EEVblog #51 – A tour of the EEVblog Electronics Lab

[charliex]

I have/had that same radio shack logic probe and the matching logic pulser when i used to work at Barry Nobles Funland in Blackpool, UK, turned out a lot of the boards i checked with it had faults, only they hadn't had them before i tested them!

One day my electronics guru said lets have a look at that probe, he said the tip had 12V+ on it and took it away.

they make great cases for superprobes though !

[EEVblog]

I've actually got 3 logic probes. Another one in the same style from Tandy/ Radio Shack I got when I was a kid, and another cigar shaped one.
I can remember when the logic probe was a must-have bit of kit!, but who buys one these days I wonder?

Dave.

[charliex]

I haven't seen any in a radio shack/tandy in ages, the ones around here just have the drawers of bits and a few tools.

[EEVblog]

Someone left a comment on the blog, how about everyone post a photo of their lab/workbench. Great idea!, show us your setup, no matter how small.
I had a soldering iron and a multimeter sitting on a cardboard box once too! (oh, maybe I've got some old photos somewhere...)

Dave.

[armandas]

I don't have a lab, I have a humble tablespace. Here's how it looks like:



1. Some books. You can guess what the thick one is
2. Small component box
3. LCD Monitor for FPGA stuff
4. Xilinx Spartan-3E FPGA dev board
5. Toolkit. Screwdrivers, tweezers, pliers, wire cutters, knife, toothbrush, propane torch, pencils and pens
6. Multimeter
7. Test leads
8. Fume extractor
9. Another component box
10. Resistor substitution
11. Crappy third hand, freshly scavenged parts box, coin jar

I plan to get a scope, but I'm not likely to expand further (i.e. power supplies, function generators etc.) any time soon since I'm a poor student who does not have money to buy such stuff and more importantly permanent home where it could be kept

[charliex]

mines U shaped, small room,s o hard to take a single pic.

[charliex]

post limit!

[jahonen]

Here is mine. A little mess is not an exception here too A little list of equipment from left to right, up to down:

• GW Instek SPD-3606 DC power supply
• Adjustable isolating variac, 630 VA
• Fluke 89IV
• Old analog multimeter, Hung Chang
• P3 700 MHz Laptop for working with MCU and FPGA stuff, also I use it to capture scope screenshots
• Agilent MSO 6034A, mixed signal oscilloscope
• Weller WTCP-S soldering iron
• Metcal SP-200 soldering iron
• DIY function generator
• DIY frequency counter
• Old Grundig FG5 color bar generator (not much use nowadays)

I have been thinking about revising the function generator and frequency counter, but haven't gotten around it yet. Some other things missing from the picture are at my work, most notably Fluke scopemeter 93 and R&S FSV 7 spectrum analyzer. Plenty of other smaller stuff, like components are behind me in the closets and on the shelf (very tightly packed ) where I took the picture.

Regards,
Janne

[yoshiki]

I've actually got 3 logic probes. Another one in the same style from Tandy/ Radio Shack I got when I was a kid, and another cigar shaped one.
I can remember when the logic probe was a must-have bit of kit!, but who buys one these days I wonder?

Dave.

Students, I had to use it 2 semesters ago but besides that I can't think of anyone else ... maybe ... no ... hahaha.

[EEVblog]

I love the coffee mug in the middle of it all, classic!

Dave.

[EEVblog]

• Agilent MSO 6034A, mixed signal oscilloscope

Awesome scope, how did you afford one of those for a home lab ?

Dave.

[jahonen]

• Agilent MSO 6034A, mixed signal oscilloscope

Awesome scope, how did you afford one of those for a home lab ?

Dave.

It really is a matter of choice. Some people put their money on cars, some on boats, and some on the measuring equipment And some even on the overpriced audiophile-stuff (see EEVBlog #29), like this guy (the texts are in finnish but pictures tell the story themselves) In the text he tells that he has spend over 30 k€ on the equipment.

I agree, it is among the best digital ones I have ever used. I have not missed much the analog ones after that.

Regards,
Janne

[charliex]

I actually had two cups going there, the starbucks and the drip coffee! The best equipment i've bought for my home lab is the keurig single cup brewer thingy

Nice to see that I'm not alone in the chaos too Janne.  I usually manage to keep the space just around me clear, everything else within arms reach, especially the coffee, which is why I've employed the distributed system.

That is indeed a nice scope, and thats what I tell people when they see my PCB CNC, few people get it though.

[Magicmushroom666]

Glad to see i'm not the only messy one here!

Dont currently have a bench at home as i've only just got the place, but here's my bench at work instead!

[APS]

I see you all have same problem like me. How to put all you need in a room and how to transform room in work-room to have both.

While I was starting with electronic I thought no problem. Now I ended with a work-room that has bead.

[armandas]

I see you all have same problem like me. How to put all you need in a room and how to transform room in work-room to have both.

While I was starting with electronic I thought no problem. Now I ended with a work-room that has bead.

You're saying it as if it was a bad thing

[Simon]

WEll here is my "lab" as you have probably guessed it's my messy room. I do all designing and breadboarding here plus some small soldering and board drilling (with my dremel and stand). Any hefty stuff I have to do in the shed (having barged past my dads junk and the excess I keep in there). I also have some solar power available with a 150 W inverter sitting next to the sockets, I run something off it when the battery in the loft above my room has a charge in it.

[APS]

I see you all have same problem like me. How to put all you need in a room and how to transform room in work-room to have both.

While I was starting with electronic I thought no problem. Now I ended with a work-room that has bead.

You're saying it as if it was a bad thing

It`s not a bad thing but it would be better to have separate work-room with more space.

[Simon]

I see you all have same problem like me. How to put all you need in a room and how to transform room in work-room to have both.

While I was starting with electronic I thought no problem. Now I ended with a work-room that has bead.

You're saying it as if it was a bad thing

It`s not a bed thing but it would be better to have separate work-room with more space.

when i lived in Italy is way exactly that case for me, my "room" was simply a bed in my workshop, but then thats about all I had in life

[qno]

Reminds me of the "Italian who went to New York"

http://www.4degreez.com/jokes/R-Rated+Jokes/916617572/joke.html

[Simon]

yea there are a few of those going around.... in Italy as well (but working the oposite way round)

[dexters_lab]

mine is tidy today, most of the crap is in trays and stuff out of sight unless i'm using it.

on show is a xytronic soldering station, my rigol 1052, instek 6052, velleman hps-10, multimeter, a/s mat/wristband & tester, 3 windows PCs under the desk and my old atari tt030 to the right that i'm currently messing with

and yes, they are pink fairies! not had a chance to re-decorate since we moved in!

[yoshiki]

So many PCs but no Macs, am I the only one? Is this a trend? 

[charliex]

Hopefully

[dexters_lab]

So many PCs but no Macs, am I the only one? Is this a trend? 

after i stopped using my atari's in the late 90s i logically moved over to a mac... it cost me £1300, i'd stopped using it in favor of windows within 12 months, i sold the whole kit about 4 years ago on ebay for £20. Have a simiar story when i bought a Apple Newton. I vowed never to own an apple product again.