Electronics > Beginners
My purchase list for my new lab -- budget $1000+, thoughts?
nanofrog:
--- Quote from: AnyNameWillDo on July 20, 2018, 07:02:43 pm ---**Multimeter:**
EEVblog Brymen BM235 Multimeter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JZ1ADCO/
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As suggested by others, you'll want one decent meter (mains safe), and another couple of inexpensive DMM's so you can make simultaneous measurements. 6000 counts is all you'll typically need, so don't get hung up on that.
--- Quote from: AnyNameWillDo on July 20, 2018, 07:02:43 pm ---**Oscilloscope:**
Rigol DS1054Z Digital Oscilloscopes - Bandwidth: 50 Mhz, Channels: 4: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012938E76/
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If you can wait, then do so as something better may be introduced to the market at that time. As per BW, you're wasting your time going with less than 100MHz.
In the specific case of the DS1054Z, it can be unlocked to 100MHz, so it can actually fulfill this requirement.
--- Quote from: AnyNameWillDo on July 20, 2018, 07:02:43 pm ---**Variable Power Supply**
Really unsure about this one. I assume something that is capable of both AC and DC output?
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You rarely need AC, and you'll know what you need when you get there.
As per DC, you'll want one with both constant current & constant voltage capability (CC & CV respectively). CC mode will save you from smoking parts at a frightening rate. And as you're in the US, I'd recommend getting a good quality used multi-output linear supply off eBay.
A GW Instek GPC-3020 would be one such example that won't cost a small fortune.
--- Quote from: AnyNameWillDo on July 20, 2018, 07:02:43 pm ---**Pliers:**
Stanley 84-114 3 Piece Basic 6-Inch Slip Joint, 6-Inch Long Nose, and 6-Inch Diagonal Plier Set:
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You can do a lot better than this. Check out Xcelite and see if it's to your liking.
Another option would order from Schmitz in Germany (they make some of the best stuff out there, and is rebranded heavily).
--- Quote from: AnyNameWillDo on July 20, 2018, 07:02:43 pm ---**Soldering Station:**
Hakko FX888D-23BY Digital Soldering Station FX-888D FX-888 (blue & yellow)
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Another vote for the Pace ADS200 instead.
--- Quote from: AnyNameWillDo on July 20, 2018, 07:02:43 pm ---**Flux Pen**
SRA Soldering Products PEN_RMA SRA #99-20 Rosin RMA Soldering Flux Pen - Refillable:
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I'd recommend using MG Chemicals' 835, and dispense it however you like (brush pen, needle bottle, nail polish bottle w/ brush in the cap, ...).
Much more cost effective.
--- Quote from: AnyNameWillDo on July 20, 2018, 07:02:43 pm ---**Thin Solder:**
DMiotech 50g 0.3mm Rosin Core Solder Tin Lead Wire 63/37 for Electrical Soldering
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Skip this. Get a single roll of Kester in say .025" (nice balance for both PTH and SMD). .032" would be the largest diameter I'd go with. Do note the smaller the wire diameter, the more expensive it is (takes additional work to produce).
--- Quote from: AnyNameWillDo on July 20, 2018, 07:02:43 pm ---**Desoldering Pump:**
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I'd suggest an Engineer SS-02 instead.
AnyNameWillDo:
Thanks for the replies everyone but I feel like tearing my hair out at this point, lol.
There are simply too many options and I'm spending hours and hours and hours and hours and *hours* on every little thing and I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels.
rhb:
Hunt down a free DMM coupon and go to Harbor Freight. Buy a soldering iron, needle nose pliers, side cutters and get the free DMM. PM me and I'll send you a coupon in the mail. Calibrate your DMM using a package of four new 9 V batteries.
Build an adjustable linear DC supply. Then design a current limiter for it and add that to the circuit. Or choose a device which already provides current limiting. Do both using the same raw DC supply. Make sure you start with a metal case large enough that everything will fit easily. Use the DMM to set the voltage and current limits and to determine dial settings..
Long before I had a scope I built a 5 V supply and repaired a $1 yard sale 12 V supply by replacing the regulator. My first scope was a 5 MHz recurrent sweep Heathkit IO-18 bought at a yard sale for $75 around 1980. You can get a good transformer for your linear supply by picking up an older junk stereo radio-phonograph combination unit.
As you encounter the need for better tools buy them, but not before you know what you need and why. Before I got the scope I repaired audio gear fished out of the trash and sold it to make some money in grad school. All I had was a VOM, pliers, dykes and soldering iron.
Start by building your own test gear. Read "Max Wien, Mr. Hewlett and a Rainy Sunday Afternoon" by Jim Williams. Build a 0.001% THD audio oscillator. Write a C program to generate a WAV file that sweeps from 20 Hz to 20 KHz. Play that through your PC sound card and record it with the sound card. Calibrate your sound card inputs and outputs using Octave, Then measure the THD of your audio oscillator. You'll now have several things:
an analog audio sine wave oscillator
an audio digital signal generator
an audio distortion analyzer
an audio spectrum analyzer
You will also have learned the Fourier transform and basic digital signal processing.
Or pick some other piece of test gear to build. Build Conrad Hoffman's "Mini Metrology Lab". Pick something you think you understand well and build that. You'll learn a lot in the process. You'll also have more test gear.
Electronics is all in your head. Test equipment makes things easier, but they are not a substitute for knowledge and understanding.
Mains powered equipment is not dangerous if it is unplugged. If you have to probe something which is powered up, be mindful of what parts of the circuit have 125 V at all times. Don't mess with it if you are tired or have had a drink.
Discotech:
They're a little old but I found them both incredibly useful for getting together some basics for what I need, everything else I've just been buying as I need it, it's frustrating having to wait but it's better than spending loads of money on things I might never use
AnyNameWillDo:
Have seen both vids -- unfortunately it led to more questions than answers for me, especially since the video is on the older side.
I think what frustrates me is that those vids lack a lot of context / explanation for why certain things are picked. "Get a variety of flush cutters!" does not really tell me what I should be looking for in a good flush cutter, what the tradeoffs are, etc.
Focusing on kits and saying "build your own power supply" is not super helpful when half the replies online say it is absolutely not a beginner's project. Other comments involving oscilloscopes are outdated and also don't provide much context for how many channels we might want or why, Mhz, etc.
The solder he recommends is similar to the solder I mentioned earlier -- but everyone here has said it is way too thin, for example. |O
Newer solder irons like the TS-100 have come out, and I've seen that video too, but yet again, more questions than answers.
(Could go on and on -- I had issues like this with almost every single recommendation he made in that video)
Picking parts for a lab is a total nightmare as a beginner, lol. The learning curve is incredibly steep. "Just buy a few x/y/z!" doesn't tell me specifically what to get because there are often so many variants or other considerations to take into account.
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