’t have very good temperature control. They often are either too hot or not hot enough. Some plug-in soldering irons are adjustable. Some models have a temperature adjustment built into them and function like a light dimmer. Although better than units without any kind of temperature control, they are somewhat limited. I was looking at PID temperature controllers and learned that they worked with K-type thermocouples. Then I started looking at K-type thermocouples and I thought that there may be a way to insert one of them inside a soldering iron and take a reading from the back of the heating element on the opposite end of the soldering tip.”

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