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SparkFun will be closed on Tuesday, December 24th, and Wednesday, December 25th, in observance of the Christmas holiday. Any orders qualifying for same day shipping placed after 2:00 p.m. (MST) on Monday, December 23rd, will be processed on Thursday, December 26th, when we return to regular business hours. Wishing you a safe and happy holiday from all of us at SparkFun!
Please note - we will not be available for Local Pick up orders from December 24th-December 27th. If you place an order for Local Pick-Up we will have those ready on Monday, December 30th.
Surface mount device, or SMD, soldering is a great skill for the DIY electronic enthusiast to have. Unfortunately, it can be a little bit intimidating looking at tiny parts and knowing you have to solder them down on your PCB. However, we here at SparkFun are firm believers that anyone (that includes you!) can solder SMD and we'll teach you how!
On June 9th, SparkFun is hosting an SMD Soldering Class. We provide you with the tools, parts, and tips on how to solder SMD components. At the end of the night, you'll not only have a working Simon kit to show off to your friends, but you'll own a working knowledge of SMD soldering techniques that will allow you to solder up your own boards without fear!
While we are talking about classes, don't forget Maker Faire 2010 in San Mateo, CA is coming up May 22-23. SparkFun is sponsoring and will be there in force. We'll be bringing both SMD and PTH kits with us to teach soldering workshops. Check out the SparkFun Maker Faire page for more info. Hope to see you there!
If you can't that long to get started with SMD, have a look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NN7UGWYmBY
You're on to us. The mind reading soldering stations weren't supposed to be announce until Christmas. We have a few more kinks to work out before releasing that one on the world.
That's funny you guys posted this because I was already going to sign up for that class today. You guys must have mind reading capabilities built into your soldering stations ;)