Electronics as a Hobby

[Fish]

Hello everyone,

I'm thinking about attempting some electronics work at home, but I'm not really sure where to start. Particularly, I'm concerned about how expensive electronics is as a hobby. Though I realize there's probably a big range depending on the commitment/budget of the hobbyist, could anyone give me a ball park estimate on how much it costs to get started, and how much it costs to continue?

As for starting up, I'm guessing some of the things I'll be needing are:

- oscilloscope
- multimeter
- soldering iron + soldering/desoldering tool
- (a few) solderless breadboards
- hoards of resistors and wire?

If there's anything else anyone could suggest for the list, I'd appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Fish

 

[Dr.EM]

An oscilloscope is pricey, and not often vital. The rest is good stuff to get. Antex soldering irons are great, got mine for £15, and have never needed another. Uses lead free solder. With those parts, you'll also need capacitors, semiconductors etc, but i'm sure you were planning that.

 

[gjpollitt]

For learning I recommend some software

https://www.new-wave-concepts.com/livewire.html

I have some excellent books and tutorials from the net and also a scope and lots of various components to breadboard and test in real life

Simulation is good for learning I find as you have lots of components and instruments availble without having to buy/and or damage your own.

 

[zachtheterrible]

Id get an oscilloscope right off the bat because with it you can see whats going on inside a circuit. Look for a used one on ebay. I got a 20MHZ, dual trace oscilloscope for only $86. Dr EM is right though, it is not absolutely necessary.

 

[awright]

Electronics Hobby

Welcome, Fish. You've got unlimited potential in front of you for fun, education,and even profit.

All the preceding suggestions are good, but let me add a couple of comments.

As someone who started in electronics with tubes, I think that simulation is useful, but not a replacement for hot solder for learning electronics.

Building electronic kits is an inexpensive way to learn how circuits actually work and to get familiar with the parts, color codes, etc. The kits are usually pretty well designed, considering the price, and when you finish you've got a useful or fun item instead of a file in your computer. In my era an awful lot of electronics careers got started with kids assembling Heathkits (now defunct).

You can also learn a lot from buying old instruments and equipment at flea markets and garage sales and repairing them. Even if you fail to repair the item, you can learn a lot about how it was designed while trying to trouble-shoot it. And if all else fails, you can strip the components off the board and build up your junk box of potentially useful parts. I find it particularly satisfying to buy for a song a non-working piece of equipment that I could not justify buying new and repairing it.

Always give a used piece of equipment the sniff test before buying. If you smell burned insulation, the power transformer may be burned out and it is rarely worth the cost and hassle of replacing a power transformer.

I second zachtheterrible's recommendation to get an oscilloscope early on. I have also picked up several good, dual-channel 20 MHz scopes for less than US$ 100 at auctions or electronics salvage stores. I also recommend starting off with a real bench oscilloscope, rather than a computer scope.

Check out used book stores for books on electronics, but always check the publication date and/or the transistor and IC part numbers in the circuits described to be sure the book is not too outdated. (but even carefully selected outdated books can be useful tools for learning about circuit design principles.)

I strongly recommend an encyclopedic and expensive book, "The Art of Electronics," by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill, even if you have to buy it new. It will take you a long way from basic principles to advanced topics and it covers a lot of practical material.

Have fun!

awright

 

[Optikon]

Hello everyone,

I'm thinking about attempting some electronics work at home, but I'm not really sure where to start. Particularly, I'm concerned about how expensive electronics is as a hobby. Though I realize there's probably a big range depending on the commitment/budget of the hobbyist, could anyone give me a ball park estimate on how much it costs to get started, and how much it costs to continue?

As for starting up, I'm guessing some of the things I'll be needing are:

- oscilloscope
- multimeter
- soldering iron + soldering/desoldering tool
- (a few) solderless breadboards


- hoards of resistors and wire?

If there's anything else anyone could suggest for the list, I'd appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Fish

Another one turned to the darkside....

Welcome!

:-D

 

[Someone Electro]

Cod you fix your post.

It looks like somting went wrong whith the quote.

 

[mstechca]

Hello everyone,

I'm thinking about attempting some electronics work at home, but I'm not really sure where to start. Particularly, I'm concerned about how expensive electronics is as a hobby. Though I realize there's probably a big range depending on the commitment/budget of the hobbyist, could anyone give me a ball park estimate on how much it costs to get started, and how much it costs to continue?

As for starting up, I'm guessing some of the things I'll be needing are:

- oscilloscope
- multimeter
- soldering iron + soldering/desoldering tool
- (a few) solderless breadboards
- hoards of resistors and wire?

If there's anything else anyone could suggest for the list, I'd appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Fish

The components in a circuit can range from about 10 cents a piece (in Canada) to well over $7. The more complex the component is, the more money it will cost you.

Now it depends on the quality you want. If you just want to throw a circuit up in two seconds, go with a breadboard. You don't even need solder or a circuit board, because a breadboard holds the components for you. (price: $5)

If you want to go a little better than that, you can buy printed circuit boards with a grid of holes in it. each hole has a copper ring around it. Now you need solder for this. Just fix in the components, and use solder to connect them. Veroboard is almost the same, except that each row of the grid is a track (line of copper). (price: $5+)

BUT, if you want to cram components together, and you don't like the spacing in the grid, then go with a copper clad PCB. If you don't care about quality or time, then you can wax the whole board, scrape out the copper you want gone, and etch it. (price for this process: ~$20+)

Now, if you want, you can use a photographic method of making the boards. Mgchemicals.com has a visual tutorial as well as a video on how to make great circuit boards. It's under their photofabrication section. This is more expensive, but it is worth it, especially if you are making circuits with a lot of IC's.

and don't think about buying a new meter just to check conductivity! all you need is a battery and a LAMP. Connect the battery to the lamp to ensure it lights. Now connect the lamp to the item (that needs to be checked for conductivity), and to the battery. If the lamp lights, the item conducts electricity.

 

[heathtech]

The ONLY way to really learn electronics is hands on. I read book after book, and yes, I did grasp a lot of concepts from reading, but practical experience can't be substituted.

You can also learn a lot from buying old instruments and equipment at flea markets and garage sales and repairing them

This is a very, very good suggestion, and if you can get schematics for them (like off the internet), it is even better. Being able to comprehend a schematic is probably the most difficult but important part of electronics (in my opinion) Start with simple things, like appliances (coffe maker, microwave oven, etc. but follow all safety rules!) Schematics and wiring diagrams are usually not difficult to obtain for common appliances, and you'll learn a lot of principles about switches, mechanical relays, resistors, motors, capacitors, transformers etc. At this stage, all you need is a decent digital multimeter (amp,volt,and ohm). Focus on how Ohm's law applies throughout the circuit, and how voltages and current are affected by series and parallel arrangements. As you are studying these hands on things, read books that give good explanations to your questions. You have to build your knowledge in steps, and this is a good start. Don't think you have to learn about amplifiers and microcontrollers over night! Crawl before you walk!

[EDIT by mechie -- two duplicate postings deleted to aid readability]

 

[i_build_stuff]

As far as used scopes go, I'd try to find one of the older (early 80's maybe) Tektronix ones. These will offer better quality / more features than a newly made model for anywhere near the same price.

It's good to keep a lot of parts on hand as well, so you don't have to order them for each project. Resistors (1/4 or 1/2 watt), capacitors (all types), BJTs, MOSFETs, JFETs, transformers, diodes, bridge rectifiers, op amps, comparators, timers (555), PLLs, logic gates, flip flops, DACs, counter chips, digital comparators, voltage regulator chips (LM317, LM7805 especially), etc. are all good things to have on hand. You'll probably want to start with a large number of these parts, as ordering stuff for each little project gets old really fast (not to mention the shipping costs).

Other than that, I'd recommend:

-Function Generator. You will use it constantly.

-9 volt batteries and the connectors for them. These are wonderful for testing circuits, as they don't put out enough power to really fry anything (provided that you disconnect power as soon as you notice the circuit doesn't work).

-At least one big, fat power transformer. The one I always seem to be using is rated at 12.6V, 25A, and was $20 at https://www.allelectronics.com (they don't have this one anymore, but there is a 5-amp one that would probably do fine).

-A big box of junk to scrap for parts. Computer monitors and power supplies are full of great stuff, and people throw them out constantly. This is a good source for heat sinks, transformer cores, large electrolytic and mylar caps, power resistors, large diodes, fans, and other more expensive parts.

-Some way to organize the parts. I would recommend the organizers that have a million little drawers.

-The pre-printed circuit boards that have breadboard-like patterns on them. These are WAY easier to build on than the ones with just a little copper ring around each hole.

 

[Fish]

Thanks a lot everyone! It's all been really helpful. I'll see if it works out, between school and everything.

If anyone has anything to add, keep it coming =)...

Fish

 

[ikalogic]

well... to start, i think you need more than tools, you also need a work bench with some AC power supplies for you iron , and you need a good DC power supply, the best thing that will do the job is an old/used computer power supply, you have many isolated dc power outlets with relatively high currents ...

other than resistors and wires, there are other components which are standard and will always be used un most of the circuits.. like:

-leds
-tansistor (i love the 2n2222, it fits for all the uses...)
-op amps (IC 358, this is the most important IC with which you can do an infinity of things .. i consider the LM358 opamp as the most important IC in my life! any sensor must include at least one of those, and they are pretty easy to use..)
-capacitors, they are not as cheap as resistors, but it is good to have an inventory of caps with you anytime...

well for the rest.. it have allready been said up here!

good luck.