A Fixup is only as good as its interstitials
597074
Crashlander is what they call a "Fixup" novel. That's a novel that's made up of previously-published short stories, tied together with some new interstitial stuff, usually in the form of a frame story. These can been good, bad, or most commonly indifferent. The problem is that the interstitial material introduced to tie the stories together is generally not up to the quality of the stories it's bridging.

That's the problem here: We've got all the Beowulf Schaefer stories that were published up to this point, plus a new story, plus a 'frame' story of interstitial bits.

In essence, Bey is hiding out on a planet, and meets up with the always-tedious Sigmund Ausfuller. Their conversations serve mostly to cue lengthy flashbacks (The original short stories) and culminate in a new story in the end. The new story is just terrible. It's kind of a mystery, but there's no real mystery to it, and it's basically already solved before Bey is even introduced to it, so it's not so much a story as it is just a bunch of stuff that happens and then stops happening.

Honestly, the frame story is better than the new story. Some of the tangents Sigmund goes off on are kind of interesting in a stoned-enginnering-students-at-3AM-in-the-dorm kind of sense. That's not to say it's GOOD, just better than the new story which is just awful.

Since this book came out, Niven has written another Beowulf Schaefer short story, "Fly by Night," which picks up immediately after this fixup novel, and is far, far, far superior to both the frame and the new story in this one. That's worth reading if you can find it. This...meh. It's for completists only.
1645447
I liked but, the material should still be place for improvements.
3640099
For a quick fix, it's great.  But I prefer to use a sponge and silver polish.
3094098
These were not as reliable as the DYMO brand, occasionally the tape would get stuck in the machine.  It was a very easy fix, but is inconvenient when trying to get a project completed.  The text was sometimes light or incomplete, we have only had this happen with the Unismar tape.  Overall, it is worth the discounted price, but if you are looking for perfection- this is hit or miss.
3263108
looks good from afar, but up close imperfections are noticeable.
657135
Not a dramatic improvement from the OEM, but is made more durable.
1761986
Little bit of care and maintenance can go a long way with theses
3832131
toools ok  for single repair .to do more need better pump and gun
3953624
Combine wit You-Tube for a "doable" repair project.
1805240
It would be better if if was restored some.  It looks low quality.
3921700
Thin areas have layer adhesion issues that's true but for certain pieces that isn't and issue.  Making bushings or bulkheads and other stout solid pieces and the stuff is cheap.
4463228
Hard to repair, otherwise it would be 5 stars
4481901
You can't make something great again when its all ready great.
962044
This is only slightly better than some of the junk imported from China. But has very few moving parts, and a minimal number of parts so if you sit down with a cup of coffee and look at the picture on the box, you can figure it out. Most important is to find a wall stud, and then locate the very center of the stud to drill in your wall anchors.
3915380
This kind of soldering system has been industry standard since the 1950's.  I learned to solder to military specifications on one of these stations back in the 1980's and used it in bench repair of avionics equipment for over 20 years.  I own several surplus stations that I use in my ham radio hobby at home.

In later years I used much more expensive solder stations with higher tech temperature control methods and slimmer pencils, but I found them to be only marginally better, and so much more expensive that I didn't see any need to buy one for home/hobby use.  While the more expensive systems have complex configurations that aid some surface mount work, they were not worth the hefty price for regular through-hole and point-to-point soldering.

The tips are readily available, in a considerable variety, and are very reasonably priced.  The other components of the system are also readily obtained and reasonably priced.  If you wear out the iron or have some mishap with the cord, repair is not a big deal.

The reason I am taking off one star is the current physical packaging.  The earlier WTCPN station was taller and heavier, with the sponge and iron holder integrated into the top.  That configuration was superior because the base was heavy enough to stay put in the course of removing and replacing the iron, and swiping the sponge.

There is a set of keyed slots on the WTCPT that enable the iron holder to be fastened solidly to either side of the power unit, but access to the sponge is obstructed from one side.  In practice, a quick side to side swipe is normally used to clean the tip, and this is not possible with the sponge blocked from one side or the other by the power unit.

The customer image that shows the iron holder perched on top of the power supply is a great idea, but I would secure it in place with cable ties or some other means, so that it doesn't go skittering off when being used.

This is a tried and true tool for soldering, at a very reasonable price.
3548108
Some things are cheap.  Some things are just right.  It is rare the two meet.
4358295
I love it when the free market comes up with a simple and cheap DIY fix for something the world's highest paid engineers screwed up (and the dealership would charge a fortune to repair). I never understood why these auto manufacturers can spend millions bringing a product to market and overlook the simplest things. I suppose it's about cutting costs...

Anyway, these are a quick easy fix. Video walkthroughs are all over youtube. If you can solder, you can fix this in about an hour. Twenty minutes if you've pulled the dash off before and know what you're doing.