Project to save me from getting bored

[ChrisGreece52]

What small (preferably cheap ( i mean with little components)) project shall i make that will help me to search a bit and will be helpfull for me
Some extra info that will help you in the suggestions.
1)I am a begginer
2)I can solder a board or create the project on a breadboard
3)I cant etch my own boards
4)I have worked with the following :
1)555 timer chip(THE MOST BASIC CHIP IN THE WORLD)
2) LM386 (low power audio amp)
3) Arduino (basic stuff)
4)Msp430 (basic stuff too)
5)I am getting to know transistors
6)I need it to be cheap and usefull (teaching for a begginer)
7) I FEEL THE NEED TO ENLARGE (or broaden or widden i cant remember whats the correct expression sr  )
So suggest something good THANK YOU

[Thor-Arne]

Try a audio function generator using OpAmps, that's quite simple and interesting.
Might be useful to. 

Try google "audio function generator" and look at the pictures to find one you're comfortable with making.

[ChrisGreece52]

Thanks for your quick response !!!
that seems easy to build but what does an audio function generator do???

[ChrisGreece52]

Also where can this be used?

[mariush]

Make a scrolling led display



single color leds are less than 5$ on ebay (for 500 leds), shift registers are also super cheap, npn transistors (or darlington arrays like uln2003) are also super cheap

use a micro to get data from pc using serial.. maybe get the latest email subjects you get or whatever, scroll them on display. You also learn about led matrix-ing, maybe learn about npn/pnp differences, how shift registers work etc

Or if scrolling displays bore you, make a single color version of this rgb cube:

[Thor-Arne]

Try something like this.
ICL8038 is a special IC for signal generation and won't give you any experiences with OpAmps which is used in almost everything.

A audio generator is used to test audio equipment, for example you can feed the signal  into an amplifier and follow the signal through the circuit with a oscilloscope.

It's also fun to play with since you can mix various signals and listen to the effect of that.

Just remember to have a potentiometer to adjust the output levels.

[ChrisGreece52]

Thanks for your suggestion the led scrolling display is a pretty good idea but i need a frame for it as for the rgb cube 2 rgb leds cost about a buck

[ChrisGreece52]

Try something like this.
ICL8038 is a special IC for signal generation and won't give you any experiences with OpAmps which is used in almost everything.

A audio generator is used to test audio equipment, for example you can feed the signal  into an amplifier and follow the signal through the circuit with a oscilloscope.

It's also fun to play with since you can mix various signals and listen to the effect of that.

Just remember to have a potentiometer to adjust the output levels.

Like it
Also the function generator seems a pretty basic project but what does it do ?

[c4757p]

It just generates signals. You can change the frequency, amplitude and pattern, and then use the signal as an input to a circuit that you are testing.

[ChrisGreece52]

Awesome and maybe usefull in the future

[c4757p]

Very useful in the future. I use mine so much I tend to just automatically switch it on whenever I turn on my workbench lights.

[mariush]

Thanks for your suggestion the led scrolling display is a pretty good idea but i need a frame for it as for the rgb cube 2 rgb leds cost about a buck

I've ordered 100 rgb leds on eBay a few days ago for about 13$: http://www.ebay.com/itm/110914650552?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649   
They're for another project, not a display or cube, but it reminded me of such dyi projects.

But I didn't say build a rgb cube, I said build a single color version of that cube. Like I said, 500 plain red leds are about 4.6$ on eBay , and 8x8x8 = 512 leds ... you can make a 7x7x7 cube and that will only take 350 leds.

Even if you go for high brightness or some more powerful leds, they're still below 15$ for 500 of them:

11$ http://www.ebay.com/itm/500-x-5mm-2pin-Straw-hat-Red-Ultra-Bright-LED-Light-/110878533807?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item19d0e028af
13$ http://www.ebay.com/itm/500-pcs-5mm-2pin-Round-top-Blue-SuperBright-LED-Lamp-Light-/121080563431?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item1c30f6c6e7
13$ http://www.ebay.com/itm/500-pcs-5mm-2pin-Round-top-Yellow-SuperBright-LED-Lamp-Light-/121080567582?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item1c30f6d71e
13$ http://www.ebay.com/itm/500-pcs-5mm-2pin-Round-top-Green-SuperBright-LED-Lamp-Light-/130867953290?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item1e78567e8a

As for frame? Seriously?  What's wrong with getting some cardboard or folding some paper several times and gluing it to make a frame? You're not doing something professional, just something for yourself...
Get a piece of wood for the base (even if you have to buy it, they're seriously cheap, 1-2$ for such scrolling display size), drill some holes for the leds to fix them in place, use some cardboard or paper to make walls so that light from one led won't invade the square of another led, put a diffuse or darker plastic sheet on top and you have the display box.

Or just some thick cardboard instead of wood, and use a needle to make holes for the leads of the leds and glue the leds on the cardboard...

You only need imagination.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-low-cost-scrolling-LED-display-for-your-A/
http://www.nerdkits.com/videos/ledarray2/

[ChrisGreece52]

Thanks but i would prefer something more cheap and smaller in size ( i need something cheap that will fit in a circuit board)

[Nhenson]

I really enjoyed designing and producing my first homemade Arduino compatible board.  The circuit overall is pretty simple.  My first time building a custom arduino, I did it on a bread board.  Now I've done a custom arduino for my RF24 radio and I've even now designed a board for the ATMEGA 1284 chip running a custom arduino bootloader.  You can get all of the components for a basic arduino for less than 10 dollars if you look around.

A good site that I started with.  He has some links to a few good places to look for information.

http://maniacbug.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/arduino-on-a-breadboard/

Good luck,
Nick

[Ba1tuks]

Well... One more lab power supply won't hurt :-) Can't be too many of them :-D
Also it's very fun to design from scratch with unique goal such as: to make it very small and versatile, or just versatile and extremely efficient, or very precision... Imagination can get wild doing this! ;-)

[ChrisGreece52]

I really enjoyed designing and producing my first homemade Arduino compatible board.  The circuit overall is pretty simple.  My first time building a custom arduino, I did it on a bread board.  Now I've done a custom arduino for my RF24 radio and I've even now designed a board for the ATMEGA 1284 chip running a custom arduino bootloader.  You can get all of the components for a basic arduino for less than 10 dollars if you look around.

A good site that I started with.  He has some links to a few good places to look for information.

http://maniacbug.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/arduino-on-a-breadboard/

Good luck,
Nick

Thanks for the advice it seems pretty good and simple but the problem is not the arduino on a breadboard thing but the radio schematic and code ( i am a begginer (ultra begginer i can say) on C language ) but the arduino on a breadboard i have been thinking to make on quite a while i have my cart ready on ebay for the items but it never came up and when i got my arduino mega this thought started to fade.

[ChrisGreece52]

Thanks for this i have already thought of building one but the cost got so high when i added the transformer i can get one transformer from AC 220 to AC 25 for example and then use 4 diodes a capacitor and a LM317 circuit.

[Thor-Arne]

I don't known how easy accessible discarded electronic is in Greece, but you should probably look around for some parts to scavenge.
A lot of equipment has parts like transformers and heatsinks (among the most expensive parts) you can use in a PSU.

[ChrisGreece52]

Its pretty hard if you dont know where to search indeed ( and i do not know)
I got 2 pcs from my school with broken power supplies ... i tried to see whats wrong (i figured out that it might be a cap because that is the problem in most cases)
but i got nothing....

[Thor-Arne]

Transformer based power supplies?
Measure the voltages on the transformers secondary windings, and continue to the rectifier after that.

[ChrisGreece52]

did not get it.

[Thor-Arne]

What do you mean, did you not understand how to measure the voltages or didn't you succeed in measuring the voltages?

You start with the input end of the power supply and measure voltages further and further into the circuit to see where it fails.

[ChrisGreece52]

No i got the measuring voltages part the thing that confused me was the secondary windings.....

[Thor-Arne]

Ah, the secondary windings is the output of the transformer. Primary is the mains input.

[ChrisGreece52]

search for LM380,

its a low power amplifier you can power with 9v.

plug in some headphones or get a small spkr ...

if u play guitars ... overdrive it and jam it to shreds !

Thank you for your suggestion i already made a Lm386 circuit which i use with my base guitar.