From busted circuits to custom builds: Embracing the solder-first mindset

Mar 02, 2025

Back in the late ’90s and early 2000s, I played guitar in a couple of screamo bands (apparently, that genre’s called Skramz now). We played high-energy shows all over New England—sometimes a few times a week—and with all the chaos on stage, breaking cables and jacks was just part of the deal. I picked up a soldering iron out of necessity, patching up the endless stream of broken guitar jacks and instrument cables. For nearly a decade, that’s where my soldering skills stalled.

Even after I stopped playing live as often, my love for music stuck with me—especially my obsession with vintage amps and effects pedals. That passion eventually led me down a new rabbit hole: modding guitar pedals. To pull it off, I had to level up my soldering skills and dive deeper into the world of electronic components. What started with a few basic mods quickly escalated into cloning pedals, designing circuits from scratch, repairing all kinds of gear, and eventually tackling surface-mount (SMT) repairs on modern PCBs.

But none of that came easily. Books and YouTube tutorials only got me so far before I’d hit a wall. Real progress didn’t happen until I changed my approach—treating every broken gadget as a potential project, utilizing every circuit board as practice material, and holding onto salvaged parts for future builds. That mindset shift made all the difference.

The NES architecture can be divided into three key groups: CPU-related components, PPU-related components, and cartridge-specific components

Some people learn best with electronics kits and step-by-step instructions—but I’m not one of them. I’m a hands-on learner, and that’s probably why I’ve picked up skills in so many different areas over the years. While I love diving deep into anything that grabs my attention, I need to start practicing right away to stay engaged. Otherwise, my AuDHD just redirects me toward the next shiny distraction.

The best way for me to improve my soldering wasn’t by building—it was by breaking things down. Desoldering became my practice ground. Just like deconstructing a system helps me understand how it works, reversing the soldering process taught me what a solid connection really looks like. Broken electronics and cheap thrift store finds were perfect for this—I didn’t have to worry about messing anything up. More importantly, I got comfortable handling a soldering iron without the pressure of ruining a valuable component.

Through-hole technology (THT) is much more forgiving than surface-mount devices (SMDs), especially when you’re just starting out. It’s also easier to learn component identification this way, since through-hole parts are bigger and clearly labeled—unlike the tiny, lookalike rectangles of SMD components. Old alarm clocks turned out to be some of the best (and cheapest) practice material. Everyday household electronics work well too; anything that breaks often or eventually needs replacing is fair game. Dead LED bulbs, expired smoke detectors—if it has a circuit board, it’s worth cracking open.

⚠️ Safety First: Before you dive into any electronics, take the time to learn basic safety precautions. While most of what I worked on wasn’t dangerous, not all electronics discharge capacitors automatically, and those can hold a nasty shock. Be safe, don’t electrocute yourself—and invest in a solder fume extractor fan. That smoke isn’t good for you.

I took two approaches to this: desoldering and then resoldering components, and identifying and saving some components. It may seem obvious, but the biggest benefit to using real-world items will be that you're not just practicing on a limited number of components you’d find in a kit, you’re learning how to deal with everything—resistors, capacitors, inductors, transformers, diodes, and even integrated circuits (IC).

Honestly, desoldering is twice as challenging as soldering. The core skills are the same—temperature control, proper contact, heat transfer, and positioning—but the process is more demanding. You need to wick away old solder or use a solder pump, reflow stubborn joints with flux, and clear holes to free component legs without breaking them—all while trying not to burn out anything. Still, it’s worth sticking with, since the variety of components you’ll encounter teaches you far more than any beginner kit ever could.

Through-hole resistors, inductors, and capacitors use either color-coded stripes or numerical codes to indicate their values. Each component also has a tolerance rating, marking how much its actual value can vary from what’s printed. I never fully memorized the system, but sorting and categorizing salvaged parts helped me recognize patterns and understand their function over time.

This process also made it easier to identify everything on a circuit board. ICs and transistors usually have part numbers printed on them, which you can look up to find datasheets and specs. But if you’re serious about getting into electronics, you’ll run into a bigger challenge: getting access to the individual components you need.

The days of walking into a local Radio Shack to grab a single resistor or capacitor are long gone. Now, it’s usually a choice between buying components in bulk—hoping you’ll eventually use the extras—or overpaying for a small part just to get it shipped. That’s why salvaging parts from old electronics became so valuable for me. Every teardown became a way to build a stash of useful components for future projects.

Eventually, I picked up a few storage organizers to keep everything sorted. I like AideTek organizers for transistors and surface-mount parts, while Akro-Mils drawer cabinets are perfect for through-hole components and larger parts. Having a well-organized collection of salvaged components has saved me time, money, and frustration—and it’s made diving into new projects a lot easier.

I’m sure I don’t need to sell anyone here on open-source utilization, so let’s get straight to two open-source projects that I highly recommend.

If you’ve worked with Arduinos before, you’re probably familiar with the ATmega328P chip used in the Arduino Nano. There’s a fantastic electronic component tester built around this chip—an open-source hardware project originally created by Markus Frejek and expanded on by Karl-Heinz Kübbeler and others, called the AVR Transistor Tester. While it supports various ATmega processors, the most common version you’ll find uses the ATmega328P.

This tester can help you identify and verify a wide range of electronic components: resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, transistors (NPN, PNP, MOSFETs, JFETs), thyristors, triacs, LEDs, and more. There are plenty of offshoot projects, like wagiminator’s pocket-sized version or Sarag 001’s DIY take of the original tester. You’ll also find countless versions of the tester manufactured in China on sites like Alibaba and eBay, often priced under $20.

When it comes to soldering irons, I should have upgraded much sooner. I went with the Miniware TS80P, a lightweight smart soldering iron powered by USB Type-C that can run off a PD2.0 power bank. It uses open-source IronOS firmware, which is the next evolution of the firmware originally developed for the TS100 soldering irons.

So why bother upgrading when you can buy a basic soldering kit for as little as $10?

For portability, I run mine off a Ulanzi NP-F Battery Plate Adapter and some Sony NP-F970 8900mAh batteries. It’s a setup that lets me solder anywhere, without being tied to my workbench.

Arduino really is a tinkerer's best friend

This all comes down to a mindset most DIYers will recognize: finding any excuse for a new project—especially if it means taking something apart (and occasionally putting it back together). I made more progress in a month of practicing this way than I did in six months of struggling through DIY electronics kits.

Soldering isn’t all that difficult with a bit of practice, but getting good at it is all about developing a feel for temperature, understanding how to make proper contact with the soldering tip, and learning how heat transfers to melt the solder effectively.

Becoming confident in my soldering skills opened up a whole new range of possibilities. Now, when something breaks, I have a good shot at fixing it—and that confidence makes it easier to take risks with unfamiliar circuits or gear. I don’t worry about burning out components or making mistakes because I know how to troubleshoot and recover.

So, the next time something electronic breaks in your home, crack it open. Even if you don’t fix it, you’ll get valuable practice—and maybe discover your next great project along the way.

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