Hi all. I'm a 55 year old who has had to effectively retire due to long term (but not terminal) health issues, meaning I'm unlikely to ever work again. Thankfully our mortgage is paid off, we owe zero on credit cards/loans and my lovely wife works, so while we aren't rolling in money, we are not broke either.
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Have been interested in electronics since an early age, I used to go to our local Tandy shop and buy kits to solder as a young kid (probably about 10+ years old) and had one of those 160 in one (or was it 200) electronic kits with the springs to connect wires to, this was in a nice wooden box.
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Then I got into computers, got a Vic 20 followed by a C64. Luckily for me, one of my best friends from school was very very knowledgeable in programming (he ended up co writing Populous and Dungeon Master), at the time he was a computer operator for an oil exploration company, he got me a job there as a trainee, he also taught me how to program my C64 in 6502 assembly (OK it's a 6510, but that's based on 6502), and there followed a career in IT.
I've never gone away from electronics though, I'm very mechanically minded in general, whether it's replacing a bearing on my extractor fan, or whether it's the washer dryer not working and being told it's about £200 for a replacement main board, and me simply going over various solder joints on it, and fixing it for £0 (that was 3 years ago, still working).
Where I lack knowledge is in maths. I'm OK at maths until you introduce algebra and calculus (was never taught it at school). I'm slowly going through a couple of courses, I'm beginning to take it in, but unless I'm using it all the time, I don't think it will stick properly (part of my health issues is that when I try to take in new information, on some days, not all, I get a fuzzy brain fog that tires me out).
Wow! Your story sounds very much like my own, other than that I'm younger, and thus can't possibly retire now. I also have enjoyed electronics for as long as I can remember, though in my teens I drifted more into computers (though not programming), and that became my career. Repetitive strain injury forced me to leave IT, and I've been out of work for a few years now. During that time, I rediscovered electronics, built up a nice little lab, and have learned a ton. If all goes well, next school year I'll start turning this hobby into a new career.
I have the following at the moment (most still in their boxes, waiting for xmas to be over before I take over the big table, others I've had a while):
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Nice setup!! I still need to get a signal generator, that's the one thing I really don't have yet. Well, maybe an electronic load.
You will definitely need more than one multimeter (it's not uncommon to need 4 at once, to measure both current and voltage on both an input and an output). But as long as it's not being used on mains AC, you can use cheapies. The Aneng AN8009 is a superb value for this.
Another thing to consider is a bench multimeter (by which I mean a modern real one from Keysight, Keithley, Tek/Fluke, Rohde & Schwarz, BK Precision, etc., but not from a cheapie brand like Uni-T or Aneng, who simply put the guts of a handheld meter into a bench case). The reason is speed: my Keithley 2015 (for example) gets a stable reading faster than almost any handheld meter can even finish autoranging. This is more helpful than one might initially realize, as it can let you work faster, as well as see transient changes a bit better. You can get used bench meters at reasonable prices, which is how I got mine. The other advantage to bench meters is that they are just there, ready to use all the time, without consuming bench area. You can't stack handheld meters.

Then components:
1000pcs 5mm red/green/blue/yellow/while LED kit
70pcs L7805 - LM317 transistor kit voltage regulator
1000 pcs 50 values Ceramic Capacitor kit
0805 resistor sample book
Resistor kit (through hole)
900Pcs 18 Kinds Of Transistor A1015-2N5551 NPN PNP Power General Purpose Transistors Assortment Kit
I could have bought loads more component kits, but I stopped buying any more after reading this forum about having tons of stuff you never use. I would like to have some common electrolytic capacitors, but the kits all have cheap brands, I would rather know what to buy and get them from say RS and buy the likes of Panasonic? (probably be cheaper too)
In my personal experience rediscovering it as a hobby: eBay through-hole resistors suck. Though I've had no trouble with the accuracy of the resistors in the assortment I got, the thin leads on the eBay resistors are maddening to work with. They are fine for soldering into boards, but much too thin to put into breadboards. Since name-brand resistors with proper leads are still dirt cheap, go with them instead. You don't need a gazillion values. In my experience, the vast majority of circuits end up needing just the following values:
- 10 R
- 100, 220, 330, 470 R
- 1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.7, 6.8 K
- 10, 47, 68 K
- 100 K
with the 100R-10K and 100K probably making up the lion's share. When breadboarding, you can easily use combinations of these to approximate any oddball values you may need (and frankly, it often doesn't matter). So just get a bunch of these values, especially the 1K and 10K, plus a couple each of 1R, 47R, and 1M.
On the other hand, with electrolytics, they can get expensive quickly. So I use cheap ones for experimenting, and then use quality ones when actually building the circuit. In my case, I've found I use 1, 10 and 100 μF by far the most, so I'd suggest ordering a bunch of those from eBay, as well as few good quality ones from a real vendor if you spontaneously decide to build a permanent circuit.
I'd recommend buying a few of the following (just get them from a reputable vendor since you don't need many):
- ~10x rectifier diodes (1N400
x)
- ~10x signal diodes (1N4148)
- ~4x Schottky diodes (1N581
x)
- 1 each of a few different value zener diodes (just to test how they work)
You might want to get some rectangular LEDs (I recommend the 2x3x4mm ones) and prepare them as breadboard indicators by soldering a resistor inline. Those LEDs are thin enough to be able to line up on adjacent breadboard rows (2.54mm pitch), whereas regular 3 or 5mm LEDs are simply too big.
Note that historically, one has used somewhere in the ballpark of 330R to light an LED at around 20mA on a 5V line. But modern LEDs (especially blue, white, red and green) are so freaking bright that a 330R results in them being blinding when used as indicators. For modern LEDs as indicators, I use a 6.8K resistor to run the LED at around 0.3mA.
Finally, what I don't see on your list at all is MOSFETs. I find these easier to work with than BJTs in many cases. I suggest getting some logic-level n-channel MOSFETs like something in the IRLZ series, for example the IRLZ44N. (Twist the end of the leads 90˚ using flat pliers so that they won't damage the breadboard when inserted!)
Then comes the other bits:
I have tons of screwdrivers, including miniature sets etc.
Decent wire cutters, pliers, side cutters etc.
Silicon solder mat
Box of 6 different colour hook up wire spools
40 piece, 6 size double sided prototype boards
6 rolls (0.4 to 2cm width) high temp tape (for masking when doing smd work etc)
Isopropanol 99%
Two different sorts of circuit board holders
Soldering flux 50ml no clean RF800
Bread board and mounting kit (3 bread boards mounted on board with binding posts)
Another breadboard and jumper wire kit
1.5mm and 0.8mm desolder braid
desoldering pump
Tweezers. Absolutely essential for working with SMD, but also handy for all manner of other tasks. Invest in a top quality brand -- cheapies work OK, but the imprecisely ground tips just wobble around more. I happen to have a Wiha one and I'm thoroughly pleased with it.
If you haven't already, invest in a pair of top quality
forged diagonal cutters, like Knipex 77 or 79 series, or Erem, and never, ever let them near anything but copper wire, solder, and soft plastic, so as to maintain their edge. They will reward you with effortless cutting. Try to get a pair with the wire retainer that keeps the snippings from flying across the room. (Regular stamped cutters, even from top brands, aren't quite as precise, and take a bit more effort. Additionally, those struggle with non-wire items like heat shrink tubing, whereas the forged ones will cut those neatly.)
Especially if using a silicone mat, be sure to get an antistatic wrist strap. But I'd recommend getting a proper ESD mat instead. They're not expensive, and reduce the risk of damaging anything.
Get a gel flux, as it's very handy for tacking down SMD components like resistors until you solder them down.
Regarding solder wick: no brand I have ever tried (and I've tried many) even comes close to the MG Chemicals wicks. They have a much finer braid than the others, which just works awesome. And it's not even that expensive! See my old post with pix at:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/desoldering-advice-please-removing-dip-ic_s-without-damage/msg833426/#msg833426Get some silicone tubing, the smallest diameter that will fit onto the tip of your desoldering pump, and cut a length such that it extends 3-5mm beyond the hard tip. Lets you get closer to the joint to suck it away.
OK, I know I'm asking how long a piece of string is, and I know this is a long post. But is anything glaring obvious that I've forgotten about please?
Test leads?
More and more, I've been making my own, so I can optimize them for the things I really do. Since I experiment on breadboards a lot, I've made a bunch of banana-to-male pin cables that plug right into the breadboard. I use pins intended for connectors, as they're a bit more sturdy, and have nicely bulleted points that go in easily. Just make sure the pins do not exceed 0.8mm diameter (not cross-section) so as to not damage the breadboard. The pins I attach to thin (~24AWG) silicone test lead wire and then to banana plugs, using heat shrink to insulate the pin "handles" and create strain relief on the banana end, since banana plugs are all designed for much thicker wire. (Test leads like that are nearly impossible to buy.) I also have a few female pin header to banana cables, for attaching to headers on eBay modules and the like.
The other thing I use a lot are mini-grabber to banana and mini-grabber to mini-grabber leads. These are easy to buy, so I don't bother DIYing them.
What I do suggest is buying a couple of pairs of high-quality screw-terminal banana plugs that are easy and non-destructive to disassemble (I highly suggest Pomona 1825 for this). Use them with any old stranded wire to make custom cables as you go, and then take them apart when finished. From doing that for a while, it will emerge which test lead configurations and lengths you use over and over, and then you can buy or make permanent versions of those using proper silicone test lead wire and soldered banana plugs. (For this, I like the Stäubli SLS4-B plugs, since they are so compact and versatile, but you may find them difficult to procure outside of Europe.)
What I practically never use is alligator clips. So maybe have one pair of alligator to banana cables.
The other big thing I don't see on your list is anything Arduino. That's a great way to get started with microcontrollers, which nowadays are an inescapable core competency in electronics. (You, being an experienced programmer, will have a leg up in this!) There are some great Arduino kits on eBay that come with dozens of sensors, displays, and other doohickeys, knick-knacks, and gewgaws. Those are awesome for learning how to interface with real-world peripheral devices, as well as the pitfalls and limitations of the Arduino ecosystem (and why you might eventually leave it for a more "grown up" development environment).
I started with an Arduino Mega2560 kit, then got an Arduino Uno, and since then, a bunch of Arduino nano boards, and now I'm beginning to use the bare Atmega microcontrollers. (You'll likely end up wanting more than one Arduino, since it's likely you'll end up with multiple projects in parallel, and switching the same Arduino between projects over and over just gets tedious, in addition to requiring you to be very careful to reprogram it
before moving it back into another circuit, lest you feed errant signals into your circuit!)
Finally we come to solder:
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So I resorted to ebay, and ordered the following.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1MM-Tin-Lead-Flux-Solder-Welding-Iron-Line-Reel-Rosin-Core-Solder-Wire-PB37-SN63/254362182056?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=553927018746&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
and bought it in both 0.4 and 0.5mm sizes.
As I'm unsure about the quality of ebay stuff, I also tried buying Multicore 0.5mm 60 / 40 solder from CPC (part of Farnell) at the same time. They happily sold it to me 
I want to make sure the solder I have is usable.
The eBay stuff is highly likely to be unusable junk.
Multicore/Loctite/Stannol (it's all the same company, Henkel) is a great brand, and you'll be very happy with the 60/40. The difference between 63/37 and 60/40 is minuscule, and while I do prefer the former if given the choice, I'd choose a name-brand 60/40 over eBay chinesium 63/37 any day.
My daily driver solder is Kester 63/37 in 0.8mm with rosin core ("44" flux). (I'm not sure if I can have it sent to Switzerland any more, due to the same REACH directive, though. Worst case, I'll get it on a visit to USA.

) Henkel doesn't make 63/37 any more, but they still do 60/40 and that's a perfectly fine choice if it's easier to get than Kester 63/37.
Little tip: if, like me, you only rarely need thick solder, don't buy any. Instead, on the rare cases you need it, just take 2 or more strands of your thin solder and twist them into a rope, which will work every bit as well.
After reading this thread, https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/solder-choice-aim-sn62pb36ag2-vs-mg-chemicals-6337-no-clean-leaded-solder/msg2834530/#msg2834530
I see on Farnell's UK site (not on CPC) they have Kester solder
https://uk.farnell.com/kester-solder/24-6337-8806/solder-63-37-0-4mm/dp/1610447?st=63%2037%20solder which is £58.66 once VAT is added.
I obviously don't want to throw money away, on the other hand, I don't want to be soldering with sub par solder. If it is better than the CPC stuff, it will last me ages and I will buy it, if it's no better, then I wont 
Kester and Multicore are of equivalent quality (as in, they're the Rolls-Royces of solder). You'll be equally delighted with either, so absolutely no reason to replace the Multicore with Kester.
That seems like a quite high price for the Kester, by the way. I think it's a lot less on Digi-Key, and even less on Amazon.
I also ended up buying the following solder paste off ebay, same question, is it any good, or should I buy something better please?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MECHANIC-XGS40-Special-Liquid-Soldering-Solder-Paste-158-SN63-Pb37-SMD-BGA/163143695978?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=462308678084&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Try it out and see how it performs. If it doesn't produce good results, chuck it and order a tube of MG Chemicals solder paste from Amazon.com.