Electronic Repair Bench Once you have selected a good workbench with a sample piece of carpet, an ESD mat (when required); Comfortable chair, and Good lighting, it is time to assemble the Right Tools Using the Right Tools The right tools certainly make your work easier to do. Here are some things that I think are particularly good values. Soldering Station. Select a Temperature Controlled model. The temperature should be adjusted to the Solder formulation (Lead-free, 2% silver, 63/37, or 60/40). The Solder Tip should be sized for the Solder joint. The 3/32” screwdriver (chisel) profile is good for vacuum tube gear with its tube sockets, terminals strips and point to point wiring. Magnifying Light or Jeweler Loupe VTVM, VOM, or DVM Needle Nose pliers, in a few sizes (6” and smaller, like jewelers size) Diagonal wire cutter and a wire stripper (Klein 11057 and 11055) Assortment of screwdrivers (Blade, Phillips, Torx, etc) and Allen / Bristol wrenches Rosin-core Solder. START with a variety Kester Pocket Pak®. https://www.nteinc.com/kester/pocket-paks.php. IF you eventually buy a 1 pound reel of solder, the Hakko 611 is a good choice https://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_611.html If not part of your Soldering Station, a Tip Cleaner like the Hakko 599B is useful. https://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_599b.html As you perform more Repairs, Kit Builds, or DIY projects on a wider variety of Equipment (SMT, Antennas, Microphones, traditional Electrical appliances, Mechanical assemblies, Metal / Plastic work, your Skills and Tools will need to expand. Soldering - Necessary Bench Skill for Success IF you have good tools, and are properly instructed, soldering can be easy. However, I have seen enough BAD work (Production & DIY Repairs) to conclude that Many bother to master the skill (and Bad techs propagate their BAD Skills to Novices). Soldering Tutorial on You Tube (Video)
An excellent list. May I also suggest a "helping hands" holder with clips such as this one from Harbor Freight? Then, as you said, "tools will need to expand."
I have accumulated lots of tools but always had test gear available at work for repairing and aligning. Now all I have at home is a HF receiver to hear the signals but no calibrated generators for measuring sensitivity and IF levels. Do have a couple of small Digital multimeters for voltage, current and one measures audio freqs ! Sure limits me and I have no budget for 5 figure $$ test generator/monitors ! !
Considering the toxicity of rosin fumes, a well-ventilated work area would seem to be a prime requisite. 73, Jim EARTH: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT
Radio Shack wants $39.99 for this. I use a block of 4 by 4 redwood, and drill holes where needed. Especially handy for the plug-in coils for my link-coupled antenna tuner. Holes positioned to accommodate the spacing of the banana jacks. 73, Jim EARTH: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT
I picked up an HP-8648c (9 KHz to 3.2 GHz, goes down to like -130 dBm or about 20 pV) for like $650ish. Think I paid about the same have it calibrated. Also, I have found that a CAT FREE ZONE is an absolute must! (We have three, plus a Chiweenie dog.)
in the shack i have a fume extractor fan that is piped into a drier vent ( the kind that has a flap door on it so its closed when the fan is off) through the wall near my solder station it works quite well
Set of non-metallic alignment tools, these are inexpensive. Mouth - I use it to hold solder when a third hand is needed.
Cat on radio bench is a must, he tests my bug and tuning dial when he visits. $650 is more than I paid for any one of my radios in the 60 years on the air (except fot the latest one {IC7300})
Qtips. pipe cleaners. shish-k bob sticks for probing .tool for pushing out contacts in multi-contact plugs, spring hooks or crochet hooks for re hooking dial cord springs etc. pink eraser to clean contacts ,blue 600 grit auto sand paper , lots of 'jumper cables of many wire sizes' , hemo-stats ,
In a relatively small home such as ours, a single room serves multiple purposes. (I sleep in the hamshack, where the electronic diagnosis bench is, also.) Soldering is done in the bathroom, where there's a ventilation fan (while seated on the “throne”). 73, Jim EARTH: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT
Don't forget the cleaning supplies. Good soldering starts with clean components. Beware, Everclear is flammable !.
