Setting Up an Electronics Lab

Author here - I&#x27;ll fully admit to not being totally up to date with best-practices for leaded&#x2F;lead-free&#x2F;rosin-free solders in a hobbyist environment. But a fume-extractor (and one with a decent fan) is a must, I feel, and they&#x27;re so cheap these days they&#x27;re worth the investment.<p>In the Hackaday comments, the other main thing I missed listing was magnification, either desk-mounted or head-worn. I&#x27;ve put my visor-magnifier in a place of prominence on my workbench now, shaming me with its glassy gaze for leaving it out.

Literally 5 minutes ago I finished my build of an Elenco XP-720K power supply kit. It has both DC +1.25 to 15V and DC -1.25 to 15V (1A), along with a DC +5V 3A output. And 12.6 VAC, for tubes I guess :-)<p>$65 and 6 hours of work. No meters, nor current limiting, but hey, it&#x27;s accurate and cheap. Manual is <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.elenco.com&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2017&#x2F;10&#x2F;XP-720K_REV-J-2.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.elenco.com&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2017&#x2F;10&#x2F;XP-720K_RE...</a><p>Elenco also makes a pre-assembled version, but what&#x27;s the fun in that?

If anyone is interested in a nice long video talking about what you can use&#x2F;need for setting up an electronics lab, take a look at the EEVblog video for doing this. Dave keeps everything under a certain dollar limit and explains his choices well.<p>Not saying this link is bad for some reason, but more information is better.

Some of this sounds useful, but the author recommends leaded solder instead of lead free.<p>Hasn&#x27;t lead free has been the standard for <i>years</i>, due to safety?

Ts-80&#x2F;100 for solder, bk-858 for hot air rework, and a mini frying pan on the oven for ‘reflow soldering’