Express Kit has arrived

[sjb]

Thanks to another member that was able to sell me an Express Kit I will be soldering this weekend and putting my first piece together, then some sequencing.
With everything that I have read on this forum I only hope the excitment that I have about putting this together, will be the same that people will have when they see our house this upcoming season.

To all of you that share your knowledge to us newbies and put up with some of the questions that get asked, I can only say  THANK YOU

and 

[chrisatpsu]

remember to take your time at first. you want every effort for it to go smoothly.

[pk]

Be sure to follow the assy manual that is posted in the Wiki.  It is very helpful for your first build.  RJ has also posted a video of building an express. 

Let us know how it comes out.

[tbone321]

Just do it my way and you will have no trouble at all, guaranteed.   

[sjb]

Just do it my way and you will have no trouble at all, guaranteed.   

And doing it your way would be
Would it be built this weekend??

[tbone321]

LOL, sorry to say no.  My way currently is to leave it in the box.  I just haven't had the time (or even the space really) to build them yet.  If it stays in the box, then you will have no problem with it, guaranteed.

[sjb]

Thought of that once I saw how many pieces. Actually when I opened the box my first words were HOLY @#$* then the "What have I gotten myself into" thought crossed my mind. I even showed my son and said to him, maybe it would be easier if he just stayed in the garage and flipped light switches on and off  , . But I will take my time and I know that if I run into any issues there will be awesome support from this forum.

[tbone321]

I's really not all that hard to do.  I've been doing this for over 40 years.  The real trick is to take your time and check it twice before applying solder.  Make sure you have enough space to work in and plan one step before what you are currently working in.  This will help you avoid mistakes.  Another thing is don't be afraid to crank up the heat a little.  It is better to use a hot iron quickly then to heat soak a component waiting for a cool iron to warm it up enough to flow the solder. 

[SteveMaris]

I's really not all that hard to do.  I've been doing this for over 40 years.  The real trick is to take your time and check it twice before applying solder.  Make sure you have enough space to work in and plan one step before what you are currently working in.  This will help you avoid mistakes.  Another thing is don't be afraid to crank up the heat a little.  It is better to use a hot iron quickly then to heat soak a component waiting for a cool iron to warm it up enough to flow the solder.

I agree. Hot iron works best.

[njKeever]

And please, make sure you double check your output terminal strip is on the right way before you solder it! 

[DanHouston]

Definitely agree with what everyone has said...I'll just add that the assembly manual has some "Take a break" sections in it, and I highly recommend that. Give your eyes and brain a chance to relax and come back fresh for the next round.

[rdebolt]

My first solder project was a Ramsey FM100b Transmitter. Like you I about **** when I opened it up. I was really amazed when I was done and plugged it in and there was no smoke!  Worked first time. I am sure that if you take your time it will be the same results!