Basic Electronics set-up???

[Waxwing]

I would like to have a basic electronics kit for teaching and constructing projects with my kids. I took extra physics (4 semester more than required for my degree) when I was in college and had electronics while in high school (20+ years ago, yikes!), but ended up being a civil engineer (please don't hold it against me).

We would be starting with the basics, like building a DC power supply, making a strobe light, strain gauge, electrical magnet, etc.

Equipment-wise I would be starting from scratch.
1) What equipment and parts should I buy to get started? Please be detailed with the numbers, sizes, makes, etc...
2) I am in the U.S.A. and would like the initial investment to be at most $400 total.
3) If this is doable at $400, do you have projects you would recommend?

 

[ScottyUK]

You should probably have posted this in forum1528. ;-)

There are some good kits out there. One manufacturer who has been around for a few years and who had a decent reputation over here in Europe is Velleman. They appear to have a US presence from a quick look on the net, although I think they are actually Dutch or Belgian in origin. I built a couple of their kits many years ago and they were reasonably good back then.

Find a decent temperature-controlled soldering iron. Ebay is probably the place I would look, my personal choice would be either Pace or Weller but maybe someone in the US will add their thoughts. It will keep its resale value so buy a reasonable one and sell it on in a few years time. A crappy soldering iron will cause frustration and tears / bad language and just isn't worth the pain of ruined circuit boards.

Buy a regulated lab-type power supply (ebay again). 30V / 2A will be adequate unless you get into building audio amplifiers or soemthing similar. Try to find one which has two channels to give a symmetrical ± 0-30V supply for analogue work. Over here Thurlby and Farnell units are common as dirt and only slightly more expensive than it.

Buy a decent multimeter (guess where from?) and maybe consider adding an oscilloscope in future. Bottom-of-the-line analogue scopes with a bandwidth of 20MHz / 30Mhz cost next to nothing but for hobby work these cheap & cheerful scopes are more than adequate unless you're getting in to fairly sophisticated stuff. Plenty to look at: an old Tektronix, Phillips, or similar would be fine. I'd pick an older branded scope in GWO rather than a shiny innominate one, but that's just me. Same applies to a signal generator. Old HP sine / square oscillators are ten a penny.

After that, basic small hand tools. Include an anti-static wristband, solder sucker, etc.

 

[Waxwing]

Sorry for posting in the wrong forum. I don't visit eng-tips very often. I posted because I thought it might save me hours and hours of internet searching and shopping.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how much and what sizes of electric components to buy resistors, wire, capacitors, breadboard,...? I remember the electrical engineers at college walking around with a toolbox filled with the stuff--any college students out there would like to chime in?

Anything particular to look for in a multimeter (these can be fairly pricey relative to my budget)?

Thanks for the reply ScottyUK, I guess I will leave the post here rather than make a second post, since the mistake has been made, I don't see a way to move this post. I haven't started shopping yet, but if I could get all this, including an oscilloscope, for less than $400 it's a surprise to me.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

A $15 multimeter from Radio Shack is more than adequate for your purposes. For basic soldering, one of their $25 kits is usable (though I can't stand them after working with quality tools like a MetCal).

The oscilloscope is a taller order for that price range... you'll likely have to settle for either a used unit from eBay, or a something simple (like a PicoScope).

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[IRstuff]

It depends on what you want to do. Here are some things on my shopping list from AliExpress:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/UNO-...rn-Suite-Stepper-Motor-ULN2003/900054128.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free...-Arduino-Starters-keyes-brand/1490713082.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-...o-basics-of-using-the-Arduino/1309223026.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Prom...-1PC-830-Tie-Point-Breadboard/1580318830.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/UNO-...ylon-PTZ-65-breadboard-cables/1108352371.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/foun...er-Kit-Starter-Kit-2012-UNO-R3/918829240.html

btb, you can get a tolerable DMM less $10 from same source or eBay:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/AC-D...ter-DT830B-Free-Shipping-8036/1210228426.html

Likewise, you can get a tolerable digital oscilloscope as well:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/O010...40MHz-Bandwidth-FREE-SHIPPING/1550095644.html

I should warn you that unless your kids are atypical, it'll be like dragging a horse to water. Ironically, 10 yrs later, my eldest is graduating EECS; go figure...


TTFN
faq731-376

Need help writing a question or understanding a reply? forum1529

 

[ScottyUK]

From a quick look on UK ebay:

£26 Fluke 73 meter
£75 Phillips PM3055 'scope
£21 innominate signal generator
£45 Weller TCP low voltage iron
£80 Farnell LT30/2 power supply

Total about £250 or so. All of the above, other than the signal genny, would sell on after a few years at little or no net cost.

 

[ScottyUK]

Further to the list above -

£20 - Farnell Sine and Square oscillator model LFM4 10Hz to 1MHz

It is probably cheaper than building your own using (say) an Intersil 8038 - but not as much fun. I still have one I made at college using the ICL8038. A Wein Bridge oscillator is a nice little project too - plenty of designs available although the glass thermistors used to stabilise the oscillator are getting rarer these days.

 

[edrenalist]

Give your kids a list of inputs and outputs and encourage them to think of combinations. Mods to toys and home automation could provide some good projects.
-Dart launcher on RC car
-IR sensor that controls night light

inputs:
radio control
IR (motion sensors)
sound
pressure
contact
light
temperature

outputs:
lights
motors
hydraulics
speakers

Some of the kits for kids like the stuff Elenco makes might be a good starting point:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_toys-and-games?ie=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=Elenco&node=165793011

 

[edrenalist]

You could check sparkfun.com too, lots of project ideas and parts there.