Resources
Electronics Distributors
You can often get better prices on electronic parts on Amazon or eBay. However, you can sometimes get better prices by going to one of the major distributors. Also, there are times when you want to make sure you are not getting knockoffs or poor quality parts. Both DigiKey and Mouser offer a very wide selection, a filtering tool to help find the right part, and economical shipping. The only negative is that their economical shipping may not always be as fast as Amazon or US suppliers on eBay.
Smaller Electronics Suppliers
For some parts and material - particularly antenna wire, coax cable, and coax connectors - you may do better by going to a small (often Ham operated), supplier. You can find some of these supplier on eBay, but here are a few I have ordered from directly.
Tools
A good set of tools is essential for building and repairing electronic products, kits, and DIY projects. For printed circuit board (PCB) assembly and repair, the tools need to be smaller than what you may already have for working on your car or home repairs. Here is a list of necessary and nice to have tools (with some suggestions / examples in parentheses):
- Needle-nose pliers
- Bent-nose pliers
- Tweezers
- Hemostat forceps (nice to have)
- Diagonal cutters
- Wire strippers
- Phillips screwdrivers (various sizes)
- Slotted screwdrivers (various sizes)
- Hobby knife
- Jeweler's loupe (for examining solder joints etc.)
- Soldering station (Hakko FX-888D or Weller WE1010NA)
- Solder (Kester SN63PB37 Size .020”)
- Solder wick (Chem-Wik Rosin Size .100”)
Test Equipment
Probably the most frequently used piece of test equipment is the Digital Multimeter (DMM). This device usually can measure AC/DC volts, AC/DC current, and resistance (ohms). Some DMMs include other functions, such as continuity, capacitance, and frequency measurements. Prices can vary from $10 to hundreds of dollars. Expect to pay $20 to $40 for a reasonable quality DMM.
Although you can use fixed 5V and 12V power supplies for many projects, an adjustable power supply is very useful. You may want to apply a low voltage to your project initially to be sure there are no power problems. Also, some projects may require varying the voltage to determine the optimum supply voltage. Adjustable 0 – 30V, 0 – 5A power supplies, with built-in voltage and current meters, are available for under $100.
The third most common test instrument for a home lab is the Oscilloscope. This device facilitates examining a digital or analog signal more closely. You can look at the amount of noise on a DC voltage, the timing of digital signals, or the waveform of analog signals. Most newer low cost Oscilloscopes are Digital Storage Oscilloscopes (DSO), which provide the user much more flexibility than the old analog Oscilloscopes. A low cost DSO, such as a Siglent, will cost $200 to $300.
Soldering
If you are planning to build kits or design your own printed circuit boards, you will need soldering skills. Probably the best place to learn to solder correctly is in the aerospace industry. This NASA Student Handbook provides instruction for methods and techniques required in the production of reliable soldered connections. Videos demonstrating many of these techniques can be found on YouTube. Another great resource for the beginner is this article from Electronic Design: Common PCB Soldering Problems to Avoid.
Computers and Microcontrollers
The Raspberry Pi has become a very popular small, single-board computer. The latest version is available with 4GB RAM and supports two HDMI monitors.
An even smaller computer, which is closer to an easily programmable microcontroller, is the Arduino. Free tools, including an Integrated development Environment (IDE), are available to support programming the Arduino in C/C++.
If your interest is in microcontrollers, Microchip offers a wide range of devices. Their tools include a free downloadable or cloud based IDE that supports assembler and C programming. The Curiosity Development Board is a reasonably priced demo-board / programmer.
Programming
C and C++ are very popular languages for the Arduino and most microcontrollers. Many books on C and C++ are available, but you can also find online tutorials. Here are a few:
Other Resources
Other resources will be posted here in the future. Please send me suggestions for topics you would like to see.
