Starting out

[Vintage1873]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and I'm just starting out in electronics repair. I have always fooled around with circuits and fixing old radios and TV's when they went down but I never really understood what I was doing. I just applied some common sense with my multimeter  along with some things I picked up from a book or the internet and some how got things working again (most of the time). Well anyway I'd like to start understanding what I am doing and getting better at it, hopefully moving on to some more advanced things and going from there. I've been watching some videos and I recently purchased some equipment and combined in with what I already had. I now have an EX330 Multimeter, a solder sucker, variable temp solder gun, good solder and wick, different arrangements of resistors, capacitors, etc, a bread board, heat shrink, etc. I wanted to start out with the basics and then work my way up. I'm really interested in older tech like 60's-70's TV's and such with older displays. Although, I don't know where to start. Where could I find some older stuff to learn on? None of my current things are broken to fix! I've looked on Ebay and by the time I have it shipped to my house, it comes out to way more than it should due to the weight. Basically the question is, where can I pick up some old stuff to fix and possibly sell in the future to pay for my tools, etc? Am I on the right track of starting small with a multimeter? Thanks a lot and I appreciate the responses.

[timb]

Craigslist, Estate Sales, Garage Sales and Thrift (Second Hand) Stores is where I'd start.

[bitseeker]

For minimizing search and travel time for vintage consumer electronics to fix/practice on, ask people you know and definitely check out garage sales in your neighborhood. If you have a periodic neighborhood cleanup program when everyone gets rid of their old stuff, have a look around.

In addition to second-hand/Goodwill stores, check to see if you have recyclers in your area that sell the things people drop off to them.

Craigslist can have good deals or it can be as high or higher than eBay, depending on your area. So, be sure to do your homework before buying.