Chips/devices to buy to experiment with? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: corrado33
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2014, 01:18:46 am
content: Hi all,I'm not entirely a beginner, I've played around with microcontrollers in the past, programmed them successfully and even built a couple of devices (with the help of some other, very knowledgeable electronics engineers). But, therein lies my problem, I've always depended on them for help on the circuit design side. You could say my "software" is strong but my "hardware" is almost nonexistent.So, my question is, what chips/devices should I buy to have a bit to play around with? I'm asking for... what are the basics? Can I find a list? I think what I'm looking for are called jellybean parts? Although I've only ever heard the term used but have never been able to find a description. I am attempting to get better at hardware, I'm reading "The Art of Electronics" in my spare time. Probably not the best beginner book, but I'm a quick learner, and I'm not a total beginner.I'm assuming I'd need something like...555 timer part #NPN and PNP transistors part #sop amps part #sdiodes part #sv-regulatorsI'm obviously forgetting a ton.I already have caps and resistors from joe knows electronics, so I don't need to buy those! Obviously part numbers would be extremely useful, if I try to search for something I don't know about on digikey or similar I'd get lost in the sea of results.Since my "strong" side is with software, I'd most likely be using these with 5V devices, and not a lot of current obviously.The reason I'm asking is because today I bricked one of my long standing testing devices (Good ol' AtMega), of which I don't have a replacement for. It made me so sad, that chip has gone through so much with me.(The main reason I want to replace it rather than using another chip is because all of my testing programs work with it)So anyway, if you guys could help me put together a little list I can order from digikey or mouser that'd be great!On another note... are all of the companies on "findchips.com" reputable? I was searching on there and saw some great deals, but from companies I had never heard of.

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2014, 01:28:39 am
content: For jelly bean stuff, taydaelectronics has great prices and deals in genuine stuff.There are a few threads around here, if you look, listing simple parts ie 2n2222 transistor and the lm324 op-amp, etc.Here's one example:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=30378.0

author: corrado33
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2014, 01:39:03 am
content: Quote from: PedroDaGr8 on April 28, 2014, 01:28:39 amThanks for the advice. I found this thread which is pretty useful.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/common-generic-cheap-easy-to-find-parts/

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2014, 01:42:38 am
content: Quote from: corrado33 on April 28, 2014, 01:39:03 amThat's one I was trying to find but I'm on my phone. Glad you found it. That is a really good one, if not a bit heavy for just getting started. You don't need all of that at first but it gives you a good idea of what to look out for.Also, as an aside Tayda often has coupon codes they list on their Facebook page. They ship from Thailand but most of my orders have arrived within 7 days.