Best products from r/diypedals
We found 64 comments on r/diypedals discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 239 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.
1. Aven 17010 Adjustable Circuit Board Holder
- Ideal for clamping PCB, for soldering/desoldering or rework
- Retractable to accommodate various board sizes up to 198mm wide and up to 4mm thick
- Clamps allow PCB to rotate 360 degrees
- Rigid metal structure
- Rubber feet of the base ensure stability
- ESD Safe
Features:
2. Weller WLC100 40-Watt Soldering Station
- High performance analog soldering station produces up to 900° F to handle many soldering projects
- Variable power control dial adjusts power from 5 watts to 40 watts for accuracy
- Quality, lightweight pencil iron with cushioned foam grip provides extended comfort during long term soldering projects
- Includes: a Weller certified ST3 iron plated tip for long life and consistent performance, a built in soldering holder to safely rest your pencil, and a cleaning sponge to remove unwanted residue from soldering for next time use
- UL Listed: Tested and meets independent safety standards
Features:
3. Hakko 599B-02 Wire-type soldering iron tip cleaner
- Cleans better than conventional sponges
- No water required
- Will not reduce the tip temperature
- Does not cause premature wear of soldering iron tips
- No contamination risk compared to conventional tip tinners
Features:
4. Joe Knows Electronics 1/4W 1% 86 Value 860 Piece Resistor Kit
- 1/4W 1% Tolerance Metal Film Resistors.
- 10 each of 86 standard E12 values from 0 ohm to 10M ohm.
- High quality extra thick copper lead wires.
- Each ohm value individually packaged and neatly labeled for easy organization.
- Sorted by ohm value. Find each ohm value quickly without reading color bands.
Features:
5. 63 pcs A B C, Logarithmic, Linear, Reverse Log. 1K, 5K, 10K, 20K, 50K, 100K, 250K, 500K, 1M Potentiometer Pot Assortment
- 63 pcs Potentiometer Assortment, contains type 'A' logarithmic taper, 'B' linear taper and 'C' reverse logarithmic taper
- Includes 1K, 5K, 10K, 20K, 50K, 100K, 250K, 500K, 1M, B type comes 3 pcs each, A and C type each 2 pcs
- 3 pins, Power: 0.2W, Axis Diameter: 6,3mm (0.24 inch), Axis Length 16mm (0.6 inch), Axis without Thread 8mm (0.3 inch), horizontal terminals, knurled split shafts
- Nuts and Washers are included, 10-15 black knobs come as a bonus
- Each type comes accordingly sorted in a labeled recyclable PP plastic box
Features:
6. ShineNow Quality T18 Soldering Tip Set 6pcs Replacement for Hakko FX-888D FX-888 FX8801 FX-600 T18 with A Tip Holder (6pcs with a tip holder)
- For use with FX-888D,FX-888,FX-8801 FX600 HAKKO tools
- Comes in different sizes and shapes,can work almost any soldering applications
- Come with a solid metal tip holder,hold max.10 tips,make it easy to pick and change tips
- Great heat conduction,heats up in seconds
- 6 monthes money back warranty,if there is any quality problem,contact us we will assist you immediatly
Features:
7. Bleiou 11pcs Replacement T18 Soldering Iron Tips for HAKKO FX-888D FX-888 FX-8801 FX-600
- Quality Replacement tips to fit FX-888D FX-888 FX-8801 FX-600
- 11 diffrent sizes and shapes.
- The tips included in this set are: T18-BL, T18-B, T18-BR02, T18-D16, T18-D24, T18-C1, T18-S3, T18-I, T18-C3, T18-C4, T18-K,
- High-quality,made of copper.Advanced production process.not easily oxidized.
- Not 900M-t tips
Features:
8. Duck Brand Reusable and Removable Poster Putty for Mounting, 2 oz, White (1436912)
Removable and reusables, drawings and decorations up to 1 lb.Safe, easy alternative to nails, glues or staplesAdheres to most clean, dry porous and non-porous surfaces like: wood, tile, linoleum, cinder block, brick, metal, plastic, porcelain, mirrors or glassNot recommended for use on flocked or lo...
9. Akro-Mils 44 Drawer 10144REDBLK, Plastic Parts Storage Hardware and Craft Cabinet, (20-Inch W x 6-Inch D x 16-Inch H), Red & Black, (1-Pack)
CABINET DIMENSIONS- 20-Inch x 6-3/8 Inch x 10-1/4 Inch, DRAWER DIMENSIONS- 6-Inch x 2-1/4 Inch x 1-5/8 Inch (small drawer), 6-Inch x 4-1/2-Inch x 2-3/16-Inch (large drawer)HIGH QUALITY- Rugged, high-impact polystyrene plastic frame and 44 drawersGREAT FOR– Storing and organizing classroom or offic...
10. Breadboard Solderless With Jumper Cables– ALLDE BJ-021 2Pc 400 Pin and 2pcs 830 Pin Prototype PCB Board and 3Pc Dupont Jumper Wires (Male-Female, Female-Female, Male-Male) for Raspberry Pi and Arduino
- ✔️Jumper wires with 400 Pin and 830 Pin breadboards are convenient for the prototypes and circuit design experiment
- ✔️Package: 2 x 400 and 2 x 830 Pin Breadboards and 3Pc Jumper wires (1 x 40-pin male-female jumper wire, 1 x 40-pin male-male jumper wire, 1 x 40-pin female-female jumper wire)
- ✔️The Jumper wires are made of high-grade copper wire material for safe and durable to use
- ✔️The breadboard is made of ABS plastic, each row and columns has corresponding letters and numbers, reduce the mistake handling
- ✔️Suitable for Arduino breadboard kit project, PCB project, pc motherboard, etc.
Features:
11. AUSTOR 560 Pieces Jumper Wire Kit 14 Lengths Assorted Preformed Breadboard Jumper Wire with Free Box
Parameters: U shape, 24 AWG, male to male, wire length 2 mm, 5 mm, 7 mm, 10 mm, 12 mm, 15 mm, 17 mm, 20 mm, 22 mm, 25 mm, 50 mm, 75 mm, 100 mm, 125 mmWide applications: designed to work well with any breadboards or anywhere jumper wires are needed, perfect for breadboard projectsEasy to use: all the...
12. Designing Audio Effect Plug-Ins in C++: With Digital Audio Signal Processing Theory
- Focal Press
Features:
13. Kester 24-6337-0027 Solder Roll, Core Size 66, 63/37 Alloy, 0.031" Diameter
- Country Of Origin: China
- Model Number: 24-6337-0027
- Item Package Dimension: 2.49999999745" L x 2.299999997654" W x 2.299999997654" H
- Item Package Weight: 1.0405 lb
Features:
14. Switchcraft Type 12A (Pack of 4) Stereo 2-Conductor Input Jack, 1/4", Double Open Circuit, Made in USA
Made in USAPack of 4 Original Switchcraft ( Type 12A)standard ¼" plugs and is available with 0.25" insidediameter bushingMono 2-Conductor, Open Circuit
15. Aodesy 10Pack 4 Ways Push Release Connector Stereo Speaker Terminal Strip Block
- 10Pcs 4 Ways Speaker Terminal in a Pack; Type: Push Release Type
- Speaker terminal connector board have 4 Pins Terminals, 2 Red, 2 Black, 4 Positions, Spring Load Design, Push Type, Speaker Terminal.
- Material: Plastic, Metal; Main Color: Black, Red; Power : AC 50V 3A; Mounted Hole Diameter : 3.5mm/ 0.1"
- This spring loaded terminals ensure a solid connection and make wire hookups a Put.
- Specilized design to your custom speakers or speaker upgrades for speaker cable connecting.
Features:
16. Jmkcoz 1120PCS 1/4W Resistor Kit 56 Values Each Value 20pcs (1ohm-10Mohm) Metal Film Resistors Assortment
Material: MetalPackage include 1120 Pieces (56 Values, Each value 20pcs)High precision and stabilityEach one has label of different value, you can assort them easilyResistors: 1ohm to 10Mohm
17. SE Helping Hand with Magnifying Glass - MZ101B
- Built-in magnifying glass (4x) aids in minute detail work
- 12 diopter
- 2 alligator clips on 4-way swivels—holds items securely (leaving hands free)
- Heavy-duty base for stability
- Great for electricians, hobbyists, jewelers, and users who work with solder or small details
Features:
18. Joe Knows Electronics 33 Value 645 Piece Capacitor Kit
- 33 of the most common capacitance values from 4.7pF to 470uF
- 15 each of 23 values and 30 each of the 10 most common values.
- High quality 50V ceramic disc, multilayer ceramic and aluminum electrolytic capacitors.
- Each capacitance value neatly labeled in a heavy duty ziplock bag for easy ongoing organization.
- Manufactured by Joe Knows, Inc.
Features:
19. Akro-Mils 64 Drawer 10164, Plastic Parts Storage Hardware and Craft Cabinet, (20-Inch W x 6-Inch D x 16-Inch H), Black (1-Pack)
- CABINET DIMENSIONS- 20-Inch x 6-3/8-Inch x 15-13/16-Inch, Small Drawer Size-6 x 2-7/32 x 1-9/16 inches
- HIGH QUALITY- Rugged, high-impact polystyrene plastic frame and 64 drawers
- GREAT FOR– Storing and organizing classroom or office supplies, crafts, beads or sewing supplies, hardware, lego and small toy storage, fishing gear and more
- STACK OR WALL MOUNT- Cabinets stack securely and can also be wall mounted using keyhole slots molded into the back of the cabinet
- DIVIDABLE DRAWERS- 8 drawer dividers included and come molded into the back of the cabinet, finger-grip drawer pulls provide easy access and rear stop tabs prevent contents from spilling
Features:
20. Neiko 01924A 3-in-1 Automatic Wire Stripper, Cutter and Crimping Tool, Self-Adjusting
Innovative wire stripper with self-adjusting mechanism is ideal for copper and aluminum cables from 10-24 AWGSpecially designed and precisely machined teeth grabs, holds, pulls and removes outer jacket in a simple one-handed motion.Thumb wheel micro-adjusts jaw tension and clearance for perfect stri...
Seconded, also consider this kind of thing: https://www.amazon.com/Aven-17010-Adjustable-Circuit-Holder/dp/B00Q2TTQEE/ - it's invaluable for PCBs. Just populate from one side, add something to hold stuff in place (like gaffa tape, or bend one lead, or clip on a sheet of paper, etc), turn over the PCB and start soldering away. I wouldn't want to miss mine.
Any soldering iron 40+W where you can regulate the temperature should do, I own a nice station but when I don't feel like breaking it out because it'd take longer to set it up than to do the job I use something like this: https://www.amazon.com/ANBES-Soldering-Iron-Kit-Electronics/dp/B06XZ31W3M/ set to 350°C. Just make sure to clean and tin your tip regularly and it will do the trick just fine Oh, but ditch the solder and get a few spools of good rosin core solder of different gauges, it's not expensive but worth it. In my experience, the solder that comes with kits like that mostly works as a deterrent.
If you're not planning on buying all-included kits also get a few spools of stranded core wire of different colors. You could use solid core wires but those tend to break if they're getting bended from movement without showing it. With stranded core some strands may break but as others don't they'll continue to work. Invisibly broken wires (i.e.) inside the isolation) are a *beeeeep* to debug.
Also, a set of tweezers are great to have, especially the kind that holds stuff together per default, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Curved-Tweezers-Cross-Jewelers-Soldering/dp/B000OVPG9A/ (only an example, I'd get a tweezers set that contains one like that).
In my experience a tool set like this one is great to have: https://www.amazon.com/Haobase-6Pieces-Double-sided-Soldering-Assist/dp/B01DLX6V3C/ - especially the bending tool is great to have, as it allows eg to bend the leads of a LED without running the risk of breaking the LED itself. It's also great in order to clean up mistakes, helps with desoldering and such
Speaking of desoldering: desoldering braid is a must. A desoldering pump can be useful, too. And yes, practice soldering and desoldering until you can do both without destroying anything.
If you're not going to buy pre-drilled enclosures then you very likely want a) a center punch and b) stepping drill bits. Those let you drill holes in all kinds of sizes without having to buy lots of drills.
Last but not least a wire cutter is a must
Welcome!
Take this with a grain of salt because, I still don't really know what I'm doing (although I'm not sure anyone feels like they ever do); but, here's my experience.
For recommendations - skip to the -------------- Bottom Line ------------------ below
My first project was this little breadboard prototyping pedal box thingy I made out of stuff I bought at RadioShack (before all the stores closed):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ5ws-Y9OPQ
There are much better ways to do this and I regret my potentiometer selections for this box but, I was really green and the Shack didn't have board mounted pots (I don't even think I knew there was such a thing at that point).
But, on that box, I built circuits that I found online and I was instantly hooked.
Fast forward many "wasted" hours and here's where I am:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGNmA1YM3n8
Hah! - still building distortion boxes :P - well - and this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPrLFpkO9no&feature=youtu.be&t=48
----------------------------------------------------- Bottom Line -----------------------------------------------------
After all that here are the things I can suggest you stock up on (and I would bet you can find cheaper versions of any of these - but what's in them is what matters):
For IC's:
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/op-amp-ic-kit/
For Potentiometers:
https://www.amazon.com/Logarithmic-Linear-Reverse-Potentiometer-Assortment/dp/B07SVMC3VK
Then you'll want a grab bag of diodes and transistors - look at different schematics of fuzz and distortion pedals and get an idea of what they're using - I just bought a bunch at RadioShack and some I got from Mammoth (also now defunct) and Small Bear (still rolling). I have em in a box and I swap em out on the breadboard to see how it changes the sound. That's the best part to me. When I'm on a breadboard - if I replace this guy with that guy how does the sound change? Definitely not the intelligent way but I enjoy that pseudo-creative process.
Finally - you should get some resistor and capacitor kits. My wife got me kits from amazon that have a label "JoeKnows Electronics" on the boxes. I haven't come across anything I've wanted for that wasn't in those two boxes.
Oh - as an added bonus:
https://www.harborfreight.com/toolbox-organizer-with-4-drawers-68238.html
This is my favorite storage box - find you a super coupon and grab one or two of these.
Anyway -
My sincerest congratulations and my deepest condolences for the path on which you are about to embark.
Given that this is your first build, I'm wondering whether maybe you're still getting the right tools?
I use this soldering iron from BYOC. It's cheaper than an equivalent Weller, but still works well for me. I previously had a Radio Shack one with a less finely-pointed tip, which was frustrating to use. I also use a circuit board holder from Amazon that makes it easy to put a component in on one side, bend the leads a little to hold it in place, then rotate the board to the other side so I can solder it. I place, solder, and clip the leads for one component at a time. I've tried following some YouTube videos that put in a bunch, tape them down, and then solder through the forest of exposed leads, but that ended up messier than I would have liked.
I'm not sure what you mean about soldering from both sides. Looking at the project doc, it seems to me like all the components (other than the switch and pots) go on the same side. Is it about placing components on one side and soldering on the other?
For an IC socket, I follow these steps:
Given that the Helios has board-mounted pots, you might also find the instructions below (from BYOC) helpful: https://imgur.com/a/6FLzV
I'm not sure what level you're at and I'm beginner myself so I'll just go over the stuff I've been doing. Maybe this stuff is super obvious.
> an incomprehensible jumble of jumper wires
If you're not using them already, the pre-cut and pre-bent wires are awesome for keeping things tidy (eg these).
> tightly packed components
Have multiple breadboards - they're like $3-5 at Tayda. The ones that clip together are handy. Having extra real estate to spread things out is invaluable. Although having long jumper wires can introduce more oscillations and noise once you've got things working you can always make things a bit more compact.
Use the buses - the outer two rows that run the length of the board for your power and ground. Use the columns of 5 for your signal path. This way you can just run jumpers up and down for your power/ground. Or if, for example, you have a resistor going to ground you can just connect it directly to the ground bus.
If you use a certain bit of circuitry in a lot of your builds consider making it on veroboard and having it off-board. I've built standard power filtering and reverse polarity protection on vero. You could do the same with something like a voltage doubler or inverter if you're always reusing them. Although it's only a few components it's a bit less on your breadboard and saves you redoing the same thing every time you BB up a circuit.
Try and lay out things as close as they look on the schematic as possible. Ground at the bottom, voltage from the top, signal running left to right. And if you can, down to the individual components. This can be hard sometimes, especially when dealing with transistors/3+ pin devices.
If you've got an old enclosure or something lying around where you can setup your off-board stuff to keep them all tidy makes things easier too. This guide from the Beavis Audio website is a good example. There's a few layout tips in that PDF also. There's also some sample layouts that might be worth a look over for some examples on how to layout certain circuit elements.
Not necessarily related to layout but a few other things I've found:
Test constantly - audio probe and DMM/voltmeter. Grab one of those little pocket battery amps (eg this one for $20) to have on your bench if testing with your real amp is a PITA.
I keep a printed copy of the resistor colour codes on the wall in front of my bench, makes it easy to glance up and check because yeah no way I'm memorising those any time soon.
Draw the pinouts for any ICs/transistors/things with more than two pins on your schematic for quick reference.
Have a decent understanding of the circuit first and how the stages work. I like to redraw stuff in KiCad/Eagle - forces me to learn what connects where. It's a lot easier when you can look at your board and go 'oh I'm missing a resistor that should be connected to the drain' (or whatever) without having to reference your schematic for everything.
I've also found I've been more successful when I'm putting things together to say in my head "signal goes through 68k resistor to gate", "1M resistor connects from gate to ground", "220p cap from gate to ground" etc etc, rather than just going "this thing connects to that". Helps you understand the circuit better and will make you then ask yourself things like "which pin on this component is the gate?".
Like I said, I'm still learning, so if I've said anything blatantly wrong feel free to call me out, always up for getting better.
It depends on the component. Resistors and caps usually either work or not, and even really cheap sets tend to be within rated tolerances. I just buy the cheapest sets of those that have the values I want.
Transistors and ICs will depend on what you're getting. Common and still produced values are cheap and easy to get. Again, just buy whatever's cheap and gets you what you need. Watch out for fakes or seconds when buying out-of-production parts like 308s or 3007s. Best to get those from reputable places (smallbear, Mammoth, etc), because they're expensive and it's easy to get burned. I'd really look at the values you're getting when ordering ICs and possibly transistors in bulk. Those parts are usually really specific to a build and buying a lot of values might leave you with a bunch of unused parts.
The Joe Knows sets are good, if a little expensive. They tend to be well sorted, which is nice, but not something I'm willing to pay more for. Like this set of resistors is going to be just as good and is significantly cheaper than the equivalent Joe Knows set. There's certainly nothing wrong with the Joe Knows stuff though - if it has the values you need at the right price, go for it.
You can also score some great bulk deals on ebay and alibaba, but you'll be stuck waiting for overseas shipping a lot of the time. I'd go Amazon for an initial order and then shop around when you refill.
Late to the party, but this is my current project. Disclaimer - I'm a software engineer, I specialize in audio DSP and have worked on these things for several years.
First off - this is not a beginner project either for pedal building or programming. If you want to learn some theory I highly recommend you start with a plugin, and read/work through this textbook (I took four courses with the author, dude is a guru), and once you're done read through this, this, and this if you're up to it. Furthermore there are the musicdsp.org archives, the site goes down like halfway through the month but it's an old mailing list with hearty code resources once you know what you're looking for.
Further reading:
The quintessential Zolzer text, engineering heavy
And the second quintessential text, edited by Zolzer. Less engineering heavy.
The Pirkle book will get you started, and he has a great platform for testing your code, the Dattorro papers are some of the most heavily cited and best resource for advanced effects, and the Zolzer texts are a little math-y but if you've done your homework they are the perfect reference for any audio effect you might want, or the smaller systems to build a new one.
If you have an undergrad engineering background I can suggest more texts for you that are less relevant to audio. But that should get you started. I've also done more than a little research into platforms for DIY digital pedals, and what I settled on for the least headache was a teensy 3.6 + audio board (I'm building my next pedal on that, but I'll make a Medium post about it when it's done). I didn't want to use the FV-1 for a lot of reasons, and the Axloti is about 3x more expensive than it should be for what it offers.
That should work, but it's awfully expensive. You don't have to buy Hakko brand, it just has to be the right diameter. I'm pretty sure you want T18 tips for your iron. I'm a Weller guy, but I get my tips from uxcell, and they've been rock solid at about $2/tip. Amazon lists the material, you really want the copper ones. The iron ones are electroplated, but tend to wear out after <100 hours of use and if you leave it on while you think, you'll come back to a totally corroded tip. I've not had that trouble with copper.
I'd go with something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Bleiou-Replacement-Soldering-FX-888D-FX-8801/dp/B07GBVW695/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=T18+copper&qid=1565204293&s=gateway&sr=8-1
or this: https://www.amazon.com/ShineNow-Quality-Soldering-Replacement-FX-888D/dp/B07TY35M2M/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=T18+copper&qid=1565204516&s=gateway&sr=8-10 to find out which type of tip I like best if I were you
I'm still pretty new to this myself, but like you I have some electronics experience in the past. I just got this Weller 40w iron station with a desolder braid/sucker and a solder tip cleaner. Oh and a more precise tip for the solder iron
I'm really happy with it all so far, and couln't imagine needing more for a while. A heat gun would be nice for de-soldering and reflowing premade boards (like modding Boss pedals), but that can also be done with a regular solder iron as far as I know. You can get the above for about $60 total, so it's a nice way to get your feet wet without a huge investment. Then you gotta add on components/enclosures/pots/switches etc. Maybe get a helping hands and/or circuit holder if you need
Oh and get a good multimeter. I went a step up from the $20 ones and got this one which I'm also really happy with.
Various organizers, but here are my two favorites:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-13-in-30-Compartment-Double-Sided-Small-Parts-Organizer-320028/204645520 with use of a label maker. I use 2 for all the caps, 1 for ICS, 1 for Transistors. Its pretty high quality compared to other 'clear plastic organizers' and its double sided. For $9 I;m happy. Can get them at local Home Depot.
I put my resistors and pots in one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MAV3GQ6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and I also I have something similar but smaller for other items like diodes, knobs, photo resistors, ect
That kit looks pretty good, though I haven't used it. From my own experience, I would recommend a couple of optional upgrades to be thrown in. First, a brass wire type soldering iron cleaner. The sponge on stations like these is fine, but it's much easier to clean with the brass type mid-project. There are cheaper versions available, but my experience is all with the Hakko. Second, I've never had luck with those wire cutters. I've had much more luck with strippers that give separate holes for each gauge. Here's a cheap one and here's the Hakko pair I have.
Like I said, these are optional as the kit comes with basic solutions for both of these tools, but maybe something to think about for the future.
I have a few that I bought off Amazon. I like these ones the best: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077XK8V4G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
I don't recommend buying one of those starter kits that's got a bunch of useless pieces of crap included. Spend a little more at the beginning and get the parts that you need.
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ETA: Here are the parts I recommend...
Hard jumper wires. These make your breadboard tidy and don't get in the way.
Soft jumper wires. These get in the way but they are really handy.
Big assortment of poly caps.
Big assortment of resistors (they are not all equally useful, but you will quickly discover which ones you need to buy in bulk)
Big assortment of electrolytic caps.
Big assortment of ceramic caps (I've actually been using all poly caps, but these are really handy)
Assortment of on-board potentiometers.
Make your own power supply with some soft jumpers and a dc plug. (Cut a male-male jumper in half and connect each half to a lug on the dc jack).
LEDs
Assortment of diodes (but honestly a bunch of 4001, 4148 and 1n34a will get you most of the way there)
Trimpots are nice but not necessary
Assortment of transistors (just having 5088 and 3904 will get you pretty far)
ICs can get a little wild, but you will for sure want some TL072 or equivalent (TL082, JRC4558, etc), and probably some LM386 or equivalent (I like the JRC386).
I’m also new to the game and I’ve found tayda to be a much more accessible site than Mouser — I get overwhelmed by the apparently galactic selection and can’t figure out what to get.
Also u/preppyprepface had really important advice— don’t skimp on your stock. I had to go back to tayda almost immediately and order a bunch more stuff because I initially ordered exactly what I needed for a specific PCB and then got really excited about other potential projects, and the shipping takes a while (weirdly, at a certain point if you order enough it comes DHL from Thailand which for some reason is faster than however they ship from Colorado. Who understands these things?). The most important thing to remember is that things will get screwed up — last week I ruined a 3PDT and shorted an LED and it was great to just reach into the bin for another one and keep chugging. Resistors in particular are so cheap that you can’t even buy less than 10 at a time (10 resistors = $0.12 so it makes sense)
You’ll also want a way to keep things organized — I bought this and this and these. In retrospect I wish I had bought two of the first one, but they’re all useful. Some of the bin walls are removable so you can make different size spaces for different kinds of parts. I then used regular sticky labels (Avery 5160) to label the outside so I could see what went where — for the smaller parts like resistors and capacitors I grouped them, so all the x10kΩ resistors went in one bin (in their little ziploc bags), all the x100kΩ in another bin, etc. it still requires some fishing through (vs buying a big table top organizer) but I live in a small house :)
I bought most of the kits from Small Bear Electronics (the exception was the resistor kits). They are one of the only sources I've found for capacitor kits, transistors, op amps, pots, etc and they have some great stuff available.
Link to kits here
Spent about $100 but it took a lot less time than ordering all the items separately on Mouser.
I also bought a resistor kit from Joe Knows Electronics on Amazon.
Link to resistor kit here
I would also recommend buying a component tester, it's one of the best purchases I've made. It makes it feasible to pull all the components off of your breadboard and sort them quickly so you can reuse them. Also very handy in double checking a component value when you're building a pedal without looking at the color coding, etc.
Link to component tester
I started with a cheap iron from Radioshack and gave up on soldering for years because I sucked at it.
Then I upgraded to this Weller station and suddenly I was soldering like a pro. Temperature adjustment is amazing.
I don't know about any of the super-cheap ones on Amazon, but there's definitely value in spending more to get a great iron.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IYTCG6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
They went up a few bucks but these things are awesome. Saves me so much time from stripping by hand, and you can get really accurate lengths so you don't have to cut off extra wire. These are totally worth investing in!
You can go pretty cheap but the absolute bottom of the barrel Aliexpress ones might have some contact issues. For peripherals it might be good to get this which gives you USB or barrel jack switching, switchable 3.3V/5V, and powers your rails. You also would want a set of prebent jumpers or jumper wire depending on whether you want board cleanliness or ease of routing, respectively.
Sorry for the delay. Finally got the old 11 switcher dug out and placed. Looks like it will all fit the way i want :-)
I'm about to order switching jacks, make my diagram and submit for your expert approval.... Do i need them on both send and return? I am curious if having one on the 'send' would route signal around the insert channel when a plug isn't in place?
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I found a bag with three of these left: https://www.amazon.com/Switchcraft-Stereo-2-Conductor-Double-Circuit/dp/B071XZ731S . That's what i used for the speaker out jack I added to the back panel of a champ. These good?
Hi! I built a Beavis Board about six weeks ago. Not terribly difficult to make at all. I purchased these on amazon from Joe knows...
Resistors
Capacitors
Transistors
The problem I have is that some of transistors aren't right for the layouts, the capacitors aren't film, and I couldn't find an assorted IC box.
If I had to do it all over again I would catalog all the parts needed for every project on the projects guide or see of there was a list of items the Beavis Board came with and take that to Tayda or Mammoth. It's a lot of work but will be better in the long run.
I'm definitely interested if anyone else has purchased assorted boxes and how that worked out.
Sorry I don't have a resource to point you to, but do you know the basics of pedal wiring? For mine, I just took the basic construction of a 3PDT pedal, and instead of the power and signal going to a PCB, they go to a speaker terminal that is installed in the side of the enclosure. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GLQM4RC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). So, the speaker terminal has +9v send/return and signal send/return.
Then I hook up jumper wires from the speaker terminal send locations (+9v send and signal send) into their respective places on a breadboard. And then from the circuit on the breadboard, the power and signal ultimately go back, via jumper wires once again, to the speaker terminal returns.
Again, everything is just like a normal pedal, except instead of the power and signal going into and out of a nice compact PCB, they go into and out of a breadboard.
This is what I use.
It isn't the cheapest adjustable station out there, but it seems to be good quality. I've had a handful of cheap irons over the years, and I wish I had just started with something like this.
Edit: Fixed my link.
Rather than 60/40, I suggest Kester #44 63/37 0.031" rosin-core solder. It's better than anything else I've encountered over the decades. https://www.amazon.com/Kester-24-6337-0027-Solder-Alloy-Diameter/dp/B0149K4JTY/ -- It's available from Mouser and other real actual distributors but that's about the best price I found on a quick search back when I bought more. Unlike 60/40, 63/37 ("eutectic") doesn't have as much of a paste period in its cooling where the tin is molten but the lead is solid, so it's harder to get a "cold joint" from inadvertent motion of the soldered component fracturing the paste.
I bought this a while ago, which has been fantastic for filling boards and soldering components. It gets tough if you have components really close to the edges, but that's why I also use a regular old helping hand tool.
The nicest one I have ever used was [this one by Otto Frei.](
http://www.ottofrei.com/Store/Soldering-Stations-Third-Hands/GRS-004-570-Double-Soldering-Station-With-2-Third-Hands.html) I really liked it when I borrowed it to do some wire harness and cable modifications, so much so that I looked it up afterward, but I couldn't handle the sticker shock.
For pedal making/modifying, I would recommend a circuit board holder and a typical helping hand (with or without magnifying glass) so that you have both hands available to use the iron and feed solder.
Nice!
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But invest in one of these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q2TTQEE/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_syT0DbPDK5FM5... 10 bucks and will save you time
I love this one! $33 on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-40-Watt-Soldering-Station/dp/B000AS28UC/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?keywords=weller+soldering+iron&amp;qid=1558639033&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=weller+&amp;sr=8-2-spons&amp;psc=1
For frame of reference, I am also BRAND NEW to this hobby. Been poking around for maybe 2 weeks tops. Before this, I had never even seen a soldering iron in person.
How much of an investment is a huge investment for you? If you can stomach around 100 bucks, this package has ALMOST everything you need. The only addition I would make is this 10 dollar cleaning station.
As far as learning technique, check out this series of videos, particularly the soldering and de-soldering ones.
I'll start with a meta one. How do you organize your parts?
I am currently using 4 of these: https://www.amazon.com/Akro-Mils-10164-Plastic-Storage-Hardware/dp/B000LDH3JC
with a mix of 15 of these: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80102919/
And I feel like i just can't keep things as organized as I'd like. What do you do?
it will get you started, for sure. this is a very comprehensive kit for an absolute beginner, but it lacks in quality of components.
i bought what seems to be another version of the exact same kit, my soldering iron looks the same, the solder sucker, multimeter, tweezers, wire cutter and multitool.
my issues with this kit: the soldering iron tips seem like they're extremely low quality; i've soldered 3 or 4 pedals and i've had to change the tip (thankfully there are a few different/replacement tips in there). the solder is nothing to write home about; my dad has since gifted me some proper, thin, good quality 63-37 solder. he also gave me a brass tip-cleaner (like this: https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-599B-02-Wire-type-soldering-cleaner/dp/B00FZPGDLA/ )
whenever i move out of this tiny apartment i'll certainly spring the extra cash for a soldering station setup from a reputable brand (weller, hakko)
Thanks for the tips re: clips and Electrodroid.
Can't picture how using the vice would work... Usually what i do is put the components through, smoosh on the Blu-tack, then use this circuit board holder to spin it upside down for the soldering:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q2TTQEE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
This is a good starter CAP Kit
And in a pinch for work I needed some resistors, so I drove over and bought this KIT
for $8.
It is nice to have a range of stuff laying around, but you will never be able to stock everything you may ever need.
I dont stock many trannys (maybe 5 varieties), but I do have a few drawers of IC's.
I've used assortment packs like this before:
Joe Knows Electronics 1/4W 86 Value 860 Piece Resistor Kit
by Joe Knows Electronics
Link: http://amzn.com/B003UC4FSS
Also search for Elenco
That Weller wlc100 is what you're referencing, yeah?
https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-40-Watt-Soldering-Station/dp/B000AS28UC
Yet another vote for Weller soldering irons. The WLC100 is the model I use and it does the job well.
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/assortments-6/
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/metal-film-resistor-kits-1/
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/jellybean-transistor-kit/
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/assortments-10/
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/assortments-7/
http://www.amazon.com/Akro-Mils-10164-Plastic-Storage-Hardware/dp/B000LDH3JC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1452613377&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=parts+bins
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-40-Watt-Soldering-Station/dp/B000AS28UC
weller wlc-100 about $40