Jinx wrote:
> Unless you're really tight on board space or trying to impress your
> mother, 0805 or 1206 are much more practical

Yeah, I second that.  I consider 0805 the "normal" package unless there is a
reason I need to use something different.  On physically tight designs 0603
and even 0402 may be necessary.  I've used 1206 resistors a few times when I
needed more power dissipation than the 125mW most 0805 packages are rated
for.  Another solution if you need more power dissipation, especially for
hobby purposes, is to put two 0805 resistors of half the value in series.  I
actually did that on a commercial product once because the 1/2 value 0805
resistor was already used elsewhere on that design.

As for the soldering iron, get something temperature controlled.  The days
of open loop 12.5W or 20W or 25W are over.  When you were soldering leads
into eyelets or the bottom of tube sockets it didn't matter much if the iron
got a few 100F hotter than optimal.  However nowadays you're soldering right
up against sensitive ICs and on PC boards.  Excessive heat does bad things
to both.  For hobby purposes, probably any temperature controlled soldering
iron (sometimes called soldering pencil) with a reasonably fine point
conical tip will do.  As someone else suggested, look for some used ones,
but be prepared that you may need to get a new tip.

When you get one, take care of the tip properly.  That first and foremost
means to keep the temperature low unless you have a good reason to raise is.
I use the Weller WES50 and WES51s we have around here at 600F for normal
use, and sometimes crank it to 650-700F for desoldering.  Keep the tip
tinned regularly, and always tin the tip right before shutting the solder
station off.


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