This is the circuit I was trying to build (http://www.lucidscience.com/pro-basic%20spy%20transmitter-5....). I've always managed to breadboard circuits of this size without an issue so I just jumped into soldering components onto the PCB. It was a total disaster and took my confidence down a few notches :(
I must say, going from a novice who can make LEDs blink or hook together a few ICs to op-amps and RF circuits is turning out to be a big jump! If anyone has tips, those would be much appreciated.
My tip to you would be to start fixing broken electronics, preferably stuff from the 80's (people will throw those away so you can get them pretty much for free). The parts are cheap and the circuits are usually fairly easy to follow because most or all of it will be discrete components.
You will learn a ton from this and you'll gain good insight into how other circuits work. This is the hardware guy equivalent of reading other peoples code.
I must say, going from a novice who can make LEDs blink or hook together a few ICs to op-amps and RF circuits is turning out to be a big jump! If anyone has tips, those would be much appreciated.