Newbie build experiences?

[Robert Leonard]

I'm a computer geek.. I put part together.. but have no experience with a soldering iron or electricity other than when plug goes where..

What are my chances for building one of these and not ruining it? 

I'm on a tight budget and would rather not pay extra to have it built for me.. but then again, I don't want to buy the thing only to be in way over my head on assembly.

Anybody else find themselves in this situation?  What was the build experience like for a newbie such as myself?

Thanks for any input!

[Ray]

Hi Robert,

I suggest that you take a look at the following notes just posted some days ago on this forum:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/rayshobby/JYJD8C_PoBY%5B1-25%5D

-Ray

[Dave Hylands]

Hey Robert,

What city are you in?

There are often Hacker/Maker spaces, and you can typically drop in and
have somebody give you a quick intro to soldering, and perhaps even
borrow tools (at the space).

Having the right tools helps alot, but it will cost you more to buy
the right tools than it will to buy the assembled and tested version.

--
Dave Hylands
Shuswap, BC, Canada
http://www.davehylands.com

[Jim H]

Hi Robert,
Not sure what tools you have but if you don't want to try Dave's suggestion (which is a good one, I might add), it might cost you more to pick up everything you need to build it than just buying the pre-built one.  However, if you want to give it a go, like I did, and already have the tools, you could opt for picking up one of those cheap hobby kits from Radio Shack to practice on.  They range from $10 to $30.  I looked at them thinking I would brush up but in the end, I just went for it.

[Joe Chiarelli]

I do NOT solder professionally and I could not believe I got all the solder joints 100% on the first try. It worked like a charm.

The instructions are AWESOMELY DOCUMENTED. Big thanks to RAY for that.

Give it a shot. All you need is a 25$ soldering iron. I was in the same boat. I wasnt sure if i could do it, wasn't sure I wanted to spend the money thinking I could do it it.. Blah blah blah. Took me about 6 hours, but in little pieces. A learning experience.

You probably wont save much by doing it unless you have all the soldering iron , solder ,etc to do it. But you will gain knowledge.

Go for it!

On Monday, August 13, 2012 2:50:20 PM UTC-4, Robert Leonard wrote: