First time solderer. Good booklet, good instructions and information, and plenty wire for when you mess up stripping it with scissors (I have no wire stripper). The only thing I was missing were instructions for the on/off switch. It has holes so it seems like I could run a wire through it, but I didn't know if that would short things so I didn't. Apart from melting off part at the top (practice part) things went well. I only have a bridge between a capacitor and a resistor on the back, but I think those were kinda connected on the back as well which is why the solder flowed so well? I'm not sure how bad that bridge is either because - yay - I have two blinking lights when I turn it on and no smoke :) On with the minty kit and then an iPod nano that needs a new battery (er..maybe a little too ambitious? Pretty small soldering points).
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Good place to start if you have a soldering pen
December 5, 2009
Reviewer:
Stefan Jones
from Hillsboro, OR United States
An effective but not exciting way to learn how to solder electronic components. The booklet has information of soldering, reading resistor labels, and making repairs to your work.
I bought this at the same time as the "learn to solder" set. The instruction book is virtually identical, as is the circuit board. This one doesn't have a siren, though. Instead, it has an IC socket you use to practice using a multimeter to check resistance.
While a bit redundant after working through the other kit, putting together this was good practice.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
I still have the "touch"
July 20, 2009
Reviewer:
Neil Tsubota
from Foster City, CA United States
Soldering must be like bike riding....once you learn the basics, you never forget, no matter how "old" you get.
I did miss one question on the exam. OK so I only got a 90% on the written part. Fun and Easy to learn.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Good place to start..
February 11, 2009
Reviewer:
Joel Smith
from Kinston, NC United States
I got one of these about a year ago when I was learning to solder. The instructions that came with the kit made it clear and easy to get good joins. It also teaches different kinds of joins and bridges. After this kit, I felt a lot more comfortable with other, more complicated and fun kits. If you're starting to solder, try it!
I can solder now 
Good place to start if you have a soldering pen 
