Get a beam-type microscope. Oh my goodness such an awesome thing. Even when I was 18 I couldn’t do 0201 parts without magnification. Now, it’s all trivial.
@John_Bump
No thanks. If my arm magnifiers don’t cut it for me I see no need to invest in more sophisticated equipment to pursue something I’m not really interested in anyways. As a hobbyist the whole concept of SMT never appealed to me. Professionally when I used to assemble PCBs I wasn’t too thrilled about the stuff either. But I did it.
I love SMT. I build whole boards the size of postage stamps, and rework is so easy without having to battle with getting wires out of holes – or drill the holes in the first place. I’m not against TH, but it’s not for me anymore.
@John_Bump
Once I bought a high speed mini drill drilling out boards became a pleasure for me to do. Getting it for $29.95 didn’t hurt my wallet either. Board rework is something many don’t develop an effective strategy for. I was taught by professionals how to do it right.
I did board rework for 8 years and it made me weary… Maybe that’s part of it. So much rework on old TH boards, and once I got my hot hands on a circuit board plotter I was just so thrilled with smt I never looked back.