The $250 electronics lab, a suggested setup for beginners.

[TheEternalHermit]

I found myself in a similar situation I'm completely new to electronics but did my best to build myself a nice little lab I think I'll be mostly well equipped to be able to start putting some schematics together. I managed to do it for $375.

Here's how I spent my money (lot's of luck) prices include shipping, I got it from ebay unless otherwise noted:
1. $59 Fluke 177 DMM (used, very worn)
2. $66 HP 1741a Oscilloscope(found it locally)
3. $48 ECI 20500C PowerSupply
4. $30 Yihua Soldering Iron from HobbyKing
5. $79 A huge variety of components from Futurelec (caps, resistors, etc.)
6. $28 Wire, desoldering wick from Allelectronics.
7. $14 10pc set of tips for my soldering iron
8. $31 Kester 331 Organic Core Solder 63/37 .015" 1 lb. Spool 24-6337-6422
9. ~$20 At walmart on needlenose pliers, pliers, wire strippers, tweezers.


Longer explanation:
1. 59$ shipped for a used Fluke 177 multimeter, it has writing in permanent marker on the sides, and is missing a battery door, but it has probes and works, haven't been able to test the accuracy of it, but what the heck 60 bucks for a fluke!

2. I still have to pick it up, but it shows a trace, they said it's working and it came from a college lab, fingers crossed.

3. Still has to arrive, but it's a lab power supply, that costed as much to ship as the unit itself, the package weighs 17lbs so this thing must be heavy duty, you can still by a similar model for a similar price (the 20500D) I believe they're still available.
See this thread for more info on this obscure unit: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hot-deal-on-a-used-variable-dc-power-supply/

4.  Didn't want to drop a benjamin on getting a Hakko FX888 or go out of my way to find a used deal, so I went with a Hakko 936 clone.  I think it's important to buy a model with readily available tips.

5. Here was my exact order, every value pack except the connectors/headers, clips for my leads a couple potentiometers some crystals and a cheap pic chip to mess around with:
Qty    ItemNumber  Unit Price  Total Price
----------------------------------------------------------
1         RES14WPACK         1/4W Resistor Value Pack                                        2.95          2.95
1         RES12WPACK         1/2W Resistor Value Pack                                        4.95          4.95
1         CERPACK         Ceramic Capacitor Value Pack                                        2.95          2.95
1         ELEPACK         Electrolytic Capacitor Value Pack                                        3.95          3.95
1         LEDPACK         Led Value Pack                                        4.95          4.95
1         LINEARPACK         Linear IC Value Pack                                        5.95          5.95
1         REGULATORPACK         Voltage Regulator Pack                                        9.95          9.95
1         DIOPACK         Diode Value Pack                                        2.95          2.95
1         TRAPACK         Transistor Value Pack                                        4.95          4.95
1         MYLARPACK         Mylar Capacitor Value Pack                                        3.95          3.95
1         MULTIPACK         Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor Value Pack                                        3.95          3.95
1         BREADBRD         Breadboard                                        5.90          5.9
6         BNNCROSSB         Black Crosshole Type Banana Plugs                                        0.40          2.4
6         BNNCROSSR         Red Crosshole Type Banana Plugs                                        0.40          2.4
2         LCROCBL         Black Crocodile Clips - Large                                        0.10          0.2
2         LCROCRL         Red Crocodile Clips - Large                                        0.10          0.2
4         MDCROCBL         Black Crocodile Clips - Medium                                        0.05          0.2
4         MDCROCR         Red Crocodile Clips - Medium                                        0.05          0.2
4         SMCROCBL         Black Crocodile Clips - Small                                        0.05          0.2
4         SMCROCR         Red Crocodile Clips - Small                                        0.05          0.2
2         STPBRD2         Stripboard - Small                                        0.95          1.9
2         POT10K         10K Linear Taper Pot                                        0.55          1.1
3         CRY20.000         20.000MHz Crystal                                        0.30          0.9
3         CRY10.000         10.000MHz Crystal                                        0.30          0.9
1         PIC16F684-I/P         PIC16F684 Flash 14-pin 3.5kB Microcontroller                                        1.60          1.6
----------------------------------------------------------
 Sub-Total                             69.75
 Postage                                  9.00
Total                                        78.75

6. Wire for leads/breadboard 16 AWG "Auto Zip" stuff was the most economical, this is from AllElectronics.
ITEMS ORDERED
SKU   Description   Qty   Price
22BL-100S   22 GA BLUE HOOK UP WIRE, SOLID 100'   1   $6.88
WRB-16   16 AWG "AUTO ZIP" WIRE   30   $0.40
SWK   DE-SOLDERING WICK   2   $1.15
    Order Subtotal:   $21.18
Shipping & Handling:
$7.00
    Tax:   $0.00
ESTIMATED TOTAL:   $28.18


Anyway, sorry for copy pasting my entire orders, but there is just way too much stuff to list. I think for the $375 I spent I'm pretty well equiped, I'll  probably pick up a couple microcontroller chips and some programmers and The Art of Electronics book, but for now I think I've got a great start I'm missing a function generator but that one can wait.

Am I missing something else, I really don't know what I'm doing here I just went for general purpose equipment.  I got the value packs from Futurelec rather than the grab bags from Jameco because the futurelec ones are based on popularity so they're more likely to contain essential parts rather than just a bunch of random leftovers. I'm going to see if someone in one of the labs at my university can at least help me verify the accuracy of my multimeter and possibly my oscilloscope.

I know I'm 50% over budget and got deals that most people probably don't have access to but nonetheless I thought I'd share.

[smashedProton]

I don't agree at all with your bill of equipment.  Most people already have adequate hand tools.  Spend the money to buy a nice multimeter, solder station, and oscilloscope.  In that order.  And buy parts on the way.  Don't blow 100 dollars on dodgy hand tools you will throw away

[ampdoctor]

I don't agree at all with your bill of equipment.  Most people already have adequate hand tools.  Spend the money to buy a nice multimeter, solder station, and oscilloscope.  In that order.  And buy parts on the way.  Don't blow 100 dollars on dodgy hand tools you will throw away

Absolutely agree!  Two things I would add are a basic function generator and a solder sucker.  Not those shoddy bulb things but rather a spring loaded sucker.  You can find em for around 10 bucks or so all over the place.  Also people need to stop advocating those cheap asian irons. They're epic piles of shit, and you can get a good analog weller station with a few extra tips on fleabay for a song. I've had my station for the better part of 15 years and it hasn't missed a stroke! 15 years from now tell me how well that one hung lo brand you bought is holding up.

[Lightages]

I don't agree at all with your bill of equipment.  Most people already have adequate hand tools.  Spend the money to buy a nice multimeter, solder station, and oscilloscope.  In that order.  And buy parts on the way.  Don't blow 100 dollars on dodgy hand tools you will throw away

When you say "you" I assume you mean me!

Well the hand tools I list are more specific to electronics than just general use. As I said:
"I am sure someone will have a problem with one, or even all of my selections."

[ampdoctor]

When you say "you" I assume you mean me!

Well the hand tools I list are more specific to electronics than just general use. As I said:
"I am sure someone will have a problem with one, or even all of my selections."

Personally I don't think its a bad list at all.  At 250 it's going to be a squeeze and you need to prioritize like crazy! Two cheap meters with competing features as opposed to one freaking expensive one that does it all is smart thinking! Everybody is going to quibble over the details on one level or another but I do think that a function generator or at least something you can use to inject a signal should be on the list...bare bones elenco kits perhaps?

[ptricks]

If I were just starting out I would use a ATX pc supply with some power resistors of 20,40,50,100,200 sizes.  The biggest issue with ATX supplies is the lack of current limiting , the resistors in series with the output solve this issue and it is the cheapest way I know of to get a reliable supply with different voltages.

Oscilloscopes are nice but you really need a larger budget to get something decent.
Instead, get a bus pirate. Bus pirate is a small board that can do decoding of things like i2c, 2wire, one wire, rs232,spi and other things that will be much more useful than an oscilloscope.
https://www.adafruit.com/products/237

[ElectroIrradiator]

Instead, get a bus pirate. Bus pirate is a small board that can do decoding of things like i2c, 2wire, one wire, rs232,spi and other things that will be much more useful than an oscilloscope.
https://www.adafruit.com/products/237

A bus pirate is also utterly, completely yet totally useless, if you are at all interested in analog signals.

As for using a random ATX PSU for powering low power analog electronics, like a simple radio... 

[ptricks]

A bus pirate is also utterly, completely yet totally useless, if you are at all interested in analog signals.

As for using a random ATX PSU for powering low power analog electronics, like a simple radio... 

A beginner will find more uses for the bus pirate, the type of analog stuff a beginner would need can be done with a cheap multimeter.
Simple radios work fine on ATX power supplies and most people have an old one or can find one in the trash.

[edavid]

8. $31 Kester 331 Organic Core Solder 63/37 .015" 1 lb. Spool 24-6337-6422

Be really careful with this... it is not a "no-clean" solder... you *must* wash off all the flux after soldering.

[mtdoc]

Good topic and I like your choices.   I picked up one of the $18 Uni T 136C as a cheap 4th DMM based on your review and am impressed with its build and accuracy for the price..

http://dx.com//p/39508     0-15V variable power supply                            $43.90

Of all the *cough* quality *cough* stuff you selected this is probably the worst of the worst. Metal enclosure, but as you can see from the image, no PE connection.

http://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_39508_2.jpg

I happen to have seen the inside of similar "mobile phone repair" PSUs. They aren't double-isolated, far from it. They need ground.

I bought one of these on ebay several months ago to use for breadboarding at my home office desk - when I don't feel like being down in my basement lab where my better PSUs are.  At the time it was $34 on ebay (I think they're $37 now). I liked the cheap price point and small footprint.   Mine actually came with a 3 prong grounded plug to metal enclosure.  It does put out it's rated current at 15 V even a bit beyond - up to 1.3 amps or so before its loud overload alarm comes on and it shuts down.  Another nice feature for the price is that it has a built in voltmeter.

I'm not saying this is a great PSU but for the price and nice small footprint it fit my need perfectly and the build quality is not terrible..

[ptricks]

I'm not saying this is a great PSU but for the price and nice small footprint it fit my need perfectly and the build quality is not terrible..

 I always wondered on those units what the purpose of the RF label is ? Are these same chassis used on some other equipment ?

[retiredcaps]

1. 59$ shipped for a used Fluke 177 multimeter, it has writing in permanent marker on the sides, and is missing a battery door, but it has probes and works, haven't been able to test the accuracy of it, but what the heck 60 bucks for a fluke!

I thought about bidding on that same auction, but decided to pass.  I'm glad someone here got it.  For $60 I think you got a decent deal despite its cosmetic appearance.

PS. I don't have the skills, but you can make your own battery door.  I was going to cut up an old plastic yogurt container as the material for the battery door.

[TheEternalHermit]

8. $31 Kester 331 Organic Core Solder 63/37 .015" 1 lb. Spool 24-6337-6422

Be really careful with this... it is not a "no-clean" solder... you *must* wash off all the flux after soldering.

What would you recommend I use to clean off my solders?  Alcohol?

1. 59$ shipped for a used Fluke 177 multimeter, it has writing in permanent marker on the sides, and is missing a battery door, but it has probes and works, haven't been able to test the accuracy of it, but what the heck 60 bucks for a fluke!

I thought about bidding on that same auction, but decided to pass.  I'm glad someone here got it.  For $60 I think you got a decent deal despite its cosmetic appearance.

PS. I don't have the skills, but you can make your own battery door.  I was going to cut up an old plastic yogurt container as the material for the battery door.

They sell them for $16 on ebay, but I think I'm going to try and make one when I build a 3d printer.  I'm actually thinking I won't have too many uses for a 3d printer besides enclosures for my electronics projects so it's good that I'll have some use for it.  It's not that bad without it actually, the stand covers almost the entire exposed area as you can see here.  Plus if I take out the probes and hold the multimeter parallel to the ground, the stand doesn't even come out like I'd expect it would so it's not too inconvenient.  I just hope that this multimeter is reasonably accurate, that it's rugged enough to endure the abuse.  This is not a picture of my multimeter btw.

[EEVblog]

Oscilloscopes are nice but you really need a larger budget to get something decent.
Instead, get a bus pirate. Bus pirate is a small board that can do decoding of things like i2c, 2wire, one wire, rs232,spi and other things that will be much more useful than an oscilloscope.
https://www.adafruit.com/products/237

 
Last I checked, basic electronics learning does still involve the basic analog stuff.
Saying that decoding serial protocols is more important than being able to view analog signals on an oscilloscope means that you aren't learning electronics, you are just one of the new arduino generation
Well, ok, that's fine if that's just what you want to do, but that thinking IMO does not belong to "setting up a basic electronics lab".
#1 - Multimeter
#2 - Power Supply
#3 - Oscilloscope
#4 - Soldering iron

A bus pirate would rank somewhere down in the double priority list.

[edavid]

8. $31 Kester 331 Organic Core Solder 63/37 .015" 1 lb. Spool 24-6337-6422

Be really careful with this... it is not a "no-clean" solder... you *must* wash off all the flux after soldering.

What would you recommend I use to clean off my solders?  Alcohol?

I think 331 should be cleaned with hot water, not alcohol.

I hate to say this after you spent $31 on it, but it would be a lot easier to just get some rosin core solder.

[ptricks]

Last I checked, basic electronics learning does still involve the basic analog stuff.
Saying that decoding serial protocols is more important than being able to view analog signals on an oscilloscope means that you aren't learning electronics, you are just one of the new arduino generation

It does involve analog stuff, but very little that cannot be done with a good meter. When someone tells me they have little to spend I look for the most bang for the buck, and spending money on an old analog scope just isn't something I would do with that budget.
Implying that people who use the arduino are inferior is something I would have hoped would be beneath you, disappointed that it wasn't.  That generation may be the engineers of tomorrow and thankfully they are open minded enough to not believe that you have to follow some set path to learn electronics.

Well, ok, that's fine if that's just what you want to do, but that thinking IMO does not belong to "setting up a basic electronics lab".
#1 - Multimeter
#2 - Power Supply
#3 - Oscilloscope
#4 - Soldering iron

A bus pirate would rank somewhere down in the double priority list.

I look for what will benefit most with the least spent. If you can get a scope free then great but I wouldn't invest in one when I had little money to spend.

[ptricks]

8. $31 Kester 331 Organic Core Solder 63/37 .015" 1 lb. Spool 24-6337-6422

Be really careful with this... it is not a "no-clean" solder... you *must* wash off all the flux after soldering.

What would you recommend I use to clean off my solders?  Alcohol?

I think 331 should be cleaned with hot water, not alcohol.

You can use alcohol too but need to be careful that you don't have the rare couple types of plastics that can be damaged from alcohol. The 5% isopropyl stuff is pretty weak .

[c4757p]

It does involve analog stuff, but very little that cannot be done with a good meter.

With intuition, which a beginner has yet to develop. For example - it's really not too hard, especially when you don't know what you're doing, to accidentally set a power supply oscillating. You and I both know that's a potential problem, and know what that looks like on a multimeter. But that's something that must be learned.

[Lightages]

A basic lab for a beginner, as I have intended this, is to ....... begin.....

So yes, learning how to make things work usually involves more analog troubleshooting in the beginning than digital. A logic analyzer of any sort will not show you much if a regulator is not working, or an op amp is oscillating, etc....

An oscilloscope will show you these things, and will also let you see digital waver forms.

And as I said, most people here did much in the beginning of their career without an oscilloscope, so that is why it is optional. With the basics I have listed, a person can make almost any type of signal generation device, sinusoidal, digital or whatever for very little cost.

IMHO, with the basic equipment I have listed you can do almost anything with a bit of planning and learning. A logic analyzer is useful if you are going to work in the digital domain on communications busses but it really isn't that necessary. You can actually make a poor man's multichannel digital display adapter for a scope for a few dollars.

But as I said, people will have disagreements over my choices, which is fine.

To the beginners reading this and wondering what to do with the conflicting opinions:
The things I have listed that are not optional, are not optional. A scope will always serve you and you will want/need one in the future. A logic analyzer? Maybe, but you will know if you need one when you need one.

[c4757p]

If you're not going to have a scope, I assume you're not going to have a multimeter with a very high AC bandwidth either, so I'll contribute this "test equipment" suggestion to address my comment about oscillating power supplies: a simple, homemade peak detector probe. It doesn't need to be able to pick up very small voltages or extremely high frequency, so a 1N4148 and a good capacitor should do just fine - but assemble it properly in some sort of little enclosure so you have it nearby and convenient when you need it. It's a cheap, quick way to see if something is oscillating when it shouldn't be.

[EEVblog]

It does involve analog stuff, but very little that cannot be done with a good meter.

Rubbish. If you want to learn electronics an oscilloscope is the tool you need to understand what's going on and see what's happening to signals vs time.

When someone tells me they have little to spend I look for the most bang for the buck, and spending money on an old analog scope just isn't something I would do with that budget.

Your opinion.
My opinion (and that of great many, and dare I say it, the vast majority) is that it is important and would be money well spent.
But of course if that person just wants to play around with serial protocols etc and talk to chips and modules, then yes, a bus pirate might be more useful to them to begin with. But that's just setting up a straw man argument.
For general electronics education, nothing, absolutely nothing beats an oscilloscope.

You are making a blanket recommendation to get a niche piece serial digital electronics troubleshooting gear, and to me that's just poor advice when for almost the same price or a bit more you can likely get an old analog scope that is useful in countless more general applications and will expand the education of and electronics beginner more than any other tool. Heck, because of that I'd recommend they spend half their budget on an old scope if needed.

Implying that people who use the arduino are inferior is something I would have hoped would be beneath you.

Lets get something straight.
Learning arduino is NOT learning electronics. You are learning how to program a microcontroller board and do some software/firmware. This existed long before Arduino came about BTW.
Ok, it can be an introduction and stepping stone into electronics for many, and that's great, but once you get beyond the pre-built hardware and software, you will need an oscilloscope. This is as true today as it was back in my first days in the 1970's, and before that.

If I had $250 budget setting up a lab, you bet I'd spend $50 of that on an old analog, without hesitation. And I'd recommend that to anyone as a sensible thing to do.

That generation may be the engineers of tomorrow and thankfully they are open minded enough to not believe that you have to follow some set path to learn electronics.

Did I ever say you had to follow some path?
No, in fact I said if that's what you want to do, fine.
I have said countless times that Ardunio is a good thing as it has gotten a great many people into electronics.
I don't care which way you get into electronics, only that you do.

[Lightages]

I should also be clear that my addition to the list of a USB oscilloscope was not necessarily my first choice. I agree that a good used analog scope would probably serve better than the USB scope. The USB scope was included because it is available to everyone, almost anywhere, on the planet. It would serve better than no scope at all and it does have some capabilities that could be useful for logging and other things. If you can find a good used scope for $50 or better for free then yes, get an analog scope.

[liquibyte]

I'll let the experts keep arguing expertise.  Let me give you a perspective that might be relevant.  I've been interested in electronics my whole life from the time I was around 8 or so.  This would be the the year 1976.  I used to take apart any kind of device no matter what it was just to see what was inside.  Remember when lots and lots of devices had variable caps all over the place?  Long years pass and I now consider myself rather proficient with a computer because that's the kinds of things I lucked into and had a knack for.  Just recently I got back into the mindset of wanting to learn how things work and more importantly start building my own instead of just looking at all of the bits inside.  I have, as stated, the basics.  Meter, iron, hand tools, etc.  The one thing that I wish I had and could afford is an oscilloscope.  You just can't get the same thing with a meter.  I know this and I'm not anywhere near knowing what's going on.  I can make intuitive guesses and learn what works by reading but I'll bet a scope would be much handier.  From my point of view, the importance, in order is: meter, iron, scope.  I'm with Dave on this one.  I think I'll cash in my penny jar and see what I can get for that little because I'm finding more and more it's something that would probably help me more than I know.

[EEVblog]

The one thing that I wish I had and could afford is an oscilloscope.

That's the kicker. Scopes are much cheaper now than they were "back in the day", even accounting for inflation. Heck, it was only 5 years ago or so that digital scopes became affordable under the $1K mark, and hence available to the average hobbyist.
Now we take for granted a brand new (relatively) kick arse digital scope for $300.
But a 20MHz dual channel analog scope is still as useful now as it was back in the 1980's, but we've kind of become spoiled by the march of digital technology. And it is no exaggeration to say that people simply give these away now.

[liquibyte]

I was reading about these power supplies http://www.rako.com/Articles/29.html and came accross this http://www.rako.com/Articles/43.html about the importance of not underestimating the usefulness of an analog scope.  That's the one bit of kit I always wanted.  From what I've seen, people tend to hoard the old things or turn them into overpriced nostalgia pieces on ebay.  I haven't met anyone since the "old" Radio Shack days that shares and swaps.  I figured with the abundance of info and hackery out there I could end up building something over time or even using an old smallish tv and getting something rudimentary going.  I'm no stranger to a computer and wouldn't be opposed to doing something usb if it weren't for the fact that I don't do windows.

I find it odd and sad that the electronics community is still MS centric.  If anyone has some junk they want to unload in and around central MA, I'll be glad for the opportunity.  Unfortunately I really am poor so I can't afford to pay anything but am a wiz at Linux if you need any advice in that area.  I have found that even if people are gifted at electronics like an old friend of mine is, some still aren't that up on the software / os side of things.