Imagine this. A young person comes to you wanting to get started in the electronic hobby. They ask what five things should they buy to get started. Make your list. We’ll wait. We bet we can guess at least two of your items: a multimeter, and a soldering iron. [LearnElectroncsRepair] recently showed us a review of the Zotek Zoyi ZT-N2 which is a soldering iron and a multimeter in one unit. You can watch the video review below.

Honestly, when we heard about this, we didn’t think much of the combination. It doesn’t seem like having your probe get red hot is a feature. However, the probe tip replaces the soldering iron tip, so you are either soldering or measuring, but not both at the same time.

The soldering iron part looks a lot like a T100 iron with a USB connector and a little LCD screen. The device is portable, so it has a little cheap soldering iron stand. As a multimeter, it does all the basic tests, but it is only usable for low-voltage applications under 36V.

The negative lead plugs into the USB connector, so the meter runs off an internal battery. While it looks like it is usable, we couldn’t really think of many cases where this would be handy unless you are really trying to pack a lot in a small space. We’d rather throw a small meter in the bag and call it a day.

In 2017, these little soldering irons were a fresh fad. Now, they are pretty common.

In a world of digital monotony, the Avo DA14 digital multimeter, with its vintage J Nixie tube charm, is a refreshing gem. Recently refurbished by [Thomas Scherrer], this multimeter video review is a blend of nostalgia and tech savvy. The DA14 not only has style, but substance — delivering resistance, current, and voltage measurements that make you wonder why more multi-meters didn’t stick with this stylish glow.

As [Thomas] starts by powering up the DA14, we were instantly captivated as the Nixie tubes illuminate in their retro orange. With each twist of the dial, he demonstrates just how intuitive the multimeter is to operate, walking us viewers through each function while giving some extra love to its calibration process—a neat front-panel potentiometer that requires just a touch of finesse to get perfect readings.

But, as with all good tinkering tales, things go downhill when issues with analog inputs and the display pop up. A teardown reveals a beautifully complex inner assembly of transformers, rectifiers, and circuit boards, giving the DA14 its impressive yet fragile structure. When the critical defective display chip is found, hopes for a full repair dim. His story ends without a revival, but if you want to see a similar attempt that did get resurrected – albeit without those nixie digits – take a look at this LCD transplant we covered previously.