[sdiy] Opinion poll - Through Hole ~vs~ SMT

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 Just wanted to add my 2 cents. At work, I use a microscope while
soldering surface mount components. A microscope makes any
imperfections stand out clearly. I always use liberal doses of flux
now. I've soldered everything from 1206 down to the 201 component
sizes. After soldering 201s, 805s look like a skyscraper!

 As long as there is sufficient magnification, lighting, and a proper
solder tip size, SMT is quite easy. I do like that fact that there are
no leads to cut with SMT, and it's also nice to be able to populate a
PCB without having the flip the board over to cut the leads while
soldering through hole components.

 At home, I'd be a little hesistant to solder anything smaller the
805s without a nice scope for inspection's sake, though it could be
done.