What (overlooked) cheap (?) but powerful and interesting tools are there?

[r0tati0n]

I am looking for suggestions for interesting tools, that are not high in price but offer very much for it.

e.g.:

• Longrunner Tester TC1: Part tester, simply insert a part and the tester tries to guess what it is, including measurements (LED, resistor, cap, diode, mosfet, ...) - about 25€ on amazon
• nanoVNA: Vector Network Analyzer for antenna, good for home use - about 50€
• TS100: Soldering Iron, open source, 65W, with mod/USB PowerZ mobile soldering by QC Powerbank at 18W - about 70€ + 50€ PowerZ
• PowerZ: USB Tester and QC Injector: 5V-9V-12V-18V, I could run my Netgear Router from a Powerbank with it - about 50€
• HackRF: TX/RX SDR - about 300€ or 100€ clone
• Proxmark3: RFID card reader - about 120€

Do you have other suggestions for some overlooked tools, that offer quite a lot for the buck, are made well, could be extremely handy, for home use (not thousands/hundreds of €)?

[ataradov]

From recent finds, I'm very happy with this signal generator from UNI-T https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/uni-t-utg932utg962-200msas-function-arbitrary-waveform-generator-220394/

[exe]

My list of favorite equipment. Not always cheap, but good value for money.

1) Analog discovery 2, oscilloscope, sig gen, etc. Can't recommend it enough. Unique feature: fully differential inputs (unless using BNC adapter). Very compact, I love it. Hope they will upgrade it one day, but even the way it is now it covers 99% of my needs. Price around $230-300, there are older version that can be bought for much cheaper.

2) modular power supply: https://www.crowdsupply.com/envox/eez-bb3 . Not exactly cheap, but seems to be a very good value. Supports scripting with Python, remote control, etc. ~$650 . Claimed to be fully open source, open hardware.

3) Cheap DMMs from aneg, like AN8002 and AN8008. Very cool small devices. Not recommended for mains work, but fast, precise and convenient. I paid less than $20 delivered. To me it's a benchmark for usability.

4) for soldering I use ksger and t12 tips. Don't remember why I prefer it over ts80/ts100. Probably, because ts100 doesn't have a tip for wave soldering. Isolation between primary and secondary is poor, as well some other troubles, but can be modded.

5) DSO138 as good DIY kit, can also serve as very entry level oscilloscope if budget is very limited.

6) I also like 3d printers, but mine, while good (prusa mk3) is not exactly cheap. However, comparing to a Chinese 3d printer I had (cr-10) the quality is day and night. They also have this one for people on budget: https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/66-original-prusa-mini . I haven't tried it, but it's worth considering if build volume is enough.

[coppercone2]

anything related to fabrication if you get serious about it

your prototype quality will go up by alot

[don.r]

BG7TBL FA-2 Counter? https://www.eevblog.com/forum/metrology/bg7tbl-fa1-frequency-analyzer/

[reboots]

The Mastech MS8910 smart tweezers work as advertised, and are worth every penny for dealing with SMT discretes among many other uses. The tips are slightly crude; they don't substitute for mechanical tweezers. But the few comparable products out there (e.g. Smart Tweezers brand) are an order of magnitude more expensive.

USA: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00F3RQCFW
Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B071Y6CTS1

My favorite "accidental" feature: the slight voltage applied by the diode check function is enough to excite most LEDs. It's a fast way to find the polarity of 0603 chip LEDs.

[NiHaoMike]

FX2 logic analyzer, at $6 or so, is an absolute bargain for digital debugging and the memory depth is only limited by the PC it's connected to. (Would like to see that being done with the FX3 but the much cheaper FX2 covers most hobbyist applications already.)