7 replies to this topic

[Arron Chapman]

I want to purchase some shields like the ProtoShield but I can't solder, due to both a lack of skill and I just moved for work, and am still looking for an apartment. Is there somewhere that I can purchase this sort of stuff pre-assembled?

[hari]

Don't worry, you can create almost any project with no soldering.
All you need is a breadboard and some jumper wires.
You can buy both at SparkFun and other online stores or at your local RadioShack.

Breadboards come in various sizes and colors. You can also get flexible jumper wires, but they are ridiculously expensive at SparkFun. I purchased mine on eBay for a lot less, but it did take 2 weeks to arrive from China.

Have fun!

[Arron Chapman]

For prototyping the breadboard is great, but I'd like to get a ProtoShield and that requires Soldering.

[bill.french]

What, as an example, do you want pre-assembled?

[Arron Chapman]

What, as an example, do you want pre-assembled?

I was hoping to find somewhere that might have a variety, but I currently want the ProtoShield

[GDSever]

I was hoping to find somewhere that might have a variety, but I currently want the ProtoShield

I soldered up two of them just this evening - took less than 15 minutes each, and only that long because I was running around doing other stuff too. If you have a soldering iron, these are a good starter project to start building your chops - if you intend on tinkering with electronics, developing good soldering skills will be pretty important...

[Eric Burdo]

I soldered up two of them just this evening - took less than 15 minutes each, and only that long because I was running around doing other stuff too. If you have a soldering iron, these are a good starter project to start building your chops - if you intend on tinkering with electronics, developing good soldering skills will be pretty important...

+1 for learning the soldering skills... it's very handy.

There are "learn to solder" kits you can buy too. Inexpensive, and they teach you how to solder, de-solder, do the "thru hole" and more.

I actually picked up a few mini light kits from SparkFun to learn to solder on. Since then, I've done a handful of other projects... pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

[JonnyBoats]

Are you familiar with hackerspaces (http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/ )?

Hackerspaces are places where people get together to work on projects and help each other. They often have classes on the basics (like soldering), and you would surely find someone there who would be willing to help you.

If you are near one, (see list: http://hackerspaces....f_Hacker_Spaces ), I would encourage you to check it out.