I would separate your list above into tools, and parts. The tools you should invest more in, because you'll be using them across many projects and it's nice to have good tools.
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Goggles: Of course you need goggles, but which to get? There are always those $5 red goggles, but if you have some money flexibility, get some good quality
certified ones. No, "CE approval" or whatever means nothing because that is for
mechanical protection not laser protection:
- 445nm lasers:
YLW yellow goggles. Very good visibility and absolute protection against 445nm lasers. My preferred goggles for 445nm.
- 405nm - 532nm:
ARG goggles. More general purpose for lasers up to 532nm, but orange color and does not protect against infrared if you're using them for green. Good price.
- 532nm, IR, low-power red:
ML7 general purpose goggles. These are great for 532nm because they protect against the IR in most greens as well. Also works for 405nm and low-power reds (<150mW). More expensive than many, but works for many wavelengths.
- Red diodes -
RB2 ruby, diode, etc. goggles. Good if you're using high powered reds.
The goggles are expensive, so you'll want to get goggles for the wavelengths you'll actually be making stuff for. You can always buy other goggles later. I don't like the $5 red goggles for 445nm/green that you'll see on Dino Direct or whatever sites. They work, but they're really hard to see anything. The best goggles to get are the ones you'll want to wear.
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Soldering Iron: Make sure to get a decent soldering iron. Don't get some shitty soldering iron from Radio Shack, get a temperature controlled nice soldering iron like
this or
this. The latter I own, and it has served me well; however, I really only use the SMD hot air heater for the mundane purpose of heating shrink wrap.
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Solder: I prefer leaded solder, because it melts nice, requires lower temperatures, has better mechanical properties, costs far less, and I like that shiny surface it produces. If you're in a country that allows you to buy leaded solder (e.g. the USA), buy that. Unfortunately, it's getting harder to find leaded solder so you may be forced to use lead-free solder, especially if you're in Europe. If you can find leaded solder, get a 63/37 eutectic blend, a good brand like Kester, and in quantities you will use. Eutectic means that the alloy directly goes from solid to liquid when melted, not intermediate "plastic" phase changes which can result in bad joints. Do not buy 60/40 solder; 60/40 blend is not eutectic. It is garbage that is only meant for manufacturers because it is cheaper than 63/37 solder, and the manufacturers have good heat/process control that is suitable for 60/40.
Here is a 1 pound spool of
Kester 44 63/37 eutectic solder which is good stuff; however, 1 pound will probably not be used up before it potentially expires. I'm still using the spool of Kester solder I got back in, er... 2003? 2004? I'll probably still have it a decade later. Solder rosin does expire, but usually you can still keep using it despite that.
What you want:
- 0.031 diameter solder (good thin solder, but not too thin)
- Eutectic solder (leaded or lead-free)
- No-wash rosin core (the flux in the solder)
- Quantities you'll use up so it doesn't sit around.
Not Kester, but here is some solder that will do the trick, and you don't need a 1 pound spool:
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100g spool - 63/37 solder, 0.031" diameter
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10g tube of the above.
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Vise/Project Holder: If you want a nice vice(s), check out the Panavise selection. I've got the
suction-cup base, and a
"Jr" vise head for holding circuitboards. Ironically, buying them separately costs less than as a single package.
If you have space, consider getting the
screw-on or
clamp-mounted vise base (requires the first one) so that it is permanently fixed to your workbench. For pressing diodes, you'll want a
standard vise head, but for working on projects, I'd get the Jr. head I mentioned above.
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Flux: Flux helps "lubricate" the solder, in other words it'll let it flow so that it doesn't just blob up and not melt. For most intents and purposes you can get away with no outside flux. Your solder has rosin flux inside it and outside application may not be needed. You can always just apply more solder to your soldering iron tip to keep the solder flowing. It is nice to have some around though, especially when you want to make sure your solder is flowing.
For flux, I would get Kester no-clean flux. Kester is a good brand (I'd also buy their solder too). I use Kester 1544 which is highly activated, but requires no clean-up. Unfortunately, that variety seems to only come in 1 gallon containers. Those will last you many, many lifetimes of use, which you probably don't need, requires special shipping, has a 2-year shelf life (which you can probably extend), and will cost you $50 or so to get. I was lucky enough to get some squeeze bottles of Kester 1544 with syringes of flux for cheap, which will last me for a loooong time. If you have friends who want some flux, maybe it'd be worth it, but I'd look into a flux pen, hopefully one suitable for hand-soldering. It's less active, but at least it's in a pen form rather than a gallon jug. No clean-up though. To summarize what you should look for in flux:
- Non-corrosive / no-cleanup flux
- High-activity (may not be possible)
- Designed to work with conventional soldering (i.e. not exclusively surface/SMD work)
- Easy to dispense. A pen works well, but you can also pour flux into a bottle with a syringe tip.
I wouldn't bother with the flux on DealExtreme. It just seemed to smolder, and not help when I used it. I don't know about its corrosion properties as well.
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Bench-top Power Supply: A benchtop power supply is a useful addition to your bench, allowing you to power up projects without batteries or other weird hookups. I bought a
dual 30V 3A power supply at MPJA (
full list of PSUs) for about $180, but rarely have needed that voltage range. I have made use of both power supplies, however.
In a pinch, a simple wall-wart + LM317 breadboard power supply (
such as this) works great for small experiments.
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DMM: Fluke or Extech are good brands. I would get one that is autoranging, can do continuity tests, diode tests, and measure capacitance. Fluke meters are expensive. I've got an
Extech 430 that does the above. Don't get the Extech 450, as it has a useless infrared thermometer instead of capacitance measurement and other modes.
In a pinch, the
DealExtreme meters are probably decent enough or even better (who knows?) for most needs.
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Other useful stuff:
- Solder sucker - (
Sparkfun,
Amazon,
DealExtreme). I have the one from DX. This thing is awesome for getting rid of soldering mistakes. What you do is heat up the blob of solder you want to get rid of, and then fire the solder sucker so that it sucks that solder off and into the solder sucker. Eject that cooled solder from the solder sucker and you're done. I can't tell you how many times this has saved my butt, especially since solder wick never seems to work for me, even with flux dripped on it.
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IC hook probes. I hate using the DMM touch probes for adjusting or other longer tasks. Alligator clips equally suck. You can put these in the DMM sockets and clip them to whatever you're measuring, freeing your hands. They also work on your benchtop PSU.
- Headlamp: The bench light may be okay, but will never light up exactly what you're looking at very well. Wear the headlamp to shine on what you're soldering and looking at.
- Part storage containers. A tacklebox works nice for this. If you're not sure if the container is ESD safe, wrap your microchips in tin-foil before putting them inside the container.
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Good soldering tutorials: Tangent's electronics DIY
video tutorials.
Pro Tip for your soldering iron (Important!): This tip is described in the Tangent videos above, but warrants additional mention. When you're not using the soldering iron, even for a minute, load the tip up with solder, and leave it in the holder. That goes for when you're done using it. The solder will protect the tip from oxidization, and the rosin in the solder will clean the tip. Wipe the tip off when you want to solder some more.
You should never need to replace your tips if you properly care for them in this way. Also, when you get a new soldering iron, the tip is in its most vulnerable state. Immediately cover the tip in solder to protect it.
Never sand or file down the tip of your soldering iron. Your soldering iron tip is covered with special plating for helping transfer heat to your solder. Filing it away will expose the copper below to oxygen and other impurities and reduce its lifespan. The only reason people do this with other soldering irons is that they
bought some piece-of-shit heated nail from Radio Shack, and the tip is not even properly plated.
