My first (real) workbench/workshop - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: flashover
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 09, 2025, 01:10:11 pm
content: I was debating where to put this, as I didn't want to clutter the TEA group therapy thread, and thought this may be useful to someone else so I've thrown it here.Following on from:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/the-slow-death-of-jaycar/msg5809951/#msg5809951So I've recently re-acquired the electronics/hacker bug again from my younger years, and now having the means to start building a modest yet capable electronics workshop, I've started putting one together as my firstrealworkbench/workshop.My use-cases:circuit building - mostly pre-designed projects short-medium term, designing my own circuits long term;electronics repairs - gadgets, gaming consoles, computer parts, etc.hardware hacking and tinkering - with a cybersecurity flairabsolutelyno work over 240V AC, and most of the time below 50V DC - I've been zapped once before which was enough to convince me that 240V is plenty.My budget: loosely $1,500 with a limit of $2,500 for this acquisition - I'm leaning towards investment, rather than itch-scratching to soothe cheap GAS flair ups...I've used Michael Geier'sHow to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic(2nd Ed) as a guide for 'what good looks like'.What I have on the way so farRigol DHO-804 Oscilloscope($749 AUD ex. GST)I wasn't quite sure whether to include an oscilloscope or not, though I ultimately decided to bite the bullet. Watched a few reviews, includingDave's one, read a bit about 'beginner' oscilloscopes, remembering Hackaday articles years back on how thoroughly owned Rigol 'scopes are, I settled on this one. I'll probably play with it for about 5 minutes before hacking it...Rigol DP-711 Programmable Power Supply($549 AUD ex. GST)This wasn't on the list originally. Though having also watchedDave's 'don't blow up your scope video, reading that the DHO-804 isn't earth referenced, and reading throughthis thread(from a safety point of view) I've thrown this in partially for the 'easy' ground point, and after thinking about it a bit, an easy way to power projects and test items without needing to worry about finding batteries, the device-under-repair's power source, and so on.Andonstar AD407 Digital Microscope($317 AUD)Here's where my photography GAS itch comes from. And because some part of me wants to record all of myprojectsdisasters and upload them to YouTube... I was pretty impressed by Adam Savage's take on his model, and I figured its not that expensive for a really useful tool (slippery slope, I know...).What's on the shortlistHakko FX-888DX Soldering Station(~$250 AUD)I was considering the Weller WE1010, which garnered points as I could easily pick one up from Bunnings, though the soldering iron stand looks a bit cheap and lightweight compared to the Hakko. The Hakko made the shortlist when I found that they could be had for about the same price as the Weller.EEVblog BM786 Multimeter($236.50 AUD)Self-explanatory. I didn't want a cheap crappy one, having owned a Digitech one years ago, I don't have a need for a Fluke (as nice as they are), and wanted to support EEVblog.KLEIN A-ET920 USB Digital Meter(~$83 AUD)I've seen these used to check whether handheld consoles charge or power on via USB-A and USB-C. At $83 it's not really much for convenience, and that I can get locally.Silicon Chip High Accuracy Digital LC Meter(DIY, May 2008 Silicon Chip Magazine)This was listed as a 'must-have' in Michael's book above, and found that Silicon Chip has a couple of projects to build your own, so I figured this would be a great first project to break in the workshop.Fume Extraction(DIY)This will likely be a DIY job. I've modified the air conditioning window partition (thinkDIY dryer window vent kits) to add an additional port hole for a fume vent. Just need to model up and 3D print a fan mount for the hose, and build a controller for the fan.OtherConsumables - solder, wick, etc. I'll probably raid Jaycar one afternoon once all of the above arrives.Precision Toolkit - I already have a couple of cheap 'precision' tool kits (Torx bits, etc.) which will do for now.Solder sucker - having used cheap bulbs and suckers before, I treated myself to anEngineer SS-03 Solder Sucker.Thermal camera - I have a SeekThermal camera for my iPhone laying around somewhere I bought years ago. If I had the money, and I most certainly don't, I'd probably get something similar to the TICs we keep on our fire truck (but I'm not made of money...).What I'm still undecided onMicron 320W Hot Air SMD Rework Station(~$269 AUD)One of the things I would like to do is gaming console repair (mostly cleaning and repairing broken consoles and reselling them), as well as surface mount electronics eventually, so one of these would make this so much easier. The included 'four-sided' nozzles for surface mount ICs (focusing on the legs rather than the whole chip) are a nice addition.I am unsure whether there are better models out there for a similar price point, so I'm open to advice. The Hakko FR-810B is a little too expensive, though if it's really the bees knees I'll make an exceptionThis is only the beginning, though I think it's a solid start. Am I missing anything glaringly obvious? When I was three or four, I accidentally brushed up against some exposed wiring from a refrigerated counter display fridge and got a very nasty fright-zap from it. Gear Acquisition Syndrome... Back when I had some electronics gear a couple of decades ago, I bought a really old Tektronix oscilloscope for $50 AUD (I don't recall the model sadly) with the intent of using it after fixing it, though I never did. Long story short, I left home for university and found years later my mum tossed it cleaning out some of my stuff. :'(

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2025, 01:14:38 pm
content: I would allocate more towards a better soldering station, and less to the hot air station. Keep the total budget for both the same, but instead of $260 for hot air, spend under $100 on hot air and buy a better, modern cartridge heater iron like a higher end Hakko, or a JBC, or Pace. Hot air is an inherently imprecise thing since just a cm of distance change totally changes the temperature of the air hitting the board. So it’s always by feel anyway. OTOH the difference between an old-style iron like the FX888 and a modern cartridge heater iron is massive.