Products > Test Equipment
Christmas time: focus on one single instrument!
RBBVNL9:
Electronics is my hobby, and because of my regular job and other activities, the time I can spend on it is limited.
Every year, we travel for the festive season to family abroad, and I allow myself to take along one single measurement instrument on that trip. One that I want to get to know better, one that can use more love, one that still has untapped potential for me.
For a couple of days, I approach that device in a holistic way, read the full manual (yes, it’s quite rewarding as it often shows the designer’s philosophy and leads you to unknown facts), read how other use it on the internet, and check out new software/ firmware as well – especially PC-based instruments can gain a lot of functionality over time.
Are there more people that do this? If you could choose one, which instrument would you take, and why?
tautech:
SHA852A
Compact and fully portable.
Very capable and featured.
Not yet got to grips with its GPS capabilities…..
NE666:
tbh, I'm not sure that you can learn much from a single physical instrument in isolation, without additional kit to create some representative use/demo cases for it. Although a good read of the manual is never a bad thing (assuming the vendor provides a decent one, which is a whole other topic/rant).
Personally, being in a similar position with electronics as a hobby rather than paid employment, I always try to find time to revisit a chapter of Horowitz and Hill (or your preferred equivalent) over the holiday period.
RBBVNL9:
--- Quote ---I'm not sure that you can learn much from a single physical instrument in isolation, without additional kit to create some representative use/demo cases for it.
--- End quote ---
I usually take a bag with other stuff: some electronics with a breadboard, Arduino with A/D and D/A boards, some displays and UI stuff, some SPI and I2C things, Leo Bodnar pulser, cables, and often a PicoScope. But it’s a small bag, really. Can hide it under a car seat!
But it's surprising how many experiments just present themselves at the right moment: an old CD or DVD player, a disposed DAB+ radio or an unused wireless digital phone set. Poor power adapters. And much more!
Actually, these experiments, which do not NEED to be done but CAN be done, are often the most fun for me! Often do them together with my son, so we together learn from it. And while explaining things to him, I sometimes discover the solution to something I did not yet find (like I did yesterday ;-)
NE666:
Sounds like great fun. Enjoy!
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