These are great soldering irons for the money.

Everybody says so. I'l have to get one for myself some day. With a cheap 24V scooter battery one could even use it in the field without a problem.

Oh, and i seem to have underestimated Louis's recommendation. He likes it a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao39bPEyok4

On the topic of open source for hardware; There's an open source software for Hantek oscilloscopes http://openhantek.org/ (not official) , which is yet another thing i'l have to get myself some day.