Build a RF lab on a budget for homebrewers in India. This page is intended to be a Systemization of Knowledge (SoK) article.
Please note that this is a list compiled to help and in no way a commercial endorsement of any vendors or links present in this article.
| Si. No | Name | Cost (in INR) | Where to Buy | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soldering Iron | BABA i12 Soldering iron - 4200, IKO Micro Soldering Iron Station– 12V - 350, Soldron 25W - 350 | Pro-Tip: Invest in good soldering bits (tips) and ceramic tips if you can find them! The lower priced ones take time to heat up but that is fine. | |
| 2 | Multimeter | UNI-T UT33D+ - 800, Mastech MAS830L Digital Multimeter - 700 | https://www.toolworld.in, https://robu.in/ | |
| 3 | Linear power supply options | SUGON 3005D Adjustable DC Power Supply (30V |
CC CV functionality is a must for running experiments safely! | |
| 4 | Capacitance meter | MS8910 Mastech SMD Measuring Tweezers - 2000 | VU2ESE uses Mastech MS8910 too | |
| 5 | Oscilloscope | Any >= 100 MHz Siglent scope which is in your budget. Get a DSO at a minimum. Rigol scopes are decent too. Owon scopes work fine for the (low) budget | ||
| 6 | NanoVNA | https://www.banggood.in/ | ||
| 7 | TinySA (Ultra) | https://www.banggood.in/ | Get attenuators from Synergy Telecom - Delhi. Get a bunch of them to mix-and-match. | |
| 8 | RF power + SWR meter | Diamond SX20C Power Meter | https://www.sanchartelesystems.com/ | A cross-needle power and swr meter is super useful for RF work. |
| 9 | Hot air station options | Based on your budgets | https://g2mark.com/ and https://babaocamachine.com/ have various options. | |
| 10 | SDR Options | RTL-SDR v3 / v4, Airspy HF+ Discovery | https://www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-dvb-t-dongles/ | Airspy is possibly the best HF receiver out there(?) |
| 11 | Jumper cables | Project Point | Buy high quality ones, saves time. | |
| 12 | Desoldering braid (wick) | Buy Chemtronics branded ones from Otovon vendor | ||
| 13 | Magnification | Based on your budget | https://g2mark.com/ and https://babaocamachine.com/ have various options. | In a pinch, chose a basic magnifying setup that comes with LED lighting that begin from 300 INR and based on your needs you can upgrade. |
| 14 | Soldering wire | 22 SWG "60/40" mix with rosin core is what we need, 0.3mm soldering wire (from 2UUL or Mechanic brand) for soldering finer SMD components. | ||
| 15 | Line Tester | ~100 | Measuring range of upto 400V | |
| 16 | Vice / PCB Vice | 300-8000 | Basic vice from Taparia, etc. from a local hardware shop | |
| 17 | Hardware tools | ESD safe tweezers, nose pliers, screwdriver set, side cutters, clamp from Taparia, Stanley and some Miniso branded sets tend to be decent stuff. |
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| 18 | LCR meter DE-5000 | eBay (comes from JP with import duties) | Pretty well reviewed and dependable | |
| 19 | Soldering Flux | ~200 |