Learning The Art of Electronics - Parts BOM

[iainwhite]

You can save the cart to a named saved cart (in 'My Digikey') and then delete the whole cart

[Roman K]

Hi all,
I just bought this book together with the TAOE and am just about to order the parts. Really looking forward to start with the experiments

However the Bom does not state the quantity of parts?
I have searched around on the net but cant find the quantity required for each part anywhere??

Is it just one of each part required??

Many thanks for any input on this

[Roman K]

JFET current source: 1N5294 - these are impossible to get hold of in Europe: just use a JFET (J310) and a series resistor - same thing.

The 1N5294 is a DO-35 and the J310 is a TO-92. Could you please explain how to ad the series resistor for a newbie?

Thanks

[bd139]

I just bought this book to have a scan through as I'm thinking about writing another one.

You don't explicitly need them by the looks. They are used to provide a tail current for a differential amplifier. It says you can use a BJT current source (sink) instead which it teaches you how to build earlier. I would do that and just not buy them.

As for the other question, the quantity of parts appears to be undefined! Ergo you will have to read the labs and infer how many.

I'm not really enamoured with this book. There's a huge amount of errata, silly mistakes and obscure stuff required. Plus it feels rushed and rambling on some areas. Not to mention magic knowledge like film canisters full of mystery components and special breadboards that don't exist in the real world.

[tooki]

page 1107

Transistors: MJE2955/3055 - these are TO220 packaged 2n2955/3055 which are usually cheap as chips. Solder wires on them or they will kill your breadboard, same with TO220's!

FYI, I learned a trick on here, don't rememebr who said it: take flat-jaw pliers and twist the leads on a TO-220 package by 90 degrees. Then they will go into a breadboard easily, without causing damage.

[goethert]

how do you guys organize the components from digikey?  I got the package like this

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[bd139]

Bags of bags stored in boxes.

[JoeN]

Bags of bags stored in boxes.

Number the boxes.  Keep them in order.  Make sure to have an excel spreadsheet or something you can search by part # so you can find the box or bin.  I like these for discrete parts:

https://www.zoro.com/akro-mils-drawer-bin-cabinet-6-38-in-d-20-in-w-10164/i/G2213477

[nn_in]

I have books : 2Ed AoE and supporting lab book "students manual for AoE" .

Can i buy the  lab book "3rd Ed Learning AoE" and build labs without buying the 3ed of AoE ?

Thanks

[bd139]

Yes you can. 3e Learning book is standalone.

[nn_in]

Yes you can. 3e Learning book is standalone.

Thank you for the response . Thats  good to know. The 3ed Learning AoE lab manual preview on AoE website seems to have a more detailed approach.

[bd139]

It does indeed. I've got both copies here and the 3rd edition is much better content-wise. Beware when you get to the digital section, it requires a lot of expensive hardware suddenly.

[Mr. Scram]

Number the boxes.  Keep them in order.  Make sure to have an excel spreadsheet or something you can search by part # so you can find the box or bin.  I like these for discrete parts:

https://www.zoro.com/akro-mils-drawer-bin-cabinet-6-38-in-d-20-in-w-10164/i/G2213477

Just organising the boxes properly can be enough. Have a box marked on the outside with the types of components inside, then have a consistent hierarchy on the inside. Having a separate Excel sheet invites two situations not agreeing with each other.

[rstofer]

Hi all,
I just bought this book together with the TAOE and am just about to order the parts. Really looking forward to start with the experiments

However the Bom does not state the quantity of parts?
I have searched around on the net but cant find the quantity required for each part anywhere??

Is it just one of each part required??

Many thanks for any input on this

The DigiKey shopping lists may help:
https://www.digikey.com/en/resources/edu/harvard-lab-kit

For obvious reasons, the quantity varies wildly.  Lots of resistors and transistors, not so many switches...

[goethert]

Hi all,
I just bought this book together with the TAOE and am just about to order the parts. Really looking forward to start with the experiments

However the Bom does not state the quantity of parts?
I have searched around on the net but cant find the quantity required for each part anywhere??

Is it just one of each part required??

Many thanks for any input on this

The DigiKey shopping lists may help:
https://www.digikey.com/en/resources/edu/harvard-lab-kit

For obvious reasons, the quantity varies wildly.  Lots of resistors and transistors, not so many switches...

I just ordered a couple of weeks ago. yes, you can check at digikey for quality. one thing to remind: two small items were out of stock and they shipped separately. shipping fee is high if you agree to ship separately. item is $0.89, and shipping fee is $8.99

Sent from my LON-L29 using Tapatalk

[rstofer]

The DigiKey shopping lists may help:
https://www.digikey.com/en/resources/edu/harvard-lab-kit

For obvious reasons, the quantity varies wildly.  Lots of resistors and transistors, not so many switches...

I just ordered a couple of weeks ago. yes, you can check at digikey for quality. one thing to remind: two small items were out of stock and they shipped separately. shipping fee is high if you agree to ship separately. item is $0.89, and shipping fee is $8.99

Sent from my LON-L29 using Tapatalk

I would leave the 2 items for a future order if I didn't need them quickly.  Compared to the cost of the kit of parts, shipping is insignificant.

[jgalak]

I really wish the BOM listed what labs which part is for. 

I've just ordered the analog items, since I don't want to spend the money right now for both, plus I feel my analog skills need the exercise more than my digital skills.  Between DigiKey, Mouser, and eBay, I managed to find everything.  My only question is on the Proto-Advantage items.  Which ones are for the analog portion?  I'm assuming it's the 2 audio amplifiers ("LAoE Low Voltage Audio Power Amplifier" and "LAoE Switching Audio Amplifier"), but a short skim didn't reveal this info.  Can anyone confirm?

Thanks.

[jgalak]

Oh, and one other question:  It looks like a signal generator/function generator is needed.  Just how much capability is necessary?  I have an old Elenco kit-built one, that will do sine, square, and saw-tooth to 100kHz.  Will that be enough, or do I need to invest in something more capable?

A better one is on the "to buy" list anyway, but I'd rather not spend the money right now if I don't have to.

[rstofer]

Use what you have until you can't.

Your Elenco 100 kHz signal generator will probably be sufficient for all audio and low frequency stuff.  I haven't done all of the experiments but the suggested prototype platform (Proto-Board PB503) has only a 100 kHz signal generator.  Actually, it is switchable 0-100 Hz and 0-100 kHz - not a big deal one way or the other.  It is no better than your Elenco.

One way to do the shopping is to check about 2 weeks worth of experiments beyond your current project and make sure you have everything for the upcoming work.

[bd139]

You will need two function generators to do the common and differential mode stuff. A cheap Chinese kit will do for the second one. The main function generator you will need a pretty standard 2MHz one that does sine, square, triangle waves. 100KHz won’t cut it unfortunately.

[mavu]

Does anyone know a supplier in europe who has such a convenient shopping list for the book?

[bd139]

I’d recommend not buying it all in one go either. The list is pretty bad. It’s better to find a reliable supplier (suggest Farnell) and buy what you need on demand for say two or three labs at a time.

If you don’t make it through the book or they have missed something then it’s better for you then plus it forces you to read each lab and think about what you need.

A couple of labs use unspecified parts which you have to reverse engineer for example. These are listed in the errata instead of the shopping lists for some reason.

Also don’t proceed too fast. Spend a week on each chapter and use the AoE references and do all the questions properly. I have the text here so will help anyone if they need it.

[mavu]

I’d recommend not buying it all in one go either. The list is pretty bad. It’s better to find a reliable supplier (suggest Farnell) and buy what you need on demand for say two or three labs at a time.

If you don’t make it through the book or they have missed something then it’s better for you then plus it forces you to read each lab and think about what you need.

A couple of labs use unspecified parts which you have to reverse engineer for example. These are listed in the errata instead of the shopping lists for some reason.

Also don’t proceed too fast. Spend a week on each chapter and use the AoE references and do all the questions properly. I have the text here so will help anyone if they need it.

Thanks, that is very sound advice.

[rhb]

I'd like to suggest shopping for assortments of components on eBay.  For example, 20 each of 64 values of 1/4 resistors for US$5.  That's less than 1/2 cent each.  Mylar caps for 4 cents.

I mention this because I went though the ordeal of ordering quantity 100 of a full set of 5% values. Giant hassle.  I came across good assortments of transistors and other components quite by accident while browsing for other things.  I'd never even thought about looking on eBay for such things. 

I didn't get the 3rd ed lab manual when I bought the new AoE.  I've got the 2nd ed though and looking at it, aside from certain ICs I'd expect that the choice of parts is pretty generic.  If you can't perform a lab with a substitute part it will be very educational.

[bd139]

I wouldn't bother with ebay. Tayda Electronics sell stuff that isn't hooky for about the same prices.