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What I use

Computers

There are currently two working computers that are being used. The main desktop tower where I'm typing this right now, and an older system that serves as a creation station for the kids.

Desktop tower

This machine has been running Debian 13 (trixie) since it has been released. The main desktop environment is currently Sway on Wayland.

The machine contains:

  • ASUS TUF Gaming X570-PLUS motherboard
  • AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU
  • 32 GB of DDR4-3600 RAM
  • 250 GB WD Black SN750 NVMe storage for the OS
  • 1 TB WD Black SN750 NVMe storage for user data
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER
  • AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT
  • Keychron K8 Pro keyboard, with lavender Infinikey Pastel keycaps

In a typical work session I would use:

  • A Zsh shell, with Oh My Zsh
  • Vim as a text editor and development environment
  • Alacritty for the terminal emulation, with multiple tabs per window
  • Firefox for web browsing needs, and used instead of standalone apps (that is, Discord and Mastodon)
  • KiCad, OpenSCAD, FreeCAD, Inkscape, and PrusaSlicer for making things
Creation station

A second computer was built out of spare components as a creation station. It's made of:

  • ASUS Prime X670-P motherboard
  • AMD Ryzen 5 2600X CPU
  • 16 GB or DDR3 RAM
  • 1 TB NVMe storage
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
  • Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse
  • Audio-Technica AT2005USB microphone
  • Logitech C925e webcam

Electronics station

Most of the equipement I'm using for making has been acquired two decades ago when I used to live in a larger appartment, or when we got the house. It's a mix of old and trusted, and pretty new stuff.

Weller WESD51 soldering iron

This soldering station had lost its temperature knob and has my very first 3D print as a replacement. I don't see a reason to replace it at the scale of any of my projects.

Hakko FA-400 smoke absorber

It's a basic extraction system that seems to be good enough in a well-ventilated room so that my air quality monitor doesn't notice the flux fumes.

Greenlee "1105" wire stripper and cutter

Sometimes used for stripping wire insulation, but mostly for forming leads of through-hole components, or as general purpose pliers. It's always next to the soldering station.

Hony HY-150 "automatic self-adjusting" wire stripper and cutter

This is the fancy wire stripping tool from Adafruit. Somehow I haven't had to use one that much since I got it two years ago.

VOMM 3616 AA SA-ESD tweezers

This is the pair of tweezers that I've been using since forever and they still look great. I accidentally bent the tip once, but it still works perfectly.

CHP 170 diagonal cutters

Pretty much the essential tool if I'm building a through-hole board. There's always a pair of safety glasses that are stored with it. These days I have a couple of older cutters that I keep for preparing 3D printing filament, or any use where there's a risk of damaging the blades.

Stickvise

The board holder I will use most frequently these days. I got frustrated with the PanaVise 201 that I had when I started.

Fluke 179 digital multimeter

I learned to test and probe circuits on older Fluke 70 multimeters, so I got a fancy kit for myself. I use it to test and troubleshoot circuits (mostly continuity, with the audible signal), or measure component values.

MG Chemicals 852 brush

This is the brush I use to remove the water-soluble flux. I used to use old toothbrushes for this purpose.

Kester 331 Water-Soluble solder

This flux is easy to remove under running water, and we have an extra sink in the basement that can be used for that purpose. I will clean up boards after every soldering sessions.

Note that this is leaded solder. I still use this because I bought it around 2003 and haven't yet used more than a third of it.

Kester 245 No-Clean solder

The No-Clean version is used in the later steps of a projects, where components such as potentiometers, switches, and various connectors would have issues if put under water.