Shopping list for a beginner

[verisign]

Hello guys,

I am a new one on electronics and i wanna know which are the most useful things that i should buy for my projects.I have already a list but i want to be completely sure .Can you tell me which are the most useful?

Thanks a lot!!

[bruce273]

It depends on the sort of projects you will undertake. In the main a multimeter, power supply, thin gauge wire, side cutters, pliers, set of jewelers screwdrivers, flux cleaner and a temperature controlled soldering iron with some fine gauge solder is good for a beginner. Most other things will be relitively specific to what you are working on.
Bench power supplys aren't essential, as spare DC wall plugs feeding a linear regulator are enough for most projects (though more things will blow up).
Oscilloscopes are a great help and almost certainly the most useful piece of test gear you can have but are not that nessesary, things will take longer to figure out if you dont have one.

[miguelvp]

No one ever mentions this, but a cheap and capable PC running Windows 7 or higher (ducks) is one of the most important tools.

A refurbished off-lease sub $200 one would do just fine.

As for the rest you really need to let us know more on what projects you find interesting.

[suicidaleggroll]

Multimeter, power supply, test lead kit, oscilloscope if primarily analog, logic analyzer if primarily digital, a good soldering station (Weller, Hakko, etc.) with a decent selection of REAL tips (not eBay crap) and some good solder (I prefer Multicore 60/40, but many others are good as well) will get you well on your way.

[BradC]

Nobody ever mentions a good supply of Belgian chocolate and Scotch whiskey. Both essential tools to get the creative electronic juices flowing.

Other than that, buy what you need when you need it.

[mdronic]

Setting up my first lab and this has been my list: good mulimeter with temp (fluke), good soldering station variable temperature (Hakko fx888) and solder (60/40 multicore small), desolder wick, flux pen, flush side cutters, desolder pump, safetyglasses, esd wrist strap and set of 5 different pliers, cutting pliers, set of 5 ss tweezers, various screwdrivers and kits with multiple types of strange tips for odd screws fastenings including the normal hex and allen etc. A helping hand with magnifying glass. Bag of multi-coloured leads with alligator clips on both ends. Leads etc as required. Picked up from roadside old fan for blowing fumes, desklamp and bookshelf for storage.... . A wire stripper and crimper. I splurged on an automatic adjusting wire stripper and crimper. It was expensive comparatively but its so simple and quick to do wires so glad I did (my favourite tool I think). I bought a heap of plastic compartment boxes so able to get a good price halved the rrp. Easy to see through so can find bits easily. You can use cut down containers (eg milk bottles etc) and various containers with lids to store bits and pieces.

Some of the tools are not the best quality but not the worst either work perfectly well for now. The money saved on them has been put into the multimeter and soldering iron which form the base of the 'lab". I have only bought things on special or deals over long time. Iam selvageing bits from things other people throw out. I hope this helps. Others who have real experience and knowledge will be able to point out things to do better.

P.s just a thought if you can find some others who want to buy the same in your area- as many retailers will give you better prices if you buy a number of an item or multiple items which can reduce costs quite a bit sometimes not just in terms of postage. Get to know your retailer sometimes a friendly phone call is better than an email and they may be able to give suggestions and help.

P.s Shop around I have found items 1/2 or 1/3 less compared to another store. Also sometimes some items cheaper and some others are more exspensive in the same store. So mix and match but don't forget to take into account the postage. Just some thoughts.

[xrunner]

Somebody needs to make a beginner's shopping list sticky thread for the forum! 

[verisign]

Thanks you very much !!