Cool Tools Kit Awards 2020

While we're at it, I'll share my very uncool storage medium.  My son refers to this as The Chest of Despair. If I were to be on a desert isle, this would probably be the thing that washes up on shore with me.  At least I could weave a hammock out of all those old telephone and monitor cords. 

As I was riding the exercise bike - kind of wishing I was anywhere else - it dawned on me... Cool Tools !!!  The one tool that I use that phrase to describe I just received from element14!

I DO NOT feel like the brightest bulb in the drawer right now but here is the tool that I call my cool tool...

Here's my work area..

I love my 3D printer, built from a kit of parts and since modified and upgraded. Such a great tool for any hobby builder. No more trying to fix builds into generic boxes.

Currently building jumbo clocks for my local squash club, they sync the time from the internet, have stopwatch and count down timer. They also sync up with each other, so they can all show the same stopwatch or count down.

It's hard to pick my favourite tool, at the moment I really like my bench power supply (hidden behind the 3D printer), and logic analyser (mounted below the shelf, with mounts created on the 3D printer).

My oldest tool is likely a pair of pliers which I got for a birthday present when I was around 10 (over 30 years ago). They have had so much use over the years..

My favourite tool is probably my cordless drill. I've had it for quite a few years now and it has helped me through many fix-it and build-it and make-it projects around here!

It's showing some age now, so we just bought a smaller younger model to help it out.

For electronics, it's hard to pick a favourite as so many tools have to come together to make a project. I did have an old little soldering iron I used for many many years. I finally left it at my father-in-law's place because his irons were huge and super old and awkward. I left it there because I so often need to work on his boat wiring   And element14 has equipped me with a very nice upgrade for it, which has taken a top spot in my favourites list.

In general I do lean towards the wire strippers being my overall most coveted tool.

Mostly because it works like magic! Like, how does it know where the plastic ends and the wire begins?! Magic!

In terms of a Dream Tool, I would sure love to have a robot that does all my chores for me! Don't tell my wife cause she'll try to tell you that SHE is the robot right now, which is not true because I do a lot of chores around here, honestly!

Of course, I wouldn't treat such a robot as a tool. I would give it a name and treat it like a pet. Just like Joe, the Jokari wire stripper pictured above

Cheers,

-Nico

Awesome, haven’t got around to taking a pic yet, looks like you no longer need it. It makes a huge difference the iron being more secure, nice fix.

I found another way to sort it. I have used a spare washer I had from replacing the shower hose:

It fits like a glove, and gives those couple mm needed to push back the sleeve:

Thanks for the hint!

Fabio

Hello,

for me it is a bit funny to write about a desert island kit - I don't live on an island, the exact opposite. However, after some home redecorations (I had to make room for our daughters), I (temporarily?) lost my desk with a laptop, LCD, keyboard and mouse set and a space to do my HW / FW development. My current situation is that all electronics I have (components, kits, measurement tools) is located in 3 IKEA boxes. If I find a free space a home for an hour or two, I unpack only the things I need and put it back after the session.

Suddenly, portability is one of the key things. I don't need the best bench tools, I need small, portable and reliable tools that simply work. I am constantly looking for small, universal, yet functional tools.

My current power supply is a classic bench 0-30 V, 0 - 3 A Tenma power supply.

After seeing baldengineer 's video https://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-92326/l/workbench-wednesday-08-affordable-hand-held-power-supply-review?ICID=workbench-wed-episodes , I will probably soon replace it for Tenma 72-2660: https://uk.farnell.com/tenma/72-2660/power-supply-handheld-3-75a-12v/dp/2846479

I've never had a bench oscilloscope, I use an Analog Discovery 2 instead. Great for developing and analyzing low-power, low-speed circuits. It is mostly used for powering and debugging I2C sensors and their communication to a host MCU.

My soldering iron is superb: JBC CD-B, https://www.jbctools.com/cd-b-general-purpose-product-1605.html

However, in my current situation, I will probably order a TS-100 or some variant of it. According to the reviews it looks usable: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ts-100

For mechanical tools, I haven't found a thing that can't be dismantled with this set: https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Manta-Driver-Kit--112-Bit-Driver-Kit/IF145-392?o=1

And I haven't found a small connector that couldn't be crimped using these pliers: http://www.engineer.jp/en/products/pa09e.html

My goal is to fit everything I need into one box to be a true desert island kit

David

PS: One of the boxes is full of development kits and evaluation boards and I obviously don't use all the kits all the time, so I could easily reduce this to let's say 3 favorite boards. I would choose a Raspberry Pi, STM32L4 Nucleo board and an Arduino.

Another fan of useful boxes here. This is just a few of mine. I also use quite a lot of 4L and 9L boxes (the sheet of paper sized ones) which can be useful for keeping all the bits of a project together.

Weapons Rack

You may also notice "the tool that I'd proudly put on display" proudly on display that just happens to be in shot - the amazing RTM3004 oscilloscope. This is a tool that would never have made it onto my bench if it wasn't for the incredible Road Test program here on E14. It tends to alternate between proudly on display (not that anyone else at home appreciates what it is) and high up on a shelf out of the reach of clumsy kids.

Thanks

Nice organization.  I have a few of these type but they're in three different places around the house.

I also can't resist a good deal on small containers!  Tupperware is good for more than just leftovers.