What are the best project for DIY/learning/apprentice hobbyiest

[asgard20032]

I am trying to find out some of the best project over internet for people that want to get into electronics. Does anyone know some link to some of the best project?

I am looking for some quality project like the O2 amp : great documentation, with some justification / measurement on why this or that part was used (they even show transiant voltage), open schematic...

What a better way to learning than studying already made circuit, with clear explanation on what is going on? Although I am not looking for these project for me primary, but more to get some friend into the electronics field, I am sure I could also learn a lot.

So does anyone know what are the most renowned quality project on the web for DIY?

By the way, I just gave O2 as an example, not looking particularity for audio thing.

[tautech]

Simple LM317 based PSU, you'll always need and use it.
The only bit that needs some care is the mains connection side to ensure it's safe.

Point your buddy to the forum and there's plenty of us that can help.

[netdudeuk]

Have a look at the Great Scott channel on YouTube. He's acquired a lot (more than Dave) of subscribers in a very short time and has many projects using eBay electronic modules and raw components.

i think that you may find something interesting to make from there.  You can then move onto bigger things.

[suicidaleggroll]

The best project is one that's interesting to the user.  You could build a power supply, or multimeter, or signal generator, or audio amp or preamp...but if none of those things interest the individual, they won't grab his/her attention.  Maybe what would really get somebody interested is an electronic sign (billboard, message board, that kind of thing), or something wearable, or a system to let them control their blinds remotely.  It all depends on the person.

If what gets them interested is too complicated for a beginner, then break it down into doable, workable pieces, as long as each one gets them one step closer to the end goal.

[Harrkev]

If you are more into digital than analog, this one always looked interesting...

http://www.nand2tetris.org/

Yup, the class starts with NAND gates, and takes you all the way to building a system capable of playing Tetris.

[rstofer]

If you are more into digital than analog, this one always looked interesting...

http://www.nand2tetris.org/

Yup, the class starts with NAND gates, and takes you all the way to building a system capable of playing Tetris.

That's quite a course!  Yup!  I read the entire set of lectures...

The book is pretty cheap, as books go, at only $33

I might just play with this for giggles.  I'm interested in the Java-like high level language and the compiler design.  But, in the end, there's not a bit of real hardware used.  Yes, the project could be ported to an FPGA and this has already been done but the project is in Chinese.

[e100]

The best project is one that's interesting to the user.

The best are those that are interesting and useful.

We now have a whole generation of people who know know how to build a robot that can follow a line or drive around a room without bumping into the walls.
Presumably these projects are popular with educators because they cover electronics, control theory and mechanical engineering.
However, once you've built your robot and driven it around a few times you soon realise that it isn't useful for any task in the real world. Not even close.

To take the next step and make something useful like a robotic lawn mower or vacuum cleaner (that doesn't pose a danger to children and pets) requires a huge investment in time, way beyond what normal people can afford, unless there is some kind of financial reward at the end.
i would argue that robots are fundamentally a dead end for hobbyists because there is no easy stepping stone from something that runs around on the floor to something that can safely interact with people. Once you have to put your robot behind a safety barrier the fun part of the project is over.

When you successfully assemble a piece of furniture from Ikea you punch the sky and cheer because you know that they deliberately made the instructions difficult to follow.
You accepted the challenge and you won. It was only six pieces of wood and it took the whole afternoon, but you still won - convincingly.
I think the same is true for electronics projects. Building a power supply from instructions is no challenge. Building one by researching the web and pulling other power supplies apart to see how they work is a challenge. By the end you will have built something that should be usable for multiple future projects, and if it stops working you'll know how to troubleshoot and fix it.
 
How hard could it be to detect the presence of letters in a letter box? Easy right, just use an infrared paper sensor from a printer, but now you have to deal with sunlight saturating the sensor, extremes of temperature, rain, UV radiation that destroys most plastics, and how are you going to power it, and get the signal back to the house. What if the letter lands at an angle, or isn't big enough to cover the sensor. What if you would like to tell the difference between a letter and a parcel and have it send you an SMS message when one arrives. Now you have to measure the height or weight and deal with radio comms. A relatively simple problem such as this can turn out to be a lot more complex than you first thought. You'll learn a lot along the way.