Saturday, February 28, 2015

SL REVIEWS: RadioShack Soldering Kit Unboxing

SHARD REVIEWS:
THE RADIOSHACK LEARN-TO-SOLDER KIT
By Carter Schaap
2/28/15

   Yesterday, I stopped by the local RadioShack here in southwestern Ohio. For those of you who don't already know, (and most of you probably do) RadioShack filed for bankruptcy just recently, meaning that most of their stores are closing or becoming privately owned.

   Because of this, you can find some terrific deals at the stores, with closeout sales ranging from 30% -60% off.
A RadioShack soldering starter kit, 50% off.

   So when I went in there, it looked like a tornado had just blown through, with most of the shelves stripped bare. The MAKE section, however, still had a fair amount of equipment left, so I picked up one of their soldering kits that was actually pretty decent. It came with a 25W soldering iron, several feet of solder, pliers, and a kit to make a miniature electric keyboard.
   Oh, and if you get one of the kits but don't have a Makezine subscription, the kit includes a card for a free issue.


   The price is usually $30, but if you haggle, you can walk out with up to a 50% discount like I did.


UNBOXING:



   Overall, it's a nice kit. The soldering iron can be a bit messy, and the solder itself tends to smoke, but a long as you have proper ventilation you'll be fine.

The 25W soldering iron.
   The instructions should get you through just fine, and the circuit board included is even labeled to help you find the correct spots to insert each part.

Partialy done electric keyboard

     It's very satisfying to finally power it up and listen to the electronic notes play.


   And there you have it! A great deal for what you get. If you still have a RadioShack near you that hasn't closed, I would recommend you stop by and take a look. Who knows? You might find something great on sale there.

Video of the finished product.
   Whew, my first review. Hopefully not to shabby, eh? Let me know what you think in the comments and +1 us on Google+.

   Also be on the lookout for our SLR: THE ARDUINO UNO review.

1 comment:

  1. Very cool! Mozart would be jealous if he could see this now.

    ReplyDelete