Mix & Match soldering irons, multimeters and wire cutters to get the set that fits you best.
Click “Read the rest…” to see the full “basic kit” as of this moment (it won’t be updated so be sure to bookmark http://www.ladyada.net/library/equipt-kits.html instead )
Here is the “basic” kit, a $60 investment in tools that you can use no matter how good you get (the soldering iron is the only tool that you will eventually replace if you want to get serious about tinkering with electronics.
"25W adjustable" soldering iron (marginal quality)
This is a good general purpose solder. Also look into getting 63/37 solder. Getting a 1 lb roll is only $0.75 more so consider it if you plan on doing a bunch of soldering!
Don’t buy silver solder (yet) or lead-free solder. You will have a lot of difficulty using it and its not ‘less dangerous’
This is the defacto standard issued to all students. But hey, they work!
Total
$56
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As always Limor, your advice and information is excellent!
Speaking as someone who originally got started in electronics back in the mid 1980s with about $30 in assorted tools bought from Radio Shack and the remainder scrounged from my dad’s basement workshop, my advice is to acquire the best quality tools you can afford. You will thank yourself later.
Otherwise, get ready for what I refer to as the “If you give a mouse a cookie” syndrome! 🙂
Thanks for the suggestions, this is useful for n00bs like me.
There’s a typo in the link for the $60 kit… it uses llibrary instead of library.
As always Limor, your advice and information is excellent!
Speaking as someone who originally got started in electronics back in the mid 1980s with about $30 in assorted tools bought from Radio Shack and the remainder scrounged from my dad’s basement workshop, my advice is to acquire the best quality tools you can afford. You will thank yourself later.
Otherwise, get ready for what I refer to as the “If you give a mouse a cookie” syndrome! 🙂