Setting Up My Home Lab

[Wil_Bloodworth]

There's also plenty of depth just in "simple" things. Some people make entire careers just designing transistors and doing device physics. That's not even to the circuit level of complexity.

If you think circuit boards are a slippery slope, what do you think about radios? :p
You might find yourself wanting to learn more about antennas -> needing to learn more about electromagnetics -> then maybe you might want/need to learn more about analysis and differential equations. Slippery slope indeed.

You are correct.  But again... this is where I WANT to work.  I don't understand the vehemence around trying to convince me to work on something different than what I want to work on at the moment.  What are you trying to achieve by convincing me to work on something other than what I've been clear I want to work on?

- Wil

[Wil_Bloodworth]

A good book I keep in my private library near the shower, Practical Electronics for Inventors by Scherz and Monk, provides excellent instruction on many aspects of the field as well as thoughts on setting up a lab and using instruments.  This is well worth buying before you give up.

The book arrived today and... wow... this thing is huge! Looks like a great book.  Thank you for the recommendation!

- Wil

[watchmaker]

There's also plenty of depth just in "simple" things. Some people make entire careers just designing transistors and doing device physics. That's not even to the circuit level of complexity.

If you think circuit boards are a slippery slope, what do you think about radios? :p
You might find yourself wanting to learn more about antennas -> needing to learn more about electromagnetics -> then maybe you might want/need to learn more about analysis and differential equations. Slippery slope indeed.

You are correct.  But again... this is where I WANT to work.  I don't understand the vehemence around trying to convince me to work on something different than what I want to work on at the moment.  What are you trying to achieve by convincing me to work on something other than what I've been clear I want to work on?

- Wil

Wil,

I am not sure respondents are trying to convince you of anything.  I know I am simply talking one old guy to another.  I get the nostalgia of tubes, but the logistics are pretty difficult. In fact, I started out summer thinking I wanted to go start in tubes.  Even joined Antique Radio.  But I looked at tubes, prices and remembered the logistics and decided that if my goal was to spend my time with a learning challenge rather than doing crossword puzzles and watching cable news, then semiconductors offered the same challenge but with easier logistics.

 $5 for a tube that may or may not work rather than 50 cents for a transistor?  1/4 W resistors instead of 10 watt? Just the storage space alone.

Then you gotta buy a tube tester for a couple hundred dollars (maybe with an intact roll).  While excellent automatic component testers can be had for under $20.

I have on my bench a little $20 tester that tells me almost everything I want to know about transistors, diodes, LEDs, resistors, capacitors, inductors and it even has a freq generator and voltage meter.  The world has turned!

Breadboarding is much easier (if somewhat controversial; but this is a group of engineeers!).  Which brings up that with semis, you have access to real engineers via this group. Not a bunch of skilled amateurs who may or may not know the answer to your questions.

May you find your next challenge!

So, I am responding to your stated purpose and the frustration you have experienced.  I think you will find a smoother path here. But if tubes are really your passion, then this is likely not the place for active involvement.

[Yuu]

I am not sure respondents are trying to convince you of anything.

This is correct. I'm just chit chatting. Definitely don't let it come off as trying to discourage you.

[armandine2]

http://ukhhsoc.torrens.org/other/Papers/David_Lord_June_2017/History_of_DIY_HiFi_in_UK.html

if DIY HiFi sounds appealing - the link has some interesting electronics history as well as the obligatory eye candy

[donlisms]

My theory would be that people are just trying to present alternate paths to "success," at least as far as they understand what you're after.

I haven't read all of this thread, but to be honest, it struck me sideways to begin with.  I've tried it both ways - buy all the stuff, then learn to use it, versus learn learn learn, and buy what stuff I need to keep going.  I prefer the latter, so all of the posts and vids I've ever seen about setting up a shop seem backwards to me.  I might say "when you realize you need something to solve a problem you're working on, that's when you buy it." At that point you know enough to make wise decisions.

Such a sweeping generalization requires exceptions: you're going to need a meter, and a soldering iron. So... up front, but no need to get carried away. I've watched repair-person vids where that was ALL he needed -- that, and some brain power, a rather modest understanding of how the thing is supposed to work or what the schematic means, but a *very* good library of techniques for finding bad components, since that's nearly always what fixing something is about.  We're not changing the design, here, just hunting for its... structural failures.

For a better understanding, more applicable to making stuff, maybe there are some analogies with software.  Maybe if I wanted to help someone learn to design good code, I'd start with the basic behavior of the elements if the language - the components.  Maybe start fitting them together in little fragments that do something useful, though not an app or anything.  And build the smaller bits into bigger bits.

Maybe... well, what helped me in my early days was reading a LOT of code by others, lots and lots of it, and developing a sense of evaluating it: "this is good because..." or "this is bad because."  But the enablement there was getting a stronger grasp of how to use lower-level pieces to make higher-level pieces; how to architect, and make good decisions. Radios have designs; those are made of sub-designs, made of components, architected at each level.  If you're intent on learning, focusing on those things will help, with or without doo-dads on your bench. You kind wanna try get a library of sub-circuits on your mental self so you can look at a schematic and say, "ah... IF section, audio here... that's weird, what's that?"

I think tubes are great; we owe them a lot and they still have their places.  Whether the expense is an issue is yours to decide; whether they are big and hot is not!  But as a three-terminal device, or variation thereof... perfectly fine place to start.