Haha, cool man.
Just wasn't sure if there was a major difference.
I can deal with the measurement changes, I'm a bit weird and use feet and inches, and millimeters and metres. Depends what I'm meauring, and if it's for anyone else, or just me.
Cool. I'll get onto the FAQs, and will hopefully become a long time member of this forum.
One last question to confirm about my initial post. The soldering iron, is the smoke normal?
What you'll typically see between the US and other countries, is generally part values (and in some cases, schematic symbols) being slightly different from each other; in most cases, it will be the parts values. For instance, here in the US, we'll typically show a value of a resistor as something like "4.7K" for "4700 ohms" or "4.7 K ohms" - but you'll typically see in other countries something like "4K7" on a similar diagram, with the magnitude symbol (K) taking the place of the period. You see this with other parts as well (IIRC, capacitors) - but its generally only for those two classes of passive components (resistors and capacitors); other components don't generally get or receive this kind of treatment.
You'll also get into certain supplier type numbers that are different - for instance, here in the US, the "common" (and classic) NPN transistor (on TO-92 case) is the 2n2222, whereas on European schematics you'll likely see something like a BC337 or similar. When in doubt, google and the forums will help. Typically, if you don't know what a part is or what it is equivalent to, just google "{part number} datasheet" and/or "{part number} equivalent" and similar terms to find out what you need to substitute. Note that on certain circuits, you may need to substitute components that are very close in capabilities in order to get the circuit to work properly, but in most cases, circuits don't have that close of tolerances (until you get into high frequencies and RF circuits, of course).
A good site to learn from for your area:
Welcome to the Electronics Club
As far as your soldering iron is concerned, some smell might be considered normal, but it shouldn't smoke from anywhere, except perhaps the tip. I'm not sure I would trust such an iron, especially considering the low cost of the kit (one thing I have learned about tools is you don't go too cheap - or cheap at all - on them; ditch the iron, and go back and spend a bit of money on a cheap 15-20 watt Weller if you have that brand over there).
Make sure that you properly tin the tip of your iron before working with it; you'll also want a damp (not wet) sponge or a brass/copper scrubber pad (make sure it is real brass or copper, and doesn't have any soap or anything on it - some scrubbies are made of plastic, but look like brass or copper - and never use steel wool) to wipe your tip on. If you go the scrubber route, put it in a heavy copper or ABS large-diameter pipe end-cap; don't hold it in your hand unless you wear gloves. Also, be prepared to burn yourself (and -always- wear safety glasses or goggles when soldering - the solder has a core of rosin as flux which, when heated up, will bubble and vaporize, splattering solder around - it can and will hit your face, and maybe your eyes - so protect them; you also always want to wear pants, shoes, and maybe a long sleeve shirt - solder isn't the hottest molten metal to be splattered with, but it ain't pleasant, either!).
If you can, get a proper stand with a metal coiled-spring holder on it to hold you iron; also, never leave your iron running without supervision - always turn it off when not in use, or when you leave the room.
I could mention a ton of other things to keep in mind; too many in my head collected over the years. Really, if you are just starting out with electronics, you shouldn't even need a soldering iron. You just want to get some parts, hookup wire, jumpers, aligator clip leads, a cheap multimeter or two (nowadays, having multiple cheapo chinese multimeters is worth it), some basic tools (flat and phillips head screwdrivers, plus small wire cutters, and small needle nose pliers, mainly) - also a few bare aligator clips (useful as heatsinks for soldering certain components - once you get there), a breadboard or two, a magnifying glass lamp (very, very handy), etc.
Note that electronics as a hobby can get expensive, but its mostly a "bits and pieces" kind of thing; if you really get into it, you'll look back at all your junk and realize you could've made a down payment on a house with what you spent over the years (LOL). Its just like most every other geek hobby out there (I am unfortunate in that I like not only electronics and computers as hobbies, but also robotics and virtual reality, among other concerns - none of this is cheap over time - oh well). One way to keep expenses down is to learn to collect junk; broken household electronics from the trash, stuff thrown away at your workplace (talk to your coworkers and friends, they might junk for you), stuff recycled from junk stores, thrift stores, "boot" sales, etc - those are all ways of getting electronics junk for cheap (also look into finding out if there are any HAM radio swap-meets that happen in your area).
Read the FAQ, keep googling, and read that site link I posted above (it has a TON of great information for basic electronics). Good luck, and enjoy!