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Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits

thimble.io

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Re: Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits

#31

Post by gravypod »

coupdejarnac wrote: post #29
gravypod wrote: post #8

50 bucks is pretty steep for a student like me. If something in the $20 range (that included no arduinos, just really shitty and cheap stuff off the "Shenzhen market" as Dave would say). No brand name stuff and I'd be fine with crappier instructions. The cutoff for college student involvement is pretty much $20 and that's where the bread and butter market for something like this is. EE/CE/CS student's who want to be…

Presumably you have access to EE labs and don't need a kit at all? You're probably paying a lot more than $50 for access to EE labs.

Sadly no. You need to take an EE course AND buy an EE kit. Also don't get me started on the machine shop.

Re: Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits

#32

Post by vortico »

All I have is a breadboard, some wire, a variety of passive components and ICs from HK ($20 total for tens of thousands of parts), a USB oscilloscope (eBay $60-$200), and maybe an AVR or STM32 development board. I'm overwhelmed by the number of analog and digital projects I can do, and I've been messing around with my kit for a couple years. I mostly do hobby filter design and audio synthesis.

Re: Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits

#33

Post by StavrosK »

antjanus wrote: post #24
htoooh wrote: post #23

An alternative which I subscribe to is Hackerboxes[0]. It's a bit cheaper at $44/month and each month's box comes with all of the required hardware. You can check out the instructions for past boxes here[1]. I've followed both thimble.io and Hackerboxes prior to launch and thimble.io definitely has more thorough instructions and a nice learning platform[2] which may be less intimidating for beginners. I ended up goin…

Is there a subscription box that sends you just the parts for a project that uses an Arduino? Basically, I want to save cost by not having to get the (usually) most expensive part of the kit. I don't mind dismantling each month's project to reuse the core components.

From what I can see, Hackerboxes use an ESP8266 01 or an Arduino Nano, both of which cost around $2. You will definitely not be paying lots for the MCU, and it's good to have lots of them (I have around 20 of various types at any time) because they're dirt cheap and you can use them anywhere.

Re: Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits

#35

Post by travanx »

raphaelb wrote: post #17

Cool! I was just talking about something very similar - some kind of parent + kid project kit box, for busy parents who want to work with their kids on something but don't have the knack / time to figure it all out for themselves.

I was looking for similar as well. Have an 8 month old and plopped him down to watch the intro video and he looked pretty interested. Looks like a bunch of different learning all at once, why not try to teach algebra at an early age, or whatever the thimble website is getting at with how early a kid can start learning to code? I am running a small business and don't have the time I use to have, mucking around for parts trying to nickel and dime everything. Civil Engr over here who wants his kid to engage in this kind of stuff instead of handing a tablet over for him to watch youtube cartoons.

Re: Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits

#36

Post by Animats »

That's so retro. Take a look at the ads in this 1957 issue of Popular Electronics.[1] "You can train at home for good pay jobs Radio-Television - Get Practical Experience with Kits N.R.I. sends." (p.99) "You build AC-DC Superhet Receiver". "You build Vacuum Tube Voltmeter". A competing school offers a course that gets all the way up to building a TV kit. (p.7) And there's the DeVry Technical Institute, trying to sign up veterans back then and still at it today.

Distance learning goes back a long way.

[1] http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/50s/5...

Re: Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits

#37

Post by quineoa »

vortico wrote: post #32

All I have is a breadboard, some wire, a variety of passive components and ICs from HK ($20 total for tens of thousands of parts), a USB oscilloscope (eBay $60-$200), and maybe an AVR or STM32 development board. I'm overwhelmed by the number of analog and digital projects I can do, and I've been messing around with my kit for a couple years. I mostly do hobby filter design and audio synthesis.

Do you have a link to the "passsive components"? What sort of thigns were you able to get in that pack?

Re: Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits

#38

Post by hulahoof »

brightball wrote: post #34

I've been thinking about trying to build a radio from scratch lately. Any chance a kit like that's in there?

I recall WWII PoW stories of 'foxhole' radios[1] made from rusting razors and paper clips, I always thought replicating that would be quite fun.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxhole_radio

Re: Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits

#39

Post by Animats »

htoooh wrote: post #23

An alternative which I subscribe to is Hackerboxes[0]. It's a bit cheaper at $44/month and each month's box comes with all of the required hardware. You can check out the instructions for past boxes here[1]. I've followed both thimble.io and Hackerboxes prior to launch and thimble.io definitely has more thorough instructions and a nice learning platform[2] which may be less intimidating for beginners. I ended up goin…

The Hackerboxes site's main picture is of some surface mount blank boards, and I thought "Those guys are hardcore - they expect you to solder surface mount." But no. None of their kits require SMT assembly. The pictures are just clip art.

Re: Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits

#40

Post by monk_e_boy »

impostervt wrote: post #12

The price is a bit steep. I could probably justify it if I saw more project examples with a parts list. I can get an arduino uno knockoff from Amazon for about $5, so I'd want to know what is included to justify the price. Of course a major part of the price is coming up with kit, sourcing all the parts, etc.

FAQ question 1 SHOLD ANSWER THIS, if you are asking someone to pay, at least tell them how much.
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