What Should I get next?

[nick.sek]

Hey everybody,

Looking for feed back on what I should get next in setting up my electronics lab. I'm thinking about getting a soldering station going - using the highly recommended Hakko, but what Fume extractors do you recommend? I'm studying Electrical Engineering - specializing in control systems if that can influence your input. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Or watch the video if you don't feel like reading at:



What I have so far is:

BK precision function generator 2MHz
Power Supply Dual Channel - 30 Volts 3 Amps for both channel - Amp meter and volts meters as well
Rigol DS1102E
3 Multimeters - All ideal (with a name like that how can I go wrong, just kidding)
Various Leads
An assortment of hand tools
And a whack of components

[amspire]

You are pretty well equipped. Definitely get a good soldering iron. Some breadboarding kits. Probably a good idea to have a microcontroller kit of some sort that you get familiar with so that it is easy for you when you need to use a micro.  Arduino is not bad to start with, and TI's launchpad kit  for its MSP430 value family of chips is a real bargain at $4.30. Doesn't cost much to get started with PIC chips too.

Otherwise, save your money until you find you really need something. One day a network analyser could be good if you need to analyze control loops, but wait until you really understand what you need before looking for a second hand one. It may be that you never need one at all.

Richard.

[pickle9000]

- Good soldering station is a must.
- A hot air setup (even a cheap one is fine)
- Expensive thin leaded solder (not lead free solder) I like kester 44 but there are many good ones out there. Multicore is very good.
- A small fan gently blowing across your work will help protect your lungs. Don't forget the safety glasses. Solder can pop and hiss and you need your eyes.

You seem to be interested in electric guitar stuff so a couple broken amplifiers or fx pedals to fix. Troubleshooting is part of the equation. Not to mention you have everything you need to do those types of repairs. Teardowns will teach you a great deal.

As for control systems, pick up a development board, relay driver board and some arduino type sensors off ebay. I personally like PICs so that's what I use, but that is just me and has nothing to do with reality. I do have a soft spot for olimex dev boards so have a look there. I think they even sell on ebay.

Good luck.

...mike

[EEVblog]

Absolutely a good soldering station (FX-888 or similar), and maybe a cheapo hot air station.
A breadboard and a whole bunch of connecting wires.
I'm surprised you don't have either yet.
I don't see any small precision flush sidecutters.

Try:
http://astore.amazon.com/eevblogstore-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=5
(Yes, I get a cut. Am trying to set up the EEVblog Amazon to have good suggested gear for the beginner)

Dave.

[Vredstein]

I didn't see any BNC cables in the assortment. For the scope and signal generator you could use at least two BNC double ended males, a BNC to alligator clip and a BNC T connector.

[nick.sek]

"A hot air setup (even a cheap one is fine)"

I got to be completely honest here what would anyone need that for? It's not like welding is it, where you got to preheat the metal for some components?

The reason why I haven't got into soldering yet, is every time I built some, I wanted to do more to it. That is the thing of being a student your always learning and always improving. But I should get more into it.

As for the arduino - anyone got a recommendation for actually kits?


Small precision flush side cutters - completely over looked, on my next order for the Hakko unit, I'll be sure to include it on my purchase.
And for the bread boards(In the storage unit) and BNC cable I do have them (the cables are plugged into the units).

Well thanks everybody for the feedback on this, it means a lot. 

[T4P]

I got to be completely honest here what would anyone need that for? It's not like welding is it, where you got to preheat the metal for some components?

You haven't watched Dave's soldering videos have you ? Most of us have a set .
I don't preheat with a rework station , preheat is left to a preheater .
I use a rework primarily for SMD , heatshrinking and fast desoldering of huge through hole joints .
(I even used it to dry my hair if i needed more heat)

[Spawn]

(I even used it to dry my hair if i needed more heat)

With 100 Celsuis degrees? lol that would hurt a lot i guess.

@nick.sek Check this video

[T4P]

(I even used it to dry my hair if i needed more heat)

With 100 Celsuis degrees? lol that would hurt a lot i guess.

Didn't hurt since my dryer was around 90C so it's not much difference 

[pickle9000]

The hot air (reflow) system is also used for soldering, primarily it is used to remove and replace small surface mount parts. A trick that is often not possible with an iron. Look at the last few minutes of Dave's video. That said, a soldering iron can do things (like through hole and wires) that a hot air system can't. Because both systems are so embedded in electronics you should really have both.

Also the term welding often crops up and I really don't like to use the term when it refers to soldering. However some equipment does use the term (in my opinion incorrectly)

One step up from a hot air system for rework is an IRDA welder, it uses a preheater and a strong infrared light to melt the solder. This type of system allows you to work on larger chips with less chance of damage.

I have one like this and it works great. (skip the first 2 minutes) 

http://youtu.be/RrA-trDZPNs


...mike

[HLA-27b]

Asking for what ELSE to spend money on is a sure sign that the potential of the equipment on hand is yet unrealized. Perhaps it is time to stop buying for a while and see what can be done with what is on hand.

Electronics is not about collecting equipment. It is not like we are in a race and the one that dies with most equipment wins. Electronics is about making things. And making complicated things using basic tools is way cooler than making simple things using sophisticated tools.

Just my personal opinion of course, but had to say it.

[pickle9000]

Well said. But still I want more, I just can't help it.

...mike

[ejeffrey]

It is not like we are in a race and the one that dies with most equipment wins.

Says you

[M. András]

just a question that powersupply looks exactly the same what the conrad sells under the voltcraft brand, what can you tell from its build quality/output stability?

[nick.sek]

just a question that powersupply looks exactly the same what the conrad sells under the voltcraft brand, what can you tell from its build quality/output stability?

In this video I bust open the power supply, and there is a segment where I hook up the output to a oscilloscope so you can see the actual dc ripple.

But in my honest opinion I bought it used, and I feel like I got my moneys worth. Do you have a link for the site?

[M. András]

just a question that powersupply looks exactly the same what the conrad sells under the voltcraft brand, what can you tell from its build quality/output stability?

In this video I bust open the power supply, and there is a segment where I hook up the output to a oscilloscope so you can see the actual dc ripple.

But in my honest opinion I bought it used, and I feel like I got my moneys worth. Do you have a link for the site?

http://www.conrad.com/LinearLAB.--P%2fS-UNIT-VLP-2403.htm?websale7=conrad-int&pi=511815&ci=SHOP_AREA_17452_2110330
http://www.conrad.com/LinearLAB-POWER-SUPPLY-UNIT-VLP-2403-per.htm?websale7=conrad-int&pi=511816&ci=SHOP_AREA_17452_2110330
http://www.conrad.com/VARIABLE-LAB-SWITCHING-PSU-VSP-2410.htm?websale7=conrad-int&pi=511919&ci=SHOP_AREA_17452_2110330
they have similar designs, i dont see wich of the 3 design matches exactly yours

[nick.sek]

just a question that powersupply looks exactly the same what the conrad sells under the voltcraft brand, what can you tell from its build quality/output stability?

In this video I bust open the power supply, and there is a segment where I hook up the output to a oscilloscope so you can see the actual dc ripple.

But in my honest opinion I bought it used, and I feel like I got my moneys worth. Do you have a link for the site?

http://www.conrad.com/LinearLAB.--P%2fS-UNIT-VLP-2403.htm?websale7=conrad-int&pi=511815&ci=SHOP_AREA_17452_2110330
http://www.conrad.com/LinearLAB-POWER-SUPPLY-UNIT-VLP-2403-per.htm?websale7=conrad-int&pi=511816&ci=SHOP_AREA_17452_2110330
http://www.conrad.com/VARIABLE-LAB-SWITCHING-PSU-VSP-2410.htm?websale7=conrad-int&pi=511919&ci=SHOP_AREA_17452_2110330
they have similar designs, i dont see wich of the 3 design matches exactly yours

They look exactly the same, mine is not the same make. I only paid 130 for mine, but I did get it used.  Those look pretty good. Are you going to get one?

[M. András]

yep, preferably the 2410 if i can convice the local conrad shop to get me one cos they dont even list this one only the rackmount with 40volts and around 40 amps or so and its much more pricy, if i cant get i would buy the 1410, and thats for sure i will take it apart, i want to see whats inside it if they as stable and low noise as the spec sheet claims it, it will make me happy 40mv is nothing compared to the price of the unit, and the much higher priced switchmode dont doo much better then this

[Baliszoft]

I got a voltcraft vlp1602pro from conrad, and i am quite satisfied with it. Big, heavy and beefy linear design, you even can hear the transformer hum.

[M. András]

with the prices of these voltcraft supplies in our country its unbeatable if its truely good quality i hope you aggree with me

[Baliszoft]

The quality is good. There are only two drawbacks with these supplies. No power cable for the price, and theres no CC set button (shorting the output). Both problems can be fixed however. I will just add an extra pushbutton to mine.

[M. András]

there is one CC set button on both the 1410 and the 2410 but no load on/off switch

[nick.sek]

I got a voltcraft vlp1602pro from conrad, and i am quite satisfied with it. Big, heavy and beefy linear design, you even can hear the transformer hum.

That is my favourite,(Canadian Spelling, no fooling) feature, the hum of a transformer! It just a good sound!

[Baliszoft]

there is one CC set button on both the 1410 and the 2410 but no load on/off switch

I see, the 1602 lacks the cc button.

[Baliszoft]

Regarding to the voltcraft vlp power supply, mine has just failed. No power was coming out of it and overload led was constantly on. It was still under warranty, but i opened it up and found that one of the power transistors (tip xxx) was died. Replaced it and it is ok again. It was hardly used at all however.