Cheap eBay kit build for soldering practice.

The best way to learn how to solder is to just start doing it, and that's never been more affordable to do with cheap equipment and kits that allow you to get into electronics without breaking the bank.
This video shows a full build of a very cheap eBay kit from China, using a cheap soldering iron and stand to get an idea of how well they work. If you're just starting soldering then I'd suggest getting a few of these kits as it means you can have another go if the first one doesn't work, or just get some more practice in with the others and maybe also experiment with resistor values.
The materials required for starting soldering are a basic soldering iron and stand, some thin electronic-grade solder, preferably 60/40 tin/lead with flux, a pair of sharp side cutters and some kits and battery holders.
Apparently Farnell/CPC do have a USA division at www.newark.com with similar irons both grounded and ungrounded.
Here's an eBay search for the kits:-
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=...
An eBay search for the battery holders:-
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=...
An eBay search for the basic side cutters:-
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=...

[@jimhealis]

In this video you remind me of the painter Bob Ross in the way he would happily encourage beginners and talk to them about "happy little mistakes"

[@Big_Loo]

Jim Healis YES that's exactly what I was thinking.

[@jimvonmoon]

"And now let's give this capacitor a friend."

[@Smaxx]

ME TO! :D But there weren't fluffy little capacitor smoke clouds and no happy resistors anywhere to be found.

[@PromptedHawk]

Smaxx, there are going to be fluffy little capacitor smoke clouds if you don't pay attention.

[@annelisemeier283]

Jim Healis glory to Kekistan, praise kek !

[@JulianIlett]

I do love 3-band 33k resistors - they look really orangey :)

[@maicod]

+Julian Ilett they come from my country :D

[@misfitthemad276]

And yet they don't taste orangey. :-/

[@thehappylittlefoxakabenji8154]

Julian Ilett ooh so do I really like orangey things !

[@bazzarr]

I keep a bowl of them in the living room for guests to nibble on.

[@jacktheaviator4938]

My tabby kitten and goldfish approve of this message.

[@rickmassey6131]

after watching the video I'm pretty sure that soldering would be MILES easier with 3 hands

[@paulsengupta971]

Or four.

[@pesshau6508]

You can get "3rd hand" soldering tools, although the cheapest ones are rubbish.

[@garethwilliams3819]

I tend to slightly bend the leads away from the holes before soldering to stop the component falling out. It might move a bit but if you just tap solder one leg to hold it in place before adjusting the component if necessary. Just remember it's a good idea to do the components closest to the board first

[@SuperVstech]

Rick Massey which is why the Chinese people solder so much faster than us westerners... chopstick usage...

[@millomweb]

@@paulsengupta971 Absolutely need four. One for the board, one for the component, one for the solder and one for the iron. Maybe secretly it's a team sport ?

[@bdot02]

Since watching your videos, I've embraced your soldering hand acrobatics that you do. It's actually been quite helpful and I haven't burned myself since I started using your technique. Thanks Clive!

[@thatsunpossible312]

Me too, though I've definitely burned myself. Soldering iron burns aren't that bad - even my 10 year old daughter handles them without tears.

[@markschwarz2137]

I envy Clive (and you) for being able to multi-task with the left hand (fnar fnar). Me, I need heavy duty lifting equipment to hold the components while I thrash around with the solder in my left hand and the iron in my right.

[@gandsnut]

Our host's hands are insured for an undisclosed 6-digit figure... by Lloyds of London. Or is it Stewarts of Glasgow?

[@bdot02]

@Mark yeah at first it's very much difficult. But if you keep at it eventually it becomes easier.

[@twoshedsjackson6478]

Third Party Fire & Theft

[@Sudz3]

Quote of the day: "It's so easy to drift out, It's tiny. It's just about 2 inches"

[@jamesharris8110]

That's what she said.........

[@BedsitBob]

Size isn't everything. 😀

[@jjoosshhb2193]

@@BedsitBob haha small pp

[@Franktek12]

Okay but he makes up for it with stamina... How do I know?

[@wtfiswiththosehandles]

Well, holding components with your finger is an excellent way to learn not to overheat the component. A first-hand (or finger) experience, if you will :)

[@dougholst6753]

Clive, I have been watching you for a long time. You are awesome!!! I have learned so much from you even though I worked for an electronics manufacturer for 13.5 years. But if I could try to return the favor in some small way I would say that 60/40 solder is not really ideal. 63/37 is what we use in electronics manufacturing. Its known as eutectic solder which means it goes directly from solid to liquid. this allows for lower solder temperatures to be used while soldering. If you want to get really picky. IPC 610 (Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies) states that leads should be cut before soldering not after. the reason is that some copper could be exposed after cutting. Alternatively, you could reflow the solder after the cut is made. I only mention these small points because you seem very concerned with reliability and longevity and these 2 small points may help. Sorry if I'm being to anal.

[@KarldorisLambley]

i'd bet you a million quid clive knows what eutectic means, unlike you. it means a mixture that has a melting point lower than its constituents. look eutectic /juːˈtɛktɪk/ Chemistry- relating to or denoting a mixture of substances (in fixed proportions) that melts and freezes at a single temperature that is lower than the melting points of the separate constituents or of any other mixture of them.

[@teejin669]

​@KarldorisLambley first off, no need to be a jerk. Second, he did explain what eutectic meant correctly, just not the cause. For all intents and purposes the comment was correct, but you had to be grumpy. (Comment edited to be nicer)

[@KarldorisLambley]

@@teejin669 yes. you are 100% correct. im often a miserable bastard when i have had a drink. i am sorry. thanks for not calling me a wanker.

[@teejin669]

@@KarldorisLambley happens to the best of us. I get the same way on the internet after some nice bourbon

[@VivekMishra2010]

You should make a series of video tutorials on Electrical and Electronics right from the basics. Nice work!

[@ThePCeristas]

Yup. A week ago I had my first go at soldering as I wanted to replace a microswitch on my mouse instead of buying a new one. Using a soviet iron and a massive solder (like 1.5mm thick) somehow I succeeded, but I nearly burnt the board when I was trying to desolder the broken microswitch. It'd be nice to see a ultra budget desoldering guide like this one

[@zrobotics]

If you aren't doing much desoldering, then some of the solder braid is a very effective way to go. It gets expensive if you do enough to buy a roll every week, but for normal use a roll should last months, and it works very very well, using the same iron you already have. Just avoid the cheap wick, it's worse than useless. About $4USD www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sop=15&LH_BIN=1&_mPrRngCbx=1&_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=chemtronics%2080-2-5&_trksid=p2045573.m1684.l5985 Or a hand solder sucker, works better for larger parts. Cheap is fine here, they've been making this same style for ages and it works fine. $4-7USD www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-Solder-Sucker-Desoldering-Pump-Solder-Irons-Remove-Remover-Tool-Gold-/301797865625?hash=item46448df899%3Ag%3ALVYAAOSwtGlZETzg No need for desoldering to be expensive, unless you want the tools to do it on a professional basis.

[@PromptedHawk]

He made a couple videos, about 40 mins a piece, one about the basics of soldering and one about components (how they work, how to read resistor values, etc.). I watched both and have been looking to get my hands on a soldering iron since.

[@sarkybugger5009]

Hey Big Clive, just noticed that you've passed a quarter of a million subscribers. Congratulations!

[@bigclivedotcom]

Thanks. It's not something I guessed could even happen.

[@paulsengupta971]

That's a bigger audience than ITV these days...

[@tomtenberge]

yet it did! congrats!

[@maicod]

+bigclivedotcom Congratulations ! Now where's the cake :)))))

[@briandeschene8424]

SarkyBugger And now (Feb 2019) Big Clive has surpassed half a million!

[@slawor4]

I had that exact red Soldering iron for the last 7-8 years. I got it as a gift from my dad, because I always loved to watch him solder, but he used a Soldering pistol, which 7 year old couldn't hold for longer than 5 minutes. He bought it in our local electronics store, in a kit with a holder and some tin for 15 euro. It's​ tip unfortunately broke a week ago and I couldn't buy a tip for it that was small enough for my needs, as I do a lot of smd these days. Now I bought one of the 936 Soldering stations. It will arrive in about a week.

[@millomweb]

Just file tips down to make them smaller.

[@linksmith1057]

Weller is a good, simple American iron. I still have my original Weller irons that I got from my father who bought them in the 80s, and they still work great. They are nice for a tool kit since you don't have to lug a big power supply around, and they have fantastic thermal mass, so they will actually melt joints my 936 clone won't even at a much higher temperature.

[@BG-101qx]

I would have felt better if you had said he bought them in the 60's......60's are kinda old. But the 80s? .........well that hurt.

[@CivilisedMuffin]

I’m so glad you stuffed up your first ever monostable circuit because I did exactly the same thing some 25 years ago with one of my first childhood voyages into electronics

[@wupme]

"Just start soldering" i wish i i had that advice when i first wanted to learn how to solder. But stupidly enough, i asked my father. He came up with completely weird and stupid soldering exercises. Like placing a huge blob of solder (size of a chewed bubble gum) onto a wooden board. And have me reflow it with a 10 Watt soldering Iron... I gave up at some point and called it quits. A decade later, i learned how to do it. Because i needed to to fix a guitars wiring and had no money to have it done. I borrowed a soldering iron and solder from a friend. He told me "heat up the wire, and then touch it with the solder, don't heat it on the soldering iron. And don't try to carry it over" That was all the advice i needed to fix that guitar. Later i found that if i slighty touch the soldering iron with the solder, so a small amount starts to melt, it will transfer heat to the parts much faster. And that was basically the only things i learned. Everything else is just routine. Getting used to it, and figure out which tip works best for you. I personally use only chisel tips unless its something really fine.

[@1pcfred]

Solder has the funny characteristic of flowing towards heat. So if you put solder right on an iron tip it won't want to go anywhere else. But heating the wire then feeding solder on the wire the solder will flow on the wire.

[@Dee_Just_Dee]

If there's anything I learned about soldering that really got me moving, it was Louis Rossmann's method of repairing PCBs. Basically, don't be embarrassed to use separate flux as a sort of training wheels.

[@richlaue]

I was soldering by the time I was 8 years old at at 10 rewording my bedroom outlets

[@user-yw8sr3uj1w]

@@richlaue highly doubt that

[@richlaue]

@@user-yw8sr3uj1w and why do you say that?

[@opticaltrace4382]

You are a good teacher Clive. I've been soldering for over 30 years and it's one of those skills isn't it. It's all in the feel.

[@1pcfred]

Not really. It is all in the technique.

[@martinwinfield2935]

Really good instruction on how to start soldering. Thanks for going back to basics. 40 years spent showing folks how to solder and place components, very refreshing to see the correct technique.

[@christopherguy1217]

I'm taking your advice and I've ordered several cheap eBay kits with increasing component count and I'm going to learn how to solder before I tackle installing the header on my Pi zero.

[@MundaneMuser]

How did it go?

[@UltraRik]

I bought a 1$ soldering iron from ebay and I opened it up to see what's inside and basically it's a miracle I'm still alive

[@bigclivedotcom]

+Patrik Banek Yup. I think I may have featured that iron in a video. Twisted wires with no strain relief.

[@UltraRik]

oh yeah, found the video, that's the one. Keep uploading good stuff (and more sex toys lol)!

[@jacktheaviator4938]

Thank you for making this video, now I have a link to post in the RC aircraft groups when people ask about soldering. It never fails to amaze me when I see people attempt to solder 100+$ components for their planes when they have never held a soldering iron. I ALWAYS suggest buying a bunch of random eBay kits to learn, that way it doesn't matter when they lift pads or melt components. But all of the cheap irons on the American market (and most of the "good" mains voltage) are un-grounded, so I always tell newbies to buy one of the "portable" TS-80 style irons to learn. The temp control, and safety, make it a worthy purchase.

[@ducomaritiem7160]

Thanks, allways a delight to listen to your "zen" voice, talking about electronics. This one was very good. It made me feel quite relaxed.

[@gdukofficial]

Little tip for people who are just getting into soldering (from experience), when you cut legs off components do NOT throw them away! Keep them because they make awesome little jumper wires!

[@speegster]

There's something inherently calming and therapeutic watching a softly-spoken Scottish bloke carefully soldering small electrical circuits

[@davesbeenbad4018]

Hey Clive! Took your advice and bought some kits, they just came in the mail today and I sat right down and soldered it. I've done some minor repairs in the past but this was my first start to finish electronics project and it gave me great satisfaction when it worked and the lights started flashing! Thanks for your excellent channel, the great eBay find, and this Bob Ross esque video! Hope you are well!

[@chucky4real]

Just thought i'd say thank you for the consistently entertaining/interesting/informative videos. Love your work Clive.

[@Smaxx]

As an added idea for those trying to get into electronics and stuff: If you buy a few of those kits, add a simple breadboard and a few connector cables with male connectors. This allows you to quickly prototype/experiment without having to resolder components. You can just use the components and try new things (e.g. make the lights blink in a different pattern or even try to stack them to get a running light etc.). It's also possible to pick different circuits from Clive's videos and copy them (just be careful and stick to low voltage stuff for now).

[@UserUser-ww2nj]

Love your tutorials , very easy and relaxed and easy to understand . You cut through most of the tech B.S and give straight information. Great tutorial on the basics of soldering

[@boredwithusernames]

Four years later and I am watching this video for the first time ;) I like the way you hold the circuit board in your fingers when you are soldering, and with quite a steady hand I might add. No doubt that is practiced from many many years in the field soldering joints on-site without any clamping devices being available. Nice soldering technique, very impressive and a really good presentation for beginners, thanks for the video ;)

[@NayNayzor]

After watching this video about a month ago, I ordered the same one from a chinesium supplier. Came in the mail today, following along with the video I was able to make sense of it since you broke it down so good. First kit was a success, thanks a lot Clive!

[@shiladityaray3137]

"The best way to learn is to just start doing it"......Very useful advice ,Sir.......

[@endersftd]

Please do more of these "practice" videos! This was really encouraging and informative!

[@dbrown51967]

the best kit i got off of ebay has to be the component checker which tests everything except ic's well worth £10.

[@justjosh11]

I'm an electronic engineer, used to be a technician so am very competent at soldering. I have no idea why I sat here through all 22mins of this but I did.

[@ncc74656m]

One amazing tip that nobody ever told me is to not give up on soldering. Once you have the fundamentals down and learn how to do what you want, if you plan to do plenty of soldering, get a good soldering station like a Hakko FX-888. You come to find that you don't actually still suck at soldering, it was just bad equipment. Good gear and good solder go a long way to making you a truly proficient solderer.

[@1pcfred]

The only time better gear is required is when the job is difficult. Soldering a through hole kit like this can be done with the most rudimentary of tools. Which is precisely what Clive did in this video.

[@stocktonjoans]

I started doing kits like this in my early teens, clive is spot on, they are a fantastic learning tool, still love em

[@lalu225]

That helped me a lot, thank you so much. Today I did my first soldering ever. 16 pin header strip on an LCD screen. I bought exactly the soldering iron you are using. Seems to do the job well.

[@maartenmd]

I love to hear Flux and Capacitor in one sentence.

[@joinedupjon]

sadly the opportunity to say ARRRSE-table multivibrator seems to have been missed

[@Franktek12]

I'll tell Marty...Thanks!

[@Newty172]

Thanks for the video! This was my first time soldering anything today and the best part was it worked! Could not have done it without your help!

[@yasthilbhagwandeen]

Soldering is so therapeutic :)

[@magnushacker5203]

Watching Big Clive videos is even more therapeutic:)

[@yasthilbhagwandeen]

Agreed! Even better, soldering whilst watching Big Clive videos in the background! :D

[@labradorarvingabion3662]

Master Mind you really should check out Louis's rossmann channel if you found this therapeutic (which I do).

[@yasthilbhagwandeen]

Thanks bule bule! I'll check it out :)

[@vwegert]

As long as you don't sniff too much of the flux fumes. But then again......

[@ThacMan]

Watching and listening to Big Clive solder is very cathartic. Thanks buddy!

[@keithjackson1180]

I was really glad to see this video. I had picked up a couple of kits exactly like these a while back but hadn't goteen around to trying them.

[@anthonymccarthy4164]

Soldering instruction, electronics instruction, advice on starting out with economy equipment and even video production advice, this KZbin has it all. I'm going to get going this way, thank you.

[@AndehX]

Clive is 100% right. Practice does help ALOT. In the last 2 years or so, my soldering skills have improved 10 fold. I do all sorts of game console mods for my friends now. Stuff that would make me cry a few years ago. I can do it now without a problem.

[@Venomator.]

Despite my advancing years I have never tackled soldering, let alone made a successful project - until now! Having purchased a soldering kit and been practicing just with blank pcbs it was great to find this and get hold of a couple of these kits - first one worked first time! Well, after I sorted the polarity of the yellow and orange leads into the power supply... :) Thanks Clive... 👍🏻 😎

[@SteelSkin667]

I've just randomly ordered a bunch of these kits, along with two kit clocks. It's been over 15 years I last touched a soldering iron, so this should be fun.

[@j.cheeverloophole9029]

Re direction of electrons, my first landrover, was positive earth, something not seen these days, it was from the mid 60's & obviously then the debate was raging, didn't cause any issues apart from i couldn't fit a stereo as they were all negative earth. I could've changed it & added an alternator instead of the dynamo,but I liked the novelty, & I sold it after a couple of years...for a 24volt ex military radio version landrover...a glutton for punishment...

[@zacherynuk842]

I was astounded a couple of years back when I was baking a simple twin BFY22 to latch a simple 12v light via a relay (To repair a 30 year old X10 experiment). Had a shit load of 22's so just wanted a relay so popped to the store. Young bloke looked at me like a I was moron - transistors can easily do 5-18v at 2A+ nowadays. What a time to be alive.

[@ricknelson947]

Clive, Once again, Awsome, Clear instruction. At some point you will start meeting people (if haven't already) who have started careers because of your instruction.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I've already launched many careers from the early www.bigclive.com website era onwards. This is good, because having a trade gives you security for life.

[@MusicalBox]

There was a clearance a few weeks ago at La Source (What used to be Radio Shack in Canada). They were practically giving away all electronic tools they had left. I got a soldering iron (looking a lot like yours but with temperature adjustment) 3 spools of lead based solder and a reel of desoldering wick for less than 10$

[@InsidiousBlank]

As usual, another segment filled with enjoyment! Many thanks!

[@garethprice8818]

Great videos Clive, keeps me entertained for hours! need to get back into electronics, last thing I built was a Nixie clock kit 4 year's ago.

[@realflow100]

I got a 30W soldering iron from walmart. was like 9$ or something. I bought some new tips for it. and the new tips worked reeeeeeeeeally good. Taking solder like a champ and no tip erosion pretty good for a cheap iron from the store i got two pointed tips and one chisel tip. they work really great. I tend to use the chisel tip more though.

[@dingo137]

I just finished one of those and unbelievably it actually worked. Admittedly not first time - there were a couple of bad solder joints I had to redo, but given I've done hardly any soldering for about 20 years (and not much even back then), not bad at all. I was expecting to have to do several before I got one that worked.

[@dingo137]

And on my second one, my soldering was much better and quicker but I put one of the transistors in backwards. Lesson - don't get cocky.

[@madbstard1]

Great video as usual. From my own mistakes I've started ordering extra kits - normally wrecking the pads on some of the cheaper kits so it's handy to have spares.

[@lightbulbgonewild3205]

I like how your camera setup let's you zoom in and doesn't loose details (no grainy effects) I have got a soldering iron as a Christmas present recently. At the the age of 14 turning 15, it was quite surprising :D

[@Big_Loo]

I have to say that I love videos like this.

[@fiskurtjorn7530]

Good evening Clive As a kid, I tried electronics. Got an 'Electronic lab 300' with 300 electronic projects. It uses components on a colorful cardboard base, with springs to connect wires as well as a breadboard to add or experiment with other valued components. Never got my head around how it works though. Put it away for several years until I saw your electronics-for-beginners videos. (BigThanks from me) I got the lab out of the darkest corner of the basement, dusted it off and ordered some of those kit's to learn to solder. And just this weekend I made this blinking led kit. I used the supplied wires to power it from the lab. The 'power rail' of the lab's breadboard delivers 1.5 to 9 volts in 6 1.5v increments. I tried the kit at 1.5v at first. Both LEDs came on with no blinking. Suspecting a fault I examined the soldering joints and found no problems, neither on the positioning of the components. At the second power-up, I used 3v. The LEDs blinked but I noticed just as in your kit they flashed on, but dimmed off. Also tried 4.5v and 6v. Blinking seemed not to speed up or slow down. (Testing if the 1.5v made the blinking as fast so it seems not to blink) As I do not remember this happening when I made this kind of blinking when I was a kid I first thought it to be a bug in my kit. But when I saw the same thing in your kit It made me think maybe it's the LEDs to blame. Decades ago I made the vibrating thing with incandescent bulbs. Question: Is it because LEDs needs less voltage or current they seem to dim out slowly in compare sense with the tungsten bulbs?

[@TalasDS]

Fiskur Tjorn LEDs dim faster than tungsten light bulbs because the tungsten element requires lower voltage to emit a noticeable glow. Remember the LEDs have a small voltage drop

[@fiskurtjorn7530]

Thanks, I thought I'd noticed the opposite. The LEDs in this kit seems to dim relative slowly.

[@scottluker4337]

More kits please! Relaxing watching some soldering

[@spikeydapikey1483]

Clear, concise instructions. Excellent video.

[@opshacom1]

This reminds me , my very 1st electronic project in 1982.Clive has used every 5 fingers in his left hand in the most efficient way according to the present job.

[@jaras1969]

OMG! That was the first thing i made, when i first started my interrest in electronics some 38-something years ago. But i build mine on a small piece off wooden board with copper nails at the joints. I actually stil have the booklet i used as a guide. 🤗

[@STOLerant]

The Bob Ross of electronics, love it. Happy little solder joints.

[@mikemike7001]

Oh, my. Better for beginners to solder the components from shortest to tallest, holding them in place by putting the board upside down on the bench. Unless they are practiced cooks, they won't have developed asbestos fingers yet. And even most of us experienced cooking solderers with asbestos fingers don't have Clive-sized hands and his manual dexterity, which is, I'll admit, always a pleasure to watch.

[@NottsBobUK]

So I was supposed to wet the sponge. I have so much to learn! Thanks Clive, another great video.

[@ToastyPCvidya]

This video is so relaxing to watch. Thanks for the knowledge friend.

[@Caluma122]

Hey Clive, I'm not a subscriber but I've seen a few of your videos. They are really good and I really liked this video! Keep up the good work!

[@bigsky1970]

Great video, and this explains soldering better than other videos I've watched on KZbin, which quite frankly, have made me even more hesitant about soldering.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Don't be hesitant. You'll pick it up very quickly.

[@angrahell]

This was really therapeutic, can't wait to try myself!

[@pentachronic]

I really enjoy soldering. It's like knitting for guys !! You can drift off on some tangential thought whilst making something.

[@kjamison5951]

CPC is a superb supplier. I have used them for over 20 years for all sorts of items. Our Apple computer supplier in the 90’s charged £10 plus VAT (then 15%) for a single mouse ball. They added delivery and VAT on delivery on top of that. It was expensive because the pupils would remove the mouse ball from the mice and the computers would not work. CPC sold 10 mouse balls for £5 and if you spent more than £50 in the catalogue, delivery was free of charge. And it was easy to spend on their catalogue. I bought LEDs, resistors, switches, battery snaps, all sorts and more for classroom projects. CPC are part of the Farnell group and some viewers may know them better as Element 14, esp from The Ben Heck Show.

[@devlad]

Since watching Clive for the last few years, my soldering has definitely come a long way, and part of that reason was finding these cheap little kits.

[@jkobain]

Since you mentioned this, I always use solder which has no flux in it. Not so sure if I'm already in any hell, but I like soldering so far. And your videos I like too.

[@daleyurk4369]

Nice video Clive. The closeups were really helpful. Thanks!

[@thrillscience]

This was the first transistor circuit I built back in 1974 or so, when red LEDs just became cheap. I was about 12 years old.

[@BonsaiMaster300]

My daughter wants to be an electrician when she finishes school. I'm gonna buy a few of these kits to let her practice. Cheers Big Man (yeah, fellow Glaswegian here)

[@ddimento8790]

Cheers for this Clive, ordered a couple of the kits and battery holders after watching your vid. Just made a working kit this morning. Need to get better helping hands though, I don't have your multi-finger dexterity. Thanks.

[@ilaril]

Thank you for the excellent tutorial! I really wish I could learn that skill one day.

[@20thcenturyboy85]

Thanks for all the explanations in this fine video.

[@lasersbee]

0:28 "suite" is Chinese for "LOT"

[@petti78]

Don't you mean "chinese"?

[@DVDplayerz]

yes

[@hmv4u2]

lol

[@jacktheaviator4938]

Actually, it is a complicated translation. There isn't a direct translation for "kit" so they use a word that kinda means "assembly" but also can be used to refer to all-encompassing, and is used to refer to hotel rooms or apartments that have a restroom and kitchen, so the most often used word for "assembly" or "kit" comes across as "suite" because the ideas don't directly translate.

[@lasersbee]

@@jacktheaviator4938 The translation to LOT makes sense as meaning an "Sssembly of parts" or a "LOT of parts" or a "Kit of parts".

[@CreamAle]

if clive were to do a series like "the joy of painting" but for electronics i would die happy. such a calming and relaxing voice.

[@JerryEricsson]

This was one of the first projects I purchased to build for practice. It turned out quite well considering at the time I was using a butane soldering iron that got extremely hot, in fact on subsequent projects I managed to burn off several soldering pads, giving me practice at scraping off the solder protect and making a spot to connect leads. My next iron was a USB, then another Butane, and at long last I found a cheap aqua blue soldering iron with easily replaceable tips, and a tiny wheel that had numbers on it to tell me the approximate temp. It has been a Godsend, and after purchasing that iron, and a large spool of American Solder Rosin Core Solder Wire in 0,08mm size made by TMI I have been soldering like a professional. Of course I have built dozens of different kits, I have all sorts of clocks and flashing lights, FM radio transmitters. I have been having a blast soldering up projects, I do my soldering while reclined in my electric recliner, and occasionally a drop of solder makes it's way to my shirts, so now I have a drawer my wife calls my soldering shirts, which I try to wear on days when my soldering iron is going to be put into play, which can be almost any day.

[@shemp308]

good starter video! will get my grandson to watch! he loves building kits.

[@alis990]

My first kit was DSO128 Oscilloscope, and it works :D

[@Shaun.Stephens]

Thanks Clive. Very well explained.

[@ranbymonkeys2384]

This is the first beginner video where the first thing you do is to try to instill confidence. If a beginner stumbles on your show they will watch it until the end.

[@Megatog615]

Truly the Bob Ross of soldering.

[@sulaimanabdullah952]

I too have this kit, not only can you vary the component values to alter flash rates and duty cycle, you can make a two stage audio amplifier for very low level signals without cutting tracks, or use a centre-tapped primary transformer for a step-up converter (at higher frequency) Or even a low power 'royer' inverter. Fun PCBs

[@NyxKemo]

I’m pretty new to soldering and videos like this are very helpful. Luckily i own a soldering station which i can adjust the temperature and have different sizes of tips which makes it easier to solder

[@FernsDad]

Terrific video Clive. Watching your channel has really sparked my interest in electronics (sorry for the pun) and I've been putting together a number of kits starting with a simple flasher kit and working up. I've been putting together kits by a company called Velleman (other kits suppliers are available) and I'd love to see you do something with one of them. My soldering technique has improved quite a bit and the last kit I put together had 60 LEDs, and my kids now have flashing stars and hearts. I'd love to see more on your channel deals with how stuff works.

[@christopherguy1217]

Great video for beginners, this is the other side of taking thing to bits.

[@sneekylinux]

Nice little vid clive, will get a few of these for the kids to practice with.....nice

[@johnwattie1786]

Multi Vibrator? *Clive you planning on making a "personal massager?*

[@PhilXavierSierraJones]

There is a model which uses multivibrator circuit as a way to generate pulses to motors.

[@15743_Hertz]

It's an astable multivibrator. For our six week course in basic electronics when I went through Air Force Technical Training, this was the crowning achievement to our hard study. We applied our RC time-constants and circuit flow to a simple circuit that we soldered together. If the circuit didn't work, we got to troubleshoot it. Fun times!

[@pascalfarful952]

Redefining the way we think about the Relaxation Oscillator.

[@LCPL_Cat]

I like your channel because unlike other people you explain everything for us simpletons (btw I am 15 and live is Australia so I know nothing about electronics)

[@michaeltempsch5282]

> I am 15 and live is Australia so I know nothing about electronics) I'd think Deve Jones (eevblog) might have opinions on the implied causality... :-)

[@paulsengupta971]

It was also one of the first circuits I made, though I'd been playing around with components and electronic kits and things before, in a craft afternoon in primary school. It was from the Ladybird Book of Simple Electronics (Learnabout series). It was constructed on a plank with screws and screw cups to hold the components. I bought the components from the electronics shop in Cardiff Market. The shop was still there last time I checked!

[@paulsengupta971]

beingmrsc.com/being_mrs_c/2013/10/ladybird-tuesday-learnabout-simple-electronics.html

[@paulsengupta971]

It was the first circuit anyone had ever made in a craft afternoon, with the more usual things being Airfix kits and needlework. Everyone crowded round when I first tested it!

[@paulsengupta971]

Funny thing, when I started university, in our first lab afternoon, they had a circuit to make up for people who had never soldered before, just to give a feel for it and a feel for electronic components. It was one of these, but with LEDs. Those of us who were old hands at soldering could go and play with things like the spectrum analyser (first time I'd ever seen one!) and other test equipment. A couple of the guys on the course were struggling with the soldering, so I actually knocked up one of the flip flop circuits in a couple of minutes to show them what to do. I think I still have it somewhere. I definitely still have the one I made in primary school!

[@brucewoods9377]

Love your comment re, electron flow : vis : conventional current flow. I am an old electronics technician (trained in the late 1960's) and yes we were taught "electron flow" who cares if it goes against the arrow on the transistor or diode symbol. It makes a hell of a lot more sense since it is after all the "Free" electrons which flow from one atom to the next

[@ethanpoole3443]

Bruce Woods To be fair, the arrow always points to a brick wall, so not like it really defies the arrow! :-)

[@Tracks777]

I enjoyed your video :) Keep it up!

[@Evo2Raid]

You gave an awesome soldering class. Thank You

[@fakiirification]

im getting back into electronics after learning a ton as a kiddo and building BEAM robots and stuff. Funny enough, this exact multivibrator circuit was the first one i tried to get my feet wet again. Except i didnt order a kit, i designed and etched a tiny PCB like that and populated it with leftover parts from my previous childhood experiments. lol

[@MARKE911]

Thank you for making this video. You inspire me. Thanks

[@bobhatcher5505]

Thank you Clive, great stuff!

[@experiencingtechnicaldiffi5184]

For those concerned about soldering with lead; If you were to stand over a pot of molten lead for hours it would not be good. But then so also is eating mercury thermometers. Neither of which people normally do. There used to be kits for casting lead toys like soldiers and dinosaurs. The only real concern at the time was kids playing with high temperatures. "Wash your hands and don't touch your face" they would say. Well the same thing applies to playing with the dog or turtles or the giant kitty litter called a sandbox. The abolition of lead based solder for manufacturing is a political and economic thing. Political because they wanted to say they are protecting us from a problem that doesn't exist. Look at Flint, Michigan. Thousands of miles of lead water pipes that worked fine for a hundred years until the politicians got involved, changed the water supply and started adding chemicals that dissolved the protective oxide and mineral lining in the pipes allowing the lead to dissolve into the water. Economic because tin solder has some serious drawbacks like cracking from thermal stress and growing whiskers that can short components leading to a shortened lifespan and dare I say "Planned Obsolescence". That is why military and other government stuff is exempt. Also on aircraft, I believe, because of safety concerns. Although strangely not in cars. I have repaired many newer cars due to bad solder joints. My big 2009 TV is waiting repairs because of cracked solder joints. My others made in the 70's work just fine. So no, the breathing of a tiny amount of fumes from soldering is not going to hurt you. The people who built the modern world spent many hours bent over a soldering iron and circuit boards and suffered no ill effects from it. Those that went bat shit were well on their way long before they picked up an iron. The wackos of the world couldn't solder if their life depended on it. Look at Clive, Julien and others who have spent many long hours at soldering and, well, maybe that is not such a good example, Fanny and hole warmers and such. But seriously, the small amount of exposure coupled with some common sense (less common today it seems) and there will be no ill effects. Remember it takes a politician to screw up the world, dictators and legislators and such. OK, my rant is over .... for now! Mike (o\!/o)

[@russellhltn1396]

Still, it's probably better that you don't work above the workbench but rather more off to the side (a high table helps). I try to gently exhale while I'm soldering. No point in breathing more then you need to.

[@Smaxx]

Well, you can't really compare soldering with lead and using lead water pipes. The pipes would constantly pass at least tiny amounts of lead. It's basically like licking the pipes (especially if your water is a bit acidic), but yeah, it's not like in old Rome, where they explicitly wanted to use lead pots and stuff. ;)

[@paulwatkins2601]

The first circuit I made was from a magazine called Everyday Electronics and it had schematic and design to build on Veroboard it used a 555 timer IC and it didn't work as you can imagine I was disappointed, several years later I moved house and found this project and having learned a lot over the intervening years I reinvestigated this circuit and found that I had put an electrolytic capacitor in the wrong way round I corrected this problem and resoldered the connections ( I wasn't very good at the time) and lo and behold it worked.