Learning Electronics

[Andrew]

Hi

I've just finished some basic electrical training, and now would like to
start learning electronics as a hobby. I'm curious about how some of you
started and what sort of projects or tools (oscilloscopes? expensive
meter?) would be appropriate for a student.

Any good book recommendations would be appreciated as well

Thanks.

 

[steamer]

--FWIW I got all thru highschool without getting to first base in
electronics mainly, I think, due to a professor that used the 'plumbing
analogy': a thing to avoid IMO. What made sense to me was understanding the
difference between what comes out of the wall (AC) and what's needed in
most circuits (DC). It takes one each of all the basic components to modify
the AC waveform into a nice straight DC line and understanding how each one
tweaks a wave is the secret, or at least it was for me...
The first book I found useful was from Parallax: "What's a
Microcontroller". That and some of their stuff might be a good beginning;
YMMV. And check out the books by Forrest Mimms if you can find them;
sometimes to be found at the 'toy store', aka Radio Shack.

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : The impeachment process
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : exists for a reason...
www.nmpproducts.com
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

 

[Joerg]

Andrew wrote:

Hi

I've just finished some basic electrical training, and now would like to
start learning electronics as a hobby. I'm curious about how some of you
started and what sort of projects or tools (oscilloscopes? expensive
meter?) would be appropriate for a student.

Cheap scope, maybe an old Tektronix 7000 series if you have the space.
Digital scopes are good if you want to do lots of digital project, for a
beginner in the analog world they'd have too many pitfalls IMHO.
Harborfreight has lots of tools, mostly quite low-end but for hobby it's
good enough. For example you can buy a nice multimeter there for $20-30
plus a couple really cheap ones for $3 when on sale. Get a good Weller
station, some parts from Digikey or Mouser, and do it right from day
one: Use only the perf boards with a full ground plane on one side.

Auctions such as EBay also offer tools. Mostly for a sad reason like
when grandpa passed away and nobody in the fqmily had a clue what to do
with this stuff.

Any good book recommendations would be appreciated as well

Horowitz/Hill "The Art of Electronics" (an absolute must have)
ARRL Handbook (if you want to do some RF stuff)

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Tim Wescott]

Joerg wrote:

Andrew wrote:
Hi

I've just finished some basic electrical training, and now would like
to start learning electronics as a hobby. I'm curious about how some
of you
started and what sort of projects or tools (oscilloscopes? expensive
meter?) would be appropriate for a student.


Cheap scope, maybe an old Tektronix 7000 series if you have the space.
Digital scopes are good if you want to do lots of digital project, for a
beginner in the analog world they'd have too many pitfalls IMHO.
Harborfreight has lots of tools, mostly quite low-end but for hobby it's
good enough. For example you can buy a nice multimeter there for $20-30
plus a couple really cheap ones for $3 when on sale. Get a good Weller
station, some parts from Digikey or Mouser, and do it right from day
one: Use only the perf boards with a full ground plane on one side.

Auctions such as EBay also offer tools. Mostly for a sad reason like
when grandpa passed away and nobody in the fqmily had a clue what to do
with this stuff.


Any good book recommendations would be appreciated as well


Horowitz/Hill "The Art of Electronics" (an absolute must have)
ARRL Handbook (if you want to do some RF stuff)

The scope is extremely handy, but for starters you can get by without

one. The two essential tools for debugging are a multimeter and a
brain. You can get by with an el-cheapo multimeter, you can get by (for
a few years) without a scope, but use the best brain you can find.

The ARRL handbook will have a section on prototyping: read it.

Unlike Jeorg I'm willing to use breadboards from the Rat Shack. Used
with care they do fine for audio-frequency circuit that aren't critical.
Once you get something working you can get one of the PC boards that
are laid out the same as the breadboard, and transfer it, usually with a
decrease in odd behavior.

For critical circuits I either lay out a board and have it prototyped at
a quick-turn house, or I build it over unetched PC board using
'dead-bug' style construction.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Do you need to implement control loops in software?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" gives you just what it says.
See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html

 

[Joerg]

Tim Wescott wrote:

Joerg wrote:
Andrew wrote:
Hi

I've just finished some basic electrical training, and now would like
to start learning electronics as a hobby. I'm curious about how some
of you
started and what sort of projects or tools (oscilloscopes? expensive
meter?) would be appropriate for a student.


Cheap scope, maybe an old Tektronix 7000 series if you have the space.
Digital scopes are good if you want to do lots of digital project, for
a beginner in the analog world they'd have too many pitfalls IMHO.
Harborfreight has lots of tools, mostly quite low-end but for hobby
it's good enough. For example you can buy a nice multimeter there for
$20-30 plus a couple really cheap ones for $3 when on sale. Get a good
Weller station, some parts from Digikey or Mouser, and do it right
from day one: Use only the perf boards with a full ground plane on one
side.

Auctions such as EBay also offer tools. Mostly for a sad reason like
when grandpa passed away and nobody in the fqmily had a clue what to
do with this stuff.


Any good book recommendations would be appreciated as well


Horowitz/Hill "The Art of Electronics" (an absolute must have)
ARRL Handbook (if you want to do some RF stuff)

The scope is extremely handy, but for starters you can get by without
one. The two essential tools for debugging are a multimeter and a
brain. You can get by with an el-cheapo multimeter, you can get by (for
a few years) without a scope, but use the best brain you can find.

The ARRL handbook will have a section on prototyping: read it.

Unlike Jeorg I'm willing to use breadboards from the Rat Shack. Used
with care they do fine for audio-frequency circuit that aren't critical.
Once you get something working you can get one of the PC boards that
are laid out the same as the breadboard, and transfer it, usually with a
decrease in odd behavior.

I (very occasionally) use those as well. But don't be surprised if
everything quits behaving when someone with a cell phone walks in. Those
transmit from time to time even when nobody talks. If you must be
available via cell phone at least place it at the far corner of the room.

For critical circuits I either lay out a board and have it prototyped at
a quick-turn house, or I build it over unetched PC board using
'dead-bug' style construction.

Good point. I prefer "living bug", less confusing with pin numbers. I
cut myself a few small pieces of wood. Those are glued down to the
copper clad and then the chip on top of that. I also cut a few chuncks
off of the copper clad and dremel a cross into them. Those are handy to
mount transistors because they can be soldered right onto them. I
recently introduced a client to this method and he then cut triangles
instead of squares. It looked really cute, much less boring than my stuff.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Don Bowey]

On 2/10/08 7:21 PM, in article
x9GdnUN7APzZIjLanZ2dnUVZ_oesnZ2d@giganews.com, "Andrew"
<replytothread@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi

I've just finished some basic electrical training, and now would like to
start learning electronics as a hobby. I'm curious about how some of you
started and what sort of projects or tools (oscilloscopes? expensive
meter?) would be appropriate for a student.

Any good book recommendations would be appreciated as well

Thanks.

One thing that could help is to post the area (not address) where you live.
There are a few people around who might help you initially, and some of us
have things to give away to a serious hobbyist. The caveat is that if the
goodies later show up on eBay, you might have an accident.

 

[Michael Black]

Andrew (replytothread@gmail.com) writes:

Hi

I've just finished some basic electrical training, and now would like to
start learning electronics as a hobby. I'm curious about how some of you
started and what sort of projects or tools (oscilloscopes? expensive
meter?) would be appropriate for a student.

Any good book recommendations would be appreciated as well

Thanks.
When I was a kid, I worked my way through the "electronic" section in

the children's library, in quotes because most of it was actually electrical,
things like making hot dog cookers and such. I then got access to the
adult library, which had a better selection of books. I worked my way
through that section too, though of course much of it made little
sense to me initially.

I think before I got access to the adult library, I found hobby electronic
magazines at the newsstand. So I started buying those. I know most of
it was incomprehensible to me initially, but there was enough peripheral
stuff that I could understand to keep buying the magazines and slowly it
all started making sense.

About three months after I started buying those hobby electronic magazines,
I tried to build my first project. Copied the parts list and went down
to an electronic store that I'd basically pulled out of the Yellow Pages
at random (though it turned out be a good choice). It never did work. I
didn't have the background or experience to troubleshoot it, and obviously
my beginner status was the reason for my inability to make it work in
the first place. In retrospect, my awful soldering skills likely had
a big impact, and I was unable to know whether the transistor substitutes
made at the store were suitable, or if that tapped coil actually had
the same wiring as the one in the magazine.

But if I'd not made that first step, well I'd not have gotten very far.
You have to take that first step some time.

The next one or two projects didn't work either, again me copying the
parts list and going to the store.

Ironically, the first thing that did work was maybe a year later, and
I made a tiny audio oscillator. By then I had a better font of knowledge,
and was taking things apart (transistor radios and "computer surplus" boards
bought at that store), providing a bigger base of parts. But I'd learned
enough by then about parts substitution, so I did pull that transistor
out of that radio, and that transformer out of that other radio, and
wired it together with success. Though, I just twisted wires together
that time, which I think helped in the success.

I was 10 when I started in on the library books, and already had the
goal of getting an amateur radio license. But I was also so young
that it was all very fascinating, so I read anything I could get ahold
of. It was pure curiosity, unlike some later friends my interest
wasn't first in building projects, but the project building helped
to reinforce the theory.

It's harder now, since virtually all of the hobby electronic magazines
ahve disappeared. I suspect it would also be quite different if I
as an adult approaching it for the first time. If nothing else, much
of how I approach a new subject derives from how I approached electronics
almost forty years ago.

I was about a year and a half in before I got a meter. That was a mistake,
I'd say that's one of the first things you need. Now you can get really
cheap digital meters, and they are likely a far better choice for a beginner
(my meter didn't last too long, too many instances of overvoltage and
leaving it in the wrong function wrapped the needle around the stop pin
fairly early). You can always buy a better one later, when you have
a better idea of your interest and even a better idea of what the specs
mean and what you might use the meter for.

A lot of people have tools around the house anyway, and might as well
start with those. A soldering iron is likely not present. I've never
had an expensive temperature controlled one, but I learned early on
that the cheapest often aren't so great. Other tools I added as
needed, including watching for the time the local hardware store
was closing down so I could get cheaper pliers.

A power supply of some sort is useful at this point, though for
a start one could use an AC adapter. The earliest project that
I actually finished that I still have is a power supply, though
it's been stripped down and rebuilt a number of times.

An oscilliscope is a neat thing to have, but better to wait
until you have a better idea of what you want to do and what
you'd use it for. I had one within two years of when I
started reading hobby electronic magazines, but I paid five
dollars for it at a local radio club auction, and while it
weighed a ton, it wasn't good for much more than audio. It
was great to play with, but couldn't do much and it was only
some years later when I started playing with higher speed
digital that having access to a scope mattered.

Find local amateur radio clubs, and find out when they have
fleamarkets, which many do have. That can often be a good source
of books and magazines and parts and even tools, and of course
it will all be used and carry a lower price than new. Reading as
many magazines and books is a good idea, but given new prices it
isn't smart to just work your way through them. On the other hand,
if you can get them used, the cost drops a lot. I've often bought
used books because I can get them for a few dollars, adding a little
bit of knowledge in an area that I might otherwise not pursue.

If you're in the US, the American Radio Relay League keeps a list
uf upcoming amateur radio club fleamarkets and hamfests,
http://www.arrl.org

Find the local electronic stores that sell to hobbyists, if any
still exist. Maybe ask in a local newsgroup for this. The Yellow
Pages may not be clear whether that store there sells in small
quantities or even wants to deal with someone spending a few dollars
at a time, but the locals undoubtedly have already sifted it out.

Junk electronics can be a good source of common parts. It won't
supply all you need, but it will supply lots of resistors and capacitors
and general purpose transistors. Even transformers to build that
power supply. Things like VCRs, cordless phones, old radios, printers
and even computers can often supply lots of parts, and can be had
quite cheap at garage sales and such, and even found waiting for
the garbage trucks. Having a good variety of parts means you can
experiment, and when building you may not have to wait for a large
order to get that one resistor to finish the project.

Michael

 

[Joerg]

Michael Black wrote:

Andrew (replytothread@gmail.com) writes:
Hi

I've just finished some basic electrical training, and now would like to
start learning electronics as a hobby. I'm curious about how some of you
started and what sort of projects or tools (oscilloscopes? expensive
meter?) would be appropriate for a student.

Any good book recommendations would be appreciated as well

Thanks.
When I was a kid, I worked my way through the "electronic" section in
the children's library, in quotes because most of it was actually electrical,
things like making hot dog cookers and such. I then got access to the
adult library, which had a better selection of books. I worked my way
through that section too, though of course much of it made little
sense to me initially.

I think before I got access to the adult library, I found hobby electronic
magazines at the newsstand. So I started buying those. I know most of
it was incomprehensible to me initially, but there was enough peripheral
stuff that I could understand to keep buying the magazines and slowly it
all started making sense.

You'd be disappointed today. Our library is pretty good but in terms of
engineering stuff, zilch. So I donated some of my books to them,
figuring I could look stuff up at the livbrary if I needed to. One day I
wanted to do that. Guess what? They had sent them away, probably to some
university library.

About three months after I started buying those hobby electronic magazines,
I tried to build my first project. Copied the parts list and went down
to an electronic store that I'd basically pulled out of the Yellow Pages
at random (though it turned out be a good choice). It never did work. I
didn't have the background or experience to troubleshoot it, and obviously
my beginner status was the reason for my inability to make it work in
the first place. In retrospect, my awful soldering skills likely had
a big impact, and I was unable to know whether the transistor substitutes
made at the store were suitable, or if that tapped coil actually had
the same wiring as the one in the magazine.

But if I'd not made that first step, well I'd not have gotten very far.
You have to take that first step some time.

The next one or two projects didn't work either, again me copying the
parts list and going to the store.

Ironically, the first thing that did work was maybe a year later, and
I made a tiny audio oscillator. By then I had a better font of knowledge,
and was taking things apart (transistor radios and "computer surplus" boards
bought at that store), providing a bigger base of parts. But I'd learned
enough by then about parts substitution, so I did pull that transistor
out of that radio, and that transformer out of that other radio, and
wired it together with success. Though, I just twisted wires together
that time, which I think helped in the success.

I was 10 when I started in on the library books, and already had the
goal of getting an amateur radio license. But I was also so young
that it was all very fascinating, so I read anything I could get ahold
of. It was pure curiosity, unlike some later friends my interest
wasn't first in building projects, but the project building helped
to reinforce the theory.

It's harder now, since virtually all of the hobby electronic magazines
ahve disappeared. I suspect it would also be quite different if I
as an adult approaching it for the first time. If nothing else, much
of how I approach a new subject derives from how I approached electronics
almost forty years ago.

It's not harder, it's a lot easier now. We have an incredible supply of
parts at amazingly cheap prices at places like Digikey or Mouser. The
Internet is chock full of tons of projects. Piece of cake compared to
the 70's where I had to bicycle five miles to the next electronics store
to buy an RF transistor, only to discover that it was so freaking
expensive that I needed to leave empty-handed and return after next
week's allowance.

I was about a year and a half in before I got a meter. That was a mistake,
I'd say that's one of the first things you need. Now you can get really
cheap digital meters, and they are likely a far better choice for a beginner
(my meter didn't last too long, too many instances of overvoltage and
leaving it in the wrong function wrapped the needle around the stop pin
fairly early). You can always buy a better one later, when you have
a better idea of your interest and even a better idea of what the specs
mean and what you might use the meter for.

Plan on the DC current ranges to go kablouie rather quickly

The fuse in there doesn't really help. After umpteen hits that section
is all dead.

A lot of people have tools around the house anyway, and might as well
start with those. A soldering iron is likely not present. I've never
had an expensive temperature controlled one, but I learned early on
that the cheapest often aren't so great. Other tools I added as
needed, including watching for the time the local hardware store
was closing down so I could get cheaper pliers.

A power supply of some sort is useful at this point, though for
a start one could use an AC adapter. The earliest project that
I actually finished that I still have is a power supply, though
it's been stripped down and rebuilt a number of times.

Thrift Stores often have a motley collection of cheap wall warts. The
usual, people lose or drop cell phones and then the no longer needed
wall wart goes to hospice.

An oscilliscope is a neat thing to have, but better to wait
until you have a better idea of what you want to do and what
you'd use it for. I had one within two years of when I
started reading hobby electronic magazines, but I paid five
dollars for it at a local radio club auction, and while it
weighed a ton, it wasn't good for much more than audio. It
was great to play with, but couldn't do much and it was only
some years later when I started playing with higher speed
digital that having access to a scope mattered.

Find local amateur radio clubs, and find out when they have
fleamarkets, which many do have. That can often be a good source
of books and magazines and parts and even tools, and of course
it will all be used and carry a lower price than new. Reading as
many magazines and books is a good idea, but given new prices it
isn't smart to just work your way through them. On the other hand,
if you can get them used, the cost drops a lot. I've often bought
used books because I can get them for a few dollars, adding a little
bit of knowledge in an area that I might otherwise not pursue.

Yes! Joining the local ham radio club was the best thing I ever did back
then.

If you're in the US, the American Radio Relay League keeps a list
uf upcoming amateur radio club fleamarkets and hamfests,
http://www.arrl.org

Find the local electronic stores that sell to hobbyists, if any
still exist. Maybe ask in a local newsgroup for this. The Yellow
Pages may not be clear whether that store there sells in small
quantities or even wants to deal with someone spending a few dollars
at a time, but the locals undoubtedly have already sifted it out.

Those stores are dying like flies :-(

Junk electronics can be a good source of common parts. It won't
supply all you need, but it will supply lots of resistors and capacitors
and general purpose transistors. Even transformers to build that
power supply. Things like VCRs, cordless phones, old radios, printers
and even computers can often supply lots of parts, and can be had
quite cheap at garage sales and such, and even found waiting for
the garbage trucks. Having a good variety of parts means you can
experiment, and when building you may not have to wait for a large
order to get that one resistor to finish the project.

You can get really nice LCD text displays out of faxes and older
LaserJets. Complete with a HD44780 interface that is easy to talk to
from a circuit board.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Ecnerwal]

In article <jn1sj.4077$xq2.462@newssvr21.news.prodigy.net>,
Joerg <notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

Plan on the DC current ranges to go kablouie rather quickly

The fuse in there doesn't really help. After umpteen hits that section
is all dead.

So, get a shunt, (a nice heavy one) and read the voltage off it. Though
it does rather depend on how hard you hit it...

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

 

[Marra]

A lot depends on where your interests lie.
Electronics is a huge field.

I got into electronics firstly as a motor mechanic.

Then later as a guitarist for effects pedals amplifiers etc.

When I was 23 I did a Government course in electronics and got my City
and Guilds.
Then I got a job testing electronic equipment.
I then found I knew enough to repair the equipment.
Later i got into designing new equipment.

A little later i got a job as a electronics design consultant.
I got into software for PC's and microcontrollers as well a electronic
design.

 

[Joerg]

Ecnerwal wrote:

In article <jn1sj.4077$xq2.462@newssvr21.news.prodigy.net>,
Joerg <notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

Plan on the DC current ranges to go kablouie rather quickly

The fuse in there doesn't really help. After umpteen hits that section
is all dead.

So, get a shunt, (a nice heavy one) and read the voltage off it. Though
it does rather depend on how hard you hit it...

That's what I usually do. But you know how it goes. You are somewhere in
the boonies, quick, let's see whether the current changes when we start
this super-duper-looper routine, whoooops, oh no! ... POOF.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Ecnerwal]

In article <fE3sj.4104$xq2.3745@newssvr21.news.prodigy.net>,
Joerg <notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

That's what I usually do. But you know how it goes. You are somewhere in
the boonies, quick, let's see whether the current changes when we start
this super-duper-looper routine, whoooops, oh no! ... POOF.

A bit spendy for the beginner just learning, but for you, Joerg, a
clamp-on multi with DC clamp-on capabilities might be a good idea. ;-)
Just don't leave it in the garage were it can grow legs 8-(

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

 

[Joerg]

Ecnerwal wrote:

In article <fE3sj.4104$xq2.3745@newssvr21.news.prodigy.net>,
Joerg <notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

That's what I usually do. But you know how it goes. You are somewhere in
the boonies, quick, let's see whether the current changes when we start
this super-duper-looper routine, whoooops, oh no! ... POOF.

A bit spendy for the beginner just learning, but for you, Joerg, a
clamp-on multi with DC clamp-on capabilities might be a good idea. ;-)
Just don't leave it in the garage were it can grow legs 8-(

I might do that some day. But often it's current inside a circuit, all
very tight. So I got myself half a dozen Harborfreight meters. The cheap
kind for $3. They are surprisingly accurate, just not very robust. 200uA
FS to 10A FS. If this pans out I might get another dozen or so. If one
grows legs, oh well, hopefully it'll help someone learn the ropes in
electronics. Just like I'd never complain if someone would steal my bible.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Bob Masta]

On Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:21:40 -0600, Andrew <replytothread@gmail.com>
wrote:

Hi

I've just finished some basic electrical training, and now would like to
start learning electronics as a hobby. I'm curious about how some of you
started and what sort of projects or tools (oscilloscopes? expensive
meter?) would be appropriate for a student.

Any good book recommendations would be appreciated as well

Thanks.

The most important thing you need is a solderless "breadboard"
(prototyping board). This allows you to do all sorts of experiments
with minimal soldering. You just plug the parts into the little
socket-holes, which are internally connected in orderly rows,
and use solid copper hookup wire to connect as needed.

Get a cheap DMM, such as the $3.00 (on sale) Harbor Freight
unit that others recommended. Good for ohms and DC volts,
which you will use a lot. The thing that's missing on a cheap
meter is sensitive AC volts, but you can wait on that. In fact,
building a precision rectifier so you can use your DC ranges
to measure AC would be a good project.

Your first project could be a power supply. Assuming you will
be using op-amps, you should build a dual supply, with +15
and -15 and a common ground. This is an easy project because
there are regulator ICs that do all the heavy lifting... you just need
a suitable transformer, rectifiers, and capacitors.

You could wire that up on perfboard, but if you also want to get
into making your own printed circuits, I have a tutorial with lots of
tips and tricks at: www.daqarta.com/lptxh.htm

A scope is a *really* handy thing to have, but I got along without one
for years as a kid, when they were too pricey for me. I tended to
build lots of simple audio oscillators and receivers, so I could use
my ears to tell when they were working. But troubleshooting was
often hit-or-miss.

You don't need a fancy digital scope, and unless you are planning
on working on high-speed digital or RF, you don't need a high
bandwidth. Starter scopes tend to be 20 MHz or so, which would be
fine.

In fact, you may be able to get away with a sound card and the right
software. A sound card scope is limited to the audio range (under 20
kHz or so), but that isn't a problem if you are doing audio work like
musical electronics. One thing that sound cards do not handle is DC,
so you need to keep your DMM handy when you are checking voltages in a
circuit you are troubleshooting. (DC won't hurt sound cards, assuming
it is less than 10-12 V, they just ignore it.)

One big advantage of the sound card approach is that you can have
a superb signal generator, spectrum analyzer, AC voltmeter, and
frequency counter all in one package.

(Shameless Plug My Daqarta package offers all these and a lot more,
and it's free to try for 30 days/30 sessions. After that, it will no
longer respond to input signals, but the signal generator is free to
use forever. If you decide to purchase, it's only US$29 for hobby
use.

Or, if you have an old ISA-bus system that can run real-mode DOS
(Win98 or earlier), you can get a free license for my old Daqarta for
DOS just by requesting it. This supports ISA-bus Sound Blasters
and a few other cards, or you can even build the super-simple 8-bit
LPTX "card" from a handful of resistors that plugs into the printer
port and responds down to DC. (Note that 8 bits is a typical
resolution for digital scopes, so you are not hurting there, just in
the audio-range frequency limits.)

Daqarta for DOS info is at: www.daqarta.com/download.htm

Best regards,





Best regards,


Bob Masta

DAQARTA v3.50
Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
www.daqarta.com
Scope, Spectrum, Spectrogram, FREE Signal Generator
Science with your sound card!

 

[Andrew ThereIsNoSpoon]

Hey again,

Thanks for all the good advice, it's greatly appreciated. I have
purchased a solderless breadboard, soldering station and little
multimeter ($35.00 for the lot). In terms of other equipment such
as scopes and whatnot, turns out the company I work for has a bunch
of oscilloscopes and high end test gear, so I can take my projects to
work and tinker on them there so that's cool.

I've been reading about PCB etching, and made a bubble etch tank with some
tupperware, a fishtank heater, some tubing and a 12v DC fan .. i tested
it out and it doesn't leak or anything which IMHO means it's to specs

I have an old inkjet printer and want to turn it into a PCB printer after
I saw how some guys managed to do it with an epson C84, i have a Stylus
C44UX. What are you guys using to do your PCB's? Does the laser printer
transfer (w/ an iron) work better? Or is it worth modding an inkjet?

I live in Northern BC, and (thankfully) there is a Amateur Radio Club in
town, so after checking it out I think the first thing I will do will be
to get my Amateur radio license, I managed to scoop a PDF copy of 'The
Art of Electronics' and the ARRL book is full of information.

Thanks once again guys!

-Andrew

 

[Joerg]

Andrew ThereIsNoSpoon wrote:

Hey again,

Thanks for all the good advice, it's greatly appreciated. I have
purchased a solderless breadboard, soldering station and little
multimeter ($35.00 for the lot). In terms of other equipment such
as scopes and whatnot, turns out the company I work for has a bunch
of oscilloscopes and high end test gear, so I can take my projects to
work and tinker on them there so that's cool.

I've been reading about PCB etching, and made a bubble etch tank with some
tupperware, a fishtank heater, some tubing and a 12v DC fan .. i tested
it out and it doesn't leak or anything which IMHO means it's to specs

Most of us use one of the quick prototyping PCB fabs. Less mess, no
chemicals in the house.

I have an old inkjet printer and want to turn it into a PCB printer after
I saw how some guys managed to do it with an epson C84, i have a Stylus
C44UX. What are you guys using to do your PCB's? Does the laser printer
transfer (w/ an iron) work better? Or is it worth modding an inkjet?

Nah. Just my personal opinion. I'd rather spend the time designing and
building. For a one-off project there is nothing wrong with a perf board
build. I have some that I built as a kid and that are still in use. But
do yourself a favor and buy perf board with a ground plane.

I live in Northern BC, and (thankfully) there is a Amateur Radio Club in
town, so after checking it out I think the first thing I will do will be
to get my Amateur radio license, I managed to scoop a PDF copy of 'The
Art of Electronics' and the ARRL book is full of information.

Joining an ARC is an excellent idea. The PDF may not be, that sounds
like a counterfeit copy. Get the real AoE book, worth its weight in
gold. BTW one of the authors (Winfield Hill) is a regular on the
sci.electronics.design newsgroup.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/