When inserting the parts on the board, bend the leads at a 45 to 55 degree angle on the bottom side of the PCB to hold the parts on the top of the PCB.

When turning the board over for soldering, look underneath to make sure all the components are still against the board. Some may fall down and the leads need to be pulled up to keep the parts against the board. Parts whose leads cannot be bent can be held in place with a short piece of masking tape.

Clip the leads after they are soldered. See Soldering Techniques for the ELR.

Build the kit with SAFETY in mind. Handle a hot soldering gun carefully and take care clipping leads.

Take your time and don't work on the kit when frustrated with life problems (working on the kit can be relaxing therapy).

Use solder that does not leave large amounts of rosin on the board. Too much rosin will leave the board a dull color. Quality solder will produce joints with a bright silver color.

A good environmental solder is silver solder. A small roll (1.5 oz.) called "High-Tech Rosin-Core Silver-Bearing Solder" or similar will be enough. One roll will solder the receiver. Silver solder may require a slightly higher temperation on the iron.

Regular lead solder that works well is 63/37 alloy sized .032 inch, 1.0mm, or 0.8mm rosin core.

A temperature controlled soldering gun with a small sharp tip will work well.

Hit the long soldered leads with a finger (capacitors/resistors/RF Chokes, etc.). They should "ring" when hit. An unsoldered lead will feel loose when touched.

Safety First! Point the board away from your eyes while clipping the leads! Clip the leads slightly above the solder. They fly with considerable force. Point the board over a large trash can or down toward your work bench while clipping to prevent leads flying over the work room.

Another technique is hold the long leads with your finger when cutting. For shorter pieces, place your finger lightly on top of the leads when cutting; they fall on top of the board after being cut.

90% of the active devices in this kit are static sensitive devices.

The highest risk situations are living in a very dry environment (or a day with very low humidity), and wearing rubber sole shoes over carpet.

If you walk across the floor and get a static discharge when you touch a door knob, have a ground lead running across the front of your work table to ground yourself before working on the receiver.

At the very least, have a ground lead handy to give a quick touch when sitting down to work. The instructions will ask you to touch the ground lead before inserting any static sensitive devices.

Check the ground on your soldering gun by connecting an LED between the tip of the soldering gun (when turned on) and the ground you are using. Polarity does not matter nor do you need a resistor in series with the LED.

If it lights, you do not have your soldering iron grounded properly. If you are not sure, do the test in dim/no light.

If this test blows the LED, you could be in danger of a very nasty shock. Fix this problem before building anything! Two wire electrical systems, with no third ground wire (two prongs only), is the most likely situation where this problem will occur.

Please Note: The receiver is susceptible to the above problem after it is built and connected to an antenna that has a proper ground. The soldering gun will put 120VAC (or 230VAC) on the trace you solder and travel to the ground of your antenna, blowing any active devices connected to the trace!

If you follow the above precautions, there should be no blown devices when building the receiver.

The warnings, cautions, and instructions discussed in this instruction manual cannot cover all possible conditions and situations that may occur.

Do not have the bottom of the board pointed toward your face while clipping the leads after soldering parts to the board. Some of the leads will take off like rockets and fly all over the room and maybe into your eye.

The best place to clip leads is with the board facing down into a large trash can or onto the top of your work bench!

Another technique is hold the long leads with your finger when cutting. For shorter pieces, place your finger lightly on top of the leads when cutting; they fall on top of the board after being cut.

Be sure to wash your hands after every soldering session with the kit.

For the residents of California (and should be noted by everyone):

This product may contain and/or may be used with solder. Solder contains lead which is toxic. Lead is known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.