Do THIS when building an electronics kit

A trick when installing resistors. Might make fault finding easier.

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[thekhakihat]

I appreciate how you even re-use paper for explaining your work in your videos. You are a great example of resourcefulness and stewardship. 72 - AA4K

[jamescstanley]

As an engineer (mechanical), when building a project I try to make it easy to take apart after it breaks! I try to do the same with kits I build, with all the identifiers the same way round, being dyslexic, this removes one possible error point! Regarding fault finding, I do not know/understand enough to create my own test points from a circuit diagram, so there I "follow the book"! One thing i have learnt that a neat, tidy build is easier to fix when it goes wrong, if it looks right, it usually is right! Good video, thanks.73 Jim M7BXT

[MirlitronOne]

Yes, I agree and do this. I also orient non-polar capacitors to make their values readable, preferable from the same direction.

[davidportch]

good idea Peter... will think about that the next time I build something

[Mahia]

My first real job after high school was populating and soldering pcbs. I always whacked the resistor in, in a very neat, clean and orderly fashion. I never had to trouble shoot, but from an observational point of view, they always looked good. Maybe it was my inner Virgo talking. Looks good, looks clean and professional. I wouldn't be able to do it any different. Same goes for caps!!

[Jyaazu]

That's very useful, I will watch it, and I'm very excited on that video

[JONOVID]

styrofoam packaging will hold all Leaded electronic components, sitting upright & you can label them by black permanent marker. NPN or PNP Transistors labeled collector base emitter. before soldering them into your printed circuit board one at a time. buy a Multi-Purpose 3-pin Components Tester to check all components. some kits do ship with wrong or missing items. a Signal Generator is a must-have for any Radio frequency receiver project IMO. also a good affordable existing working receiver to monitor the signals output. IMO -a grid dip meter or dip meter project be your first DIY radio frequency oscillator TX project. start with HF dip meter, try to avoid VHF-UHF radio interference. maybe then add audio modulation to it, a 555 tone generator so test signals are audible sound. I use musical gift card tone generator chip. today most components are Surface mount devices that require an ice cube tray to hold your pre-tested -labeled components & a USB video microscope to see them. -old microwave oven can be used as a faraday cage to test signal levels. free of ambient rf interference.

[michaellanders]

built 2 dct kits from Leon and failed with both didn't know that did the dick Smith kits when I was a kid but wasn't aware of the technical knowledge needed

[jertres]

I try to make everything read in the same direction as mounted so that checking correct location later is easier. I also do this with surface mounted resistors so that they are all easy to read without flipping the board. One consideration is figuring which end of a capacitor is the outside wrap (if there is one) and mounting that end towards ground, for example.

[munichman]

That's a good idea, Peter! I never thought about it, but I will do it this way from now on! Thanks for sharing!!