Electronics tools every geek needs

(possible Sticky)

list and describe the tools every electronic n00b needs to get (and some that are just cool!)

I'll start us off:
ELECTRICAL Soldering Iron: butane ones are expensive as (insert funny simile here), don't get a 7 trillion watt one for PCB's (printed circuit boards) those are mostly for plumbing, one rated 30-40 watts is good (i beleive)

Rosin Core Solder: this stuff has rosin flux inside the wire itself, so you usually don't need additional flux

Waxy Flux: my 'lectronics teacher says this stuff is easiest to use, it comes in a flatter-than-it-is-wide round plastic containers, dip the tip in the waxy stuff and solder away!

Sponge: a wet sponge cleans the tip when doing a lot of soldering, cut a slit down it to clean all of it at once.

Gloves: that tip is hot!!!

 

de-soldering iron should be on the list and a multi-meter to.

 

"Helping hands" - one of the magnifying glass/alligator clip things.

If you get one of the Cold Heat tools, you can eliminate the sponge and cord from the iron

 

do those cold heat thingys work? they kinda remind me of those magnetic hammers that supposedly hold the nails for you but die after a few nails (you can de magnetize something by hitting it against something hard a few times)

any rec's for a multimeter? I'd like one of them digital ones.

 

definitely go with digital. Check out http://www.elexp.com/tst-mult.htm I know fluke is a good brand. It is just a matter of how much you want to spend vs what features you want.

 

I would have to add a good pair of wire strippers and a couple of crimpers (I carry around a rj45 crimper and a coax crimper).

I agree, go digital. I have a Fluke multimeter. Expensive, but well worth it. Dont think I have ever said "I wish I would have went with something cheaper."

 

OMG, how could you forget the almighty Dremal multi-tool!!

 

This is electronic so dremal's are depreachated.

I would also say an ICD (preferably the mk2 if u can afford £70), a second hand oscilloscope (£30 range, dual change, 20mhz, digital storage).
PROTOTYPING BOARD + reals of single core wire.
Resistor Pack (lots of values, about £10 from rapid iirc).

 

where would you find a scope for so cheap?

 

Surprisingly well actually, once you get the hang of it.

 

Ebay is but then there is the delivery, i recomend local compaines that have them (just ask em!) and schools/6thforms/uni's getting rid of old stuff, i have one single channel 20mhz, that cost me £5 to a charity of your choice.

 

Gentle abrasive for cleaning up tarnished stripboard/pcb/component leads - I've got some red Scotchbrite which is better than the green on the back of pan scrubbers, but they'll do at a pinch. Wire wool's good but messy.

Baby crocodile clips - holding two leads together to solder, mini-heat shunt. Get some leaded pairs for hands-free multimetering if you don't have the proper clip-on prongs.

De-soldering braid - cleans up shorts between pcb/stripboard tracks.

Fine tweezers - pulling hot components out of boards.

A dart tip - bending resistor leads round for vertical mounting.

Small needle file - making stripboard holes bigger for pots (you could use the deprecated Dremel if small bits have depreciated ).

IPA spray - cleaning pcbs, pots, switches.

Baby wire cutters, flush cut - cropping component leads

Ash tray - to put the cropped bits in.

 

Stuff I couldn’t work without:

Decent bench iron, plus a gas one for field work, (with pointed tip) electric ones without vairible temperatures are as useless as an ice cream fireguard imo

TTC1 (tip tinner, cleaner) much better than sponges, and it prolongs an iron's bit life.

Decent flux corded solder, avoid cheapo stuff that doesn't have enough flux core, or too little, maplin's stuff is always good.

Decent multimeter, preferably a dual analogue/digital (analogue still has it's uses).

Logic probe; useful for scouting circuits, tho it is possible to do with a multimeter, these are simpler, and quicker.

'scope (DUAL TRACE) (with some decent x10 or x100 probes) - As my old electronic teacher said, you cannot do electronics without an oscilloscope, trust me, he is right lol.

Decent set of pliers, £10 set of 5 from mappers do the job

Desoldering pump, and braid, braid is often more useful for removing small amounts of solder than a pump.

Soldering aid set, maplins do em, that have a reamer, knfe, brush, hook, pointed bit and some others, very handy.

Croc clip leads, essential kit, so you can jus attach em to places you are testing and no need to fiddle about when testing somewhere else.

Selection of wire - both solid and mulit-core.

Conductive paint - useful to repair PCBs.

Helping hands, very very useful those.

Decent bench power supply, such as a farnel, with split rails.

Magnifying glass lamp, another very useful tool.

Breadboard, and veroboard, speaks for itself really.

Finally, a decent selection of spares, resistors, caps, transistors, and common ICs.

 

Pointed Pliers?

 

Something small and pointy (like a dentist's tool). Key for doing surface mount stuff.
Set of the presized, prebent wires for proto-boards.

 

My fault for not reading the thread title properly. (well it was some silly time in the morning, after being up all night)!

 

i guess we could extend the parameters a bit, these are tools every geek needs

 

Hot air blower and solder paste!!! Can't afford/justify one of my own so always borrow someone elses! Great for connectors and like.

Kristian

 

When I was strain-gauging, we used a hard rubber tipped pencil to clean up the solder pads prior to soldering.

Having fitted guages in awkward positions there is an awful lot to be said for a large well laid out desk, comfy chair and a drink.

I'll add: A fan/filter to drag away solder fumes.

Flux: Even with rosin core solder, I found that the only way to do some of the smaller pads was to use flux.

 

Drill press for PCB drilling,

Large resistors for dummy loads and for discharging capacitors.

Good lighting (!)