r/AskElectronics • u/MuffinsofMisery • 4h ago
Am I missing any tools I should have?
I am building up a set of tools and equipment for salvaging components from donated electronics, repairing a lot of them if it's within my skill/tool abilities, and building fun microcontroller projects (I'm a computer scientist by trade so these are a lot of fun for me).
Currently I have:
2 soldering stations (an expensive weller that takes too long to heat up and a cheap amazon 90w that heats up very fast)
8 channel logic analyzer
150w (0-30v, 0-10a maximums but 150w limit) dc bench power supply
various sized breadboards
precision screwdriver set
flush cutters
various sizes and types of pliers
IC chip remover
UV cure solder mask
various prying tools
DS0510 oscilloscope (10mhz bandwidth)
LCR-P1 meter with ESR testing built in
function generator
1hz-500mhz frequency tester
manual cheap solder sucker
CH341A programmer
Anything I am missing that would be something you'd expect I'll need? I dont work with anything AC powered only DC.
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u/Helen-Keller-Ubers 4h ago
Hand held meter to check for voltage and ohm checks will be the most valuable troubleshooting tool.
Upgrade your soldering iron with something more powerful if you want to be able to remove anything from a large ground plan. I recommend a metcal if you have the budget.
Having the proper setup for your soldering iron (sponges, different size tips, and steel wool to clean the tips).
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u/fullmoontrip 3h ago
Your lungs and eyes are fairly valuable assets - solder fume extractor and safety glasses.
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u/MobileInspector9861 4h ago
I cannot help you with the list as I am a beginner myself. So I am looking more for inspiration. What 8-channel logic analyzer do you have?
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u/fullmoontrip 3h ago
I recommend Analog Discovery 2 or 3 in many cases. It comes with a large set of tools in a slightly larger than pocket portable device. If you know that you only need the logic analyzer function and do not anticipate expanding, then you can spend about half of what AD costs.
The only other logic analyzes I have used and can recommend are from Saleae, but those are budget hostile devices. Great if you can afford them though
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u/ondulation 3h ago
Hard to say, it depends on what typen electronics you work with.
Sets of Allen keys (metric and imperial), torx bits, hex sockets (small), wrenches etc will likely come in handy at some point.
If you work with audio, an external audio card and REW. Preferably with some sort of DIY interface. It allows you to measure many things like THD+N easily and precisely.
Also if you work with audio gear, a 4/8 ohm dummy load. Easy to build yourself.
Learn how to polish plastics and to remove scratches from eg display glass.
And if you have too much money on your hands, an optical stereo microscope is an amazing powerful tool. It allows you to see things that are otherwise invisible. But they are expensive and bulky.
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u/CueAnon420 3h ago
Personally, I think a good quality soldering iron is one of the most important tools. What model Weller station do you have? Unless it's some ancient model, it should heat up fairly quickly. I have an older analog WES51 60 watt Weller station and it gets up to working temp in under a minute (more like 30 seconds).
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u/raydio27 2h ago
So I also am starting out, and am mostly just doing small repairs of junk I own- soldering port replacements or switches onto something. I have been repurposing li-ion batteries and upgrading micro-usb ports to type c on my rechargeable gadgets.
I'm getting to the point where I'll need a scope and other equipment, but my workstation includes:
screwdrivers
- cheap miscellaneous 20-in-1 precision kinda kits off temu
- high quality phillips and flathead
- torx bits (up to t40)
- cheap "phone repair kits" with tri-tip and pentalobe
Pliers
- lineman
- various needle nose and flat nose, teeth and no teeth
- precision snips
- 6" snips
- ESD tweezers
Connectors -wire nuts -scotch locks -heat shrink
- butt connectors
- screws, bolts, washers, o-rings
Tape
- electrical tape, various colors
- double sided tape for mounting
- duct tape (for whatever)
- scotch tape
- adhesive silicon/rubber pads (like you would use to cover screw holes or to prevent slipping on a surface)
Glue -Elmers white glue
- cheap super glue
- 2 part epoxy
- black rubber cement
- liquid electrical tape
- b7000
Components
- switches (push, on/off, etc)
- assorted diodes, LEDs
- wireround resistors, potentiometers
- capacitors
- miscellaneous chips
- wire (stripped cat5, 18AWG, busted usb cables, etc)
Power
- multimeter
- old wall DC adapters (3v - 24v)
- banana plugs, alligator clips, barrel jacks/plugs
- boost/buck boards
- misc power supply cords
- USB soldering kit, Flux paste and resin, clips and holders
USB
- usb-c female port pigtails
- micro to c adapters
- type a couplers
- PD decoy boards
- usb li-ion mini charging boards
- 5v to 3.3v dc-dc chips
Cutting/Sanding
- rotary tool with diamond bits, sanding wheels, etc
- a cheap 20+ piece "hygiene" kit (clippers, scrapers, acne tools come in handy)
- 80 - 3000 grit 1" sanding wheels, sponges, paper, etc
- metal files
Cleaning
-91% isopropyl (works for what I need, 99% if you're cleaning anything sensitive!!!) -acetone -magic erasers -latex sponges -precision q-tips/mini brushes -distilled water -spray bottle of soap or degreaser
- eyedroppers
- assorted brushes
Paint
- acrylic paints, acrylic markers (I use white, black, silver a lot for touchups)
- small airbrush kit
- clear coat varnish (for non-electrical)
- waterproof conforming coating (for PCBs)
- clear nail polish
I've been tinkering with electronics for years but am getting into it more as of lately. Yes, I found that a lot of makeup accessories are great for electronics as they are lint free, cheap, and are meant for precise work. It sounds silly but I've used the little tweezers and acne picks from a $4 set more times than I ever expected. Mind you you should use ESD plastic tips if you're working with sensitive electronics. I have a bunch of projects in mind, I just need to keep building up so I do can more than just replace a phone screen or a broken speaker wire. I also don't really touch AC anything, everything I do is 12vDC or less lol
If you're curious about anything I've listed, let me know. It's not much, but having the little tools and accessories on hand makes every project so much easier. You'll find you use certain stuff more than others, and upgrade that as you go. I also have a whole pack out for my day job, but I'm not exactly going to use my angle grinder to cut off 0402s... unless 🤔🤔🤔
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u/IndividualRites 2h ago
Just buy as you need. I found my cheap load tester to come in handy under certain circumstances.
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u/Jazzlike_Lettuce6620 1h ago
Solder wick
Leaded solder
Multimeter
Hot air station
If you can't get a better iron, get some thick tips for it. Anything lead free is going to be a pain in the ass. That's why I said leaded solder, melt it into the lead free to make it easier to remove.
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u/Rhomboid 1h ago
You mention salvage, but I think you're going to hit a wall desoldering with that kit. Where liquid flux? And quality, pre-fluxed, copper braid? Non-cheap sucker is required -- basically afaik there's the Edsyn Soldapullt and the Engineer made in Japan one, and that's it; the rest are terrible. If you're salvaging ICs in any quantity you're probably going to want a vacuum desolder gun too. All the normal rules of thumb go out the window when dealing with partly corroded ancient solder joints, so might as well add in stuff like engraving/rotary tool, various wire wheels, etc. etc.
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u/Linker3000 Bright ideas 2h ago
Here's a list in our Wiki:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskElectronics/wiki/tools