⚡ Hardware & Equipment

Soldering Iron

ATTEN 80W 110V Soldering Iron With Station - ST-2090D

Solid starter soldering iron with temperature control and a built in cleaner. Works with "Hakko" type iron tips.

Dont forget to use flux :)

Adafruit

Hot Air Rework

Hot-Air Rework Station - 8508D

"This hot-air rework station is great for professionals and hobbyists in need of tight temperature tolerances and large air flows. "

Sparkfun

Hot Plate

Hot Plate Preheater - MHP50-B5 (Brass)

Hot plates are great for pre-heating boards, especially those with lots of copper pours, to ensure easier soldering. Of course, you can also do PCB reflow with these! This uses USB C for powering the device.

Adafruit Sparkfun

Toolkit

iFixit Essential Electronics Toolkit

Often, you'll need small screwdrivers, tweezers, spudgers, or what-have-you to get into and repair your electronics. This kit is a good balance, though you might find you want something with more driver bits depending on your line of work! There are many options for multi-bit screwdrivers and ESD tweezers - you don't need to be too picky.

Sparkfun

Solder

Solder comes in many shapes and forms - even for plumbing, so get the correct diameter! 0.3mm or lower for small electronics.

Get lead-free solder and use fume extraction. Your body will thank you.

Adafruit

Solder Wick

A great way to remove solder from the surface of a PCB. This is braided copper, sometimes with flux inside. Add solder to the iron tip to get a good thermal connection to the joint; the molten solder will begin wicking its way into the braid.

Adafruit

Flux

Flux is a soldering aid that helps clean the surface of the metals before joining them with solder. It comes in tacky or liquid forms.

Adafruit - Tacky Adafruit - Liquid