Ultimate 555 Timer/Oscillator KIT (Through-Hole)

The first thing noticed is how well made this compass is. It just looks/feels like a high quality product... The same feeling I have when I hold a brand new Snap-on ratchet or a Zippo - - Made in USA for sure... It has a quick dampening time, so pointer levels out in a couple seconds, and doesn't act erratic while holding it. I dont have steady hands, and my hands shake more than most people... So it's been useful to use Brunton style compasses with a level... And while trying to maintain level, even decent compasses will oscillate more than a I'd like... This one doesn't need a lėvel,and will stay steady when rotating bezel as well.The instructions that come with it are good... When I taught myself to use a compass years ago, I did so with a pdf of this exact guide.It doesn't seem as distracted by electronics as much as other compasses... it's induction dampening is crucial... Liquid dampening compasses are for busters.Many have said the tritium compasses for sale here aren't real Cammenga, which steered me to buying this one, and all the positive reviews are deserved.

The instructions were clear, spare parts were included, and it worked properly the first time I tried it. (Which really quite amazed me, since I'd never worked with SMT before, and speaks well of the quality of the product and its instruction.)That being said..I expected a little more general-purpose unit, rather than having to choose a particular range of output frequencies and pulse widths and solder in the appropriate components. I would prefer to be able to select the R/C components via jumper, and jumper a diode across the discharge resistor to decouple the mark time and rest time.That's why 4 stars rather than 5.I bought this SMT (surface-mount technology) kit without really noticing the 'SMT' part of the name. This was the first time I've worked with SMT components, and it'll probably be the last -- but that has nothing to do with the quality of the product. Having a tremor and suboptimal vision, I was seriously dismayed at the miniscule size of the parts. Fortunately I have a 'helping hands' stand ( Hawk MG8950 Helping Hand Magnifier with Stand ), but a set of non-magnetic tweezers is virtually a necessity -- and I don't have any of those handy. At least when I inevitably dropped parts on the patterned rug, I could find most of them with a magnet.

I'm an inventor-for-hire and Engineering consultant, and found this kit to be of excellent quality. I learned 555's using breadboards from Radio Shack and Forrest Mims Engineer's Notebooks, and found this kit to be very configurable and easy to work with.The 555 is a truly versatile IC, and this kit is an excellent way to have easy access to all the different basic configurations of 555 timers. I use 555's for all kinds of applications, and have now started using this kit instead of hand-soldered prototype boards for proof-of-concept prototypes for several contract projects.An excellent kit, with very good documentation, and a good deal if you need a simple way to "whip up" a 555 to demo in some random job.

I'm pretty good at electronics and I couldn't get it to work