Contest for Beginners

[Seaofdep]

well ill be a...... not even rise to the standars of a winner  lol

 I defenitley can use both prizes and am in it for the win, and being one of a couple entries of course thrilled at the same time i dont mind healthy competion . it is just mor motivation for us.< But whatever the outcome maybe, Im gratful for the opportunity.

[xrunner]

well ill be a...... not even rise to the standars of a winner  lol

Sorry the first time I saw your other post I didn't see a picture.

[bitseeker]

As it is summer in the northern hemisphere, perhaps some would-be contestants are on vacation. We shall see.

Good idea, my friend is getting into electronics, does not even have DMM and wants one but has not registered for this forum!

But if he wants to enter then let's go for it. I'm officially opening the contest to newly registered members.

Cool. Well, buck, now your friend has no reason to hide in the shadows. Time to register and participate!

To express a bare minimum level of interest in the topics on this forum, please respond or ask a pertinent question to three (3) posts anywhere on this forum. Take your time there's no rush. I'm looking for at least a sentence or so in your post - not just a single word like "cool". Then once you have that history you can work on your entry here. 

I concur. New registrants should participate in the forum in more than a token form, prior to entering.

what's to stop a person from falsifying a third world setup to increase their chances?

Specifically, this giveaway is restricted to the US due to the location of the owners of the prizes who are paying for the shipping out of their own pockets. Generally, there isn't anything stopping cheaters from entering. We are aware of that possibility and hopefully our diligence will be sufficient. If we do get snookered, then may all the faker's electronics, now and forevermore, prove to be unreliable at the most inopportune times.

[xrunner]

what's to stop a person from falsifying a third world setup to increase their chances?

Specifically, this giveaway is restricted to the US due to the location of the owners of the prizes who are paying for the shipping out of their own pockets. Generally, there isn't anything stopping cheaters from entering. We are aware of that possibility and hopefully our diligence will be sufficient. If we do get snookered, then may all the faker's electronics, now and forevermore, prove to be unreliable at the most inopportune times.

IonizedGears,

Nothing is stopping them. The alternative would have been to have a random drawing which would allow any all all persons to enter (because there would be no way to authenticate anyone). At least doing this is better than nothing.

But I can't believe many people who don't need this stuff would bother to make a false entry. If they do then they have way too much free time on their hands.

But if we have any doubts there is always the backup phone interview. 

[bitseeker]

But if we have any doubts there is always the backup phone interview. 

Ah, yes. The backup phone interview. I have been trained in behavioral interviewing techniques (a corporate euphemism for psychological probing of victims candidates) and can make unlimited calls to US phone numbers to ensure sufficient time for the torture interview.

[bitseeker]

well ill be a...... not even rise to the standars of a winner  lol

Sorry the first time I saw your other post I didn't see a picture.

Ah, I didn't see the picture before, either. Nice breadboard. It's bigger than mine! What nifty things have you built on it, Seaofdep?

[Seaofdep]

I am not exactly sure if i need to post my entry on this contest post thread or the begginer thread titled entry < all i see is my statement so far(has me excited for a win and looking at the thread every nanosecond lol).
  Thank you, I really needed it! Just about everything I have as of now is passed down or  flea market finds, and with everyday that goes by i find myself need something new lol and just  getting hands on learning as i play around with leds/speaker i/f and voltage reg. etc.. i have some digital displays and a coontroller i/f (need to find pinouts)i would like to mess with soon.
    still loads to learn and cant get enough

[bitseeker]

All contest entry posts must be submitted in this thread. Nowhere else. In addition:

After I see 12 entry posts (not simply a post saying you want to compete) or two weeks, the contest will be closed to new entries. Your entry post is the full explanation with any helpful pictures of why you need the equipment, quoted to place it at the end of the thread only when I announce its time to do so. Then the judges will make their determination.

[kbarnette]

Hello!

First off, thanks to all who have contributed to the prizes for this contest.  The generosity toward those who are new is commendable and I, for one, hope to be able at a point sometime in the future to do likewise.

That said, here is my entry:

It took me a bit to discover that Electrical Engineering was the coolest of any field one could pursue as an education/career of any option out there!  I piddled around at community college claiming I was pursuing a mechanical engineering degree but I just didn't have a passion for the field.  I'm not sure what it was that made me look seriously at EE but since I have I have been plowing through the degree as quickly as I can.  I'm currently top of my class as a full-time student (Junior, or 3rd year) at a 4-year university while working full-time doing IT work for a fortune 500 logistics company to support my beautiful wife and 2 young daughters (under 4 years old).  My oldest daughter (3) knows how a breadboard works because I'm always tinkering and I love showing her what I'm doing.  Breadboarded LEDs are her favorite component.     I also have the opportunity to participate in an FPGA hardware security research group at my university and am coming to love digital design in VHDL.  I mention all of these things merely to point out that, in spite of how busy I am, I find absolute joy in building all things electronic.

My hobby projects include quadcopters, a 3D printer, a small board-PC-based doorbell system that texts us a picture of whoever rings our doorbell in real-time, and a wireless swimming pool temperature monitoring system.  For my research group I'm trying to wrap my head around designing and laying out a Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA board.  It's been a real trip so far.

My lab equipment consists of a cheap AutoZone DMM, an Analog Discovery 2 lab-in-a-box, and my pride and joy, a Rigol DS1054Z (purchased on the recommendation of so many on this forum).  I've been scraping and scrounging to save up for a  good multi-channel bench power supply but that's still off in the future somewhere.  I should probably design and build one but I kind of want it to look good and be easy to use and I'm not confident my first go at it would satisfy either of those requirements.  Either the 1074Z or the combo DMM/Frequency Counter prizes would be extensively used as I troubleshoot my designs and strive to reverse engineer others' designs I come across.

Attached is the picture of my computer desk which also serves as my workbench.  I've been delaying posting waiting until I could clean up my desk but I figure this is an accurate reflection of my workspace with everything I have going on.  Lest one think the Altium Designer application up on the monitor means I'm rolling in money, it is the student version ($120/yr) and was provided by my university.

I am in the US and appreciate your consideration of my entry into this contest.

If anyone has any questions or suggestions that would flesh out my "Beginner's Profile" feel free to let me know and I'll be happy to update this post.

[bitseeker]

Good to see your entry, kbarnette. Your bench is cleaner than mine -- more than clean enough to enter.

[IonizedGears]

kbarnette,

I'm not sure if you meant it or realized it but I was able to look at all of the other pictures you posted on your photobucket with the link you sent (nice guns though).

I'm in a similar situation as you. I am currently a full time Honors EE junior along with working at my university's electronics and machine tool shop and a few clubs.

~IX

[xrunner]

Lest one think the Altium Designer application up on the monitor means I'm rolling in money, it is the student version ($120/yr) and was provided by my university.

Before we can proceed with your entry please post a picture of the inside of your wallet to verify you are not rolling in money. 

Thanks for your entry and good luck!

[Yansi]

Well I could make a good use of that Rigol DS1074 or the C&C 150U 150 MHz frequency Counter too, but am not sure if I am a beginner or not so I could enter the competition. Most of the time I think I am a beginner dumb as hell, however other might have sometimes different opinions. It is a difficult task to judge myself, as compared to others I might be a complete beginner or even an intermediate (certainly not a professional). Still need at least to finish my EE degree.

[xrunner]

... but am not sure if I am a beginner or not so I could enter the competition.

Let me paraphrase a quote from the Oracle in The Matrix -

Being a beginner is just like being in love. No one can tell you your a beginner, you just know it. Through and through. Balls to bones. Well, I better have a look at you. Open your mouth, say Ahhh.

[kbarnette]

kbarnette,

I'm not sure if you meant it or realized it but I was able to look at all of the other pictures you posted on your photobucket with the link you sent (nice guns though).

Thanks for the heads-up. It's been fixed. I'm glad the contest rules make a provision for feedback.

[rustybronco]

Technically I'm a re-beginner and a new member.

Many moons ago, when I was in high school, I took four years of electronics class. I did rather well back then even to the point point of winning my state's radio servicing competition. 'Many' years have passed since then (I'm 63 now) with even a short stint at the local community college working towards a BSEET degree. As with some people life got in the way and I never finished. Now I have decided to return to doing what I always have loved, but even it is going to have to wait until I retire. In the mean time I have started to accumulate a few odds and ends in order to meet that goal. So far I have a 200 Mhz scope, a function generator, frequency counter, a proper soddering station and a few other things. I still haven't a proper place to work on things, using the dining room table, kitchen counter and even the top of a cabinet in the "office" to work on. Hopefully there will come a proper desk or spot for me to work, but in the mean time I make do with what I have.

As such that I already have some equipment, I will not be entering the contest as there are those less equipped than me. Good luck to all that enter and my gratitude to those putting this contest on.

Regards,
Dale

[bitseeker]

Welcome, Dale. All the best on your re-beginning!

[Shock]

kbarnette,

I'm not sure if you meant it or realized it but I was able to look at all of the other pictures you posted on your photobucket with the link you sent (nice guns though).

Thanks for the heads-up. It's been fixed. I'm glad the contest rules make a provision for feedback.

Nice truck as well, it's still showing all photos when I visited also, as I post this.

In line with the rules I suggest you edit your entry to add a more impoverished sentiment, bills, loans, the cost of being a student etc. Call me jaded but most of the free handouts don't necessary get to those who make use of them the most. If you want tips on how to hit more heart strings read my quote in this post here.

[kbarnette]

Nice truck as well, it's still showing all photos when I visited also, as I post this.

In line with the rules I suggest you edit your entry to add a more impoverished sentiment, bills, loans, the cost of being a student etc. Call me jaded but most of the free handouts don't necessary get to those who make use of them the most. If you want tips on how to hit more heart strings read my quote in this post here.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm starting to not like photobucket. Updating the picture when I get to my desk tonight. The truck picture is for when I was selling my truck after my company downsized when my wife was 8 months pregnant and I lost my job a few years ago (before I discovered EE and really took on a lot of classes).

[PA0PBZ]

I'm starting to not like photobucket.

You can just upload the picture to the forum as an attachment...

[Yansi]

Specifically, this giveaway is restricted to the US due to the location of the owners of the prizes who are paying for the shipping out of their own pockets. Generally, there isn't anything stopping cheaters from entering. We are aware of that possibility and hopefully our diligence will be sufficient. If we do get snookered, then may all the faker's electronics, now and forevermore, prove to be unreliable at the most inopportune times.

Hence why I better not participate. US people think they are the only one that would pay. To be honest, if I would ever win anything here, I would not be able to pay the import fees. Just do not have enough money for that.  Stupid country what I live in.

[Jono427]

Here is my entry:

Been playing with simple circuits for a long time, but finally have the time and space to really learn.  Still remember my first electronics kit in grade school. Got it from a book fair and had to choose between it or a few books - I picked the kit and borrowed the books from friends   It was one of those you attach the parts to a cardboard box and each one had springs to connect the wires between them (about 10"x5").

Once I had a job in high school I got my first multimeter (a cheap Craftsman) that I still have.  Have mostly only played around with my Arduino and RaspberryPi up to this point but have wanted to start on my own circuits and actually learn more.  I picked up "Make: Electronics" and "Practical Electronics for Inventors" to read (which is huge!) a few months ago.  Only have made it 1/4 through Make and have read a little when I want a little bit more in Practical, but already learning a lot (never learned that capacitors are different for AC and DC - probably because I have only worked with DC).  Also thought caps were connected like batteries in DC circuits, not pos and to ground.  Like xrunner just quoted from the Matrix "No one can tell you your a beginner, you just know it" - this is when I knew it.

Most of the stuff on the bench (a white folding table w/ antistatic mat) has been pulled together over the past 6 years and lots of second-hand stuff.  The bench PSU (ebay, probably from a certain school going out of business) is so much better than having 2-3 wall warts.  Currently wanting to save for an oscilloscope.  I have always been a visual learner and I think that getting one will help.  The current circuit I'm working on in Make is a blinking LED (caps, resistors, and transistors).  It would be nice to see the voltages change at different points in the circuit to see how they interact.

Thanks for doing this xrunner, bitseeker and bson - You are all awesome!  I do have a multimeter so please only consider my entry for the Rigol (as it looks like others could use the DMM and/or counter).  Also got those green/yellow pair from Frankie on these forums.  Have to say that they are great for the price and got them super quick!

[bitseeker]

I'm starting to not like photobucket. Updating the picture when I get to my desk tonight.

Attach it to your post. That's preferred anyway so that you don't have to rely on a third-party service to exist as long as your post does.

See Jono's entry as an example. Works nicely.

[bitseeker]

Hence why I better not participate. US people think they are the only one that would pay. To be honest, if I would ever win anything here, I would not be able to pay the import fees.

Yes, international contests can be challenging to both sides, depending on where you live. So, we just keep it to the local country and, hopefully, there will be others who will do something similar where they live.

[xrunner]

Thank you Jono427. 

Officially we now have three entries -

kbarnette
Seaofdep
Jono427

If I missed anyone please flog me in public.

Remember, you are free to improve your post until we notify everyone that the contest is closed. We may not get to 12 contestants but we'll let it go for a while longer.

If anyone has a better/fairer way to do these contests I'd be interested in the procedure you have in mind. Might be an interesting thread if you'd like to start one.