Build Random Things...
The problem is quite simple. Do to a mental problem/lack of faith, I have a decreased level of creativity. Electronics is something that intrigues me. My main interest is in FM transmission. I know FM is a rather advanced topic but it is still something I wish to master.
I have recently developed seizures (recently meaning over 6 months ago). I have been having memory lapses. I forgot that my cousin came down for a month, and I forgot that I went to the zoo on mothers day with my sister. Point is I have a fear that I may have forgotten what has been taught to me at school.
First off - you have my sympathy; I can't imagine what you are going through and how it is affecting you day to day, etc. Trying to work with electronics while "fully functioning" can be interesting at times; while having seizures and potentially forgetting things - ooh. I would say your best best is to invest in some notebooks, and take -tons- of detailed notes as you work, perhaps with times and dates, or some other method to organize things; think of these notebooks as your "external memory" (you might try a tablet or a netbook or something - but here's the problem: I don't know anything about your seizures, but if they are something that causes you to collapse or flail any, then an electronic device might not be best; it might not get charged, it might get damaged, it might fall, etc - therefore, pencil/pen and paper would seem to be the better choice).
I am hoping to study the books they have gave me and put my knowledge to work. I have a toolkit with a variety of parts. I however do not have a clue how to test my knowledge without an oscilloscope, and an adjustable voltage providing machine (whose name escapes me). However, I do have a multi-meter.
You are probably thinking of an "adjustable power supply"; you can build such a thing (small scale) fairly easily, with just a multi-meter - an oscilloscope will be needed later for FM, but you probably aren't quite there yet.
I guess for the start I could build an adjustable voltage providing circuit. The power rating would probably be very low. The idea I just now created would involve a potentiometer. The potentiometer would be a voltage divider. I could use the multi-meter to check the voltage being offered. When the voltage is the value I wish it to be I would then connect it to the circuit needing to be powered.
That sounds reasonable; to start out with, you could build a simple linear power supply, with voltage adjustment (you could even do current adjustment, if you wanted), using an LM7805 (for +5 volt output), and a separate LM7812 (+12 volt output); you could make each adjustable - or just use one or the other (depending on the range you want). If you wanted the regulator to supply more current (the standard TO-220 case devices are limited to about 1 amp, with a good heatsink; they do make TO-3 versions, which I think will allow you to go up to 1.5 or 2 amps?), you could use a bypass transistor (see the datasheet for example circuits; there is also a good linear regulator app-note floating around out there by TI, if I remember right).
What about the power ratings?
What if I have a circuit that needs a certain voltage and a specific power rating?
As noted above, you are going to be limited to a certain extent, but with the bypass transistor and a big heatsink (and maybe a fan), plus an input transformer or whatnot to keep things cool enough, you should be able to get up into the 5-7 amp range (I think - homemade power supplies are not my strong suit; others here can give you better advice, I think). At a certain point, though, at your level - you may have to purchase an adjustable bench power supply (which don't come cheap, either - depending on the voltage range and rating you need). The thing is, power supplies can become complicated very quickly; I've got in my shop a couple of small "trainer" style linear power supplies that are adjustable (0-25 volts, 0-2.25 amps), and the circuit is fairly complex (at least to my inexperienced eyes); a switching regulator circuit would likely be even more complicated.
Also - depending on your needs - you might think about modding a PC power supply; not very adjustable, but it could be a cheap solution (unfortunately, for a lot of electronics work, especially experimentation, you kinda want a way to limit the current, and the voltage - you can't do either easily with a PC power supply).
Anyways, my current task:
Right now, I am trying to build a circuit that ITT Tech provided:
https://electroschematics.com/83/mini-fm-transmitter-max2606/
That's a fairly simple circuit; I would wonder though if you would need an oscilloscope, among other test equipment for it to "tune it" (maybe not; I'm not seeing any IF stages or anything - everything is done "on-chip" I think). Generally with RF you also want things like a frequency counter and the signal generator (with the bandwidth for the kind of signals you expect to work with); but this circuit seems pretty self-contained. Probably an o-scope to check the final output would be all that would be necessary (though how you would measure FM without needing something like a 500 MHz scope - I'm not sure; I've never dealt with such frequencies before).
The problem:
I don't have any RCA jacks nor do I know what RCA jacks are used for. I think it is used for a microphone or some sort of music provider?
Is there anyway I could create a tone/pulse generator and basically probe a signal out?
RCA Plugs and Jacks:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_connector
Hope that helps - good luck, and maybe others will chime-in here to correct any mis-information I have supplied...