If you’re a frequent tinkerer and own a soldering iron chances are you’ve purchased a DIY soldering kit at some point in your life. These are not only fun to build but can also provide useful tools at a low cost. That being said sometimes it’s a pain to find what you are actually looking for. This post is meant to be an easy to navigate and up to date list of all kinds of various DIY soldering kits from simple blinking LEDS to small oscilloscopes.
These kits do vary in quality and ease of building to we encourage you to read reviews on a kit before purchasing.
Last updated: 11/16/18
Legend:

= Through hole parts

= SMD parts

= Low price

= Mid price

= High price
Function/Signal Generators
Use these kits to generate the most common waveforms like sine, squarewave, triangle, sawtooth and more. Useful for testing and designing electrical circuits.
XR2206 Function Generator



Adjustable function generator outputting sine, square, and triangle waveforms. Includes acrylic case.
FG085 Function Generator



Adjustable function generator outputting all waveform types + servo signal control. Easy to use controls with LCD.
ICL8038 Signal Generator



Improved adjustable function generator outputing sine, square, triangle, sawtooth, and reverse sawtooth waveforms.
Hiland Function Generator



Function generator with LCD menu. Outputs sine, square, triangle, sawtooth, rev sawtooth, ECG, and noise.
Meters and Testers
The kits in this section are some of the most actually useful DIY kits that can be built. After assembling a kit you can test things like frequencies, transistors, inductance, diodes, and other various electrical components.
Digital Frequency Tester



Frequency meter capable of measuring 1Hz-50Mhz, 5 digit resolution, auto ranging, and includes acrylic case. Measure crystals and frequencies, highly accurate measurements.
DT-830T Digital Multimeter



Interesting multimeter kit able to measure all the usual stuff. Fun project, not for high voltage stuff.
GM328 Multi Tester



Another multifunction meter able to test inductance, capacitance, resistance, transistors, diodes, and more. Useful and accurate tool with color display.
Hiland M12864 Tester



Used to identify and test different components like resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, LEDs and other common parts. VERY useful to have.
Multifunction Tester/Meter



Multifunctional tester able to measure, inductance, capacitance, frequency, and more. Very useful tool with LCD display.
Hiland M8 LC Tester



Another multifunction meter able to test inductance and capacitance. Useful and accurate tool.
Hiland M12864 Tester



Multifunction tester for resistors, leds, diodes, inductors, capacitors and more. Doubles as a function generator.
Hiland Multifunction Tester



Tests diodes, inductors, capacitors, transistors, resistors and more. Also doubles as a function generator.
Oscilloscopes
These DIY oscilloscope kits are fun to build and play around with but are not replacements for a full fledged scope. Useful for playing around with different audio applications or low level microcontroller stuff like Arduino/PIC.
JYETech DSO062 Oscilloscope



Digital oscilloscope with LCD, 1 channel, 1MHz, and max 2MSa / s. Not a replacement for real oscilloscope but fun project.
JYETech DSO068 Oscilloscope



Small digital oscilloscope, 1 channel, 3MHz bandwidth, and 2Msps. Fun functional project but not a replacement for real a oscilloscope.
DSO150 15001K Oscilloscope



Small digital oscilloscope, 1 channel, 200kHz bandwidth, and 1Msps sample rate. Fun functional project, not a replacement for real scope.
JYETech DSO138 13803K



Small oscilloscope with 200KHz analog bandwidth, 1 Msps sample rate, and 12 bit accuracy. All SMD parts presoldered.
DSO138 Mini 13805K



Mini oscilloscope with 200KHz bandwidth, 1Msps sample rate, external trigger, serial output. Improved version over the 13803k, includes acrylic housing.
Power Regulation
These kits can help you create DIY power supplies (an essential beginner project) and are useful for small general power regulation applications.
Variable LM317 Module



Adjustable constant current and constant voltage power supply. Outputs 0-30V at up to 1 Amp.
Radio Kits
Anything having anything to do with sending or receiving radio signals is in this section. Simple AM/FM receivers, more advanced stuff like software defined radio, and even more advanced amateur radio tools.
Note: Different countries have different laws on things like software radio and amateur radio so be sure to check before you buy any of those kits so you don’t get yourself in trouble. To use any of the kits that transmit you need to be a licensed operator in your country to know what you’re doing and abide by local laws.
AM/FM Receiver 1



Portable analog AM/FM radio receiver with antenna and white case. Receives FM 76-108MHz and AM 525-1605KHz.
AM/FM Receiver 2



Analog AM/FM radio which includes antenna and case. Comes with poor instructions.
AM/FM Receiver 3



AM radio receiver kit with reddish orange case, uses analog dial for tuning.
Digital LCD Radio



Digital FM radio kit with LCD display, case, and antenna. Comes in black or white.
Ham Radio QRP Kit



HAM radio QRP CW kit with input for key, up to 2.6W output. 9-12V input, low power consumption.
40m low power QRP Kit



40m band shortwave low power QRP transiever kit. Operates at up to 1.2W with input for key.
QRP CW SW Transceiver



Low cost QRP CW transmitter with buzzer and up to 1.2W output, can be ran off 9v battery.
Airband Receiver Kit



Airband receiver for listening to air traffic. Includes bandpass filters for improved signal quality
RTLSDR Receiver Kit



DIY RTL-SDR receiver kit using RTL2832U + R820T with Q channel support. Includes aluminum case.
Clock Kits
DIY digital clocks with a wide range of features, sizes, and quality. Features include 4 digit HH/MM display, 6 digit HH/MM/SS display, temperature display, date display, audio voice, and more. Dot matrix, 7-segment display, LCD, and plain LED kits are available.
Relay Clock



1 inch 7 segment display clock, displays temperature, date, 12/24H mode, and apparently has a relay.
7-Segment Desk Clock



4 digit 7 segment display clock, can display temperature, includes alarm, and comes in several colors.
Voice Time Clock



7-segment LED clock with voice time, DS3231 RTC, temperature display, auto light adjust, 12/24 mode, and more.
Electric Calendar Kit



Electronic calendar kit that displays hour, minute, seconds, year, month, and day. Comes in red, green, and blue.
Dot Matrix Clock



Dot matrix LED clock with several display modes, HH/MM, HH/MM/SS, etc. Uses DS3231 RTC, voice/touch activation, and case.
Dot Matrix Desk Clock



Dot matrix desk clock, displays time, temperature, and date. Includes case, powered by USB.
1602 LCD Clock



1602 LCD clock, features 12/24H mode, temperature, alarm, date, and adjustable brightness
LCD calendar clock



Another 1602 LCD clock, displays time, temperature, holidays, and date.
Spectrum clock 2



LED clock that displays time, temperature, and doubles as an audio spectrum display.
Aluminum LED Clock



4 digit LED large LED clock with aluminum backing, alarm, and battery backup.
VFD IV-18 Clock Kit



Large VFD IV-18 flourecent tube clock with 6 digit display, remote control, 12/24H mode, and temperature display.
Misc Kits
Section for things that don’t really fit into other categories. A wide variety of kits from a simple calculator to a DIY robot and everything in between.
“Music Box”



“Music Box” DIY audio kit produces 16 different sounds including alarm, police car, firetruck, ambulance, and “crickets”.
GSM Signal Detector



This is a 3-12v GSM mobile phone signal detection circuit. Fun kit but not particularly useful.
Handheld Game Kit



Small DIY handheld game kit with clones of games like snake and tetris.
Basic Calculator Kit



Digital calculator kit with 7-segment display. Not particularly useful but decent through hole soldering practice.
555 Timer Organ



NE555 timer based “electric organ” kit. Definitely a retro 8-bit type sound.
Magnetic Levitation Kit



DIY magnetic maglev suspension kit levitates a magnet in a stable hover, comes with acrylic case.
Audio Kits
A variety of kits for building things like speakers and audio amplifiers can be found here.
Amplifier with Speakers



TDA2822M based dual channel audio amplifier with speakers and KA2284 based level indicator. Includes case.
TDA2030 30W



TDA2030 based 30W 2.1 dual track audio subwoofer power amplifier kit, easy to assemble.
USB Dual Speaker Kit



USB stereo speaker kit dual channel with subwoofer, acrylic case, and analog volume adjustment
Dual Track Amplifier



TDA2030A based 2.1 dual track power audio amplifier kit with subwoofer channel.
Mini Speaker Kit



Small transparent mini speaker kit with amplifier, 3 watts per channel.
Dual Speaker Kit



TDA2030A based dual channel 2.1 speakers with amplifier and subwoofer