Background: I took some 100 and 200-level courses on electronics in college over a decade ago. I still remember some stuff (Ohm’s law, Kirchoff’s law), and I can recognise the basic parts in a circuit diagram.

I am also happy to pick up a beginner friendly text book and go through the theory by myself, if there are any recommendations.

However, I’ve never even held a soldering gun. I am a blank slate when it comes to any practical applications. I get overwhelmed trying to figure out what kit to order on Amazon.

So, is there a course/tutorial you’d recommend for learning the hands on parts of it? I’d prefer as much handholding as possible. Ex – if someone sells all the components to finish the projects in the course that would be the course I pick.

  • Snot FlickermanEnglish
    8·
    3 months ago

    May I suggest the Pinecil, if you’re seeking a soldering iron?

    https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart-mini-portable-soldering-iron/

    The Pinecil is a smart mini portable soldering iron with a 32-bit RISC-V SoC featuring a sleek design, auto standby and it heats up to an operating temperature in just 6 seconds!

    • Dual power input design: 1) USB-C supports both PD and QC 3.0 and; 2) DC5525 barrel DC jack.

    • Speedy Rapid Warmup: Reaches operating temperature in 6 seconds. Support for on-demand rapid boost feature.

    • Adjustable soldering tip temperature which can be set between 100° C and 400° C using the adjustment buttons and an easy-to-read OLED display.

    • Portable: it features a sleek and slim design, comprised of an SAE 304 stainless steel core housed inside a polycarbonate shell.

    • Auto standby mode engages when it is not in use ensuring the user safety.

    • OS: Ralim’s IronOS build

    • Chipset: Bouffalo BL-706

    • CPU: 32-bit RV32IMAFC RISC-V “SiFive E24 Core” @ 144 MHz

    It’s got good support from the manufacturers and is a very versatile little starter gun if you don’t already have one. Also very affordable.

    https://learntosolderkits.com/collections/all

    Some cheap little fun project kits. I started with the jitterbug.

    For deeper info, you might try these Lemmy communities:

    !askelectronics@discuss.tchncs.de

    !electronics@discuss.tchncs.de

    • evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world
      3·
      3 months ago

      I guess maybe it’s been a while since I’ve looked, but that soldering iron seems like a crazy good deal. I’ve been using a crappy iron with a way too stiff cord for the longest time cause I figured it wasn’t worth it for how little I have to solder.

      • Snot FlickermanEnglish
        2·
        3 months ago

        It really is, I love it.

        Having a readout that tells me the exact temp of the tip is fire.