Hello fellow flasholic+modders,
I’m looking to mod my SMALL SUN ZY-T13 (T40cs clone) like the links below. It’s under-driven and I won’t stand for it 
Do you have any recommendations/deals for tools?
I know I’ll need a decent soldering iron with a fine tip, and something to measure voltage and current. Depending on how this goes, I hope to mod more in the future.
Thank you for your help!!
Hi,
You might want one (or two) of those “Helping hands” things…. a pair of alligator clips on some pivots. It’s helpful when soldering stuff, since we only get two hands :). Something like this:
You’ll want solder, some flux, and some stuff to desolder, maybe braid or one of those solder sucker things.
I always find a small magnifying glass helpful (a loupe works well for me) and headlights.
Jim
For iron one of the hako clones or Elenco with adjustable temp. 40w would be good,
For multimeter one of the craftsman or Fluke if you can afford it
forgot to add, get one of those jeweler magnifying glasses, helps a lot when working with small things
most likely you will not need it for that mod, but a decent set of files is nice to have
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Screwdriver-set-with-precision-files-new-/330891202582?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d0aa71016
that looks just like the set i have, works real good
You don’t need to spend much to get started.
Hakko 936 clone:
You could get by with a cheap multimeter for now. No need to fork out for a Fluke just yet. Best to get one with continuity beep to help check connections, e.g.:
http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10002443/1179801-best-dt830d-digital-multimeter
Solder (I prefer 60/40), solder braid or desolder pump (I use both depending). Cheap pumps tend to be pretty rubbish though.
Helping hands are useful, as are tweezers and side-cutters.
If you can, try to work somewhere with decent ventilation and/or use a fan to blow away the fumes. You will also need good lighting.
I’ll add to the list some long needle nose pliers for removing pills and switch’s.
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-3-4-quarter-inch-needle-nose-pliers-40696.html
While you are there might as well get this to.
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece-precision-needle-file-set-4614.html
and this
http://www.harborfreight.com/helping-hands-319.html
I know most of the items have already been mentioned but they have a lot of useful tools in one store if you have one near you. They also have 20% off one item coupons online, this is the place where I find mine.
If you want to go cheap they have this also, although I would recommend the hobbyking hakko 936 clone mentioned above.
http://www.harborfreight.com/30-watt-lightweight-soldering-iron-69060.html
One more: Shining Beam has a fairly inexpensive tweezer… used to unscrew various things using the prongs, plus you actually use them as tweezers to pick things up :)…
Jim
Wow, you guys are awesome! So many things I never would of thought of (the helper, magnifying glass, braid/suction, flux).
Here’s what I’m about to order from Amazon: (going to get that multimeter and some 18650’s from fasttech as well)
Iron: Elenco Soldering Station (40W Iron) comes with extra tips!
Helper: TEKTON 7521 Helping Hand with Magnifier
Desoldering Braid
Rectorseal 74026 3-Ounce C-Flux
How does that sound thus far?
Here’s a reasonably priced soldering iron…
http://www.sciplus.com/p/540-WATT-VARIABLE-SOLDERING-STATION_48254
…you can get files and all sorts of useful gadgets/tools from this place (American Science and Surplus)
I do not know about that Elenco iron, but it looks like it has temperature control which is important. Question to ask is, can I buy new tips for it easily? Good thing about the Hakko clones is you can buy replacement parts for it, e.g. heating element, new pen (should you need to replace it), etc.
My only suggestion would be an auto-ranging multimeter rather than a manual-ranging one as suggested above. Though it’s much more expensive, but the convenience is superb.
I’ll piggyback off this thread… any better soldering stations than the 936 clone for under $50 shipped? Or is that the best you’re gonna get? I have a few other hobbies that require a soldering iron and I’m tired of the shitty 30w radioshacks lifting traces on vintage electronics. That could be a combination of OE and bad tips though.
The 937d, I think it’s the same station but with an LCD showing temp… So can’t really say its better I guess…
Sounds like they aren’t temperature controlled either.
But they’re the finest that 9.98 can buy! Say it ain’t so!
Step up to a better DMM if you want reliable tailcap currents. Use a 20% off coupon and get this Mastech 8229 clone from Harbor Freight for +/- $36 (or wait forever for it to go on sale and get 20% off the sale price). Amazon link to the Mastech 8229. PilotPTK recommended!
-Garry
Try the UT-61E, just make your own leads, short and thick, those they come with are not good as you measure in series of course you get a lot of resistance. At least the physical build quality of the DMM is top notch.
Hi,
It’s been a long while since I’ve bought a new meter, but back then, I had generally been avoiding auto-ranging, because I use to hate that the readings on the meter would usually fluctuate for awhile before the auto-ranging kicked in and settled down.
Is that still the case with the newer meters?
Just curious…
Jim
I only have one auto-ranging multimeter (the one I linked) and the auto-range when measuring batteries voltage takes less than a second. I didn’t feel there was a “delay” at all. I’m not sure about other multimeters or higher-ends ones (I think there are higher-ends one like Fluke that would take some time to settle.)
I’ll link some Youtube to show the speed of the auto-range I get on that multimeter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln59xlYvaaM (watch 10:20)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBbgiBU96mM (watch 16:20, 17:40)