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How I learned electronics [video]

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Re: How I learned electronics [video]

#11

Post by k_sze »

How do you learn electronics when you don’t have access to a lab?

I live in HK, where real estate is at a premium. I’m a family of 4 people, living in a 700 sq-ft home with no garage. (And I’m reckoned to be on the fortunate side of things.)

There is no way I can set up a home lab here.

I know there are circuit simulators, but simulators are not the real thing. I think that simulators (the free ones that I know of anyway) typically don’t simulate random defects and physical variances that you would have to debug and deal with on the real thing.

There are also tangential, and nonetheless practical things that you cannot learn from a simulator: e.g. how to arrange your lab so you can work efficiently and with as few accidents as possible; how to make a good solder.

Re: How I learned electronics [video]

#12

Post by hemreldop »

k_sze wrote: post #11

How do you learn electronics when you don’t have access to a lab? I live in HK, where real estate is at a premium. I’m a family of 4 people, living in a 700 sq-ft home with no garage. (And I’m reckoned to be on the fortunate side of things.) There is no way I can set up a home lab here. I know there are circuit simulators, but simulators are not the real thing. I think that simulators (the free ones that I know of an…

No post body was provided.

Re: How I learned electronics [video]

#13

Post by EEBio »

k_sze wrote: post #11

How do you learn electronics when you don’t have access to a lab? I live in HK, where real estate is at a premium. I’m a family of 4 people, living in a 700 sq-ft home with no garage. (And I’m reckoned to be on the fortunate side of things.) There is no way I can set up a home lab here. I know there are circuit simulators, but simulators are not the real thing. I think that simulators (the free ones that I know of an…

I would look for some local hackerspaces. They usually come with a space for electronics, and at least where I live (tho space is not so premium here), you get a key to access the space whenever, if you are a member.

Alternatively, you might have some luck contacting a local university, they might be open to let you use their lab (again, probably for a fee).

Re: How I learned electronics [video]

#15

Post by clktmr »

k_sze wrote: post #11

How do you learn electronics when you don’t have access to a lab? I live in HK, where real estate is at a premium. I’m a family of 4 people, living in a 700 sq-ft home with no garage. (And I’m reckoned to be on the fortunate side of things.) There is no way I can set up a home lab here. I know there are circuit simulators, but simulators are not the real thing. I think that simulators (the free ones that I know of an…

You can start with a breadboard, oscilloscope and a set of standard parts (LEDs, resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes). Combine this with a microcontroller you can flash via USB dongle or an RaspberryPi. Should all fit on a desk.

The lab is really only necessary for soldering and creating custom PCBs.

Re: How I learned electronics [video]

#16

Post by rjsw »

k_sze wrote: post #11

How do you learn electronics when you don’t have access to a lab? I live in HK, where real estate is at a premium. I’m a family of 4 people, living in a 700 sq-ft home with no garage. (And I’m reckoned to be on the fortunate side of things.) There is no way I can set up a home lab here. I know there are circuit simulators, but simulators are not the real thing. I think that simulators (the free ones that I know of an…

I did a fair bit with a solderless breadboard when I was a teenager, components just push into the connectors on the board. Obviously this won't let you use surface mount components but you can get started. If I was that age now then an FPGA dev board would be good too.

Another comment suggested working at a hackerspace, you might need your own "toys" to take there.

Re: How I learned electronics [video]

#17

Post by leohonexus »

k_sze wrote: post #11

How do you learn electronics when you don’t have access to a lab? I live in HK, where real estate is at a premium. I’m a family of 4 people, living in a 700 sq-ft home with no garage. (And I’m reckoned to be on the fortunate side of things.) There is no way I can set up a home lab here. I know there are circuit simulators, but simulators are not the real thing. I think that simulators (the free ones that I know of an…

I guess start with breadboards? You can get them cheap at SSP WECL - my friend also living in HK made a DIY exhaust duct taped to his window in his room, to generate negative pressure for carrying away the fumes.

As for equipment you can get started with a multimeter.

Re: How I learned electronics [video]

#18

Post by rjsw »

shannongreen wrote: post #8
Pilottwave wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understood this to be a game dev procrastinating joke, you'll be waiting for the Godot engine to be mature forever, instead just start making the game. It turns out that Waiting for Godot is a play by Samuel Beckett in which two characters engage in a variety of discussions and encounters while awaiting the titular Godot, who never arrives..

It's not your fault you didn't know this, but it does say something about the breadth of education we receive

It is a classic play, the kind that local theatres regularly stage, I went to see it as a teenager but not through school.

Re: How I learned electronics [video]

#19

Post by II2II »

k_sze wrote: post #11

How do you learn electronics when you don’t have access to a lab? I live in HK, where real estate is at a premium. I’m a family of 4 people, living in a 700 sq-ft home with no garage. (And I’m reckoned to be on the fortunate side of things.) There is no way I can set up a home lab here. I know there are circuit simulators, but simulators are not the real thing. I think that simulators (the free ones that I know of an…

Learning electronics does not have to take up much space. You can learn a fair amount with a home lab that fits into a desk drawer and you only need about a square meter of desk space while working.

Lots of people like setting up sprawling labs, but there are a few things to keep in mind:

Parts drawers are an incredibly inefficient way to store components. I picked up a few kits of basic components (resistors, capacitors, LEDs) that come in small compartmentalized containers, then stuck those containers and a few loose parts (breadboards, perfboards, small spools of wire) into a cookie tin.

You only need a small collection of hand tools like wire cutters, wire strippers, a soldering iron, and a multimeter. I even have a small digital oscilloscope/signal generator that hooks up to a computer and is about the size of a multimeter.

Modern microcontroller development boards are a huge space saver. They are compact, easy to repurpose for each project, and remove the need for other equipment in most cases (e.g. they provide rudimentary ADCs/DACs and can power for low power projects).

While there will be limits, the biggest hurdle will be self-restraint.

Re: How I learned electronics [video]

#20

Post by dom96 »

clktmr wrote: post #15
k_sze wrote: post #11

How do you learn electronics when you don’t have access to a lab? I live in HK, where real estate is at a premium. I’m a family of 4 people, living in a 700 sq-ft home with no garage. (And I’m reckoned to be on the fortunate side of things.) There is no way I can set up a home lab here. I know there are circuit simulators, but simulators are not the real thing. I think that simulators (the free ones that I know of an…

You can start with a breadboard, oscilloscope and a set of standard parts (LEDs, resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes). Combine this with a microcontroller you can flash via USB dongle or an RaspberryPi. Should all fit on a desk. The lab is really only necessary for soldering and creating custom PCBs.

You don't even need a lab for this. You can solder fine on a computer desk and create custom PCBs using software, then send it off to a company to etch it for you.
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