inspiration... and damnation...

[pedake]

Hi Dave.

First off: I really am not the type of guy who hangs out on the internet. I work like a crazy person on my day job and have to travel a lot. I like to have face-to-face time. I never understood why people read (or write) blogs, make video blogs, never got Instagram or Twitter (latter two I still don't get). This is the first time I ever post anything in a forum. Honest to (any kind of) god.

YOU:

You are killing me.... After a little less than three months I feel ready for electronics anonymous. I have spent some 3k in equipment and material already - I didn't even own a soldering iron before (I am still waiting for my hakko... Switzerland is not good in components supplies, it seems, and its really annoying with customs here). I am a little mad at myself for buying a 2-channel "Voltcraft" (Hantek) osci.. schould have gotten the 4Ch Rigol. I am constantly rearranging the probe... bah. (if anyone in Zurich is reading this - I am selling my DS1062 (hacked to 200 Mhz)). Books.. man.. .books... I bought 30 books or so. half of them are already through. I have gotten pretty good at Differential equations (I wasn't too bad at it school, though) and Laplace is my friend again.

NOW...
Now... what do I do. I do not even want to see my friends anymore. My apartment place looks like a electronics recycling dump and I am reeeeeally having difficulties not thinking about this or that I did wrong at work and I am pretty tired from the long night sessions... and I can't stop thinking about that function generator and this OpAmp, this PCB I'd like to make (still waiting for the 100 cladded plates I ordered cheaply in China).

SO...
So... since this all started with me bored to death at some shabby Hotel with decent Internet in Central Asia... Me watching a few of your videos... well... I am not sure what to say:
THANK YOU! - while I might find your ranting a little tedious on the long run, you really have a talent of explaining quite complex things step by step and in a way that you feel like a little genius afterwords.

or

DAMN YOU! For ruining my life, soon putting me out of a job and killing of my libido with your stupid enthusiasm 

But seriously... This is going to keep my brains busy for years. Very, very exciting stuff.
This being probably my only entry (hopefully) I'll ever post in a Forum, I wish you all the best and all the success with your "work" here. (what is your work, actually?)


PS: Attached a picture of all the things I got in only 2-3 months... I really do feel like some sort of addict.

[jancumps]

Electronics is the wrong hobby for travelers. Don't ask why I know that 

[Cliff Matthews]

It's a pastime... go slow, spend less, tinker more and enjoy. As hobbyists, I'd say we direct our own minds, we create and we worry about responsible usage of time - we have the conscience to do so. If you worry about keeping it all to yourself, fix someone's TV, toaster, whatever. Those who will not worry about idle time, just watch Borg TV as lame ducks overindulging on mostly ridiculous Hollywood poop.

[John_ITIC]

Hi Dave.

First off: I really am not the type of guy who hangs out on the internet. I work like a crazy person on my day job and have to travel a lot. I like to have face-to-face time. I never understood why people read (or write) blogs, make video blogs, never got Instagram or Twitter (latter two I still don't get). This is the first time I ever post anything in a forum. Honest to (any kind of) god.

YOU:

You are killing me.... After a little less than three months I feel ready for electronics anonymous. I have spent some 3k in equipment and material already - I didn't even own a soldering iron before (I am still waiting for my hakko... Switzerland is not good in components supplies, it seems, and its really annoying with customs here). I am a little mad at myself for buying a 2-channel "Voltcraft" (Hantek) osci.. schould have gotten the 4Ch Rigol. I am constantly rearranging the probe... bah. (if anyone in Zurich is reading this - I am selling my DS1062 (hacked to 200 Mhz)). Books.. man.. .books... I bought 30 books or so. half of them are already through. I have gotten pretty good at Differential equations (I wasn't too bad at it school, though) and Laplace is my friend again.

It seems you have experienced the meaninglessness (is that a word?) of 'working like a crazy person' for someone in a corporate type job. From my own experience; a lot of "engineering" jobs in large companies have nothing to do with engineering. After a while, anybody with ambition will transition into politicians, trying to dodge doing actual work and instead try to build political strength within the organization. This results in constant meaningless meetings where little of value is discussed. This is because the people leading the meeting has no technical knowledge left but knows how to talk. But I digress...

Since you are fresh enough out of school to remember Laplace and the rest, try to become a consultant instead. You can focus on technology without having to deal much with the "corporate" overhead. Your role is simply not to build political connections within your client's organizations but rather to give them the technical expertise they have lost themselves over the years. Trust me, there are lots of managers that would rather pay a consultant a fairly large chunk of money than admit it would cost them more in time to read in on what they should have known in the first place.

If you are an extrovert and like to chat with people (face to face) all day long then perhaps sitting alone and reading books may not be a good fit. On the other hand, since you found your way back to electronics then you must have realized that this is where you want to be!

[alsetalokin4017]

There must be a 12-step program for that. Electronics Anonymous?   

[singapol]

Time to reflect on what you want to do in this life as the saying goes..."there is time for everthing, time to learn, work,play and love...". Have a balance, step out and loook at the big picture and stop to smell the roses. Get to know the different cultures on your travels. Good luck.

[KL27x]

I got bit with the bug by an LED and a battery. Then I went crazy and bought a $10.00 Radio Shack soldering iron which I used for a good couple years (went through 7-8 tips and a file, lol). Then I added a cheap multimeter. Some of my earlier gear included a "logic analyzer" made from a digital watch with a split timer with an optocoupler interface. Later, some 8 channel logic probes (I still use these) made with opamps. I also still use a homebrew adjustable power supply with digital 1V steps via microcontroller + a fine tune pot. I can't believe this still works. I burned part of the 7 segment panel meter out while putting it together and fixed it by gluing rows of SMD LEDs to replace the missing bars, and if you open it, it looks like hell. But it has a couple of features which I can't believe aren't on all lab supplies... that's for another rant.

It was something like 4 years later I bought my first dirty cheap scope, when I needed it for something. A year later, an 8 channel logic analyzer. Sometime down the road, needed a 4 channel scope and bought the cheapest one I could find. Test equipment just doesn't excite me. I was gifted a Fluke DMM a year ago, and I have still not used it; I couldn't even tell you where it is, right now. My primary DMM is a $25.00 Uni-T.

I have just about never bought a piece of test equipment I didn't actually have an immediate need for. And I'm too dumb to need 99% of the stuff that Dave reviews.

[EEVblog]

DAMN YOU! For ruining my life, soon putting me out of a job and killing of my libido with your stupid enthusiasm 

You're welcome 
And welcome to the club 
With your new found gear and enthusiasm, you can change the world.

[RJFreeman]

PS: Attached a picture of all the things I got in only 2-3 months... I really do feel like some sort of addict.

Might I suggest more storage?
Shelves for test equipment and just nice stuff, and then cupboards for, well bits and pieces.

Now I know the hardcore organised like little draws and things.
While the more random folk (myself included) like little boxes to put small parts in, that we lose more easily, forcing us to go out and buy more small components which we already have 1000 of, but just can't find that dratted little box that we put them in, and really, half an hour later, just 5 minutes more looking for a 2k2 resistor, or should just give up and drive down to the local (electronic parts emporium) but , I already have about a zillion of them somewhere, or am I thinking of 220 Ohm resistors, no I'm sure I have some, somewhere, and, oh bugger it, the dog needs a walk anyway, and I suppose getting out into the daylight and having some exercise might be a good idea....

[pedake]

oh no... Now I lied to myself. my second post... This is becoming unbecoming.. :-)

So. A few questions:

STORAGE
I have a LOT of these (cheap) small part storage boxes / containers / cabinets (all one type so they fit together - isn't there a DIN / ISO / ANSI / GOST norm for these things?).
Anti static coated boxes are just stupidly expensive. I know what I am talking about: They should not be. Dissipative spray coating polymers (IDP polymers) are really cheap. You buy some co-polymer for pedot pss spray it on. easy  If it wasn't for the fact that i cannot seem to order it anywhere. I'd like to spray this on everything here :-) (I will be careful with the vent holes!!) I know from experience that it has good adhesion to HDPE, LDPE, PC, PMMA, PP and most other simpler thermoplasts (not PTFE and others of the sort)  And it has not too bad in terms of wear resistance (petter than PE-surfaces)

My question: where do I get the stuff? (PEDOT PSS). does anyone have experience with Polyanilline? I haven't read the msds of either yet.. but I don't remember pedot being hazardous.

BOOKS
I really don't like libraries. But I really like books. If anyone know a good 2nd hand shop that has electronics literature in Zurich (Canton, that is, or Zug) - let me know.
I also like bargains. I like to spend on my hobbies (very few), but I get excited about bargains. "The Art of Electronics, 3rd ed.". If someone just got it and doesn't need it anymore - I'll take it for USD 20

DUMPSTER DIVES / AUCTIONS, ETC
I don't feel comfortable with the idea of picking up trash... nah... Plus people throw their stuff away at central collection points for electronics. Also I am in between cars (for a year already now. hail Swiss public transportation)
So - where is a good place to start looking for auctions? I never saw anything like that here. I saw an EEV video on that (Oscilloscopes, Multimeters, etc....) - Are there any of these things in Switzerland??

SOFTWARE
I really like using my Oscilloscope as a volt meter... Unfortunately right now only with 2 channels. I should really have gotten the 4ch Rigol.
But I have lots of computers flying around here. I would like to use them as screens for the oscilloscope.

I started sketching a sort of Arduino MIDI control board with knobs and buttons basically imitating a standalone oscilloscope. I want to control a PC (Linux or Windows) software with that.
So - is there a good oscilloscope open source or free (with nice, open API) software package? I'd like to have one that can read Voltcrat / Hantek, Rigol and other protocols. Probably I am being stupid... but there most be SOMETHING out there... I can only seem to find "oscilloscope" software for sound cards.
My DSO1062 has an open source protocol. But nobody dug into it so far, it seems (there is a tool. But as I see it basically only a modification of the shipped software). And I don't want to become the software guy, but the electronics guy :-)

SPECIAL QUESTION
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunn_diode
I have a big bunch of Gunn oscillators here. Soviet made. Really interesting. With reflectors and everything. I would like to get them running (well. I did) and set them to certain frequencies. but I have no clue on how to measure their spectrum without spending 50'000 dollars. Some of them have been calibrated to Lambda = 7 mm (~42 Ghz, if I roughed it right). I also have a detector (A gunn with a big amp and some filtering) that can detect a whole frequency rage (I am still going through the documentation - in Russian... bah)
Now - how do I look at 42 Ghz? any ideas?

I am becoming one of these forums guys... 15 minutes of writing.. man...

PS: Posted the question again somewhere else:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/high-frequency-spectrum-analysis/msg762229/#msg762229

[matkar]

So - where is a good place to start looking for auctions? I never saw anything like that here. I saw an EEV video on that (Oscilloscopes, Multimeters, etc....) - Are there any of these things in Switzerland??

I know of the Ham Radio fair in Friedrichshafen in the begining of the summer (not Switzerland, but not far from Zurich). You can get lots of second hand equipment and components for low prices.
http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de/ham-en/index.php

[ez24]

SPECIAL QUESTION
I have a big bunch of Gunn oscillators here. Soviet made. Really interesting. With reflectors and everything. I would like to get them running (well. I did) and set them to certain frequencies. but I have no clue on how to measure their spectrum without spending 50'000 dollars. Some of them have been calibrated to Lambda = 7 mm (~42 Ghz, if I roughed it right). I also have a detector (A gunn with a big amp and some filtering) that can detect a whole frequency rage (I am still going through the documentation - in Russian... bah)
Now - how do I look at 42 Ghz? any ideas?

My suggestion is to break up your questions and make several posts each with a specific and long title.  How is someone with a Gunn (what ever that is) going to find your question with a title of "inspiration... and damnation... "

[pedake]

Yup.
did that :-)
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/high-frequency-spectrum-analysis/msg762229/#msg762229

[daqq]

Welcome to the Dark side! Enjoy your stay.

[SL4P]

Travelling = laptop & micro/dev board + language suite. (must not look like a clock project )
Home = make it work together with the boards you'll eventually cobble together.

One other observation for posters: Components live in drawers - not draws!