If you had unlimited electronic parts to work with...

[Partsnerd]

What would you build first?

 

[tcmtech]

Well, I 've been collecting and salvaging electronics components for over 25 years and at this point there is not really anything I can thnk of that I really need to buy to build anything I want.

Given that I also don't really have any lists of things I wish to build at this point either so the vast majority of my parts resources just gets used for regular boring day to day repair work and nothing all that fantastic.

 

[Partsnerd]

I was thinking about building a midi controller for my guitar rig.

 

[Willen]

Being in a place where I just can find few common resistors, some medium size electrolytics caps, some BC547s and some consumer (TV/Radio/DVD) ICs, I always feel I would make everything if I got parts enough.

When I was going to be a 'hobbyist' in starting days it took 1 year to collect parts to make just a very simple single transistor FM oscillator (transmitter) including BF494, 4.7pf, 68pf, 47k, 1nF, 100nF. Got the transistor in a shop and hardly I got some old damaged kits and scrapped some needed caps.

My main success is not to complete project, but to get needed parts.

 

[ronsimpson]

I almost have unlimited parts.
I am working on a low voltage LED driver.
AND
I am working on another home control computer.

 

[Ian Rogers]

I have shed loads of components.... Loads of thing I would like to build.. But, Alas, no time..

 

[ericgibbs]

I have shed loads of components.... Loads of thing I would like to build.. But, Alas, no time..

I have plenty of time/bits and build all sorts of gizmo's, problem is I have no real applications for the projects.
Design > Build > Program > Test > Dismantle.
It's very frustrating no longer being in business. !!

Eric

 

[Ian Rogers]

I have plenty of time/bits and build all sorts of gizmo's, problem is I have no real applications for the projects.
Design > Build > Program > Test > Dismantle.
It's very frustrating no longer being in business. !!

Eric

I don't get time to play!!! I have a hovercraft I want to finish... Done the motor drivers... Done the motors.. They are just sitting looking at me, very fustrating...

 

[MrAl]

What would you build first?

Hi,

Almost a no brainer for my own interests with a truly unlijmited parts supply,
i'd build a SUPER COMPUTER.

I would also create the strongest chess program on earth for it, better than Deep Blue.

I've already considered some alternatives in hardware even with limited hardware. Already have a base chess program also that might not be the best one on earth, but is still hard to beat for the average player. Installed on a super computer however, it would beat all but the best, and with a little tweeking it would be extremely hard to beat.

Before that though i'd install a lot of programs for electronic design.

 

[granddad]

Hi partsnerd ...
Fortunately for me supply of components is not a problem, However my many projects / ideas seem to get side tracked during development so I spend hours , re configuring , restarting, reprogramming , re building, stopping, de-soldering, upgrading SW, planning a new project, etc etc I don't have that 'Go with it' moment that commercial business must have. Some projects do get finished ( more or less) and cased up but I am still thinking about perhaps a version 10, But it keeps the little grey cells ticking over and is enjoyable, just one of the many benefits of retirement.

 

[k7elp60]

Hi partsnerd ...
Fortunately for me supply of components is not a problem, However my many projects / ideas seem to get side tracked during development so I spend hours , re configuring , restarting, reprogramming , re building, stopping, de-soldering, upgrading SW, planning a new project, etc etc I don't have that 'Go with it' moment that commercial business must have. Some projects do get finished ( more or less) and cased up but I am still thinking about perhaps a version 10, But it keeps the little grey cells ticking over and is enjoyable, just one of the many benefits of retirement.

I'm with granddad. I have been in electronics for over 60 years, and I remember when the transistor first became available, and built my first digital clock with RTL ic's(way obsolete). My current project that gets put aside quite often is a US Flag with 400 LED's.

 

[granddad]

I have been in electronics for over 60 years,

That quite a spell , you make me feel like a teenager

 

[Partsnerd]

I started to build a midi controller yesterday. I found all the parts in my giant stash of parts. Now it's the build and test phase.

 

[schmitt trigger]

I have shed loads of components.... Loads of thing I would like to build.. But, Alas, no time..

Likewise!

What I do, I browse the web's forums and blogs. If I find a circuit that piques my interest, I usually prototype it to understand its operation.
With that added knowledge, I might later find a project which previously I couldn't tackle.

 

[ericgibbs]

That quite a spell , you make me feel like a teenager

hi grandad,
I have been at this for close on 72 years plus.!
Starting my 85th Solar orbit later this year and I still find electronics interesting and stimulating.

Eric
PS: I don't wear an anorak, drink coffee from a flask or wear a woolly hat.

 

[ronsimpson]

i'd build a SUPER COMPUTER.

My advice is to build something that you will live long enough to finish. (think smaller)
I will never live long enough to use up 1/1000000 of my parts.

 

[MrAl]

My advice is to build something that you will live long enough to finish. (think smaller)
I will never live long enough to use up 1/1000000 of my parts.

Hello,

Well, it does not have to be the top supercomputer in the world, just one that has more processors than the norm. Eight isnt enough for me
I looked for dual processor AMD boards for example, which would provide for 8+8 cores of the 'regular' FX type, but i dont think they make actual dual (physical) core motherboards any more.

 

[ronsimpson]

I looked for dual processor AMD boards for example,

Credit card size, A 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU, 1GB RAM, 4 USB ports, 40 GPIO pins, Full HDMI port, Ethernet port, Combined 3.5mm audio jack and composite video, Camera interface (CSI), Display interface (DSI), Micro SD card slot, VideoCore IV 3D graphics core (Win-10, Android or Linux)

I have the dual core in the other room (mounted on a mini hard drive). It surfs the internet just find. I am looking at the 8x core version.

 

[Partsnerd]

Try building skynet so the terminators can start the purge....looking at the news today looks like we need it.

 

[granddad]

I started to build a midi controller yesterday.

One of my first PIC mcu projects was a MiDi controller, I had an Elka E19 Organ , didn't have MiDi so i made an interface ( or 2 or 3) nothing spectacular, it robbed the key (66) scan codes produced by the organ's 8085, and produced a MiDi stream of note data etc and sent to a Yamaha TG100 sound box ( 100's of instrument voices) , and to/from a PC (running Visual Basic 4 ) great fun.