Before You Start

This section is intended for beginners who are poorly or not at all familiar with soldering and basic safety. Here you can get acquainted with the necessary tools, assess the difficulty level, and learn basic safety rules.

Necessary Tools

Tool number one for assembling this kit is a simple soldering iron. But for comfortable work, something more will be needed.

Soldering Iron, Tips, Solder

I'll start with the most important thing — the soldering iron. It simply heats the metal for melting (usually it is a tin-lead alloy). For this kit, so that the experience is only positive, I recommend using a compact soldering iron like FNIRSI HS-02 (or Pinecil/TS100). The soldering iron must heat the tip well so that the solder melts instantly and evenly.

The second important component is tips.

I recommend a C2 (beveled cylinder) type tip — it is convenient to solder all kit components with them.

Important: The tip must be high quality so that the solder melts not somewhere inside, but at the very tip.

If the tip is new, it should be tinned:

1. Heat the tip.

2. Poke it into rosin or apply flux.

3. Melt a little solder so that it spreads evenly over the tip.

Now the tip is ready for work.

Solder. There are two most popular types:

• Leaded (SnPb): Melts at ~280°C (depends on composition). More convenient for beginners.

• Lead-free: Melts at higher temperatures (~360°C). More ecological - safer.

Note: If there is an opportunity, take lead-free. But remember the higher temperature. If you use leaded — work in a ventilated room, because lead is toxic.

2. Flux

Flux is not an option, but a mandatory thing. Without it, there will be no normal soldering. If you solder without flux — you are not soldering, you are just heating metal and torturing the board.

Purpose of flux:

• Removes oxide film from component leads and board tracks.

• Helps solder spread evenly.

Most popular variants:

• Rosin: Classic. Cheap, works, but smokes and leaves dirt. Okay for first attempts, but better to take something more modern right away.

• Liquid flux: Easy to apply, works well, minimum residues.

• Gel flux: Top choice. Does not spread, convenient for small components.

For this kit, I recommend liquid or gel flux that does not require washing (No Clean). But if you soldered the board from 0 to 100, I recommend cleaning it with a toothbrush and medical alcohol (isopropyl) anyway.

Warning: If you cleaned the board with alcohol, let it dry completely before turning it on!

3. Multimeter

This is a thing without which you won't succeed in debugging anything in electronics.

No multimeter = you are not checking, you are guessing.

It allows you to:

• Measure voltage (V): check if power is arriving and if it is correct.

• Measure resistance (Ω): understand if a component is alive and if there are no breaks.

• Ring out (Continuity test): find a short circuit or check track integrity.

• Measure current (A): rarely, but sometimes critical.

For this kit, an expensive Fluke is not needed. A simple digital multimeter with a continuity mode (with sound) is enough. This is sufficient to find a short circuit between GND and VCC before applying power or understand why nothing starts.

Golden rule: Before the first launch, check the resistance on the power line. If it is too low (short circuit) — do not turn it on!

Difficulty Level

rosco_m68k is not a simple, but not an overly complex kit either. In terms of difficulty, it is somewhere below average. This is not the ideal option for the very first soldering in life, but quite manageable for a person who has held a soldering iron at least once.

Who this kit is for

• You have basic soldering experience.

• You understand what polarity, chip orientation, and power are.

• You are ready to look for errors and debug in case of anything.

Estimated assembly time

Time depends on experience and neatness:

This is strictly assembly time. Debugging (searching for errors) may take more time. It is better to solder slowly and check every stage — then the chance of problems at the first launch is minimal.

Typical Mistakes and Safety

There is nothing complicated here, but ignoring these things often ends with a ruined board or burnt chips.

Short Safety Rules

1. Ventilation: Work in a well-ventilated room — smoke from flux and solder is harmful.

2. Flux is a friend: Soldering dry spoils contacts.

3. Check: Do not apply power to the board without checking with a multimeter for a short circuit.

4. Smoke Test: If something went wrong, better turn off the board immediately and check components.

Top Newbie Mistakes

• 🔥 Overheating of contact pads (pads fall off).

• 🔄 Confused orientation of chips, electrolytic capacitors, and LEDs.

• 🌵 Soldering without flux or with a meager amount of it.

• ⚡ Applying power just to see what happens without checking resistance.

• 🧽 Board not cleaned from active flux (can conduct current).

• 💪 Attempt to forcefully insert a component (e.g., a socket or chip) that does not fit.

• 🤞 Hope that somehow it will work by itself.

Most problems arise not because of circuit complexity, but because of haste. Adherence to basic rules saves a bunch of time and nerves.