Elenco AmeriKit Learn to Solder Kit

I highly recommend this kit for the beginner or for someone wanting to improve rudimentary or rusty soldering skills. I am well experienced at electronic assembly and soldering, and conduct soldering workshops at a nearby science museum. I bought this kit for my 12 year old grandson.Anyone working with the kit or observing should wear Eye Protection, either glasses or preferably safety goggles. There is danger from flux particles when soldering and especially from flying pieces of wire when trimming components leads or wires. You only have one set of eyes. Don't take chances with them.The Kit’s Contents - The soldering iron is a nicely made entry to mid-level one, almost alone worth the price of the kit. The stand is a bit flimsy but works. A set of wire cutters is included and the part of the blades closest to the handles serves as an insulation stripper. What's missing is a cleaning sponge. You can use a damp wad of paper towel, but I'd recommend getting a sponge (Weller TC205) or metal tip cleaner (Haako 599B-02). A roll of solid insulated wire, a coil of rosin-core solder, and a piece of de-soldering braid are also provided.The single-sided printed circuit board is marked well for component placement and the pads are spaced to avoid solder bridges, a common beginner's mistake. The quality of the printed track and pads is low as to thickness and adhesion, so care must be taken not to pull it off if a repair is required. Most of the electrical components are mounted on a card and are clearly identified. The booklet shows how to identify each component, whether on the card or separated.The Course and Project - The instruction booklet is excellent. It has a section about how soldering works along with useful illustrations to help understand what good and bad solder joints look like. There are separate pads and connections on the board used for practice in the beginning. The steps you are asked to perform are designed to teach you a number of soldering skills, including clean-up and de-soldering using the included braid (wick). The course part provides you a good foundation to move on to the project portion of the board.The project is straightforward and worked properly the first time after completion by my grandson. The student is asked to make a circuit change exercising de-soldering skills after first testing the project. A theory of operation, schematic diagram, and a brief quiz about soldering and the project rounds out the booklet.I recommend this kit as a complete soldering course for the beginner or for someone wanting to improve rudimentary or rusty soldering skills.

I rediscovered my old electronics interest while repairing some toys my 2-year old had investigated a little too severely. My soldering with an old solder gun worked, but my technique was awful--I just kind of applied melted metal until the wires stuck back onto the motor. I remembered being better at it like 20 years ago. I got to thinking it might be worthwhile to get one of those little "learn to solder" kits and mess around with it. So after reading earlier reviews, I selected this one.My opinion is that it is a great value for the price, around $15. But how do I justify that? 1) It includes a soldering iron. No, not the best you'll ever find, but it worked for the included project and I've used it plenty of times since--most recently under a magnifying glass to re-attach the button that broke off my car's keyless entry fob. (Dealer wanted $60 just for a new fob, plus programming charge!) 2) There are about 25 electronic components, none of them are expensive ones but still, there they are, let's say $4 for them, ignoring that they'd be hard to actually purchase individually. 3) Solder and desoldering wick--wick is a bit short, but the solder is way more than you need--I'm still using it on delicate things because it's a lightweight tube rather than a big spool like I'd usually buy. 4) Battery snap, big circuit board, speaker, and practice wire pieces (wire is about right amount). 5) Wire snips--such as they are, adequate for cutting a wire, incapable of stripping it, but mine to keep afterward for other uses. Overall, it's a lot of stuff for the price.So...what didn't I like, it's only fair.... You will need a way to strip the wires since the included tool can't do it. But for the small # of wires needed in the kit, you can get by with a razor blade if you have no better tool around. You may also want a needle-nose pliers to bend wires and leads. There's a practice mess-up/rework line--I'm ok with that but I'd rather it was stated openly that following the directions will introduce two errors that you get to practice correcting. I found the desoldering wick hard to use compared to others I've used before, might just be me but it didn't draw the solder in very well.Things I liked that don't have a direct $ value 1) Very clear guide to what to do with the kit, and it explains far more than you need to do the project itself--how to read component markings, for example, and a schematic with basic explanation of how the finished practice project works. 2) The resulting noisemaker thing is useless but amusing enough. 3) It includes a (cheap plastic) potentiometer and an integrated circuit chip (the brilliantly designed and ubiquitous though inexpensive $0.25 "555 timer"). 4) It's true as proclaimed on the box that you don't need prior experience.It's kind of a a cliche in these reviews, but to share anyway, I ordered two more this week intended as gifts for people who were interested in the one I had around.

For the price, it was a great first timer kit, the iron is a good beginner iron, you cant control the heat, but it doesn't really matter, plug it and wait for less than five minutes, and it is ready to go.The circuit board and its components, including the manuals are absolutely great, easy to read, easy to follow, and every component is clearly labeled for a first timer to follow and complete.Everything worked perfectly after i finished.The BAD:- Wick: this thing doesnt lift anything, at all, i blame the Lead-Free Solder that came with this kit, it actually worked with a normal 60/40 solder.- Solder: why did they give Lead-Free Solder?? it is difficult to melt, it is pastey and can hardly be manipulated, it doesn't get sucked by the wick provided AT ALL, and there isn't enough of the thing to begin with. BUY A 40/60 ROSIN CORE SOLDER WITH THIS KIT!! i did that and thank god i did, i gave up and started using the Alpha Fry 60-40 Rosin Core Solder that i very luckily bought alongside this, it is a night and day difference!-Sponge: Why isn't there a way to clean your iron after every use?? I had to use a household sponge that worked for the duration of my project, but got completely destroyed when everything was said and done. put something in there!