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Recommended Tools
Elecraft kits are designed to be easy to build and get working, but
the tools you use are just as important as the kit itself. To make sure
you can build your kit successfully, please follow these guidelines.
Never use the following,
as they may damage your printed circuit boards and make your kit unrepairable:
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Water-soluble flux solder
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Acid-core solder
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Any kind of external flux or solvent
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High-wattage soldering irons (> 40W or > 800 deg. F)
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Recommended solder:
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Kester
“44” rosin core solder (.020 or .031 diameters are easiest to use).
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Radio
Shack .022" 62/36/2 silver-bearing solder. (#64-013), $3.79 for a 1.5 oz
roll.
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Any
60/40 or 63/37 rosin flux based solder.
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Temperature-controlled soldering station, Mouser #578-WTCPT, with PTF-7
tip (Mouser and other tools suppliers are listed below)
For protection from static discharge, always use a 1—Megohm grounded
wrist strap during assembly. Static-damaged ICs are difficult to
troubleshoot and expensive to repair. An inexpensive wrist strap is
available from Mouser (#382-1500).
Soldering Stations:
See
our Soldering Tips Document
Additional tools
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When de-soldering is necessary, these items will make life easier: (1)
Chem-Wik desoldering braid, .075" width, Digikey #CW7-5-ND. (2) Weidmuller
desoldering pump, Digikey #PAL1700-ND.
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A soft-jawed vice with a weighted base can be used to hold PC boards firmly
in place while you concentrate on the work at hand. Recommended: Panavise
work station, Digikey #350PV-ND.
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Good-quality small-jawed diagonal cutters will make clipping component
leads easy, even in tight places. Recommended: Xcelite Semi-flush diagonal
cutter, Digikey #MS54-ND.
Some sources for tools