| Electronics > Beginners |
| My purchase list for my new lab -- budget $1000+, thoughts? |
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| rhb:
I should like to note that building a linear power supply is a reasonable beginners project. A switching mode power supply is not. Even very high skill MSEEs buy them rather than design them. They are complex and it's easy to make a wrong component choice which results in high failure rates. A linear supply consists of a fuse, transformer, two or three capacitors, an LM317, a pot, power indicator and an on/off switch. A bit more if you add current limiting which *is* very useful. But take a look at: https://www.eevblog.com/2017/10/11/eevblog-1030-20-diy-bench-power-supply/ That is certainly a good beginner project. Get an eBay LCR meter and put it in proper box: https://www.eevblog.com/2017/09/11/eevblog-1020-is-a-7-lcr-component-tester-any-good/ https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/$20-lcr-esr-transistor-checker-project/ It's minimal cost, the gear is useful even if you get better gear later. And it gets you started. Putting it in a box is a *lot* of the work of making something. I've put $1 of electronics in $10 of enclosure countless times. Things like switches and jacks add up quickly. I'd strongly recommend setting your initial budget at around $100-150. Go as cheap as possible (within reason) and upgrade when the cheap stuff becomes an obstacle. Learn to repair discarded audio gear. Use the proceeds from selling the stuff to buy test gear. My Dad designed and built a HiFi amplifier from scratch (picked a set of tubes and went from there) back in the 50's before i even started school. His company moved him and then was going to move him again 2 years later so he quit and started speculating in real estate. He never got to design electronics again. He was 91 when he passed away. I still have a truckload of WW II vintage parts. |
| AnyNameWillDo:
Is there any consensus on multis like the 121GW vs the BM235 multimeter? Or why the Aneng 8008 has been mentioned? This one, yes? https://www.amazon.com/Alloet-True-RMS-Digital-Multimeter-Voltage/dp/B072JMBLJS/ |
| bitseeker:
The best advice I can give you, which has been echoed here, is to avoid attempting to get everything at once. The electronics field is vast. You cannot, unless you have an exorbitant budget or know precisely what you'll be doing in electronics for the rest of your life, get everything at the beginning and be done with purchases. Also, except for really high-ticket items, you'll probably have more than one of various tools and equipment because most things are good for some tasks and not others. This is also why you often won't get consensus on what to buy. Experience, personal taste, and specific requirements will steer you toward certain products versus others. So, start small. Gain experience. See what area(s) of electronics you gravitate toward and you'll know what else you need and, if not what will best work for you, what specific requirements you have for a product in order to fulfill a specific need. You can still buy quality, but don't expect that buying once will be the end of it. Even something like a DP832 may not be your only nor last power supply. As for DMMs, if you're down to choosing between the 121GW and BM235, start with the BM235 unless you know specifically why you need the 121GW or spending the extra cash is negligible for your budget. The Aneng 8008 and others (even the free Harbor Freight DMM) are often mentioned because it's useful to have multiple meters. They enable you to monitor different parts of your circuit simultaneously. They enable you to compute power consumption by measuring voltage and current, each with a different meter. Do you need that? If you're not sure, it means you don't right now. When you do, you can grab one of the free HF ones while you decide what your second quality DMM will be (maybe by then you'll know if the 121GW is what you need as a primary DMM, relegating the BM235 to secondary, for example). Avoid analysis paralysis: don't get ahead of yourself with purchases. |
| AnyNameWillDo:
--- Quote from: bitseeker on July 22, 2018, 06:42:07 am ---As for DMMs, if you're down to choosing between the 121GW and BM235, start with the BM235 unless you know specifically why you need the 121GW or spending the extra cash is negligible for your budget. --- End quote --- Looks like the 121GW is out of stock anyway -- so BM235 it is! --- Quote from: bitseeker on July 22, 2018, 06:42:07 am ---The Aneng 8008 and others (even the free Harbor Freight DMM) are often mentioned because it's useful to have multiple meters. They enable you to monitor different parts of your circuit simultaneously. They enable you to compute power consumption by measuring voltage and current, each with a different meter. Do you need that? If you're not sure, it means you don't right now. When you do, you can grab one of the free HF ones while you decide what your second quality DMM will be (maybe by then you'll know if the 121GW is what you need as a primary DMM, relegating the BM235 to secondary, for example). --- End quote --- Free Harbor Freight DMM? Does it require going to a store or can it be done online? When I Google past threads apparently a lot of methods were either unintended or cut short. |
| bitseeker:
I've only done it in-store, so I'm not certain about online ordering. However, their coupons usually say that they're good for both methods. Double-check the fine print on the coupon. Important: The cheap meters generally don't have much, if any, input protection. So, if you get them, only use them on low-voltage, low-energy circuits. You'll see people say or video themselves sticking these meters in the wall outlet and go, "see, nothing wrong." Yes, indeed, they will work. But, input protection (like a warranty, an insurance policy, or a legal contract) is for the abnormal and unexpected, not the normal case. |
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