Tools and equipment

If you would like to build our projects, you might need to get some tools and equipment first. We have sourced some reasonably affordable items for you. Purchasing these items using the links below won’t cost you a penny more, but you will support us building future projects as we get a smal fee per item sold.

Things you’ll need:

As we try to make things as easy as possible for you, there is not a great many things you’ll need to get started building our projects. The items we recommend are split up in 2 categories: 1. The things you’ll need, and 2. the things we recommend to help you building our projects somewhat easier.

Below is the bare minimum you will need to start building and soldering our projects:

• Soldering Iron
• Solder (with Solder Wire Rosin)
• Electrical Wire Cable Cutters
• The PCB for your project
• The required components for the project

The Soldering Iron

If you are serious about building our projects and soldering in general, you’ll need a proper soldering iron. If you buy one of the more established brands things might get expensive fast. Luckily there a very good and cheap alternatives that will help you solder like a pro! We have good experience with the T12 soldering station from KSger. They work reliably and will get you professional results. Buy a station like this and skip the basic standalone soldering pen. You will regret it later and buy the T12. 😉

If you have already a soldering iron, or you want to buy a different type than the one we recommend, make sure that the soldering iron has a power of 40 – 60W, and has temperature power of 40 – 60W, and has temperature regulation in the correct range for the solder wire you plan to use. A power of 40 – 60W ensures that the soldering iron is capable of keeping it at the right temperature, when heating up the PCB pad and the component leads.

Please make sure you get the smaller tips with your purchase!

Get it on Aliexpress*
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Soldering iron thermometer

Cheaper soldering stations are not always properly calibrated in the factory which can result in inaccurate temperature regulation and indication. When using a too high or too low temperature while soldering, the joint will not be good. Therefore we recommend investing about $10 – $20 in a thermometer which is especially designed to measure the soldering iron tip temperature.

When the KSger soldering station is used, it is recommended to calibrate every tip you own, and of course ensure that you select the correct tip when soldering. Since the temperature sensor is built in the soldering iron tip, the inaccuracy of the sensor is eliminated. Calibration by tip type will result in a more stable tip temperature. (Every tip type will have a slightly different thermal mass / characteristic, which will influence the temperature stability)

These thermometers will come with a few (5 – 10) thermocouple sensors. Experience has shown that the not original Hakko sensors do not last very long. But since they are (very) cheap, we recommend getting an extra pack of the sensors.

On youtube there are many videos showing how to perform the calibration of the KSger T12 and other soldering stations using the FG-100 thermometer.

Buy the FG-100 on Aliexpress*.
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Solder (Solder Wire with a rosin core)

Solder is a metal alloy that when melted it will create a permanent bond between electrical parts. Inside the solder wire a flux core is inserted. Solder flux will help clean the surfaces from oxidation and other contaminants, and it helps the solder to flow and adhere, creating a better connection and a stronger mechanical bond.

European legislation requires the use of lead free solder wire (RoHs compliant), which is less toxic than the lead containing variant. For repairs solder wire containing lead is still being sold. Small projects, like the ones we publish, will not be very dangerous for your health if you use the non-lead free solder wire. The smoke which comes off the soldering iron when heating the solder wire is not the metals evaporating, but the flux doing its job, and evaporating while doing it. More on the subject here: Lead-free Electronics Reliability – An Update (nasa.gov) (page 15)

Lead free solder wire will require higher temperatures for your soldering iron, compared to non-lead free solder wire. For this reason you need to be more cautious with your soldering iron tips. Lead free solder joints will not be shiny, but rather dull in appearance, and on average more brittle (less mechanical strong) than solder joints made with lead containing solder wire.

If you decide that you want to use the lead free solder, then make sure that during the PCB ordering process you pick one of the lead free options. The most common lead free options are “HASL lead free” or “ENIG”. The “HASL lead free” is normally priced the same as the non-lead free option. The “ENIG” option is an expensive surface finishing option since it is a real gold finish. For the projects we publish the “ENIG” option will have no added value, besides looking pretty. 🙂

Great brands of solder wire are “Kester” and “Stannol”. But there are also very good options available at AliExpress. Pick a solder wire with a diameter of 0.8 or 1.0mm. There are solder wires available with so-called “no clean” flux, which means that the residue left after making the joint is minimal and does not need to be removed since the residue is not harmful to the PCB. But at all times when done with soldering all the joints, it is strongly recommended cleaning the PCB joints with >90% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), and scrubbing it with a toothbrush. The result will be a nice clean PCB, without any contaminants left.

It’s very important to use the correct temperature setting for your soldering iron matching the solder wire you use. For regular non-lead free solder, a good starting point is around 350 C / 660 F, and for lead free solder wire 390 C / 735 F. Try to avoid too high temperatures, since that will shorten the lifetime of your soldering iron tip, and will overheat the flux, causing it to evaporate too quickly not allowing it to do its job properly!

If you decide to use the lead free solder wire, then make sure (if you have the choice) to get the soldering iron tips “rated” for lead free soldering. These tips look the same, but have a thicker coating on the tip itself. This has to do with the fact that lead free solder tends to “eat up” the copper the tips are made of, causing them to rapidly wear out if the coating is too thin.

Do not use any solder wire without rosin flux core. Also never use any “plumbing” solder flux! This will damage your PCB and parts, and will result in bad joints!

We have several options for you. First the leaded solder from Aliexpress. If you rather buy a lead-free solder, buy this one from Aliexpress
_{* use our links at no extra cost, to help us maintain this page!)}

Electrical Wire Cable Cutter

Once you have soldered your components, you can snip the excess wire from leads using a side cutter for electronics. These are available in all sorts of price ranges, but we find this one to be the sweet spot between quality and price.

Buy on Aliexpress*
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Things we recommend

Soldering handle stand

Now you have purchased yourself that great T12 soldering station, you might want to get a proper soldering handle stand. We have looked at a few and recommend you purchase this one.

Buy on Aliexpress*
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Soldering Solder Iron Tip Cleaner

A solder iron tip cleaner with the metallic sponge is strongly preferred over the traditional wet sponge. The wet sponge will cause a thermal shock on the tip every time you clean the tip. The metallic sponge does not have this issue, and is therefore preferable. The metallic sponge holder below, will fit the soldering stand above just perfect!

Buy on Aliexpress*
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Desoldering Pump

One of the nicest ways to desolder a component involves using a desoldering pump. A desoldering pump is essentially a small, high pressure vacuum. After heating up the solder, you can use the desoldering pump to suck the solder up and out of the way. 

Buy on Aliexpress*
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Electronic Maintenance Mat

You want prevent burning a hole in your desk and keep those small electronic components in the right place as well? Time for a silicone maintenance mat.

Buy on on Aliexpress*
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Adjustable Circuit Board Holder

The Adjustable Circuit Board Holder is ideal for clamping PCB’s for soldering, desoldering or rework. It features 2 adjustable grips on a retractable stand to accommodate various board sizes up to 200mm wide and up to 3mm thick. The adjustable clamps allow the PCB to rotate 360 degrees and stay set in any position. The base of this rigid metal stand features four rubber feet to ensure stability and avoid moving sliding around on your bench. A great helper for electronic projects like ours 🙂

Buy on on Aliexpress*
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Electronic Component Lead Bender

A simple to use lightweight hand tool for precise bending of component leads for insertion into PCBs etc. 90° bends are achieved with the minimum of effort. Distance to lead bend 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5mm, Accommodates, without readjustment, a wide range of lead diameters up to 1mm.  Wider lead diameters that are greater than the upper castellation gap can be accomodated by bending using the underside of the Tool. As this tool is quite expensive on Aliexpress, we included the Thingiverse link for 3D printing this useful tool yourself.

Buy on Aliexpress* or 3D print it yourself: Resistor lead forming tool – component bender – Thingiverse

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Mini Needle-Nose Pliers

The needle nose pliers is the ideal tool to bend and re-position wire. The ‘needle nose’ gives excellent control for reaching into small areas where wires or other materials have become stuck or unreachable with fingers or other means. These are available in all sorts of price ranges, but we find this one to be the sweet spot between quality and price.

Buy on on Aliexpress*
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Set of insulated screwdrivers

Although you probably have some lying around, for our projects you are going to need small sizes with phillips and flat heads. This is a nice inexpensive kit:

Buy on on Aliexpress*
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Anti-static Tweezers

To place even the smallest of components on a circuit boards a set of ESD safe tweezers comes in handy. All tweezers have plated resistive ESD coating, which prevents static damage to electronic components.

If you don’t need a set, make sure you at least buy the medium sized straight mouth.

Buy on on Aliexpress*
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We also found this really nice set of high quality ceramic tweezers you might want to consider:

Buy on on Aliexpress*
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Self-Adjusting Wire Stripper

A wire stripper is a tool for removing the protective coating of an electric wire in order to replace or repair the wire. It is also capable of stripping the end portions of an electric wire in order to connect them to other wires or to terminals. If you have to strip wire frequently, this tool belongs in your toolbox!

The absolute best brand Self-Adjusting insulation Wire Stripper in our opinion is the WEIDMÜLLER Stripax, but as that one is quite expensive, we have put a great value Aliexpress clone below.

Buy on on Aliexpress*
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Wire End Ferrule Crimping Tool Kit

A ferrule crimping tool’s purpose is pretty straightforward. They’re used to crimp ferrules on flexible (stranded) electrical wires. When a ferrule is crimped on the flexible wire end, the risk of accidently making a short circuit because a wire strand is sticking out, is minimized. This kit has a nice selection of wire end ferrules, and a crimping tool which will do the job;

Buy on on Aliexpress*
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Digital multimeter

As the name implies, a multimeter is made to be able to measure multiple values in an electric / electronic circuit. The digital version of the multimeter has the advantage of being easily to read. For our projects a multimeter which can test for AC and DC Voltage, resistance and capacitance will be useful. The capability to measure current can come in handy sometimes, but also creates a risk of accidentally shorting out the circuit. For the low voltages and currents our project uses this is not a very high risk, but if you also want to use the multimeter to test your 110 / 220V circuits in your home, it can become an issue. Therefore we recommend to be extremely careful with inserting the leads in the current connection of any multimeter!

Digital multimeters come in various price ranges, and accuracy ranges. For normal day-to-day usage it is not needed to have a very nice (expensive) Keysight or Fluke multimeter. We have looked around on AliExpress and found a multimeter which has a very nice price / performance ratio:

This multimeter will work perfectly fine with our projects, and it does not break the bank!

Buy on on Aliexpress*
_{* use our links at no extra cost, to help us maintain this page!)}

Electronic Component tester

A electronic components tester like the one below can be widely used to detect NPN and PNP transistors, capacitors, resistors, diodes, transistors, N-channel and P-channel MOSFETs, IGBTs, JFETs, triacs and batteries. It can also be used to detect infrared waveforms and Zener diodes. In addition, it has a self-calibration function. It can be a very useful tool for quickly determining the connections and characteristics of your electronic components.

Buy on on Aliexpress* (Get the TC-1!)
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Suggestions?

Are there items missing which you think we should include in our list? Please let us know in the comments!

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