Show HN: Learn how to build electronics with monthly kits • Hacker News Board

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

#91

Post by BinaryWaves » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 1:04 PM UTC

ozim wrote: post #85

ChristianGeek wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to agree...this is WAY overpriced. I could see spending $50-75 for the first kit maybe, which would include the more expensive parts that you'll be reusing later, then $20-25 a month after that, but $720 -$1080 for a year??? That's just insane. Any profit they're gaining from the high prices is costing them in lost volume.

I think what you pay for is not components, they have learning platform and tutorials and probably customer support.

Which means they lose the instant people realize they can DIY for a fraction of what they charge

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

#92

Post by Klathmon » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 1:18 PM UTC

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #46

My issue with learning electronics is that there's a steep gap between "plug this into that" and "plug this into that because x ". I want to learn how to reason about the latter. Most resources I've seen like this don't give you that, they just have a bunch of prefab projects and lead you through them with the former strategy. Fortunately I've been able to learn some of the latter on my own but it would be great to s…

Mine as well.

I've been doing it as a VERY light hobby now for a few years (maybe building a little thing every few months or so, using an ESP8266 here and there). I still don't quite get where the hell they are getting the amount of resistance needed, or why this capacitor is needed here, etc...

I still haven't found any good resources that are between "plug x into y" and "read the whitepages for every component you will use and figure it out yourself". Most "advanced" tutorials/guides will just throw equations at you and say something like "you need to use this equation to figure out your resistance" but never why it's that equation, or why i should use that over the other one, or what situations that will apply to, or where they got the magic number they plugged into it.

I want to gain the "intuition" (probably not the right word) to know when I need to use this equation, where I'll need resistance at all, when it might be a good idea to have a capacitor. I know what each does on a basic level, i just need that next level of understanding.

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

#93

Post by manyxcxi » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 1:20 PM UTC

vvanders wrote: post #54

blackguardx wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend The Art of Electronics, by Horowitz and Hill. I'm an electrical engineer and in my experience most EE courses are very math heavy. This is because the theory behind electronics is very math heavy. Many people don't enjoy doing math problems in their spare time, though. The thing is that after you get past the theory and into the practice, the math mostly drops away as you learn abstractions and little tri…

I'll second the recommendation, it does a great job of not only covering things but explaining why you'd use certain components and the engineering trade-offs required(the section on transistors is fantastic). It's old but still very relevant today. If I remember correctly they even go from transistor up to building an entire 8-bit micro in addition to the excellent analog reference. As someone who isn't an EE I foun…

I started in EE in college and ended up switching to CpE (Computer Engineering, which basically was 60/40 CS/EE) because I found I liked the programming slightly more than the EE side of things.

I still find the book a tad dense at times but it's absolutely a must have for anyone that cares more about the why than the how. As said above, this is a fantastic reference book, you will likely never read this cover to cover unless you're following it as instruction material for a class.

Anymore these days, with all the breakouts and instructables a person could very likely get by with know whether something needs 5v or 3.3v (if that).

I feel like these monthly subscriptions are good for a while for someone who wants to get into the hobby and has ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA where to start. You get the inspiration, materials, and help specifically for the task at hand without all the other noise.

I have a feeling that after a few months if the person is still keenly interested they wouldn't need the subscription anymore and I'd be surprised if most subscribers stayed on past 6-9 months because of this (or the opposite).

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

#94

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 1:35 PM UTC

blackguardx wrote: post #56

BoorishBears wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Arduino kits have never been a good value proposition from a parts list perspective, you tend to hope it's the ease of access and guided learning that make it worthwhile. Starter kits with pennies worth of a few passive components and a few "interesting" sensors on breakouts sell for 50$+. Taken at their parts list you could get a thousand assorted pieces of most of the passive components for a few bucks on eBay, and…

FWIW, Atmel AVR (the Arduino microcontroller) I/Os are typically beefy enough to drive the 20 mA that LEDs usually like to get nice and bright. It was one of their early differentiators. Depending on the LED, I would have no problem driving it directly with just a current limiting resisitor.

[deleted]

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

#95

Post by beshrkayali » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 2:08 PM UTC

I like the idea of an electronics kit with instructions.

But (and I'm sorry if this sounds negative but I'm just FED UP) I'm so SICK of freaking subscription services. Can't you guys just rely on interested customers coming back if they want to? The way I see it, there's absolutely no relation between the message you have on the site to teach people electronics and make a few bucks while you're at it, and the need for customers to have accounts, registration, subscription and all of that crap. Just let me buy the kit I'm interested in and be done with it! With so many subscription services around, I'm following a policy of immediately disregarding anything following the same model, specially if there's really no need for it. Make a one-time purchase option, with no registration or crappy spammy emails and I'd be interested (yes i know you won't share my details with 3rd party but you'll hammer me with emails on every freaking occasion I know.)

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

#96

Post by yathern » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 2:09 PM UTC

Klathmon wrote: post #92

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #46

My issue with learning electronics is that there's a steep gap between "plug this into that" and "plug this into that because x ". I want to learn how to reason about the latter. Most resources I've seen like this don't give you that, they just have a bunch of prefab projects and lead you through them with the former strategy. Fortunately I've been able to learn some of the latter on my own but it would be great to s…

Mine as well. I've been doing it as a VERY light hobby now for a few years (maybe building a little thing every few months or so, using an ESP8266 here and there). I still don't quite get where the hell they are getting the amount of resistance needed, or why this capacitor is needed here, etc... I still haven't found any good resources that are between "plug x into y" and "read the whitepages for every component you…

I very strongly second this - I have the same problem. Once or twice a year I'll fiddle around and build something small - but I have serious trouble getting an intuitive grasp on how everything interacts at a high level. It's often a lot of trial and error for me, and while enjoyable, the lack of good learning material has seriously hampered the amount of projects I've attempted.

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

#97

Post by kbouw » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 2:12 PM UTC

BinaryWaves wrote: post #91

ozim wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what you pay for is not components, they have learning platform and tutorials and probably customer support.

Which means they lose the instant people realize they can DIY for a fraction of what they charge

But people like to pay for convenience, and this is convenient. You pay a monthly fee to receive a predetermined project, all the parts necessary to build it, an entire walk through equipped with videos/photo, and customer support.

Sure the price is inflated (for someone with the know-how) but for people interested in learning electronics, the all-in-one-delivered-monthly is a great sell until you grow out of it.

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

#98

Post by pc86 » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 2:43 PM UTC

beshrkayali wrote: post #95

I like the idea of an electronics kit with instructions. But (and I'm sorry if this sounds negative but I'm just FED UP) I'm so SICK of freaking subscription services. Can't you guys just rely on interested customers coming back if they want to? The way I see it, there's absolutely no relation between the message you have on the site to teach people electronics and make a few bucks while you're at it, and the need fo…

Ability to buy multiple kits on demand = requirement for inventory = higher overhead = higher prices. Theoretically. You can tweak the inventory need but that still increases overhead (less) while simultaneously cutting into your margins.

Any time you see "$400 value for $10/mo!" it's marketing garbage, but you really can get for $20/mo what would probably cost you $25 or a little more if you bought it on-demand.

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

#99

Post by ProZsolt » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 2:54 PM UTC

beshrkayali wrote: post #95

I like the idea of an electronics kit with instructions. But (and I'm sorry if this sounds negative but I'm just FED UP) I'm so SICK of freaking subscription services. Can't you guys just rely on interested customers coming back if they want to? The way I see it, there's absolutely no relation between the message you have on the site to teach people electronics and make a few bucks while you're at it, and the need fo…

Adafruit has some great kits, if you intrested. https://www.adafruit.com/category/203

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

#100

Post by brentis » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 3:15 PM UTC

beshrkayali wrote: post #95

I like the idea of an electronics kit with instructions. But (and I'm sorry if this sounds negative but I'm just FED UP) I'm so SICK of freaking subscription services. Can't you guys just rely on interested customers coming back if they want to? The way I see it, there's absolutely no relation between the message you have on the site to teach people electronics and make a few bucks while you're at it, and the need fo…

Was thinking the same thing. Businesses are saying let's milk the elearning space with subscriptions. No visibility into the projects or anything. Tap on a subscription and you are immediately presented with a $100 add on for a soldering iron some clips, and $20 worth of goods.

Nope.