SMD Challenge

Name: SMD Challenge
SKU: 10121
Price: 14.00 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.75 (18 reviews)

(18 Reviews)

Test your surface mount soldering skills out, starting with a 1206 package and work your way down into an oblivion of frustration.

Designed by MakersBox in United States of America

2018-11-22T19:17:13.554Z-Challenge_Bootcamp.JPG

2018-11-22T19:17:13.554Z-Challenge_OSHPark.JPG

2020-01-19T02:42:55.964Z-Bodge Parts.JPG

2017-07-23T01:32:00.852Z-01_smd_challenge.jpg

2018-03-31T04:40:28.431Z-Missery1_sm.png

$14.00

Out of Stock

Sold out since Oct 26, 2024

Orders ship on Saturday. I love to support workshops. Ask me about custom PCBs or bulk orders. See where my kits have gone at http://www.makersbox.us/2017/11/500-tindie-orders.html.

Test your surface mount soldering skills out, starting with a 1206 package and work your way down into an oblivion of frustration.

In trying to design a beginning surface mount kit, I began to wonder just how small a surface mount part you could hand solder. This project, as titled on Hackaday.io, "An Unfortunate SMD Project", i…

What you get

Regular Version Includes:

Attiny SOIC-8 package
Resistors and LEDs: 1206, 0850, 0603, 0402, and 0201 packages
Extra 0201 LED and resistors because you will loose them, guaranteed
CR2032 Coin Cell holder (you supply battery)
Power switch
Detailed BOM at https://hackaday.io/project/25265-an-unfortunate-smd-project

Misery Edition Includes:

Attiny QFN-20 Package
LEDs and Resistors: 0805, 0603, 0402, 0201, and 01005 (resistor only)
Extra 0201 LED and 0201 & 01005 resistors, because you will loose them, guaranteed
Power switch
CR2032 Coin Cell holder (you supply battery)
Detailed BOM on Github

What else you will need

CR2032 battery
Soldering iron
Solder
Solder wick
Wire nippers
Tweezers
A steady hand
Magnification
Data sheets for the LEDs to determine orientation.
A lot of patience, persistence, and a positive attitude!

I would not recommend this kit to anyone, and am just selling it to punish the Hack-a-day folks who love such frustration.

If you are learning how to solder, I would recommend my Easy Joule Thief Soldering Kit.
If you are interested in learning how to solder surface mount components, I would recommend my I Can Surface Mount Solder Kit.

Final note

If you are interested in doing these for a large group or event, I'm willing to help you customize the silk screen or programming.

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Quantity	Price
1-4	$14.00
5-9	$10.00
10+	$8.00

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.83)

Documentation: (4.56)

Shipping: (4.83)

Communication: (4.78)

Richard | Sept. 22, 2020

I hate this.

I breathed and blew away the 0201 LED. Twice. I hate this. May the person who invented it have eternally wet socks.

Response from MakersBox | Sept. 23, 2020

Hats off for trying. And for admitting failure. Send me a message through the product page and I'll send you a "third chance".

Robert | June 8, 2019

Expletives not included!

You need 1. Kit, 2. Soldering Iron, 3. Flux, 4. Tweezers, 5. Solder, 6. Magnification, 7. Dictionary of Very Offensive Words.

Both the regular and misery editions successfully assembled. (Didn't even know there was an 01005 size until I got this kit!)

Actually, the hardest part is soldering on the pin so you can wear it as a badge! Spent some time faffing about with that.

Great kit!!!

Mark | March 2, 2019

Misery Edition Very Challenging!

Just as advertised, the misery did increase once past the 0402 parts. I couldn't complete it due to parts flying away but I did manage to get one 0201 and 01005 parts down. I did a live stream while doing the challenge:

Part 1: https://youtu.be/aKSAb9lbrFI
Part 2: https://youtu.be/GNeI7xGzH98

Communication just OK because I didn't communicate with MakersBox. :)

Mark KA6WKE

Brian | Dec. 24, 2018

Great challenge fun.

Exactly as advertised. I chose the misery version. The ic chip has a pad directly beneath so i used a hot air gun on that one only. Messed up the 0603 led so I simply bridged the connection. The 0201 and 01005 I used my microscope. They supply a 2nd set 2nd chance on the smallest resistor and led.

Gregory | Dec. 16, 2018

short lived 0201 component challenge

The smd kit challenge is a great way to test your soldering skills. but what would have made it even greater is if all the components (leds and resistors) where 0201 for those of us who want a really good challenge so as to improve those skills and challenges that we rarely face in soldering for a hobby. i wish the pcb had a key ring case so as to protect it from being shorted from any metal from any keys which it might come into contact with. perhaps tindie might look into doing something like that. being in the UK the delivery seemed to take for ages. maybe selling your product on amazon might make things a bit quicker. i really enjoyed putting the components on the pcb but once the 0201 components where soldered down all the rest seemed a breeze to put on. if you really want to challenge us tindi give us components (resistors and caps) with them all being 01005. this will i feel will really challenge those of us who take their soldering seriously and enjoy improving their skills in the art of soldering. great kit, but short lived challenge when the 0201 components where soldered down.

Jan | Sept. 5, 2018

Awesome project, can only recommend

I did have some experience hand-soldering 0603 parts, so I said to myself: "This can't be _that_ difficult…"
Well, going to 0402 was a challenge, and soldering the 0201 parts was brutal.
But, much to my surprise, everything worked at the first try :) Didn't even need the "second change" parts!

For anyone interested in electronics and soldering I can only recommend accepting this challenge. You will learn, you will curse, and in the end you will experience the joy of having completed a seemingly impossible task.

Some good magnification, a steady hand, high quality tweezers and a fine tipped soldering iron are a must. A multimeter with a diode tester is also really helpful.

Pierre | June 11, 2018

Really fun project to work on SMD soldering skills

Great kit, fun way to work on SMD soldering skills. I wound up having to order a few spare 0201 LED's from Digikey, but the part #'s were easy to find and everything worked after learning some new soldering techniques!

Andrew | March 20, 2018

Challenging, yet fun

Having done very little SMD work, this kit provided some challenge, especially on the 0203 components.

It's a shame that 0102 LEDs aren't available, because that would complete the horror!

Jan | March 5, 2018

Great Project

I think the SMD - Challenge is a great project. The delivery was very fast and I have learnded a much about soldering and the smd - components.

All in all i gave a positive feedback for this project.

Karl | Feb. 22, 2018

Great kit. Somewhere between challenge and torture :)

This is a must have kit in my opinion. I have done a fair amount of smd kit assembly 0603 is the smallest I have ever attempted. 0402 was OK but 0201 was torture .
Fun torture . Had to break open my 2nd kit for a 3rd 0203 led. (rather not discuss the first 2 ) And wouldn't you know it's on backwards :) I will most likely order some more to hand out :)

Ben | Feb. 11, 2018

Very fun; very challenging!

This will definitely be a challenge but success is worth it!

The PCB is well designed with good pads for soldering to and nice test-pads as well. The only issue I found was that the hole for the pin is close enough that the pin can short out against the battery if the pin is soldered in place and the battery is fully inserted.

I really enjoyed this challenge.

Jasper | Feb. 10, 2018

It was fun

The product is great. When I picked up the 0201 LED with my tweezer it slipped and it shot away to a place and I ould never find it back. I failed the SMD challenge, but it was fun.

Ben | Jan. 20, 2018

Escellent challenging kit!

This kit comes with all the parts you need, plus good documentation for a project of this level. My kit also had lapel pin hardware, which is great for attaching it to clothing after you've spent hours searching for 0201 parts that you accidentally breathed on and sent to Narnia. (I wonder if 0201 parts and the socks that get lost in the dryer all end up in the same place...)

I enjoyed assembling this kit. It's a good idea to order the spare parts kit if you haven't worked with very small SMD components before. Battery not included, so you'll need a fresh CR2032 battery. If the LEDs seem a little dim, and you've tried everything but the blue 0201 LED still doesn't work, try another battery or a regulated bench power supply. The first battery I tried was old stock, and it didn't have enough voltage to light the blue LED.

Be sure to join the 0201 Club when you get your kit working!

Casey | Nov. 22, 2017

Great Kit

Great product. Just as described. Lost all of the smallest components. Had a blast putting together and brushing up on my soldering skills.

Casey | Nov. 22, 2017

Great Kit

Great product. Just as described. Lost all of the smallest components. Had a blast putting together and brushing up on my soldering skills.

Norbert | Sept. 23, 2017

Great DIY kit for the SMD Challenge

This kit includes everything you need to try out the insane SMD Challenge. (Okay, except the coin battery cell, but if somebody doesn't know which kind to buy in the local shop should just stop right now! :) )
All the needed components are included (for some there are even spare ones if you lose/destroy one), sorted out so it is very straightforward where they need to go.
Also the ATtiny is pre-programmed, so you don't have to bother doing that, just grab the solder iron, and rock-and-roll!
The documentation is also very helpful if there are things which are unclear.
The shipping was quick, with tracking included.

Donna | Aug. 27, 2017

Great Soldering Skills Test

The SMD Challenge, though very frustrating, was fun. I basically proved my hand-soldering skills are only as good as I knew they were already. I knew I wouldn't have any issues down through 0603, as I've designed personal circuits that used parts down to that size. I was so hoping my 0402 skills would have been decent and that maybe by some miracle I could do 0201. The resistor on the 0402 I got soldered OK and while at first glance the 0402 LED looks OK, the LED didn't work. I thought perhaps I just installed it backwards, since the markings are so different on each LED and that particular one was marked on the bottom of the part, meaning you can easily flip it backwards when placing it and there's no way to easily verify it from the top (apart from trying to see the die itself). But after probing the test-points and looking at it closer under the microscope, it seems that I actually damaged the LED with too much heat while soldering it.

And the 0201, well, I got really really close to having it soldered. I thought it was actually in place, but it wasn't and popped loose and... well, I lost it. Those are so tiny you can hardly distinguish the part from a rogue solder splatter speck on your workbench. Thank goodness the kit didn't include a 01005!

Very fun kit and very useful to see if you are able to hand-solder those small parts or see what it would be like to try, without having to make your own board. Great job Ken on assembling and delivering such a fun kit!

Clayton | July 31, 2017

A wonderfully frustrating kit

I had been watching this project on Hackaday.io since it was first posted, and when I saw the kit had been listed on Tindie I ordered one immediately. It arrived quicker than I expected, and I started trying to assemble it as soon as I could. The 1206 and 0805 parts went smoothly, the 0603s weren't too bad, and the 0402s were easier than I expected. The 0201s proved to be too much for me, with quite a bit of swearing while soldering the resistor and so many attempts to solder the LED that it ended up falling apart. I'll be ordering a few more LEDs on my next parts order to see if I can succeed on the second or third try, but I'm honestly not too hopeful. All in all, I had a delightfully frustrating time, and it was a lot of fun to see how far I got before I failed.

The only documentation problem is that most of the datasheet links on the Tindie and Hackaday.io pages don't work for me, either loading forever or giving an error message. The part numbers are all there though, and pasting them into Octopart works fine of course, so it's not really a big deal.

EDIT: I successfully soldered the 0201 LED on the third try! Also, the datasheet links seem to work now, so I gave back the missing star for documentation.

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$14.00