How much has EEVblog cost you?

[robrenz]

It is apparent that many like myself have had their interest in electronics rekindled by Dave's excellent video blog and forum. I will have been a forum member for a year on the 31st of this month.  Then I thought about how much money I have spent in that year driven by this rekindled enthusiasm and great forum. I had a fluke 87 and a Weller WTCP when I joined the forum. In the  year AD (after Dave) I have acquired: new Fluke 8846A, Rigol DS1052E, Rigol DG1022 AWG, lET DE5000 LCR, JBC soldering station Mastech triple power supply, Digital solder paste dispenser, Tek 2225, Panavise, vacuum tweezers, hand tools, shelves, tool boxes, Anti static mat, on and on .......  Dave has cost me a tremendous amount of money, but I am very, very greatfull,  Anyone else in the same boat?

[8086]

Unfortunately money is too tight for spending right now, but if I had more, I can say I would be just as broke as I am now

[EEVblog]

Perhaps I should change my tagline to "Helping the global economy, one video at a time." 

Dave.

[harnon]

Haha, its probably done the opposite for me.  I've seen all the cool gadgets Dave looks at which are well outside my student budget and I end up browsing ebay and other sites sighing a lot instead of actually buying anything! 

[Baliszoft]

Agilent msox2k, Agilent 1252b (instead of fluke :-) )

[McMonster]

DS1052E (as a set with a decent second DMM) and a chisel tip is all I bought based on Dave's videos. And I considered a frequency standard, but then I thought "what the hell would I use it for?"

By the way, that's a good questions, can someone tell some really practical examples of interesting things a hobbyist can do only if he has one of those?

[Pentium100]

By the way, that's a good questions, can someone tell some really practical examples of interesting things a hobbyist can do only if he has one of those?

You could measure (and make a graph) the frequency in the mains outlet and be sure that it is correct. I made something liek that, but with a regular 32kHz crystal instead of something more expensive.

As for the topic question - so far, nothing. I already had a DS1052E (and a really big and heavy analog 10MHz scope). Though maybe I'll buy a better multimeter and/or a soldering iron with the chisel tip.

By the way, can the Rigol DG1022 AWG make a sweep frequency sine wave (~11.5 - 13.5 MHz)? I bought one AWG that promised to do that but it turned out that it could only do it with lower frequencies (even though it can output a single frequency arbitrary wave at 20MHz).

[sacherjj]

I think I found the Rigol video about 50 -> 100 hack on here.  That got me to purchase a scope.   It started to snowball from there.  I've probably purchased around $1k in equipment and will be building my new lab area.  I had missed electronics, and happy to get back into it.  So it was a good thing.

[Frenchie]

I'm in exactly the same position, I put a halt to my electronics when I was a broke student and found Dave's videos when I actually had money - dangerous combination. In the last 18 months I've bought:

Second hand:
Fluke 87-III (in an original box and as far as I can tell never used).
Tek TAS-220 analogue scope
Topwood 8110 function gen

New:
DS1052E
Hako FX-888
An ESD matt

I'm keeping my eye out now for a higher bandwidth analogue scope and I'll probably buy a new 87-V at some point.

[bullet308]

Its probably saved me money overall in that I am buying less junk and more better quality gear that actually suits my needs. I have an unfortunate tendency to accumulate gear and if I am not careful, I end up with six of everything and at best one of each that actually works the way I need it to.

[BMF]

$50.00,  I bought a Keithley 225 current source after seeing one on Dave's bench.  If we could get a group buy discount on Altium I may have to part with some real cash.

[T4P]

Its probably saved me money overall in that I am buying less junk and more better quality gear that actually suits my needs. I have an unfortunate tendency to accumulate gear and if I am not careful, I end up with six of everything and at best one of each that actually works the way I need it to.

OOPS ! I guess he really is helping me to save money , i nearly splashed money on a digital soldering station !
And good solder ( i have kester nowadays ) to avoid problems associated with nasty solder from some obscure factory in China .
Spending a little more for auto-ranging meters , but at least they are decent for a backup , nothing like a UT61E better then having the misery of buying a shitty manual ranging 20$ meter that does 200MOhms fine , but it's shite .
Certainly labelling my parts drawer saves me frustration and time .
and , certainly , i was never going to buy a oscilloscope , but he led me otherwise because in electronics if you don't have a oscilloscope , YOU ARE HOPELESS !
Certainly Dave's guidance is worthy of listening , helps you save money , trouble , time .
Because frustration is not worth it .
Though i am not quite a beginner but i'd just place myself there , for a beginner to remember a 555's pinouts and a 555 PWM controller is not bad . Oh and constructing a non-inverting amplifier and inverting amplifier without any papers and a 30W amp without looking anywhere ( Raw transistors not chipamps )

[T4P]

$50.00,  I bought a Keithley 225 current source after seeing one on Dave's bench.  If we could get a group buy discount on Altium I may have to part with some real cash.

Sadly to say , i'm a e-pirate . Really . I have been torrenting a program with similar name to a bird and currently downloading Unobtainium ... 

[Joshua]

$50.00,  I bought a Keithley 225 current source after seeing one on Dave's bench.  If we could get a group buy discount on Altium I may have to part with some real cash.

Sadly to say , i'm a e-pirate . Really . I have been torrenting Eagle 5.9 and currently downloading Altium ... 

You're not the only one one, that's for sure. However, you might want to not advertise that fact in clear writing that will never go away. You never know what could happen when someone at element14 has a grudge to revenge and does a google search for your username... Just sayin

[T4P]

You're not the only one one, that's for sure. However, you might want to not advertise that fact in clear writing that will never go away. You never know what could happen when someone at element14 has a grudge to revenge and does a google search for your username... Just sayin

Edit your quote , i just edited mine .

[Chet T16]

Hmmm

Secondhand:
87V
Philips PM2521
Tek 2225

New:
Rigol 1052e
Rigol DG1022
Atten 938D soldering station
Atten 858 hot air station
Atten power supply (30v/5a)
Ucurrent

:/

[robrenz]

By the way, can the Rigol DG1022 AWG make a sweep frequency sine wave (~11.5 - 13.5 MHz)? I bought one AWG that promised to do that but it turned out that it could only do it with lower frequencies (even though it can output a single frequency arbitrary wave at 20MHz).

Yes it can but its output is not flat if that matters to you,
I know neither of these testing methods is super accurate but it gives you and idea.

I tweaked the output level from the 1022 to read the starting Vpp values shown on the 1052E readout. I am using a 50 Ohm pass thru terminator and the values were pretty close to begin with
A .15Vpp signal viewed on my 1052E goes from .15Vpp at 11.5MHz to .141Vpp at 13.5MHz. = -.54dB over 2MHz
A 1.5Vpp signal viewed on my 1052E goes from 1.50Vpp at 11.5MHz to 1.39Vpp at 13.5MHz. = -.66dB over 2MHz
A 7Vpp signal viewed on my 1052E goes from 7Vpp at 11.5MHz to 6.52Vpp at 13.5MHz. = -.62dB over 2MHz

Then I thought about feeding the signal into my 8846A and reading the Vrms flatness using that.
1.0004Vrms at 20Hz to .98994 at 20KHz = -.09dB  relatively linear decrease.
1.0067Vrms at 20Hz to .99447Vrms at 300Khz = -.1dB at 100Khz not linear at all, sinusoidal with only -.05dB at 300KHz

[nanofrog]

U1252B

Picked up other electronic goodies too, but not due to EEVblog (controlled cycle crimpers, plastic storage bins, misc. consumable supplies).

[Pentium100]

By the way, can the Rigol DG1022 AWG make a sweep frequency sine wave (~11.5 - 13.5 MHz)? I bought one AWG that promised to do that but it turned out that it could only do it with lower frequencies (even though it can output a single frequency arbitrary wave at 20MHz).

Yes it can but its output is not flat if that matters to you,
I know neither of these testing methods is super accurate but it gives you and idea.

Thanks, the difference is pretty small, so should be OK. I want such a signal to align my FM tuner. While I am still looking for cheaper options, at least I will know that I do not need to look for more expensive devices than this Rigol.

[Lightages]

Hmmmm, I made a post to this thread earlier but it has vanished!

I said that EEVblog has not cost me money but rather it has saved me money. By watching Dave's reviews and rants and instructional videos and from the input of things from the forum members I dare say that in the end I have saved money by not buying the wrong thing.

[T4P]

Hmmmm, I made a post to this thread earlier but it has vanished!

I said that EEVblog has not cost me money but rather it has saved me money. By watching Dave's reviews and rants and instructional videos and from the input of things from the forum members I dare say that in the end I have saved money by not buying the wrong thing.

We're all in the same boat !

[Armin_Balija]

The most important buys I've had so far thanks to Dave and the people here at the blog are my 1052E and 'The Art of Electronics'. The book by far is the better investment in my opinion because I've learned so much from it. I try to read for about an hour before I go to sleep so I get into the rhythm of putting the stuff in my head. I love the book so far, I've learned more from it in just the few days I've been reading it than from an entire semester of class. It's great, love it!

I've spent a few hundred bucks, from my new multimeters to my oscilloscope and some passive / active components. It's nothing too serious though. I can't say it's really cost me anything because I've gotten a fair good use out of it. I picked up DIPTRACE on my own though and am glad to see that Dave had the same vibe from it as I did. I'd suggest to him to check out the video guide because I feel like a lot of the bad stuff he picked up on was just because of slight differences between altium and diptrace ( having to click the wire to delete it instead of just hovering over it.) All in all, all great investments in my opinion.

[robrenz]

More damage!    a new addition.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/product-reviews-photos-and-discussion/ie/msg96311/#msg96311

[Lawsen]

I would write the average costs to have an EEVblog like electronics bench is around $580.00 or more.  I have seen pictures of other participants benches.  Mines costs around $580.00 and I use it to earn some money fixing HP Eagle Jet poster drawing plotters and home made microscope lamp power supply. 

The Rigol 1052E oscilloscope $350.00
Fluke 117 about $110.00
Pocket signal generator $120.00

It can costs less, but Dave Jones's recommends for Gossen Metrahit and Agilent organo LED display multimeters are too costly for someone just starting out.  Some members have expensive to repair Agilent/HP-34401A bench top multimeter.  There are other tools like stereo zoom or Vision Engineering Mantis ocular-less magnifier are costly.  There are special soldering and de-soldering for surface mounted components.  There are costly circuit designing software.  There is no end to expenses in electronics, that is why some firms went out of business as their products or inventions did not sell well enough to justify the costs.  This is a hobby, not a business. 

[alm]

There is no end to expenses in electronics, that is why some firms went out of business as their products or inventions did not sell well enough to justify the costs.  This is a hobby, not a business.

That's the important difference between business expenses and hobby expenses. Hobbies have by definition zero income or at least negative profits. Expenses are weighed against disposable income, and return on investment is measured in personal enjoyment and development. If you can afford a certain toy and have fun using it, why not? It's not like it has to save you X amount of time/money to pay for itself, since it likely never will. On the other hand, it's not like you lose money/opportunities buy not buying it either.