What's in an electronics hobbyist's toolbox?

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The discussion revolves around essential tools and components for an electronics hobbyist's toolbox. Key items mentioned include multimeters, various screwdrivers, soldering stations, and a range of hand tools like pliers and tweezers. Participants emphasize the importance of having a good collection of components, such as resistors, capacitors, and integrated circuits, along with power supplies and breadboards for prototyping. Many contributors also highlight the value of specialized tools like magnifying glasses and oscilloscopes for detailed work and troubleshooting. Overall, the conversation underscores the necessity of a well-rounded toolkit for effective electronics experimentation and repair.
  • #31
Has anyone had experience with a DSO Nano V2? It's essentially a handheld oscilloscope that supports up to 1MHz.
 
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  • #32
I just set up a minimal set up for a project at home like 3 months ago. To me, this is very important.

1) good pair of small needle nose pliers.
2) good pair of small wire cutter.
3) good multi gauge wire stripper.
4) good soldering iron like Weller station with selection of tips of different temperatures and size. Don't get anything less than $100.
5) an old scope like Tek 465 from surplus store.
6) a function generator of about $100 to $160 in surplus store.
7) a digital multi meter. I only paid about $50.
8) set of 22 gauge wires of different colors.
9) assortment of 1% metal firm resistors I ordered very cheap on ebay from Hong Kong.
10) assortment of ceramic disc cap I ordered on ebay from Hong Kong.
11) a box of double sided copper FR4 boards.
12) 50 pcs of 10uF tantalum cap.
13) small parts drawers for parts.
14) copper tape.

I am doing guitar electronics, so 9V battery is my only supply. But you might want to get a power supply in the surplus store. Get the parts drawers, if you get the assortment, it is important to have that. If you get parts from Hong Kong or China, you better measure the resistor values before putting it in. But they are cheap but I found error on one value.

Don't be cheap on the wire cutter, stripper and soldering iron.
 
  • #33
sandy.bridge said:
Has anyone had experience with a DSO Nano V2? It's essentially a handheld oscilloscope that supports up to 1MHz.

Forget handheld, you need at least a 200MHz two channel scope. You don't even need digital scope if you want to be cheap.
 
  • #34
Okay, what about a signal generator?
 
  • #35
sandy.bridge said:
Okay, what about a signal generator?

If you cannot find a used one in surplus store, you can check ebay or amazon. I just got a function generator used for $100, it is up to 3MHz sine, square, pulse, triangle etc. It even has TTL output.

Spend some effort to look for an electronics surplus store, you're going to have fun in it if you can find one. I am lucky living in the Silicon Valley, there are a few. They have all sort of cables, wires, connectors, all resistors, caps transistors...I can stay there for hours!

I just went on ebay for you, this is exactly what I have and I am happy with it. I tend to stay with Tektronics or other big brands like HP. There is a reason they are the industry standard at least for these kind of old analog scope. They almost never die. I had mine for like 20 years.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=tektronix+465+oscilloscope&_sacat=0&_odkw=oscilloscope&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

If mine konk out on me, I'll buy another one in a heart beat.

Also here's some of the function generator in the price range of $100 to $160

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=function+generator&_sacat=0&_odkw=tektronix+465+oscilloscope&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313These might look very cheap, BUT I am born cheap!:smile:

Just don't be cheap on the cutter, stripper and soldering iron. Get the Xcelite brand hand tools and at least...at least a Weller solder station. These are bread and butter. There are always newer scopes and generators coming out and the used ones get pushed into the used market.

Oh, I almost forgot, I don't know your age, but I have problem read small parts, I love to have a magnifying lamp. But as usual I born cheap, so instead I got the +3 reading glasses instead from the drug store!
 
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  • #36
yungman said:
If you get parts from Hong Kong or China, you better measure the resistor values before putting it in.

This is good advice in general, IMO. Even with high-quality suppliers, if you are taking resistors (or other components) out of supply drawers as you kit for your prototype, you should check the values of the parts (both via the markings/color codes and by testing them). I've had one time where a nearby-value resistor got dropped into the wrong bin by somebody, and that confused my bring-up of a prototype circuit. And another time that I noticed that a technician had refilled a resistor bin with the wrong value resistors (missed the "k" in the value) -- luckily I noticed that problem visually instead of trying to use those parts...
 
  • #37
berkeman said:
This is good advice in general, IMO. Even with high-quality suppliers, if you are taking resistors (or other components) out of supply drawers as you kit for your prototype, you should check the values of the parts (both via the markings/color codes and by testing them). I've had one time where a nearby-value resistor got dropped into the wrong bin by somebody, and that confused my bring-up of a prototype circuit. And another time that I noticed that a technician had refilled a resistor bin with the wrong value resistors (missed the "k" in the value) -- luckily I noticed that problem visually instead of trying to use those parts...
When Leo Fender was in business, he was not the type to keep stocked up on resistors, capacitors, etc. Run out of one value? Use components that would "work". I have rebuilt a lot of Fender amps and have found factory-installed components that were "off". This was most prevalent in the late "blackface" and early ""silverface" years IME, but there could be problems in the tweed series, as well. If you have a nice-looking old tube amp that just sounds harsh, blatty, or flat, start tearing that rascal down. Chances are, Leo and company were running out of components and started swapping in others.
 
  • #38
berkeman said:
This is good advice in general, IMO. Even with high-quality suppliers, if you are taking resistors (or other components) out of supply drawers as you kit for your prototype, you should check the values of the parts (both via the markings/color codes and by testing them). I've had one time where a nearby-value resistor got dropped into the wrong bin by somebody, and that confused my bring-up of a prototype circuit. And another time that I noticed that a technician had refilled a resistor bin with the wrong value resistors (missed the "k" in the value) -- luckily I noticed that problem visually instead of trying to use those parts...

I am even talking about resistor from HK that said 68.1K and measured 75K...every one of them! But they are so cheap that make measuring it worth while. You can go broke buying a kid from Digikey!.
 
  • #39
Ya. Can't stress it enough - measure the stuff, sometimes something gets mis marked. I got resistor kit in pieces of tape (as for feeding into machine), 50 values each with 50 resistors, and I measured one each value and wrote it on tape itself. I still can't quickly read the colour codes, especially as the paints vary and if i didn't see full paint set they used the very dull orange can either be orange or brown, etc. Heh.

Re: when you don't have correct part, you can just use several resistors in series/parallel. Ditto for power ratings. I recommend using in series as this increases max. voltage (resistors can arc over). Also, in many places the value itself is picked semi arbitrarily (and can be substantially different either way), but needs to be equal, or correctly related to another value.
 
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  • #40
However you would need a 40 tonne artic to carry all the stuff mentioned here, rather than a toolbox.

:biggrin:

We seem to be continuing this older thread.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=478363&highlight=meter&page=2

One cheap sig gen solution in post#23
Meter solutions in post#5
Attached is a useful older portable audio and telephone test set pic. It incorporates sources, load and metering.
 

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  • #41
Simpson 260 forever

i like my HP-180 o'scope

and a DOS PC with DCCAD for printed cuircuit boards and QBASIC for computing.
 
  • #42
Hey guys,
Do any of you guys know of any "assortment" packages for circuit elements? For example, an assortment package of diodes, transistors, capacitors, resistors, etc? I want to get a vast variety to play with, but everywhere I go is about singles, and I'd prefer to not have to sift through a list of 200 transistors to pick ten!
Thanks
 
  • #43
sandy.bridge said:
Hey guys,
Do any of you guys know of any "assortment" packages for circuit elements? For example, an assortment package of diodes, transistors, capacitors, resistors, etc? I want to get a vast variety to play with, but everywhere I go is about singles, and I'd prefer to not have to sift through a list of 200 transistors to pick ten!
Thanks

I don't think that's such a good idea. Chances are, that the thing you are building, needs components that not usually(Murphy's law) in that assortment kit.

Best bet is that you pick a project, and buy components for that project. But buy 2-3 more than you need, unless its expensive, that is how you build your own assortment kit.

At least I did.

And I was on 10 dollars away from buying those assortment kits. I am glad that I didn't. But still, if you still want it:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electronic-component-kit-pack-900-pieces-230-comps-values-/270900037156?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item3f12e68624

or pick your own poison:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Electrica...ctronics+kit&_catref=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m1538

Enjoy
 
  • #44
Going to be finalizing my order for tomorrow. Is a 10MHz function generator suffice? For a beginner, that is.
 
  • #45
sandy.bridge said:
Going to be finalizing my order for tomorrow. Is a 10MHz function generator suffice? For a beginner, that is.

It depends on what you are working on. I work on music electronics, I only have a 2MHz generator for $99 as I born cheap! Make sure to get one with square, triangular, pulse, DC offset etc.
 
  • #46
Oh,Very Good Topic.
Magnifying glasses,pliers(very Important Because I had Bad Situation Without Pliers),Nut,screw and screwdriver and etc.
 
  • #47
ElectroDroid. It's an app for your Android phone that puts together a LOT of very useful tools and information for the electronics geek. I downloaded it for free but ended up donating to the developer just because it is worth it.

Here are just a few of the tools it has:

Under the "Calculators" tab:
resistor color code
smd resistor code
inductor code
ohm's law
reactance resonance calculator
filters
every circuit simulator
voltage divider
resistor ratio
resistor value/series/parallel
cap charge
op amps
lm 317 calc
ne555 calc
power dissapation
battery life calc
PCB trace width calc
voltage drop calc
AND MORE!

It also has Pin Out chart for a PILE of common connections:
USB
Serial
Parallel
Ethernet
RJ
SCART
DVI HDMI
S-VIdeo
VESA
RCA
OBD-II
SD Card
...just to name a few

It also has a lot of resources like microcontroller pinouts, amp tables, schematic symbols (in case you forget what that weird one is!) logic gates, batteries and a pile more.

Look, I can't highly recommend it enough. It's really a sweet app!
 
  • #48
I find it REALLY odd that no one mentioned electrical tape.

Also, I'd add shrink-tubing
 
  • #49
  • #51
I spent my time rebuilding old tube amps. No need for tape or shrink tubing. Everything in there was bare. Solid wire soldered to tag-board.

I actually have tape and shrink tubing, but for house-wiring, not for electronics.
 
  • #52
I'm getting started in my garage and looking to work on some easy starter projects, i.e. radio, LED blinky thingys, maybe a clock of some kind.

Do you recommend I get "starter kits" or should i build my inventory project by project? Also, any of you use Arduinos? seems like there is a big community for them for step by step projects.
 
  • #53
This site may suit you H2bro

allaboutcircuits.com
 
  • #54
Studiot said:
This site may suit you H2bro

allaboutcircuits.com

Nice! good resource thanks Studiot.
 
  • #55
A Dremel modelling drill with wire brush to clean corroded battery terminals. Is it only me that ends up with all these kids toys with leaking batteries fouling up the works?
Plasticine to hold fiddly things while I work on them.
Hundreds of tiny screws of all sizes to replace all the ones that have been lost before it gets to me to fix.
Zillions of screwdrivers, including that weird 3-sided Nintendo one.
Super glue and super glue solvent. Thread lock.
Fimo modelling clay and also car resin to repair/replace broken/lost parts.
This is a fascinating question. In 40 years I have collected an awful amount of stuff. Never thought about it before.
 
  • #56
beside that list:
- arduino
- calculator (for calculate sometimes)
- electronics book
- some common electronics component (resistors 100,1k,4k7, Trans 2n222, bc547, cap 100uF, 1000uF, 22pF,)
 
  • #57
Also I have seen people use that blue putty, I think it is called "blue stick" instead of the regular old vacuum pick up tools. Dave from the EEVblog uses this a lot to pick up small components. Also a scope is a really good piece of equipment to have around for hobbyists, I posted an ad on craigslist and got 2 scopes for free.
 
  • #58
full set of quality hand tools
Needle node pliers
Quality Side cutters,
Vero and bread board
Assortment of TTL and CMOS IC's
BC107/BC108 GP Transistors.
Some "Resistor packs"
Good 12 Volt power supply with an LM78H05 +5 Volt regulator circuit OR
A variable current / voltage power supply
Function Generator
Hand Held CRO
Digital and Analogue multimeters
Lots of bits of single strand copper wire (for breadboard)
Cheap EVBU microcontroller with DAC's and ADC's, plus LCD display and some digital I/O
SOLDERING IRON and SOLDER ! (it's solder, not sodder too ) (I'm Australian)
Good quality Philips screwdriver
TORX wrenches
lots of 1K Ohm resistors (trust me on this)
LED's (assorted colours) (yes, Australian)
Heat shrink (and at least a lighter)
Jewellers screwdrivers
anti-static wrist strap and mat
quality torch and magnifying glass
Spray freeze
'J' Size spanner set (certainly a "J1")
Alan keys
Hammer (for emergencies, and 'external percussion tests')
hand drill
Solder wick
Solder sucker
string
cloth and water plus Alcohol
Que tips (cotton wool buds)
Files (needle)
Knife
Dental probes
assortment of screws, standoff's, nuts and bolts (J size).
WD40
Fuses
you could go on forever..


(for you RF types)
Grid/Gate dip oscillator
Frequency Counter (plus period)
 
  • #59
What do you guys use to keep all your stuff in? Any special sort of tool-box? I find it rather awkward keeping my components, tools, microcontroller, digital oscilloscope, etc, all in a box.
 
  • #60
sandy.bridge said:
What do you guys use to keep all your stuff in? Any special sort of tool-box? I find it rather awkward keeping my components, tools, microcontroller, digital oscilloscope, etc, all in a box.
No, 2 boxes! One for cables, the other for the everything else including a car battery recharger. And its jumbled up.