Elenco AmeriKit Learn to Solder Kit

I have been soldering electronics for years, both professionally and as a hobby. Recently I was asked to teach the Electronics Merit Badge to some Boy Scouts. I found this kit and ordered one from Amazon. I was impressed by what arrived. Not only does this kit include a soldering iron and all of the parts needed, but it also includes a very well done tutorial. I ended up strongly recommending this kit to the Boy Scouts. The main reason is because of the tutorial. The circuit board includes pads whose sole purpose is for practice. The tutorial in the manual walks you through basics like tinning the soldering iron, proper technique, advice on avoiding heat damage, and how to avoid a cold solder joint. Each of the parts is clearly labeled and the instructions are easy to follow.Putting this kit together will not make you an expert at soldering. Like most things in life, proper soldering takes practice. The soldering iron included is not a top-of-the-line model, but it gets the job done. If you are serious about getting into electronics you will want to upgrade your equipment.If you want to learn to solder this is a great starting point. Don't skip any of the tutorial, and pay close attention to all of the safety precautions. Before too long you'll have yourself a working siren and have gained a valuable skill.

I am a software guy working everyday with code and design for the web and device applications. I wanted to learn about the hardware side, and eventually build something interesting that would be programable. But I knew, with no previous experience in circuitry, I needed to start small and build my knowledge.I chose this Elenco kit because it was highly rated for beginners and came with the basic tools for soldering (a solder iron, stand, and solder). I was pleasantly surprised by how easy the step-by-step process was to understand and follow. The kit includes a simple project to produce blinking LED lights and a siren, but the primary goal is to teach you the basics of electronics and soldering.Soldering is more difficult than I had imagined, but that's why you spend the beginning of the project going over simple soldering exercises before jumping into the soldering of components to the board. The kit and instructions are not perfect, but I was surprised that it was very easy to understand the step-by-step instructions and construct the project. There are a few times where the instructions are not as clear as they could be, particularly when learning about resistors, but with a little thinking and supplementing the booklet with the internet I was able to learn and understand what the kit was teaching.You really can't beat the price considering you get a simple kit and soldering tools. I highly recommend starting with this kit if you would like to consider getting into electronics. While the solder iron provided is not amazing it is useful and I have used it to produce other kits as well, until I decide how serious I am about electronics and whether I want to invest any more money.

I'm 17 and I wanted to learn how to solder printed circuit boards. This is a great product that has (almost) everything you need to get started. The soldering iron melted the solder quickly, even though the solder was lead free. The instruction manual teaches you not just about soldering, but about the components in the kit. It teaches almost like a class, complete with detailed instructions and even quizzes you on what you have learned. In the end, the device you make is pretty useless, but here, its all about the journey not the destination.I do have a few cons however. There is nothing included to clean the soldering tip like a small piece of sponge. I also could not get the soldering wick to work, so I would recommend also ordering a desoldering pump as well. also, it can be a bit tricky to solder without some kind of helping hand device. However, for less than $15, this is still a great bargain.The value of this kit is great, however I'm sure that people would be willing to pay a bit more if it included something to clean the soldering tip and possibly a desoldering pump, however, with the value of this kit, adding those items to your order should be no problem.All in all, I greatly recommend this product to anyone trying to dive into the world of electronics.