Electronic Kits

[Numpad]

hey everyone.. i came across These on the maplins website..

i really like the idea of these as hopefully it will teach me to solder as i have never done it b4! (well, once, at school.. but i burnt myself and that was the end of that!)

has any1 done these before? are they any good?

i also found a "soldering kit" on their site too for ?20 which comes with a 25w soldering iron, instructions, some solder and a tray with sponge (woo)

is this really worth it, or will i not learn anything from these kits (as i have no idea about soldering and electronics lol)

it wont be too hard for a noob will it? :blush::

[CrashG]

Those kits will teach you and should come with some sort of instructions. Soldering isn't that hard, I'd get something a little more powerful than a 25W if you decide to use it on a regular basis, but don't throw money at something that you might not use very often.

Something like these are nice: http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/weller/solder/wlc200.htm. This is the model I have http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/weller/solder/wesd51.htm

The main thing is to use the correct solder and get the parts up to temp before trying to join them, but not hot enough to melt the insulation on the wire/other parts around it. Also don't get sloppy with it and let it flow to and make another (unintended) connection to something else.

[MR_Candyman]

Soldering isn't hard but you WILL burn yourself a LOT when you are learning and will still occasionally do it when you're a pro. I actually recommend some light mechanic gloves or bmx gloves made of leather. They will help a lot while allowing your fingers to remain nimble.

As for those kits, honestly they're always a lot more than the parts separately cost, but they are easier to figure out if you don't know electronics. For a beginner they can be a very nice way of learning.

Forgot to say that I always get a 75w-100w iron. Yes a lot of people will tell you not to use such a high wattage iron for electronics, but it works MUCH better if you're good at soldering. For a beginner doing electronics I'd probably say to stick with a 50w as it won't heat up the metal so fast and allow you more time to do your thing. I believe most people say to use only up to a 40w for electronics. They are the people you want to avoid. a 40w soldering iron will give you more headaches than anything. Just keep in mind that you want to have the iron contacting the electronics for as little time as possible and you'll be fine.

[Numpad]

thanks for the tips :)

but, of course the higher watts are alot more expensive, and i am only trying it for a small hobby lol..

i actually got some kits today, along with a soldering iron... the only problem: no instructions!!! lol

i will have to try and find something online, because i dont even know how to use a soldering iron and solder!!

also the actually kits make no sense to me (they have no diagrams) just a PCB with loads of LEDS and what i think are resisters...

any further tips/advice will be very much appreciated!

[FredEx]

WOW!!!!! :wacko:

I have been in electronics since 1970 and for circuit board work I never used over a 25 watt iron. When I worked at Motorola I had a station similar to the WESD51 for my soldering iron, I also had a station with a soldering pencil, for very fine work. That WESD51 max's at 50 watts (850 F) and for something like that I'd of rarely ran it above 20 to 25 watts (400 to 500 F) for the iron. I didn't use it much, but I also had a Weller soldering gun for very heavy duty solder jobs...that might be used for soldering wiring in a good size power supply (we're talking rack mount PS's larger than a Shuttle computer case).

For those kits, a 25 watt is fine and in my opinion would be for most work on circuit boards.

Those kits I'm sure come with solder, but if you buy your own stay with a thinner solder, like .031 diameter. It is better for circuit board work. Larger stuff takes more heat and when a glob melts it may be more than what is needed. Smaller diameter allows better control over the amount of solder applied.

[Numpad]

haha i just gave it a try.. apart from the fumes i found it quite easy.. except it doesnt actually work!! no idea what went wrong :( all the joints look fine etc.. :( i tried putting together the strobe light one.. it doesnt strobe lol...

but it was good praccy anyway, alot easier than i though! next stage is to build something and make it so it works!!

[NoneAvail]

WHOA! I agree with Fred, I'm majoring in Electromechanical Engineering, and I've been working with circuits and solders for 2 years now, and I've always been happy with 30W. Your not going to need more than that, unless you need to melt solder that is heavy or a lot!

[Numpad]

well i found the 25watt perfect actually (not that i have experience lol) took a while to heat up, but once it did it just kept going :) all the labels on kits say do not use more than 40w tho, so.. but yeh was good 1st experience.. except now everyone is going to be finding random things soldered together! lol

[albert08]

Most of us use electronic kits at the home. The kits are helping us in making are things working better. I have a small one at my house to keep my things maintained.

Albert

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