Hello good folks.
I was just browsing ebay/shops for stuff i need to so some repair work and i see that i dont know enough to choose well.
Assume someone just starting out at RC/electronics etc. What tools do you HAVE to have ?
What i have/need at the moment:
1. (have)Soldering station (Tenma 60w)
2. (have/need)Soldering iron tips
At the moment i only have conical that came with it. No chisels yet (some in the post).
3. (need)Flux. I'm looking for something now, as i ran out of kester 951 pens. I consider them wasteful. Any suggestions what to get ? Brush-on ? Syringes ? Gel ? Rosin (have some string rosin).
4. (have/need)Tweezers/picks ? I only got old medical chunky tweezers for serious pulling. Do i need picks ? (i think i do, but just humor me)...
5. (NEED!!!)Desoldering pump. Mine is absolutely useless (doesnt hold vacuum), need to replace it. With what ?
5a. (NEED!!!)Wicking braid. The one i have is useless, its not dense enough and splits a lot. What good braids can be had ?
6. Chemicals. I have and use 99% IPA to clean up. But it kind of leaves the board a bit sticky ? Mixes with no-clean flux and makes a mess ? Acetone ? Acids ? Need advice on this.
7. (have/need)Helping hands / board holders ? I have helping hands, but soldering/desoldering from boards on both sides is a bit of a chore. Need something to hold (bigger) board so i can work on both sides at the same time...
Suggestions ?
8. (need)Lighting/magnification. Not going into SMD sizes here, but to inspect smaller work i may need some help.
9. (have)Work surface ? I use silicone sheet.
10. Multimeter. I have a cheap one, dont trust it 100% but it will do for now as i cant afford a good true rms one (fluke 115 ?).
Any other tools you consider a necessity ?
At the moment i'm looking for a good quality solder sucker, flux, braid and tips for my iron.
I'm from UK, so looking for locally available tools/materials or ebay listings, although this is universal and open ended question...
Care to comment and add ?
Cheers