Electronics > Beginners
My purchase list for my new lab -- budget $1000+, thoughts?
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luiHS:
 
Some of my suggestions:


Multitester: much better a bench Multitester, I do not understand why those small portable testers are still used to work at home or in the laboratory, they are very uncomfortable. Small, always occupying a space on the work table that is needed for other things, bothering and overturning easily. The ideal is a bench Multitester, located on a shelf, at a height as close as possible to the eyes.

This is my bench tester, a UNI-T UT804, since I changed my portable tester, for this bench tester, the work is infinitely more comfortable.








Soldering station: The Hakko are fine, but they are expensive, you have good quality alternatives and better prices. This is my Baku 878 L2, a double station, with hot air soldering and fine tip soldering iron. I also have a 100W MLINK S4 for welds that need power.







Electronic components: I use almost everything in SMD, which I buy on reels and when I place them manually on PCBs, I store them in these small boxes, there are several colors and sizes, and they can be assembled between them.

For large components, use plastic boxes. Now that I have bought a Pick and Place Neoden4 machine, I will stop using the boxes for SMD and I will only have reels to load into the machine.














Oscilloscope: Hantek is a good brand and quite cheap. I have this 2x 100Mhz oscilloscope that also includes an 8-channel logic analyzer. Very satisfied with the product.





Power Supply: Nowadays I only use these programmable power supply, they are very cheap, reliable and very versatile. I also have a Chinese variable power supply, but I practically no longer use it.








Shelves : it is important to have everything more or less ordered. I bought these aluminum shelves some time ago, they were very cheap, if I had more free space I would buy another set of shelves of these.






Advanced tools for SMD: As well as everything I design and amount is SMD, I bought a microscope, a Reflow Oven and a Neoden4 Pick and Place machine recently. Also I have a ton of stencils to apply solder paste to PCB.









nanofrog:
Pliers: Skip the Knipex and get them from Schmitz. Better quality and lower cost. My order only took 11 days to arrive.

* 4202HS22 (long snipe nose, serrated; you'll want a pair of these for gripping parts being removed from a PCB for example.
* 4221HS22* (short flat nose pliers, smooth; great for bending leads without nicking them)
* 4231HS22* (smooth round nose; also meant for bending leads)Shipped, all 3 pairs would run ~$94 (used xe.com for currency conversion), and they take PayPal.
* Equivalent to what you linked.

Flush Cutters:
* Erem 670EP (tapered relieved head allows you to get into tight spots). Treat them gently (no steel, so check with a magnet first).
* Erem 612N (more of a general purpose size, more meat in the jaws = you'll be able to cut a bit larger wire gauge).These ^ are typically $120 & $70 respectively. Definitely a bargain, so keep that in mind.

Like the Schmitz, if you take reasonable care, they'll last you decades. Oh, and they can be resharpened by any electronic cutter manufacturer (it's an inexpensive service).

Tweezers:
* 0 SA (these would be a substitute for AA-SA, which is the pattern you linked)
* 5 SA (if you need a really fine tipped pair; particularly useful under a microscope)
* 7 SA (curved tip, more ergonomic IME)The first 2 pair are Italian made and of decent quality (just a bit behind Swiss, which is where the Erem is made). Pricing is excellent on these as well. Typically ~$20 per pair for Italian, and $30+ for Swiss made.

None of these are inexpensive hand tools, but you seem dead set on decent stuff. The above list will get you that at very decent prices.
AnyNameWillDo:
Those are some really nice selections, nanofrog -- definitely picking some of these up as well.
nanofrog:

--- Quote from: AnyNameWillDo on July 23, 2018, 09:54:00 pm ---Those are some really nice selections, nanofrog -- definitely picking some of these up as well.

--- End quote ---
You're welcome.  :)

There's even threads that cover these things in quite a bit of detail if you're interested. It could save you further funds if you dig and have the patience to search eBay. It's also good to help avoid expensive mistakes. Biggest trick IME is finding out who the actual ODM is; this is where Schmitz comes in. Ideal-Tek is another for top quality Swiss made tweezers.

You've not mentioned screwdrivers, but that's covered too.  8)
AnyNameWillDo:

--- Quote from: nanofrog on July 23, 2018, 10:49:05 pm ---Biggest trick IME is finding out who the actual ODM is; this is where Schmitz comes in.

--- End quote ---

I came across this fact as well when I was searching for mentions of Schmitz -- I am surprised they don't come up more often in online discussions compared to Knipex, etc.


--- Quote from: nanofrog on July 23, 2018, 10:49:05 pm ---You've not mentioned screwdrivers, but that's covered too.  8)

--- End quote ---

Those are what I'm looking into now, actually (that and the logic analyzer) before finally pulling the trigger on this big purchase.

Edit: Oh, the Analog Discovery 2 is such an analyzer... now time to compare that to others... found this one: Logic 8 (Red) - Saleae 8-Channel Logic Analyzer: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074Q2H3BF/

Edit: Nvm still need to get a bunch of leads too, oy!
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