Silicon Junction

Alongside my soldering iron, side cutters, and needle-nose pliers, this small loupe is, by a comfortable margin, the tool I use most at the bench.

I’ve used headband magnifiers, microscopes, my camera’s macro lens, and standard magnifying glasses. But this little loupe is good enough nine out of ten times.

It takes up virtually no space and can sit alongside your solder wick, so it’s always easy to find. The protective cover keeps the glass lens free from scratches and grime.

Tools you’ll need

10X 21mm Jewelers Loupe (Amazon | AliExpress)

I frequently use this magnifier almost every project for:

• Checking for shorts between IC pins
• Reading part numbers
• Reading resistor color codes
• Inspecting new PCBs

It also has a less obvious use: you can hold the loupe against the back of your phone to add roughly 10X magnification to its macro or standard lens.

Allowing you to take quick quick, detailed, macro images like these:

Contrast to the same shot without using the loupe at the closet focal length:

This loupe is available in several magnifications, but I’ve found the 10× version strikes the best balance between magnification and working distance for electronics work.

This is simple. It’s cheap. It works. If you’ve ever wished you could see something just a little closer, buy one.