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Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

badar.tech

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Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#121

Post by saboot »

tuatoru wrote: post #115
jakewins wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have (had? getting better!) this same issue, and it really killed excitement of electronics for me for a long time. I asked @theacodes on here this same question, on a post they'd written that like.. actually got into "ok, I'm putting this capacitor here, because it's gonna do for me, another way I could do the same thing is..", and their reply is here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33484848 I do think there…

The Art of Electronics is useful as a reference , certainly. Using it to learn circuit design (just at the schematic level, still) would take serious effort (hundreds of hours) and would be far more effective if done with a skilled instructor. There used to be simpler, smaller books that showed a simplified design process for circuit building blocks. Rod Elliott's website, sound-au.com, has an extensive section on "t…

That is an amazing resource, thank you for sharing!

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#122

Post by contingencies »

danaos wrote: post #48

> Rigol DS1054Z Digital Oscilloscope Interesting as I'm considering buying a scope. Does this still give the most bang for your buck in 2023? Many online commenters mention the Siglent SDS1104X-E as a more modern alternative.

The key differences: the screen is a bit better on the Siglent, Rigol makes you go through a stupid unlock routine to get your features, but (and this is the killer) Rigol has LXI (scriptable ethernet control) whereas the Siglent only appears to have a web-based remote control mechanism - substantially inferior IMHO.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#123

Post by Animats »

penguin_booze wrote: post #87

I used be an ameteur electronics enthusiast. When I was young, I used to assemble trivial circuits (dancing lights etc.): I could go to an electronics shop. They used to sell hobby kits for simple, accessible, devices. The kit had circuit layout, component list, labels, what goes where and all. I then assembled them per the layout ("this leg of the transistor goes to the left leg of the capacitor"). It worked - I use…

> Does anyone have any suggestions as to how one can build an intuitive understanding and a mental model?

LTSpice is useful for analog electronics. You can simulate and see all the waveforms at all the nodes. You can see what small capacitors are doing.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#124

Post by penguin_booze »

georgeoliver wrote: post #105
penguin_booze wrote: post #87

I used be an ameteur electronics enthusiast. When I was young, I used to assemble trivial circuits (dancing lights etc.): I could go to an electronics shop. They used to sell hobby kits for simple, accessible, devices. The kit had circuit layout, component list, labels, what goes where and all. I then assembled them per the layout ("this leg of the transistor goes to the left leg of the capacitor"). It worked - I use…

Give the book Practical Electronics for Inventors a try.

Will do. I had picked up that from a link from one of the earlier comments.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#126

Post by penguin_booze »

StingyJelly wrote: post #112
penguin_booze wrote: post #87

I used be an ameteur electronics enthusiast. When I was young, I used to assemble trivial circuits (dancing lights etc.): I could go to an electronics shop. They used to sell hobby kits for simple, accessible, devices. The kit had circuit layout, component list, labels, what goes where and all. I then assembled them per the layout ("this leg of the transistor goes to the left leg of the capacitor"). It worked - I use…

It's a bit like scripting in python vs C on limiting hardware. Even some people with fresh EE degree struggle with this. Modern design often heavily focuses on simulation and reusing the company's IP blocks. Companies try to push for this approach despite the inefficiencies exactly because they can then hire those fresh "unripe" engineers. Old-school engineers almost always come up with better ad-hoc circuit designs…

I'm in two minds whether I should probably give electronics another go, and with that, investing in devices like a power supply and oscilloscope.

Also, I had watched some videos from Behzad Razavi.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#127

Post by penguin_booze »

tuatoru wrote: post #115
jakewins wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have (had? getting better!) this same issue, and it really killed excitement of electronics for me for a long time. I asked @theacodes on here this same question, on a post they'd written that like.. actually got into "ok, I'm putting this capacitor here, because it's gonna do for me, another way I could do the same thing is..", and their reply is here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33484848 I do think there…

The Art of Electronics is useful as a reference , certainly. Using it to learn circuit design (just at the schematic level, still) would take serious effort (hundreds of hours) and would be far more effective if done with a skilled instructor. There used to be simpler, smaller books that showed a simplified design process for circuit building blocks. Rod Elliott's website, sound-au.com, has an extensive section on "t…

Looks like an excellent resource - thanks!

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#128

Post by contingencies »

I would caution against taking the power supply recommendation for two reasons.

(1) Don't buy equipment without LXI as IMHO once you get going you really need coherent and scriptable ethernet control of everything. Yes, you can work manually or use some oddball vendor tool over USB. Yes, it's slow, error prone, and frustrating. The difference between getting things done and getting burned out is largely down to choice of tools. Spend the money.

(2) Multi-channel is important. Pretty much anything needs more than one voltage. It really sux having multiple PSUs because it doubles bench space, cable overheads, is a pain to synchronize. I would recommend a three channel supply with LXI at a minimum.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#129

Post by tomatocracy »

proee wrote: post #110
tomatocracy wrote: post #67

This is a very comprehensive list (and the organisation is pretty inspiring) but missing a few things I have personally found very valuable in what I do (which involves a mixture of smallish new projects and retrocomputing repairs/upgrades/etc) - main one I'd mention is low melting point solder to use for desoldering larger components (both plated through hole and SMD) - it took me ages before I tried it and it's mad…

Can you expand on how you use low temperature solder?

The idea is that you add it into the solder already in place. That in turn lowers the melting point of the mixture.

With a low melting point it takes a lot longer to re-solidify after you heat it up which means (if you do it right) you have a lot more time to work - so you can get the solder mixture for all the connections on the entire component liquid at the same time and just pull the component out in one go without damaging the board or the component.

You do then need to clean it up as its a bit messy but solder wick works fine for that.

Re: Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

#130

Post by JohnFen »

jakewins wrote: post #98
penguin_booze wrote: post #87

I used be an ameteur electronics enthusiast. When I was young, I used to assemble trivial circuits (dancing lights etc.): I could go to an electronics shop. They used to sell hobby kits for simple, accessible, devices. The kit had circuit layout, component list, labels, what goes where and all. I then assembled them per the layout ("this leg of the transistor goes to the left leg of the capacitor"). It worked - I use…

I have (had? getting better!) this same issue, and it really killed excitement of electronics for me for a long time. I asked @theacodes on here this same question, on a post they'd written that like.. actually got into "ok, I'm putting this capacitor here, because it's gonna do for me, another way I could do the same thing is..", and their reply is here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33484848 I do think there…

> I've had several people recommend "The Art of Electronics" as a reference for circuits building as well, but haven't read it yet

It's an excellent book and highly regarded for a reason. I have a pro-tip about it, though... don't feel as if you need the most recent edition. The older ones are still great and relevant, and buying it used will save you a few bucks.

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