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Patreon Podcast: The Electronics Tools Dilemma (Patreon)

Published:
2023-09-21 14:16:01
Imported:
2024-01

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Content

I'm often asked which tools I'd recommend to someone who's new to working with electronics. It's a difficult question to answer because of how many choices there are -- and in some ways, that might be something that stifles, rather than encourages, the hobbyist community.

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Comments

Anonymous

I'm halfway through listening, but I would like to say that I've been very happy with my Pinecil V1. For around $26 bucks, you can get the newer V2, but with both you get a 100 MHz iron that probably has more computing power than most of the stuff people use it to repair. The cool thing about it, though, aside from the typical features like swappable tips and temperature control, is that you can run it from a PD power bank. I haven't done this, but I know of people who swear by it for portable soldering setups. Fundamentally, though, it's a great iron for whatever setup you have. I already had a stand and a power supply from my last iron, and it's super quick to get up to temp. It's so good that I don't really see myself upgrading to anything else, unless it somehow drastically fails at some point. I think the biggest problem with newcomers to soldering is that they don't realize the importance of things like wet sponges/tip cleaners, soldering mats, iron stands, fume extractors, helping hands, and extra flux. I've basically purchased things from AE or Amazon as I found them to be absolutely necessary, and honestly I'd say it is a fairly long list, even for THT rework. I started soldering (albeit unsuccessfully) many years ago with a wood burner and thick gauge electrical solder from Lowe's, and you essentially can't accomplish anything in hobby electronics if your tools are deficient. There is some skill to soldering, but even inexpensive equipment if it's made well does most of the work. Oh, and on hot air stations, the Quick 957DW+ is the one I picked up a few years ago. It works absolutely amazing, and I remember seeing videos on it at the time that showed that (at least a version of the internal workings) were competently assembled. It's like $125, but I wanted to move away from some of the really cheap stations that were known for melting themselves apart. I honestly probably overspent, considering I don't use it all that often, but I do honestly think it will last me a very long time.

Anonymous

The thing with hot tweezers is that it's cheaper to get a second iron. In your case, half the price. I've always used two irons to remove surface mount parts at work

Anonymous
>>118048248

They should make hot chopsticks at this point, for when you need to rework your electro-sushi.