I would love to see an 2020 update with total budget under 1k in two equal parts: ~$500 for tools & instruments ~$500 for mcu, arm, fpga and analog dev/eval kits Asume small table, some drawer storage, light and laptop are already available.
My favorite part of this video is how content-dense it is. 12 minutes packed with info. I often don't have time for your longer videos or know where they're headed so, this one was a real treat.
Don’t need wire strippers, use the side cutters like nearly all professionals I’ve ever seen do lol (seriously)... less tools to keep track of and you already have it in your hand! Takes practice especially for 30ga, but the results are as good or better ; ) I’ve got probably $1000 or more in every type of pliers and cutters each $20 or more, and I’ve only ever seen maybe two on the bench in actual use, beefy needle nose and side cutters... if you really want to go “pro” get some electricians scissors, seen them used with with absolute precision and stripping wire are machine like speed
Now this is a video I'd never even dreamt of seeing. Dave Jones, recommending ~20 cheap Chinese products. The fun part is, I agree 100%. If I may add some additional suggestions: 1) Transistor/ESR tester 2) 20€ diy osilloscope for simple waveforms 3) Cheap variable DC-DC power supply 500W range. + Fixed 12V AC-DC power supply 4) Various connectors 5) IC sockets 6) ESD mat 7) Voltage regulators + heatsink 8) Popular ICs: 555 timers, op amps, attiny, etc.
If you're careful and don't just go for the first five dollar one you see you can get a cheap multimeter that has transistor, diode and capacitance testing built right in. The one I still use today for everything from electronics to tracking down phantom voltage in my 120 year old house to appliance repairs I paid thirteen bucks for at my college bookstore about twenty five years ago. The only thing I've added is a five dollar kit of different universal leads because it only came with the long pointed probes and no alligator clips.
Don't get the USB microscope unless you just want to take pictures. It's useless for soldering. Get a swing arm shelf mount magnifying glass from Amazon for 25 bucks It has a fluorescent round bulb you can replace later with a roll of LED's. Get a helping hand with small magnifying glass. Take the magnifier off and attach it to the swing arm under the big magnifying glass. You get the same magnification as a microscope. You can just swing the small glass out of the way for wider magnifier. Use the spare alligator clamps on another helping hand without a glass so you have 4 holding arms.
@@bspringer Seems like that. And Banggood have at least two warehouses in EU. Direct purchases from China now is an greater game of luck. Two my acquaintances recently got taxed by customs for under 100 EUR worth purchases from Banggood Chinese warehouse and AliExpress - it never happened before.
i think there was a math issue at the soldering iron bit - you suggested an 11 and 21 dollar model but only added 5 to the total... are you trying to bankrupt us?
Some people really hate and/or are allergic to the fumes, but I kind of like it. Similarly, I like the smell of a wood fire, but there are people that hate that, too.
It's only carcinogenic if the solder has lead in it. You can buy lead free solder for basically the same price. I personally like the smell of warm resin.
That's really useful. Knowing what might be useful and what is plausible on a budget is good to know... I've had bits and pieces of equipment for random projects I've done over the years. Crappy soldering irons, equally questionable multimeters (I have a Uni-T one nearby), breadboards, wire, some components... But I really was buying stuff on a case by case basis and making do with whatever cheap stuff I could find, with no real idea of what might be good to have in general. I always wanted a multimeter, but it never seemed like something that was affordable. So anyway good advice really. (oops. 9 months later I noticed I meant oscilloscope, not multimeter. XD)
I prefer a manual range multimeter over an autorange one every day of the week. They are just so much faster once you now what range of voltages you expect and you are not making errors reading the numbers when the instrument has changed the range yet again...
this is useful! but id recommend a helping hand with magnifying glass over the crappy microscope. adds another 15 bucks you could spend on a microcontroller kit or parts.
From my experience those $10 microscopes are worth it when its all you can get, especially when you're still getting your eye in with SMD soldering it makes 0.5mm pin pitch soldering feel like you're playing with SOIC.
gamerpaddy The generic helping hand is, in my opinion, useless. That thing is super easy to tip over, its not solid enough. There are better options but they are also expensive. I ended up using glue and a scrap of a plywood sheet in order to secure the bloody helping hand
If you can find a logitech c270 camera , cost about $20 , they have a lens that you can unscrew to make it macro that allows you you get close enough to a pcb that you can view solder joints at 1280x720 in very good quality.
+Victor García I bought one years ago (without magnifier), and the grips on its "arm" positions are just not firm enough to hold the weight of even a small populated PCB. Mine just lowers its arms until its no longer holding anything.
get the right one,or just one of the mini rotating vise (the one with a ball joint) they are pretty handy. the magnifying glasses / headgear you allready got.
About right, just gotta get started! I’d recommend a vice of some type to help holding stuff while you solder, I use a panavise, well worth the stupidly high price as you get what you pay for, but any old small table top vise will do. Also a cheap ESD mat kit, not so much for ESD, but it’ll keep your mom or the wifey from goin off when you burn the table!
The Analog Discovery has a Logic Analyzer, Waveform Generator, Network Analyzer and Power Supplies! It will do a lot more than just a scope. Should help a lot with the price.
I would also recommend one of those microcontroller based component testers (usually sold as "transistor tester"). Measures everything, identifies pinouts. Also measures capacitor ESR in-circuit, which is great to find faulty caps. About $14 shipped.
If you just search for "transistor tester" on ebay, a lot of these will come up, with names such as LCR-T4, GM328, etc. A small board with a graphical LCD screen and an ISP socket. Sometimes with mini grabber type test leads included.
At the beginning of this year I finally got my first ever soldering Iron. It was an Aoyue 936 and as the name suggests it was indeed a Hako 936 clone. I would recommend this over the YiHUA because with a limited inspection from the exterior the internals of the Aoyue station seem to be of higher quality than the YiHUA. I think the Aoyue might be slightly more expensive but well worth the money.
StoreBrand Try "ersa" soldering irons. I have some of them more than 30 years (the oldest). 16W, CEPT certified, for almost 20 years , no tempeture adjustment, every day use (I'm professional)
I went from a terrible 2$ uncontrolled garbage soldering iron to a complete soldering station kit for 25$ and man was it a change! it works fantastic and the tip is still good as new. The kit even came with a solder sucker, third hand and solder included, the weller ZD-99 is really good for the price (its the blue one dave scrolled past lol)
I have found several different clones of the Yihua brand. Some are junk but one I bought that was on amazon was a 852d+ hot air and soldering iron and I was really surprised. $59 and it was quality built inside, including using PID microprocessors to control the heat. Only problem I had was one of the pots used to control the air volume went bad, but otherwise for $59 I can't complain.
The problem is that ZD-99 isn't temperature controlled. It has a simple TRIAC dimmer inside, you can adjust power, not the temperature. I've had one, and the thermal coupling between heater/tip is very awful. It seats in the stand nice and hot, you touch the joint and the damn thing sticks to it.
that's a very good point, if your joint sucks up most of the heat the iron wouldn't know to add more power; that said it gets pretty hot and can keep up with most jobs by adjusting said power I think ... if you want a really good soldering iron its probably not the right one though! For a little extra you can get a much better soldering station or one of the cheap all-in one Chinese soldering stations which also has the hot air rework.
Great video Dave! Just a note on those blue through-hole resistors: the color bands are *impossible* to read. For beginners, much hair pulling will be saved by making sure you get the standard tan colored ones. :) (voice of experience speaking!) Again, great video!
oH well,lord! Hardly expected a reply like this a year later. Im deep into electronics and dont have tooooo much of a problem with blue resistors. Worst case I use my Fluke 87V for accuracy checks.
A few other things that are handy - LEADS - plenty of test leads: alligator, test hooks, banana, bnc. All handy. You can buy longer leads off ebay and cut them in half or quarters and put whatever end you like on them. However, it's nice to have flexible leads so search for silicon wire (various colours) and buy a few metres of each. You can buy bags of alligator, banana and test hooks off ebay. Make sure you solder them and not just crimp. - Quite regularly I'll buy the 240vac to 12Vdc 450ma modules for about $2ea. Great for all sorts of projects but even better for powering and isolating different circuits power requirements (like powering an LED voltage display separate from the power it's measuring). The displays only power up from 4.5V so no good if the power you're measuring is sitting at 1V! - Second hand scope - $20! - PBC stand off's. Buy a kit of various M3's. - Build a transistor tester - saves time identifying leads, types and various (not 100%, but pretty good and also does diodes and bonus wave generator). - male/female header pin kit - heatshrink kit (buy a medium clear case, various lengths/colours/sizes and make yourself)
It's time for a new one!!! What a time to get into the hobby, from badass $25 open source soldering irons to free PCBs you name it every thing has gotten a lot cheaper since.
This is exactly how I started. even older used oscilloscopes are nice if you know what you're looking for. But I buy a lot of stuff off eBay for the quantities alone. only issue I have is when you get counterfeit ICs. but, for a quick circuit, they have always done the job.
I like the converting the computer ATX PSU where you stick in a 10Ohm resistor to make it stay on. Total cost less then $1.00. Has protection too that works well for oops moments.
it doesn't really have any protection. well, except for itself, but who cares about a "free" part when your 6 week project goes up in smoke? It's a good provider; throw a meter and cheap CV+CC buck in front for a half-way decent "bench PSU"
Great video. For scrap wire I cut open old ethernet cables (everything under CAT5e is uselless these days...) and use the wire strands when I need to connect things on a strip board...
I've been doing electronics for over 30 years, yet I still watched this video start to finish. Really great advice! The one thing I would add, don't be afraid of CROs! Those old oscilloscopes might lack the modern day digital features, but if you can track one down on the cheap, nothing wrong with using it! My CRO is older than I am! Still works though!
For Oscilloscope Digilent markets the Openscope nowdays which is really pretty nice for $99. 2 scope channels, -4 - 0 -4 v power supply, 16 ch logic analyzer, 2 ch function generator etc. Works on WiFi if so inclined.
I got oscilloscope off eBay for 65 us bucks delivered. HP digital storage, had faults but I found the only wrong was someone put tabe behind some of the buttons. Awesome score. I had search for months for this one.
thank you Dave. I actually didn't know you had a cheap side and it's refreshing to listen to the other side and get some recommendations that I think are very realistic for many people such as myself. however, I did get multicore solder, no games when it comes to solder.
Good advice. I remember setting up my first lab (kitchen table) when I was 6 back in the 60's. It was a soldering iron and a test meter that I found and repaired. I stocked up my supply rack (cardboard box) by salvaging parts from old Tv's that I found on the local dump. Total cost £0.00. Did not have a scope for nearly 10 years but acquired equipment as the money because available and I now run a company that develops electronic systems. You can never have enough equipment but you can also make do with almost nothing when beginning if you really want to so if you do not have any money then you can still do a lot.
Another thing to note, in the US you can often find awesome deals on multi channel techtronix analog oscilloscopes. I picked up a 4 channel for under $100.
the cheapo 30v 5a supply is nice, but you definitely want to add a resistor across the temp switch, so the fan is slightly on all the time. Without it, the fan will switch on even with very low load after a few minutes, making very annoying noise. I recommend the fluke 17b+ as a cheap multimeter.
I'd personally recommend spending a bit more to get decent-ish quality tools of the things you definitely need and will use at the beginning and save your money on more expensive or less vital stuff that you may not need at the beginning. Magnifying glasses, soldering iron (if you think you will need a hot air gun then go for a combo unit $40-$60) and solder/flux. Then ask our for broken electronics from your friends and neighbors to practice on.
+EEVblog Could you do a video for equipment that is 1 step 2 step and maybe 3 steps better than ones recommended so if we have a spare few bucks? that would be so cool . Loved this one too
EEVblog I think you could compete. I know a ton of people who refuse to buy from ebay because they don't trust it. it would be a family/community servicing business, make it a selling point. schools would buy from that too.
I also have a 936 ripoff soldiering station and its awesome.. I've gone through about 4 of those regular guns and this is way better.. Well worth the $15.
One of the things I like to recommend to starting hobbyists is one of these ebay transistor tester things. Handy for roughly measuring capacitance, ESR and inductance as well as identification and measurements of transistors. As a hobbyist you will very often salvage components and with that thing you can measure if they are still working or in what state they are. ~20 bucks for one of these, depending on which display you want. If you have good eyesight you can replace the microscope in this list by it ;) Oh and you need a little solder sucker tool for salvaging parts, no way to do it without them.
I picked up a used Weller soldering station for $10 on ebay and for years I used an old 500w computer power supply as my bench supply. It was free and gave me lots of +12v, +3v, and +5v leads to work with. ;) There is always ways to scrounge what you need. Just keep an open mind and see what you find. lol
Don't forget one of those little suction balls for desoldering. Makes it way easier. Just squeeze it & the vacuum from it refilling will reclaim the solder Now for some suggestions for super cheap starter work stations(anyone who actually does these safety hazard corner cutting methods assume responsibility for any damage or injury that may result. I can't be held responsible for the recklessness of others): *To save money on isolation for the oscilloscope,ust clip the ground off the PSU & power connector for whatever dumpster laptop I connect the scope to. That cuts out the need for isolation and when dealing with lower power circuits shouldn't be a big enough safety issue *To save money on a power supply, get one from a dumpster desktop. That will get you 3.3V, 5V, & 12V, which will cover most novice circuit development needs. *Get a sub $10 soldering iron with 2 settings(high & low). The low setting should be hot enough to solder components while the high setting is a more for desoldering quickly, though not really recommended. I recommend blowing a small computer fan at the components being desoldered to reduce the chances for overheating the component. *Boost(or create) your component supply with desoldered components. Components need to be in good working order before hand & this really should only be done with components you can test afterwards. This one's a time vampire & you've got a chance to burn up components, which is why you need to keep it to things that won't burn up in the desolder process or at least can be tested after. If you're doing this step, I can only assume you're homeless & reading this from a public library computer.
Apparently, there are DIY kits for a function generator($7ish) & an oscilloscope($20ish). If I ever get $30ish to burn, they are on my to-buy list just to see how godawful they are. Who knows, they might be enough for a hobbyist on a budget(but I really doubt it).
The part that gets me is how cheap it is to have an oscilloscope on your desk. Used to be a $5000 item when I was in college, now just $20. (More if you want a stand-alone unit, but still, dirt cheap!) And the features they have today would blow my mind back in high school.
I would likely add spending maybe $50 on an arduino kit as well. These days they are so indispensable for prototyping. And the kits usually come with a tonne of nice goodies.
10 bucks max from china .... after my 20 euro genuine board died I decided id rather buy 10 2-3$ Chinese ones for the price of a single generic one. modules are ridiculously cheap too, usually a dollar a piece.
I still own (and use) the Owon 1022i. it's not amazing but it's isolated. Probably saved my laptop, PC and me a couple of times. I recommend making a simple MIDI / USB console for it. Saves a lot of desk space not having to move a mouse.
Lots of "salvage" alternatives. A PC power supply can supply a variety of voltages once you understand how to "turn it on", and for the most part supplant a "bench" power supply for a lot of uses. Here in sillycon valley, there a a few "surplus" stores that have interesting selections that can be used for "salvage" parts.
Harbor freight has multimeters for free with a coupon on certain days. Even if a purchase is required, buy cheaper than $15, and your dollar just went further. The $15 can be spent on other stuff on your list as well. A win, win, win!
I started with electronics using one of those starter kit from eBay. Those kits usually just pack a small amount of each component and charge a big price. For example they might give you 20 LEDs, and 20 jumper wires, while separately you can buy 100 LEDs or 80 jumper wires for $1 each. They do help beginners learn the basics of electronics, and which components they want to have. But I think the audience that would need an oscilloscope or a signal generator, is already familiar with basic electronics, and would better prefer buying LEDs, resistors, diodes, breadboards and all the other items on those kits separately, and get much bigger quantities of common components.
As a cheap power supply I used a Tatoo power supply from eBay at some 12-14 USD, there were a 90-250 Volt ac to 24 DC power supply inside and then a LM317 regulator and a panel meter, I did remove the 2 pieces of 1/4" jack sockets and replaced them with a red and a black binding post. Yes it is not the best PSU in the world, but I can get from around 2 to 18 Volt out of it and around 1 Ampere, so it suit most needs I have and I often use it, much more often than my 2*0-30 Volt 5 Ampere lab PSU. So as a starter PSU this is ok and more safe than a PC PSU which can blow the hell out of to much electronic if you do not take care.
Awesome video for all beginners. Anyway it doesn't take in account shipping costs which if you buy all those items separately will be high (although some are free shipping)
For years I got away with a converted AT (yes AT, not ATX) power supply...still have it, still use it for fixed voltages and portability. Just build an LM317 circuit for adjustable voltages. Also, I did without a scope for basic stuff for years too. And when you decide you do need a scope, look for second hand ones, my 40mhz hitachi was $20
If you want to try electronics as a hobby you can start of with an iron, solder, multimeter, battery packs- boost converter as power supply and a selection of diy kits. But first watch many hours of youtube videos. Find out as much as you can about components.
I've got a syscomp CGM-101. It has a built in bode plotter and exports data as csv, it's incredibly useful for audio work, probably not so useful in radio frequency range. Signal generator and logic analyser is also win.
hey Dave, youre my favorite electronics youtuber, but to be honest I don't know anything about electronics but i just love your videos and seeing the inside of stuff, I wanted to ask you, would you mind doing a sort of beginner's electronics tutorial or something? not the complicated stuff but maybe what parts are and what they're used for, and some more basic stuff! I would really appreciate it! thanks again!
1 Genuine Hakko tip will heat quickly evenly and be formed to be perfectly snug over the ceramic heating element while having more mass to maintain a temp for fast working and actually melt solder on chunky joints. Maybe just get the cheap station and change out the heating element and tip for genuine Hakko and you might have a decent station for cheap. Or you can get a pack of 5 or 10 crap tips that don't last and only 1 or 2 of them being a useful shape for the same price.
Thanks, exactly what I'm searched for! Right now I'm building my own little electrics lab but portable... I've want to mount everything into a big plastic box so in case it is needed you only have to grab it and start working without setting everything up.
If your budget allows, check out something like the pine64 pinecil for a portable soldering iron.. full soldering station programmability... in the size of those 2 dollar cheapies. Powered of usb-C PD or qc 3.0 power supplies.. its literally useable with cheap cell phone chargers in your car or using any usb charging device for laptops (starting to get REAL common now days) and even some battery banks or a LiPO battery pack (4-6 cell)... And if that doesn't work, you can power it off your power supply using a barrel connector... It's a bit more than the soldering iron Dave here recommended.. BUT I feel the benefits of doubling to tripling the costs while keeping it super portable and very temp controlled... Honestly I feel it's equivilent to the ts100 iron that costs nearly 70 dollars...
I don't really do anything with electronics. I just like to watch other people do stuff and I am interested in the theory. But about a year ago I bought my first multimeter. It's just a £20 cheap piece of shit but GOD it is useful!!! I use it to test batteries, check for ground loops, check for blown fuses, dodgy wires, resistance in audio cables, etc. If anyone is like me and is considering buying a multimeter for general purpose use, do it! Everyone should have one.
i set up my electronics lab for £150 and its all fairly decent. I brought a workbench for £25 at argos £50 for second hand 1980s analog scope. £50 on a power supply and i got multimeter and soldering iron for christmas and birthday. I had most of the hand tools already so i spent £25 on other stuff i didnt have like esd mat etc. but you could make your own power supply like i did with my second one and singal generator.
A hand desoldering pump is needed for fixing stuff, which is the earliest way of getting a revenue. There is a ten buck heated desoldering pump around. Also a fuse kit is needed, which is also useful for making easy safety measures. You can find a real scope-meter JDS2012A. It's a handheld battery multimeter with 20mhz real 1M input single channel oscilloscope with SCREEN, and there is a similar 2ch without multimeter. Because it is plastic and 18650 battery powered you won't kill it probing mains as long as you use a sufficiently atenuated 100X probe not included, but not expensive. If you can't afford the supply you can use recycled assorted wall warts and a computer soundcard is a 20khz signal generator ultra programmable and excellent if you don't burn it. Get 1N4148, 2N3904, 2N3906, TL082, 74HC00 and ATMEGA328.
Great video! I like that you are not trying to mislead us by including crazy discounts that are available just once a year One suggestion though: you didn't mention banggood or AliExpress. These are mostly cheaper than eBay for small electronics
Sciplus.com (store is called science and American surplus) if you want to get those magnifying goggles, telescopes, and a cheap multimeter for extremely low prices They also have a ton of other stuff. Electronics stuff, motors, random knick knacks, a bunch of cool/random stuff. It is a science surplus store after all. Got a 200+ Dremel accessory kit for like 12 bucks. The prices are awesome and I love browsing the site just for random crap. With that said, I wouldn't recommend their soldering iron or kit. You may want to spend a little more on that lol. (I still went cheap chinese with a 852d+ hot air/soldering station, but that still cost me about 10x what the surplus was)
It really is amazing how cheap some of this stuff is. I will say, if you can splurge on anything, get a good set of side cutters (Klein, Knippex, Xuron are all good).
I was looking at that power supply you listed here and I was hoping that you actually bought these items to review. However I wasn't expecting to see a review I guess since you mentioned it, must work well and do as advertised. I probably will be purchasing this power supply and I will share my experience if I have anything is worth noting.
Sorry, I can't vouch for most of this stuff personally. It's not going to be the best quality but it's going to at least work. If it doesn't work then you send it back.
I own two of the 220V versions. They work alright, but probably a long way from superb quality. I haven't inspected it much, but seems to do as advertised. They are a switching power supply, just so you know. Makes quite a lot of sounds when powered depending on how high load is on them etc., but I found some of the sounds to be quite useful to be alerted when something is not quite right with the circuit you are working on ;-)
lab power supplys can be very helpful, especially when you need a constant current source, but in all honesty i don't think you need one in a basic setup. most of the time you will be limiting current within the project and all you want is a constant voltage and you will be using mostly standardised voltages such as 5 or 12 volts, you can achieve this with power supplys you have around the house or an old computer power supply (vastly cheaper than a lab one for way more power). and when you want to have a none standardised or varying voltage then you can build a voltage divider or a linear regulator if its relatively low power which should be one of the first projects someone learns in electronics. there are people who would use one regularly, including myself, but its a power supply at more than 5x the price of slightly less flexible ones most of us have a hundred of in a drawer somewhere.
I have one of the standard 30v/3A analog adjust supplies, and used it for about 3 years, but I found that a lot of the time I need to set up low current limits like 20ma, and that's almost impossible, it's too fiddly. So recently I bought a Korad KA-3005D. It's super nice, though out of the price range of this video. However, given the choice when starting up, I would rather get this power supply and skip the oscilloscope. I did electronics at home for 40 years without an oscilloscope. I have a DS2072 now, but honestly I rarely use it. I have had it for 2 years and I don't think I've used it more than 10 minutes the whole time.
Seb Andersen-Wood the reason I would benefit from these is for finding the point of voltage that will make something work. I don't want to plug in a 12 volt source all at once in case it explodes ya know.
For magnification, try an iPad mounted on a document copy stand and a magnifying app. Position the iPad so the camera is bottom right, not top left. Resolution is reasonable and it gives you good screen with touchscreen control. (With a cheapo USB microscope you still need to set up a way to conveniently view the image while soldering - just use the iPad app and cut out the USB gadget). It is also useful to have an iPad mounted like this for viewing datasheets etc. see e.g. ‘UTEBIT’ copy stand - usually $14.99 or so. Also need a tripod mount for the iPad to fit on this. Then no need for ‘helping hands’ - rig you own component holders using croc clips and bulldog clips.
I think this is a perfect introduction, especially if you're not sure what you want to get into specifically or if you even really want to get into electronics. Putting more money out for better quality equipment is great, but if you don't know if you're really into electronics or what you're going to need for your specific needs I find it's better to go cheap to get off the ground then as things crap out to upgrade to something better. There's no sense in paying hundreds of dollars for a tool you're only going to use once or twice a year for your needs or find you're not into electronics and never use it again.
A local store I work at sells decent Analog millimeters, the catch is the display is a needle gauge. About half the price of one that has a digital display that has the same functions. That would be a good alternative if anyone is looking into something with a few more features but doesn't mind the needle.
Analog meters are nice but they can't replace digital ones because of their low input impedance. Not really suited for probing transistor circuit with 20kOhm/V ;)
Travis Piper No auto-ranging, low input impedance ... The only thing they've got going for them is that they might have a faster response time than cheapo digital meters, but tha's not much.
You'd be surprised how much "ONLY" a few hundred bucks means for some of us. My most expensive investment was a $35 multimeter about 6 or 7 years ago that I still use to this day. Now I'm building my own variable power supply, because there's no way I can ever afford a commercial one. Some of them are in the range of 2-3 average salaries.
I wish this was around before I got my lab...although i have far better equipment, I don't have a logic analyzer or a function generator and other crucial things. I focused on parts instead of gear more and also on getting higher quality items. So all totaled I will probably end up spending well over $3000, or 10X this video's suggestion for my lab.
A fan of a broken PC power supply in the usually L shaped part of the housing makes a good fume extractor. Especially if there is also some left over junk 12V DC wall adapter available.
It would be great to do a video covering basic tools (pliers, tweezers, screwdrivers, etc), electric/electronic tools (multimeter, logic analyzer, osci, etc) and general parts on two or three budget tiers.
I have to disagree regarding DSO..i am using the DSO203 with custom wildcat's firmware and it is extremely useful and capable. Still not good as a bench one but for a portable one you can't go wrong..
I would recommend not buying the cheapest solder wire you can find, I use Stannol HS10 1.0 mm wire (leaded) for almost everything and even a small roll lasts quite long. Also get one of those AVR based transistor testers. they're great to check components when repairing stuff.
I am on a tight budget and I've had to go with the cheap-and-nasty stuff and I'm finding it funny how Dave is listing many of the items I have here in this video :D I had actually thought about making a quick video myself, listing my own budget-setup, so Dave kind of pulled the rug from under my feet here! I went with a Yihua 898D+ soldering-iron, though -- it's digital, it's small, and it has a hot air gun in the same package, which is handy, and I'm so far very pleased with the whole thing. There's a sensor inside the holder for the gun, so it turns heat up inside it only when you lift it up from the holder instead of just blindly blasting hot air 24/7, which should hopefully help make it last longer. As my DMM I've got a HoldPeak HP890DN autoranging one (I don't quite like manual ones), which is also quite nice for the price and seems quite precise. I've got a bunch more items in my setup that weren't mentioned here and that would probably be useful to a beginner/someone on a budget, but I can't quite list it all here in the comments, and I can't post pictures anyways.
3:10 That power supply, QW-MS305D, isn't a linear one but a switching one and also bugous as you may see in a UA-cam video entitled "FAIL: Bench Power Supply (PSU) QW-MS305D "... A dual channel linear power supply is very important because many circuits need negative voltage, like audio ones, without negative rail, only possible with dual channel power supplies, you will be unable to test many important circuits out there! Wire wrapping wire is so thin (30 AWG) that I really don't see its usefulness when compared with the 22 AWG one, and I think that a solder sucker is a better option than a wick! All the rest I agree with, I would just consider a cheap logic analyzer like the 5€ one (24M 8CH)! BTW, if you're really short on money consider skipping the solder part and stick only with breadboards, then you may start to consider prototyping and do the respective soldering... You will cut some cost this way and still learn a lot!
I think for a starter it's more useful to only buy what you need. No microscope, fume extractor, solder cleanup stuff. A function generator is also not needed. Just get a soldering iron, tin, some cutting pliers, find some schematic online that you want to build, order those parts, and get cranking (To keep it in the Aussie athmosphere) :-). An osciliscope might be nice to see what the circuit and individual parts actually do.
Awesome video! I think I'll be picking up a few of these things. Amazing how cheap some of these things are now. Amazing what you can get an oscilloscope for now!
Honestly in the Osciloscope part of things I'd go with buying an old government or university surplus scope for eg Hitatchi $90 deilivered to your door, will allow you to do more with it than these USB hanteks.
Yeah me too, you need flux, although I got some sort of gel flux which didn't seem to help a lot, but I heard that Goot stuff works alright... But I haven't tried any as of yet however.
The ripoff gootwick on eBay is crap but genuine Japanese ones are extremely good. You can sometimes tell the difference by looking for a visible seam straight down the center, the fake ones have it.
I would love to see an 2020 update with total budget under 1k in two equal parts:
~$500 for tools & instruments
~$500 for mcu, arm, fpga and analog dev/eval kits
Asume small table, some drawer storage, light and laptop are already available.
I would love to see this, the 1.5k build Evvblog168 is from 2011, there must be a decent amount of instrument innovations since then
I also want to see this
still a good idea in 12/30/23
what is mcu and fpga
My favorite part of this video is how content-dense it is. 12 minutes packed with info. I often don't have time for your longer videos or know where they're headed so, this one was a real treat.
Heat shrink tubing is also good to have! Also a wire stripper is needed. Fantastic what you can get for this little money.
Don’t need wire strippers, use the side cutters like nearly all professionals I’ve ever seen do lol (seriously)... less tools to keep track of and you already have it in your hand! Takes practice especially for 30ga, but the results are as good or better ; ) I’ve got probably $1000 or more in every type of pliers and cutters each $20 or more, and I’ve only ever seen maybe two on the bench in actual use, beefy needle nose and side cutters... if you really want to go “pro” get some electricians scissors, seen them used with with absolute precision and stripping wire are machine like speed
Consumables...
@@robertw1871i have used scissors for some time
Great Video! One Pro tip I'd like to contribute: The older you are, the more you should spend on lighting and magnification.
Dave, 2 things I've learnt from watching your videos...Flynn's bloody good at getting in and she never seems to write much
Flynn is male btw
+EcapeMCP... yes I know who Flynn is...I was referring to Dave's saying 'that's all she wrote'...
I learnt that bees dicks are pretty small and can be measured in many different forms outside of meters ;)
Does he whack it in? ;)
Also, I apparently have an uncle called Bob.
Now this is a video I'd never even dreamt of seeing. Dave Jones, recommending ~20 cheap Chinese products. The fun part is, I agree 100%. If I may add some additional suggestions:
1) Transistor/ESR tester
2) 20€ diy osilloscope for simple waveforms
3) Cheap variable DC-DC power supply 500W range. + Fixed 12V AC-DC power supply
4) Various connectors
5) IC sockets
6) ESD mat
7) Voltage regulators + heatsink
8) Popular ICs: 555 timers, op amps, attiny, etc.
If you're careful and don't just go for the first five dollar one you see you can get a cheap multimeter that has transistor, diode and capacitance testing built right in. The one I still use today for everything from electronics to tracking down phantom voltage in my 120 year old house to appliance repairs I paid thirteen bucks for at my college bookstore about twenty five years ago. The only thing I've added is a five dollar kit of different universal leads because it only came with the long pointed probes and no alligator clips.
LordPadriac I have never in my life seen a multimeter with an esr meter on it
This is the one I have. You don't need a special meter to test capacitors; ANY multi meter will do it.
LordPadriac i think you forget the link
Weird. I know I pasted it in there. I wonder if UA-cam censored it out for some reason. Try this again. www.all-sun.com/manual/Dt830_en.pdf
That video will be useful to a lot of beginners!
@Shanae (oo(ok>>>+{p
Don't get the USB microscope unless you just want to take pictures. It's useless for soldering. Get a swing arm shelf mount magnifying glass from Amazon for 25 bucks It has a fluorescent round bulb you can replace later with a roll of LED's. Get a helping hand with small magnifying glass. Take the magnifier off and attach it to the swing arm under the big magnifying glass. You get the same magnification as a microscope. You can just swing the small glass out of the way for wider magnifier. Use the spare alligator clamps on another helping hand without a glass so you have 4 holding arms.
Amazon? Are you kidding? Banggood, AliExpress, eBay are the way to go when you want it to be cheap
@@bspringer Not anymore when trade war in US and enhanced customs rules in EU kicked in :(
@@KrotowX We'll see. I think in the EU I'm at least a little safer when it comes to China hate than in the US
@@bspringer Seems like that. And Banggood have at least two warehouses in EU. Direct purchases from China now is an greater game of luck. Two my acquaintances recently got taxed by customs for under 100 EUR worth purchases from Banggood Chinese warehouse and AliExpress - it never happened before.
i think there was a math issue at the soldering iron bit - you suggested an 11 and 21 dollar model but only added 5 to the total... are you trying to bankrupt us?
He actually added 21$. He just showed us 5$
I use my lungs to filter the fumes..
Some people really hate and/or are allergic to the fumes, but I kind of like it. Similarly, I like the smell of a wood fire, but there are people that hate that, too.
Mark L reality is the fumes are toxic, carcinogenic, but then I am a smoker..
I had a jacket that smelled like campfire for a for days, definitely got mixed reactions from that.
TheLinkoln18 yea, its not that bad for you, its just flux lol nowhere as bad as toboco smoke lol
It's only carcinogenic if the solder has lead in it. You can buy lead free solder for basically the same price.
I personally like the smell of warm resin.
That's really useful. Knowing what might be useful and what is plausible on a budget is good to know...
I've had bits and pieces of equipment for random projects I've done over the years. Crappy soldering irons, equally questionable multimeters (I have a Uni-T one nearby), breadboards, wire, some components...
But I really was buying stuff on a case by case basis and making do with whatever cheap stuff I could find, with no real idea of what might be good to have in general.
I always wanted a multimeter, but it never seemed like something that was affordable.
So anyway good advice really.
(oops. 9 months later I noticed I meant oscilloscope, not multimeter. XD)
I prefer a manual range multimeter over an autorange one every day of the week. They are just so much faster once you now what range of voltages you expect and you are not making errors reading the numbers when the instrument has changed the range yet again...
you can set most auto rangers to a manual range for faster readings.
this is useful! but id recommend a helping hand with magnifying glass over the crappy microscope. adds another 15 bucks you could spend on a microcontroller kit or parts.
From my experience those $10 microscopes are worth it when its all you can get, especially when you're still getting your eye in with SMD soldering it makes 0.5mm pin pitch soldering feel like you're playing with SOIC.
gamerpaddy The generic helping hand is, in my opinion, useless. That thing is super easy to tip over, its not solid enough. There are better options but they are also expensive.
I ended up using glue and a scrap of a plywood sheet in order to secure the bloody helping hand
If you can find a logitech c270 camera , cost about $20 , they have a lens that you can unscrew to make it macro that allows you you get close enough to a pcb that you can view solder joints at 1280x720 in very good quality.
+Victor García I bought one years ago (without magnifier), and the grips on its "arm" positions are just not firm enough to hold the weight of even a small populated PCB. Mine just lowers its arms until its no longer holding anything.
get the right one,or just one of the mini rotating vise (the one with a ball joint) they are pretty handy. the magnifying glasses / headgear you allready got.
About right, just gotta get started! I’d recommend a vice of some type to help holding stuff while you solder, I use a panavise, well worth the stupidly high price as you get what you pay for, but any old small table top vise will do. Also a cheap ESD mat kit, not so much for ESD, but it’ll keep your mom or the wifey from goin off when you burn the table!
The Analog Discovery has a Logic Analyzer, Waveform Generator, Network Analyzer and Power Supplies!
It will do a lot more than just a scope. Should help a lot with the price.
1mm wick is useless - it saturates too quickly. Just cut the end of wider (3-4mm) wick to a point.
I agree, it does saturate too quick, but it's still good to have on hand.
Some people love dicking around cutting....lol
I would also recommend one of those microcontroller based component testers (usually sold as "transistor tester"). Measures everything, identifies pinouts. Also measures capacitor ESR in-circuit, which is great to find faulty caps. About $14 shipped.
Yes! They're quite fun too.
If you just search for "transistor tester" on ebay, a lot of these will come up, with names such as LCR-T4, GM328, etc. A small board with a graphical LCD screen and an ISP socket. Sometimes with mini grabber type test leads included.
At the beginning of this year I finally got my first ever soldering Iron. It was an Aoyue 936 and as the name suggests it was indeed a Hako 936 clone. I would recommend this over the YiHUA because with a limited inspection from the exterior the internals of the Aoyue station seem to be of higher quality than the YiHUA. I think the Aoyue might be slightly more expensive but well worth the money.
StoreBrand Try "ersa" soldering irons. I have some of them more than 30 years (the oldest). 16W, CEPT certified, for almost 20 years , no tempeture adjustment, every day use (I'm professional)
I went from a terrible 2$ uncontrolled garbage soldering iron to a complete soldering station kit for 25$ and man was it a change! it works fantastic and the tip is still good as new. The kit even came with a solder sucker, third hand and solder included, the weller ZD-99 is really good for the price (its the blue one dave scrolled past lol)
I have found several different clones of the Yihua brand. Some are junk but one I bought that was on amazon was a 852d+ hot air and soldering iron and I was really surprised. $59 and it was quality built inside, including using PID microprocessors to control the heat. Only problem I had was one of the pots used to control the air volume went bad, but otherwise for $59 I can't complain.
The problem is that ZD-99 isn't temperature controlled. It has a simple TRIAC dimmer inside, you can adjust power, not the temperature. I've had one, and the thermal coupling between heater/tip is very awful. It seats in the stand nice and hot, you touch the joint and the damn thing sticks to it.
that's a very good point, if your joint sucks up most of the heat the iron wouldn't know to add more power; that said it gets pretty hot and can keep up with most jobs by adjusting said power I think ... if you want a really good soldering iron its probably not the right one though! For a little extra you can get a much better soldering station or one of the cheap all-in one Chinese soldering stations which also has the hot air rework.
Great video Dave! Just a note on those blue through-hole resistors: the color bands are *impossible* to read. For beginners, much hair pulling will be saved by making sure you get the standard tan colored ones. :) (voice of experience speaking!) Again, great video!
Ryan Griggs i have tan ones and on monday i am getting MANY blue ones and will let u know how much trouble i have
oH well,lord! Hardly expected a reply like this a year later. Im deep into electronics and dont have tooooo much of a problem with blue resistors. Worst case I use my Fluke 87V for accuracy checks.
@@Wes8761 It's good practice to check their value with a multimeter anyway so their is really no issue
A few other things that are handy
- LEADS - plenty of test leads: alligator, test hooks, banana, bnc. All handy. You can buy longer leads off ebay and cut them in half or quarters and put whatever end you like on them. However, it's nice to have flexible leads so search for silicon wire (various colours) and buy a few metres of each. You can buy bags of alligator, banana and test hooks off ebay. Make sure you solder them and not just crimp.
- Quite regularly I'll buy the 240vac to 12Vdc 450ma modules for about $2ea. Great for all sorts of projects but even better for powering and isolating different circuits power requirements (like powering an LED voltage display separate from the power it's measuring). The displays only power up from 4.5V so no good if the power you're measuring is sitting at 1V!
- Second hand scope - $20!
- PBC stand off's. Buy a kit of various M3's.
- Build a transistor tester - saves time identifying leads, types and various (not 100%, but pretty good and also does diodes and bonus wave generator).
- male/female header pin kit
- heatshrink kit (buy a medium clear case, various lengths/colours/sizes and make yourself)
Might be an opportunity for EEVblog to setup and sell electronics lab packages for us novices out there?
im a 1st year EEE student, thanks for this, currently in the process of learning of all these things are :)
It's time for a new one!!! What a time to get into the hobby, from badass $25 open source soldering irons to free PCBs you name it every thing has gotten a lot cheaper since.
This is exactly how I started. even older used oscilloscopes are nice if you know what you're looking for. But I buy a lot of stuff off eBay for the quantities alone. only issue I have is when you get counterfeit ICs. but, for a quick circuit, they have always done the job.
I like the converting the computer ATX PSU where you stick in a 10Ohm resistor to make it stay on. Total cost less then $1.00. Has protection too that works well for oops moments.
it doesn't really have any protection. well, except for itself, but who cares about a "free" part when your 6 week project goes up in smoke? It's a good provider; throw a meter and cheap CV+CC buck in front for a half-way decent "bench PSU"
Man, you are just make my niece (she is still young) Christmas a very happy and electronic night! Thanks!!!!
This is great, just got out of auto tech school and was looking to specialize in electronics. This guide will be perfect!
Great video. For scrap wire I cut open old ethernet cables (everything under CAT5e is uselless these days...) and use the wire strands when I need to connect things on a strip board...
I've been doing electronics for over 30 years, yet I still watched this video start to finish. Really great advice! The one thing I would add, don't be afraid of CROs! Those old oscilloscopes might lack the modern day digital features, but if you can track one down on the cheap, nothing wrong with using it! My CRO is older than I am! Still works though!
Same here, 30+ years a tinkerer and an old analogue scope is certainly better than no scope at all.
I have 2 really old scopes, they work just fine. One cost $75 including shipping from ebay. Just be sure to tell the buyer to pack it well.
The Yihua 936 is a no brainer : I use it almost everyday for a year now, never gave me up ;)
For Oscilloscope Digilent markets the Openscope nowdays which is really pretty nice for $99. 2 scope channels, -4 - 0 -4 v power supply, 16 ch logic analyzer, 2 ch function generator etc. Works on WiFi if so inclined.
I got oscilloscope off eBay for 65 us bucks delivered. HP digital storage, had faults but I found the only wrong was someone put tabe behind some of the buttons. Awesome score. I had search for months for this one.
Cool Dave - electronics on the cheap - love it :)
Yo Jillian I'm your subscriber
Love your videos, Dave's as well
You guys must get together and do an AWESOME video!
thank you Dave. I actually didn't know you had a cheap side and it's refreshing to listen to the other side and get some recommendations that I think are very realistic for many people such as myself. however, I did get multicore solder, no games when it comes to solder.
Good advice. I remember setting up my first lab (kitchen table) when I was 6 back in the 60's. It was a soldering iron and a test meter that I found and repaired. I stocked up my supply rack (cardboard box) by salvaging parts from old Tv's that I found on the local dump. Total cost £0.00. Did not have a scope for nearly 10 years but acquired equipment as the money because available and I now run a company that develops electronic systems. You can never have enough equipment but you can also make do with almost nothing when beginning if you really want to so if you do not have any money then you can still do a lot.
Dave, If you build kits and sell on Amazon you will make a good money. especially for different range of budgets
don't forget dumpster diving! it's amazing what good kit gets thrown out
Another thing to note, in the US you can often find awesome deals on multi channel techtronix analog oscilloscopes. I picked up a 4 channel for under $100.
I love the smell of molting solder in the morning
the cheapo 30v 5a supply is nice, but you definitely want to add a resistor across the temp switch, so the fan is slightly on all the time. Without it, the fan will switch on even with very low load after a few minutes, making very annoying noise.
I recommend the fluke 17b+ as a cheap multimeter.
I'd personally recommend spending a bit more to get decent-ish quality tools of the things you definitely need and will use at the beginning and save your money on more expensive or less vital stuff that you may not need at the beginning. Magnifying glasses, soldering iron (if you think you will need a hot air gun then go for a combo unit $40-$60) and solder/flux. Then ask our for broken electronics from your friends and neighbors to practice on.
+EEVblog Could you do a video for equipment that is 1 step 2 step and maybe 3 steps better than ones recommended so if we have a spare few bucks? that would be so cool . Loved this one too
Dave, if you opened a shop for this kind of stuff, you could make a killing, selling Lab startup kits and supply crates!!
No way he could compete with ebay on the shipping, especially on all the things like resistor kits.
Correct.
EEVblog I think you could compete. I know a ton of people who refuse to buy from ebay because they don't trust it. it would be a family/community servicing business, make it a selling point. schools would buy from that too.
The problem is that for low end stuff like this the profit margins are negative when you realize you have to spend hours working on it.
He's better off doing affiliate Amazon links like Louis Rossman does.
I also have a 936 ripoff soldiering station and its awesome.. I've gone through about 4 of those regular guns and this is way better.. Well worth the $15.
One of the things I like to recommend to starting hobbyists is one of these ebay transistor tester things. Handy for roughly measuring capacitance, ESR and inductance as well as identification and measurements of transistors. As a hobbyist you will very often salvage components and with that thing you can measure if they are still working or in what state they are. ~20 bucks for one of these, depending on which display you want. If you have good eyesight you can replace the microscope in this list by it ;)
Oh and you need a little solder sucker tool for salvaging parts, no way to do it without them.
I don't know why Dave didn't mention that, those really cheap testers they check transistors, capacitors etc.
I picked up a used Weller soldering station for $10 on ebay and for years I used an old 500w computer power supply as my bench supply. It was free and gave me lots of +12v, +3v, and +5v leads to work with. ;)
There is always ways to scrounge what you need. Just keep an open mind and see what you find. lol
Don't forget one of those little suction balls for desoldering. Makes it way easier. Just squeeze it & the vacuum from it refilling will reclaim the solder
Now for some suggestions for super cheap starter work stations(anyone who actually does these safety hazard corner cutting methods assume responsibility for any damage or injury that may result. I can't be held responsible for the recklessness of others):
*To save money on isolation for the oscilloscope,ust clip the ground off the PSU & power connector for whatever dumpster laptop I connect the scope to. That cuts out the need for isolation and when dealing with lower power circuits shouldn't be a big enough safety issue
*To save money on a power supply, get one from a dumpster desktop. That will get you 3.3V, 5V, & 12V, which will cover most novice circuit development needs.
*Get a sub $10 soldering iron with 2 settings(high & low). The low setting should be hot enough to solder components while the high setting is a more for desoldering quickly, though not really recommended. I recommend blowing a small computer fan at the components being desoldered to reduce the chances for overheating the component.
*Boost(or create) your component supply with desoldered components. Components need to be in good working order before hand & this really should only be done with components you can test afterwards. This one's a time vampire & you've got a chance to burn up components, which is why you need to keep it to things that won't burn up in the desolder process or at least can be tested after. If you're doing this step, I can only assume you're homeless & reading this from a public library computer.
Apparently, there are DIY kits for a function generator($7ish) & an oscilloscope($20ish). If I ever get $30ish to burn, they are on my to-buy list just to see how godawful they are. Who knows, they might be enough for a hobbyist on a budget(but I really doubt it).
The part that gets me is how cheap it is to have an oscilloscope on your desk. Used to be a $5000 item when I was in college, now just $20. (More if you want a stand-alone unit, but still, dirt cheap!) And the features they have today would blow my mind back in high school.
I would likely add spending maybe $50 on an arduino kit as well. These days they are so indispensable for prototyping. And the kits usually come with a tonne of nice goodies.
Of course.
aren't there emulators or something?
wtf??
10 bucks max from china .... after my 20 euro genuine board died I decided id rather buy 10 2-3$ Chinese ones for the price of a single generic one. modules are ridiculously cheap too, usually a dollar a piece.
Kevin Miedema even better
I still own (and use) the Owon 1022i. it's not amazing but it's isolated. Probably saved my laptop, PC and me a couple of times.
I recommend making a simple MIDI / USB console for it. Saves a lot of desk space not having to move a mouse.
Lots of "salvage" alternatives. A PC power supply can supply a variety of voltages once you understand how to "turn it on", and for the most part supplant a "bench" power supply for a lot of uses.
Here in sillycon valley, there a a few "surplus" stores that have interesting selections that can be used for "salvage" parts.
Harbor freight has multimeters for free with a coupon on certain days. Even if a purchase is required, buy cheaper than $15, and your dollar just went further. The $15 can be spent on other stuff on your list as well. A win, win, win!
i used one of those for years; long-lasting battery and balls-on accurate
I started with electronics using one of those starter kit from eBay.
Those kits usually just pack a small amount of each component and charge a big price.
For example they might give you 20 LEDs, and 20 jumper wires, while separately
you can buy 100 LEDs or 80 jumper wires for $1 each.
They do help beginners learn the basics of electronics, and which components they want to have.
But I think the audience that would need an oscilloscope or a signal generator, is already familiar with basic electronics, and would better prefer buying LEDs, resistors, diodes, breadboards and all the other items on those kits separately, and get much bigger quantities of common components.
As a cheap power supply I used a Tatoo power supply from eBay at some 12-14 USD, there were a 90-250 Volt ac to 24 DC power supply inside and then a LM317 regulator and a panel meter, I did remove the 2 pieces of 1/4" jack sockets and replaced them with a red and a black binding post.
Yes it is not the best PSU in the world, but I can get from around 2 to 18 Volt out of it and around 1 Ampere, so it suit most needs I have and I often use it, much more often than my 2*0-30 Volt 5 Ampere lab PSU.
So as a starter PSU this is ok and more safe than a PC PSU which can blow the hell out of to much electronic if you do not take care.
Awesome video for all beginners. Anyway it doesn't take in account shipping costs which if you buy all those items separately will be high (although some are free shipping)
For years I got away with a converted AT (yes AT, not ATX) power supply...still have it, still use it for fixed voltages and portability. Just build an LM317 circuit for adjustable voltages. Also, I did without a scope for basic stuff for years too. And when you decide you do need a scope, look for second hand ones, my 40mhz hitachi was $20
Great idea! I'm about to graduate from uni as a Electrical Engineering major and I'll definitely have to do something similar!
Nice one Dave! I must read up on this trilateral agreement you mentioned... hadn't heard of it before.
about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2010/pr10_058.htm
If you want to try electronics as a hobby you can start of with an iron, solder, multimeter, battery packs- boost converter as power supply and a selection of diy kits.
But first watch many hours of youtube videos. Find out as much as you can about components.
I've got a syscomp CGM-101. It has a built in bode plotter and exports data as csv, it's incredibly useful for audio work, probably not so useful in radio frequency range. Signal generator and logic analyser is also win.
hey Dave, youre my favorite electronics youtuber, but to be honest I don't know anything about electronics but i just love your videos and seeing the inside of stuff, I wanted to ask you, would you mind doing a sort of beginner's electronics tutorial or something? not the complicated stuff but maybe what parts are and what they're used for, and some more basic stuff! I would really appreciate it! thanks again!
+eevblog
1 Genuine Hakko tip will heat quickly evenly and be formed to be perfectly snug over the ceramic heating element while having more mass to maintain a temp for fast working and actually melt solder on chunky joints. Maybe just get the cheap station and change out the heating element and tip for genuine Hakko and you might have a decent station for cheap. Or you can get a pack of 5 or 10 crap tips that don't last and only 1 or 2 of them being a useful shape for the same price.
Thanks, exactly what I'm searched for!
Right now I'm building my own little electrics lab but portable... I've want to mount everything into a big plastic box so in case it is needed you only have to grab it and start working without setting everything up.
If your budget allows, check out something like the pine64 pinecil for a portable soldering iron.. full soldering station programmability... in the size of those 2 dollar cheapies. Powered of usb-C PD or qc 3.0 power supplies.. its literally useable with cheap cell phone chargers in your car or using any usb charging device for laptops (starting to get REAL common now days) and even some battery banks or a LiPO battery pack (4-6 cell)... And if that doesn't work, you can power it off your power supply using a barrel connector... It's a bit more than the soldering iron Dave here recommended.. BUT I feel the benefits of doubling to tripling the costs while keeping it super portable and very temp controlled... Honestly I feel it's equivilent to the ts100 iron that costs nearly 70 dollars...
I don't really do anything with electronics. I just like to watch other people do stuff and I am interested in the theory. But about a year ago I bought my first multimeter. It's just a £20 cheap piece of shit but GOD it is useful!!!
I use it to test batteries, check for ground loops, check for blown fuses, dodgy wires, resistance in audio cables, etc.
If anyone is like me and is considering buying a multimeter for general purpose use, do it! Everyone should have one.
i set up my electronics lab for £150 and its all fairly decent. I brought a workbench for £25 at argos £50 for second hand 1980s analog scope. £50 on a power supply and i got multimeter and soldering iron for christmas and birthday. I had most of the hand tools already so i spent £25 on other stuff i didnt have like esd mat etc. but you could make your own power supply like i did with my second one and singal generator.
A hand desoldering pump is needed for fixing stuff, which is the earliest way of getting a revenue. There is a ten buck heated desoldering pump around. Also a fuse kit is needed, which is also useful for making easy safety measures. You can find a real scope-meter JDS2012A. It's a handheld battery multimeter with 20mhz real 1M input single channel oscilloscope with SCREEN, and there is a similar 2ch without multimeter. Because it is plastic and 18650 battery powered you won't kill it probing mains as long as you use a sufficiently atenuated 100X probe not included, but not expensive. If you can't afford the supply you can use recycled assorted wall warts and a computer soundcard is a 20khz signal generator ultra programmable and excellent if you don't burn it. Get 1N4148, 2N3904, 2N3906, TL082, 74HC00 and ATMEGA328.
Great video! I like that you are not trying to mislead us by including crazy discounts that are available just once a year
One suggestion though: you didn't mention banggood or AliExpress. These are mostly cheaper than eBay for small electronics
Sciplus.com (store is called science and American surplus) if you want to get those magnifying goggles, telescopes, and a cheap multimeter for extremely low prices
They also have a ton of other stuff. Electronics stuff, motors, random knick knacks, a bunch of cool/random stuff. It is a science surplus store after all. Got a 200+ Dremel accessory kit for like 12 bucks. The prices are awesome and I love browsing the site just for random crap.
With that said, I wouldn't recommend their soldering iron or kit. You may want to spend a little more on that lol. (I still went cheap chinese with a 852d+ hot air/soldering station, but that still cost me about 10x what the surplus was)
It really is amazing how cheap some of this stuff is. I will say, if you can splurge on anything, get a good set of side cutters (Klein, Knippex, Xuron are all good).
I was looking at that power supply you listed here and I was hoping that you actually bought these items to review. However I wasn't expecting to see a review I guess since you mentioned it, must work well and do as advertised. I probably will be purchasing this power supply and I will share my experience if I have anything is worth noting.
Sorry, I can't vouch for most of this stuff personally. It's not going to be the best quality but it's going to at least work. If it doesn't work then you send it back.
I own two of the 220V versions. They work alright, but probably a long way from superb quality. I haven't inspected it much, but seems to do as advertised. They are a switching power supply, just so you know. Makes quite a lot of sounds when powered depending on how high load is on them etc., but I found some of the sounds to be quite useful to be alerted when something is not quite right with the circuit you are working on ;-)
lab power supplys can be very helpful, especially when you need a constant current source, but in all honesty i don't think you need one in a basic setup.
most of the time you will be limiting current within the project and all you want is a constant voltage and you will be using mostly standardised voltages such as 5 or 12 volts, you can achieve this with power supplys you have around the house or an old computer power supply (vastly cheaper than a lab one for way more power). and when you want to have a none standardised or varying voltage then you can build a voltage divider or a linear regulator if its relatively low power which should be one of the first projects someone learns in electronics.
there are people who would use one regularly, including myself, but its a power supply at more than 5x the price of slightly less flexible ones most of us have a hundred of in a drawer somewhere.
I have one of the standard 30v/3A analog adjust supplies, and used it for about 3 years, but I found that a lot of the time I need to set up low current limits like 20ma, and that's almost impossible, it's too fiddly. So recently I bought a Korad KA-3005D. It's super nice, though out of the price range of this video. However, given the choice when starting up, I would rather get this power supply and skip the oscilloscope. I did electronics at home for 40 years without an oscilloscope. I have a DS2072 now, but honestly I rarely use it. I have had it for 2 years and I don't think I've used it more than 10 minutes the whole time.
Seb Andersen-Wood the reason I would benefit from these is for finding the point of voltage that will make something work. I don't want to plug in a 12 volt source all at once in case it explodes ya know.
For magnification, try an iPad mounted on a document copy stand and a magnifying app. Position the iPad so the camera is bottom right, not top left. Resolution is reasonable and it gives you good screen with touchscreen control. (With a cheapo USB microscope you still need to set up a way to conveniently view the image while soldering - just use the iPad app and cut out the USB gadget). It is also useful to have an iPad mounted like this for viewing datasheets etc. see e.g. ‘UTEBIT’ copy stand - usually $14.99 or so. Also need a tripod mount for the iPad to fit on this. Then no need for ‘helping hands’ - rig you own component holders using croc clips and bulldog clips.
Yeah, iPads are so cheap!
I think this is a perfect introduction, especially if you're not sure what you want to get into specifically or if you even really want to get into electronics.
Putting more money out for better quality equipment is great, but if you don't know if you're really into electronics or what you're going to need for your specific needs I find it's better to go cheap to get off the ground then as things crap out to upgrade to something better. There's no sense in paying hundreds of dollars for a tool you're only going to use once or twice a year for your needs or find you're not into electronics and never use it again.
A local store I work at sells decent Analog millimeters, the catch is the display is a needle gauge. About half the price of one that has a digital display that has the same functions. That would be a good alternative if anyone is looking into something with a few more features but doesn't mind the needle.
Analog meters are nice but they can't replace digital ones because of their low input impedance. Not really suited for probing transistor circuit with 20kOhm/V ;)
Travis Piper No auto-ranging, low input impedance ... The only thing they've got going for them is that they might have a faster response time than cheapo digital meters, but tha's not much.
You'd be surprised how much "ONLY" a few hundred bucks means for some of us. My most expensive investment was a $35 multimeter about 6 or 7 years ago that I still use to this day. Now I'm building my own variable power supply, because there's no way I can ever afford a commercial one. Some of them are in the range of 2-3 average salaries.
Great video. This is exactly what I was looking for.
I wish this was around before I got my lab...although i have far better equipment, I don't have a logic analyzer or a function generator and other crucial things. I focused on parts instead of gear more and also on getting higher quality items. So all totaled I will probably end up spending well over $3000, or 10X this video's suggestion for my lab.
I would love to see 2024 edition and I’m pretty sure that the price of the components are going to triple
I just found your videos. You really do a nice job with everything, and thank you for your time!
7:26 I've heard no complaints about the size of my breadboard.
A smartphone is a good option for a waveform generator as well.
At a pinch for audio stuff, yes.
A fan of a broken PC power supply in the usually L shaped part of the housing makes a good fume extractor. Especially if there is also some left over junk 12V DC wall adapter available.
It would be great to do a video covering basic tools (pliers, tweezers, screwdrivers, etc), electric/electronic tools (multimeter, logic analyzer, osci, etc) and general parts on two or three budget tiers.
I think this is better than your expensive one. There’s a lot here a kid can ask parents and grandma to buy for birthdays and Xmas.
I have to disagree regarding DSO..i am using the DSO203 with custom wildcat's firmware and it is extremely useful and capable. Still not good as a bench one but for a portable one you can't go wrong..
I would recommend not buying the cheapest solder wire you can find, I use Stannol HS10 1.0 mm wire (leaded) for almost everything and even a small roll lasts quite long. Also get one of those AVR based transistor testers. they're great to check components when repairing stuff.
You MUST get a solder sucker and some helping hands (tho the cheaper ones are frustrating).
You can also buy second hand one that still works great or refurbished ones
Brilliant video!
Dave, where were you when I started out 10 years ago?!!! Really could have done with something like this. Pat on back.
I am on a tight budget and I've had to go with the cheap-and-nasty stuff and I'm finding it funny how Dave is listing many of the items I have here in this video :D I had actually thought about making a quick video myself, listing my own budget-setup, so Dave kind of pulled the rug from under my feet here!
I went with a Yihua 898D+ soldering-iron, though -- it's digital, it's small, and it has a hot air gun in the same package, which is handy, and I'm so far very pleased with the whole thing. There's a sensor inside the holder for the gun, so it turns heat up inside it only when you lift it up from the holder instead of just blindly blasting hot air 24/7, which should hopefully help make it last longer. As my DMM I've got a HoldPeak HP890DN autoranging one (I don't quite like manual ones), which is also quite nice for the price and seems quite precise. I've got a bunch more items in my setup that weren't mentioned here and that would probably be useful to a beginner/someone on a budget, but I can't quite list it all here in the comments, and I can't post pictures anyways.
Would you still recommend the Yihua 898D+? Whats the soldering iron like?
3:10 That power supply, QW-MS305D, isn't a linear one but a switching one and also bugous as you may see in a UA-cam video entitled "FAIL: Bench Power Supply (PSU) QW-MS305D "...
A dual channel linear power supply is very important because many circuits need negative voltage, like audio ones, without negative rail, only possible with dual channel power supplies, you will be unable to test many important circuits out there! Wire wrapping wire is so thin (30 AWG) that I really don't see its usefulness when compared with the 22 AWG one, and I think that a solder sucker is a better option than a wick! All the rest I agree with, I would just consider a cheap logic analyzer like the 5€ one (24M 8CH)!
BTW, if you're really short on money consider skipping the solder part and stick only with breadboards, then you may start to consider prototyping and do the respective soldering... You will cut some cost this way and still learn a lot!
you use the 30AWG wire to fix PCB whoops, run button leads to a faceplate, and other small-space work, it's not for day-to-day hookups.
How about using your phone as a frequency generator? It's free, but goes only up to 24hz sqr (due to sampling rate of 48khz)
Very quick. I had to pause a lot to take note.
Yep, didn't want to linger, can pause if needed.
I think for a starter it's more useful to only buy what you need. No microscope, fume extractor, solder cleanup stuff. A function generator is also not needed. Just get a soldering iron, tin, some cutting pliers, find some schematic online that you want to build, order those parts, and get cranking (To keep it in the Aussie athmosphere) :-). An osciliscope might be nice to see what the circuit and individual parts actually do.
Awesome video! I think I'll be picking up a few of these things. Amazing how cheap some of these things are now. Amazing what you can get an oscilloscope for now!
Honestly in the Osciloscope part of things I'd go with buying an old government or university surplus scope for eg Hitatchi $90 deilivered to your door, will allow you to do more with it than these USB hanteks.
Got me some 1$ desoldering wick from china. Does pretty much nothing -.-
Yeah me too, you need flux, although I got some sort of gel flux which didn't seem to help a lot, but I heard that Goot stuff works alright... But I haven't tried any as of yet however.
buy quality wick,its just not worth fighting with the cheap stuff.
If this video was for quality, not a single item would stay on the list lol
It's basically copper, it should work, just add flux.
The ripoff gootwick on eBay is crap but genuine Japanese ones are extremely good. You can sometimes tell the difference by looking for a visible seam straight down the center, the fake ones have it.
Might want to try craigslist for an old stereo microscope too. A good scope is essential for a lot work on boards.
Bit better options, similar cost>> VC99 multimeter ,Hakko CHP 3-SA, also Hakko CHP-170 cutters and Hakko CHP CSP-30-1 Wire Stripper...
I really enjoy listening to this dude.
I Hope the lab PS is decent. Finally got myself to just go ahead and buy one. I had pretty must everything else needed covered.
That was funny to watch, you basically listed my setup point by point ;)
Except the oscilloscope, haven't found a used one I like yet.