Guides/Recommended Tools

Basic Tools

Screwdriver / Bits

• 4mm Loose Bits. Avoid buying their PH or Gamebits. You will also need an 4mm driver handle.

• 4mm Driver Handle. Durable handle for use with 4mm Bits.

• SOONAN 150 in 1 Electronics Tool Kit I've had my set from them for almost 4yrs. Only bit's I've had to replace are ones I lost. This is the upgraded/updated version. -pbanj

Shims

• Plastic Guitar Picks. Used to shim open devices

Tweezers

• MECHANIC Aax-17. Great tweezers.

Soldering

Solder

• MECHANIC HX-T100 Good solder that comes in many sizes. 1mm is a good size to go with.

Irons

• Pinecil v2. Good semi-cheap iron. Shipping for this iron is typically around $25.

• KSGER C210 Soldering Station. Good station, go with set 5. You can make a new account and get the new user price.

Tip Cleaner

• MECHANIC S One Tip Refresher. Great for keeping your tip clean ;).

Flux / Pastes

• MECHANIC SD360 Flux Paste. Good flux, especially for the price.

• MG Chemicals 8341. Decent on corrosion.

• Kaisi K-2208 Extruder. Trigger activated extruder for flux, paste, and soldermask.

Mats

• RF4 Insulated Silicone soldering Mat
• RELIFE RL-170. Nothing fancy, but it is decently thick.

Desoldering

• MG Chemicals SuperWick. Great wick. 25ft will last you a good while.
• MECHANIC R350 Desoldering braid. Another good performing wick. Avoid the smaller sizes like 1mm - 1.5mm, it falls apart.
• MECHANIC R300 Desoldering Braid. Another of their wicks.
• MECHANIC SR20 Desoldering braid. Comes in a nice reusable dispenser.
• ENGINEER Desoldering Pump. It's a decent manual pump that works.

Wire

Some general sizes to keep on hand. 36awg is a good wire for the switch.

• BNTECHGO 28awg Magnet Wire
• BNTECHGO 32awg Magnet Wire
• BNTECHGO 36awg Magnet Wire

Trace Repair

Solder mask

Both are cheap Solder mask and are available in multiple colors.

• MECHANIC Solder Mask
• RELIFE 10ML 3S Quick Dry Solder Mask

UV Light

• MECHANIC L1 Pro UV Light. Rechargeable UV Light, Doesn't support USB PD. This can be fixed by adding 2 5.1k ohm resistors. 1 from cc1 to gnd, and the other from cc2 to gnd. The cc pins are the 2 middle pins.

PCB Heater

• MECHANIC IX5 Preheating Platform. Small but does the job, especially for the price.

Hot Air

• MECHANIC 957DW

Testing Equipment

• Hantek 2D72 Handheld Oscilloscope. Decent handheld Oscilloscope and generator for the price.

Misc

• Device Marking Tape. Doesn't leave residue on the device, and peels off very easily.

• Mechanic High-temp Resistant Polyimide(Kapton) Tape. Really good Kapton tape. Make sure you select "400 35M" for the color.

• Exacto knife. Good for scraping traces and cutting stuff.

Extra Info

From pbanj

The "a.aliexpress" links are from the mobile app. I've found they give people less issues so I've replaced all of them. They're to Good stores and most are the direct product I bought. The ones that aren't the direct ones, are to the item from a store I've bought from. You may notice the Mechanic brand is recommended a lot, and not just by me. This is because they are very open with their patents, and everything that I and others have gotten with the mechanic branding has been great. The few issues are mentioned with the items.