- Joined
- May 10, 2009
This thread contains misc. electrical know how. Including soldering tips, tool/part suppliers, and all sorts of other stuff. We start with a basic guide to the electronics toolkit originally written by Super Nade, here. I intend to update it with links at some point.
Super Nade said:ComponentsThis brief guide is for those who wish to jump head-first into the world of electronics repair and modding. I've broken things down component wise and left it at that, Mix and match as you please. I've deliberately left out details because a) I don't have first hand experience with all applications and b) It would take me too long to write this up.
Components are marked with green text for better visibility. I'll updates this as and when possible.
- Basic Soldering Kit:
- Soldering irons come in various shapes and sizes. What you need depends on your application.
- For simple solder jobs like connecting wires, you can get away with a cheap $10 Soldering Iron from Radioshack.
- For re-capping jobs, pick an iron that is at least 40W or higher, can go up to 400+ C, offers ESD protection and has a tip with a larger surface area. Recommended manufacturers are Weller, Goot and Hakko.
- For delicate SMD work, you may need a soldering station and multiple irons to do a clean job. Again look at Goot, Hakko or Weller for best results. You may need a fine tip.
- Solder. Essential and preferably with a Rosin (flux) core. There are different kinds of solder available with different properties. I would go with non-ROHS solder for now. ROHS solder is lead free, but also has a higher melting point. You may have issues with the flow and if your iron can't get hot enough, you are stuck.
- Flux may be used because it helps with the even and quick spread of the solder. Not absolutely necessary, but very useful if you are having a hard time with getting the solder to uniformly adhere to stuff.
- You need a loop of Soldering braid to suck up molten solder. It is definitely safer than a solder pump and can be used on PCBs.
- Solder pump to suck up gobs of molten solder. I don't use it, but it can be useful.
- Stainless Steel sewing needles of different diameter to clean out holes on a PCB. Solder won't stick to them so they can bore through a hole when heated.
- Wire strippers and cutters.
- Carbon/Graphite tipped ESD safe tweezers.
- Ghetto ESD safe work areas can be created by cutting open anti-static bags and using the insides as an ESD safe area.
- Wrist straps. Make sure you ground yourself properly if you are handling IC's.
- Iso-propanol for cleaning stuff (do not use Acetone).
- Lint free tissue (Kodak).
- Solder tip tinner. This is a must to keep a clean tip.
- Sponge and lots of water!
- Test and Diagnostic equipment:
- A Digital Multimeter is a must. I use a Fluke, but even the $30 ones are acceptable. It depends on what you are measuring.
- PC USB Oscilloscope: Companies who make them include USB Instruments, Pico Technologies, Link Instruments and Hooby Labs' Disco.
- Oscilloscope: If you are pressed for money, go with an Analog scope. DSO's can be expensive and are still slower than a good Analog scope.
- Probes: O-scope 10x probes are useful for debugging. Textronix have a wide array of these probes.
- Kill-A-Watt: A rough tool that gives you the Average AC power drawn from the wall. Can be inaccurate.
- Power Spectrum Analyzers: Very expensive, can run up to thousands of $'s.
- ESR Meter (Bob-Parker design) to measure ESR of a Capacitor.
Choosing the right capacitors depends on your application. My tackle box has all kinds of capacitors in 'em. For recapping, you can choose between Electrolytic, Conductive Polymer and Organic Semi-conductor (OS-CON). I'll list out a few good brands and applications from my experience.
- Good Capacitor Manufacturers:
- United Chemicon KY, LXZ, KZE (Motherboards and PSUs)
- Nichion LE Conductive Polymer (Motherboards)
- Nippon Chemicon NPCap (Conductive Polymer) (Motherboards)
- Sanyo OS-CON, SEPC,WG (Motheboards, Audio)
- Rubycon MBZ (Motherboards)
- Panasonic FM, FC (Motheboards, Audio)
- Capacitor manufacturer and ID Database
- Other components
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- Trimpots from Bourns
- Inductors from Yaego