The gear I have recently bought... any big mistakes here? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: MichaelW
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 03:22:28 am
content: So recently I decided that I should start getting some passable (hopefully) gear to get myself started with electronics. I am currently an electrical engineering student, a junior, and I wanted to start playing with fun stuff! So, here is what I bought:Rigol DS1102E oscilloscopeBased upon Dave's videos. It was probably way more than I need and definitely more than I needed to spend but I wanted it, and I'll probably need it soon, so what the heck, we only live once, right?Mastech MS8268 Digital AC/DC Auto/Manual Range Digital Multimeter MeterI suspect this is definitely going to draw some serious criticism, but I'm on a budget and it was highly rated on Amazon. hahaAoyue 9378 60 Watt Programmable Digital Soldering StationOk, it's not a Weller, but up to this point all I've ever owned is cheap RadioShack pencils that go straight to the wall. I've used this a bit so far and it's been great in my limited capacity to tell such things.AGPtek Dual Two Channel Digital Thermometer 2 K-Type Thermocouple SensorSeemed like a useful thing to have. Hope it was a decent buy.Elenco 9438 Breadboard With JW-140 Jumper Wire SetGotta have a breadboard!Mastech HY3005D 0-30V 0-5A Single-Output DC Power SupplySingle output... maybe I should have paid a little more and gotten a dual? Overkill for me at this point probably.Beyond this, various other things like a couple of xurion precision tools (needle nose pliers and side cutters), a bunch of component kits and such from China (real cheap since I expect to burn up a fair amount of them experimenting), some perfboard, then when I learned better, some stripboard, etc.I'd genuinely like some input on whether I've made any missteps so far and if so where I can fix it. I can't really afford 100+ for a multimeter right now, the Rigol really blew the heck out of my budget but then, I don't think I will regret the purchase.I found a schematic for a function generator, and since I already had most of the parts (just had to order some 555 timer chips and a certain BJT) I figured it would be a great second project. The first was some arduino clones called "Shrimps" which I finally got working after several tries. A pic is attached, but I don't want to show you the bottom. I am still developing my soldering skills. :-)Edit:forgot the power supply, how did I do that?

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 03:50:53 am
content: I don't want to discourage you from asking questions, so please accept my commentary as friendly advice and not criticism.If you ask for an opinion after you have already purchased something, expect deafening silence. No one wants to tell someone that they were an idiot for doing something and nobody asking for advice after the fact actually wants to hear anything other than "you did the right thing".Why did you buy something without asking first if you weren't sure enough not to ask after?To answer your request for opinions.DS1102E is a good cheap scope that will do basically what a beginner needs. It would have been better to buy the DS1052E and hack it and spend the difference on a better multimeter.MS8268 is a so so multimeter with so so so specs, but even on Amazon has around a 10% thumbs down on failures. Why anyone would buy a meter with such a bad reputation I don't know. ( I am biased against Mastech, I think they are junk and not worth any price )Still on Mastech, the HY3005D is not a great buy and if Mastech builds their power supplies to the same quality as their multimeters....No comment on the rest as I have zero experience with them.IMHO, sell the MS8268 and get something like the UT136B which I do have and can say is a nice little meter for the price. You might have a good MS8268 or not, I don't know.My final advice, if you want advice, ask before you buy not after!Caveat: My free advice is worth every cent you pay for it!

author: fluxcapacitor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 04:04:47 am
content: i`m sure your soldering skills will improve so don`t be shy.Did you know that most of the guys o this forum were soldering when they were still in their nappies !

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 04:09:01 am
content: Quote from: fluxcapacitor on October 15, 2013, 04:04:47 amDamn... if we didn't just refinish our dining room table I'd show you the burn marks.... pretty sure Iwas

author: tsmith35
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 04:09:37 am
content: Hey! I have the same breadboard.The cool thing about Amazon is that they have an excellent returns policy. If you get something you don't like, you can return it easily within the returns window.

author: true
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 04:16:12 am
content: Yes, why give us your purchased list and tell you about it? Unlike Lightages I like to tell people they bought the wrong thing, and I'm sure most of the forum is the same way. The internet = opinions1102e is not YOLO scope status, lol. It's serious budget status, except it doesn't say Siglent on it so it'll actually work. There is a lot of competition at this price range, but it's pretty rough because most of it is crap, and if you step up by a little bit you'll get a vastly better scope. I do understand budgets however, and the scope is pretty good if you're fine living in the 5 years ago. (Lightages: Re: 1052e hacking, it looks like the whole purpose was to give Amazon all of his business, and the 1052e goes for more there.)THAT SAIDI still use my 1052e as much as I use newer scopesThe meter is crap. I agree with Lightages; the UT136 series (or two of them) would have been a better built cheaper buy.You could have had a similar iron for cheaper.That breadboard is a beast. Decent quality but pretty big.Could have had a cheap single PSU for far less. Not sure of the quality of that unit.Basically the selections were pretty poor, especially with such undefined goals. For the most part, you could have saved money with better equipment.

author: madsci
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 07:09:17 am
content: Scope: DS1052 and then hack it to a DS1102 or a used HP/Agilent, Tek TDS series or LeCroy. It's still a good choice, just not maximum value.Soldering station....should have bought a Hakko fx-888 or an entry level Weller like the WES51. The Aoyue isn't terrible but the Hakko and Weller are better performing and better supported. Tips will be harder to get.The meter is junk. I'd have bought a Uni-T or even an Extech before Mastech. Getting into the habit of sanity checking your meter before making critical measurements should be second nature but it's doubly important when your meter is known to have QC issues. A bad meter can kill you.Thermometer...I have no clue. If you had bought a good multimeter, you'd probably have received one thermocouple to use with its temp function. I'd have put that $20 into the multimeter or stepped up to an IR thermometer.There's nothing wrong with a big breadboard. I like mine.Mastech PSU....no. Mastech + mains powered gadget = fear given their meters. A used one form any of the majors would be better. They're not too difficult to make either.

author: MichaelW
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 11:50:47 am
content: Quote from: Lightages on October 15, 2013, 03:50:53 amSimple, because I bought all of this before I discovered the forum (but not before discovering Dave's videos on Youtube). I registered here on Sept. 28, but I bought all of this a few weeks prior.I honestly wasn't looking for confirmation here, I was looking for genuine input on the stuff I got. If it's crap, I want to know it's crap. Given the input so far, it looks like I mostly got crap. I start a new job tomorrow, so I will start saving some money to replace the stuff with better options.Thanks everyone for your honest input, I really appreciate it.

author: ConKbot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 12:20:06 pm
content: Quote from: MichaelW on October 15, 2013, 11:50:47 amIt all depends on your needs. If youre just doing some fiddling with an arduino, blinking some LEDs, doing a little line follower robot, etc. What youve got will suffice just fine. If you dont know why you need something 'better' or why it is 'better' then think for a bit before you buy 'better' equipment.

author: Rascal
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 12:28:45 pm
content: As you stated - you need gear to get you started in electronics. Everyone needs to start somewhere......................and you have.For dealing with low power circuits and experiments what you have is fine for now.Enjoy

author: BillyD
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 01:22:25 pm
content: Ok so your equipment may not meet with approval from the experts, but that's no big deal as it's clearly fine for your needs as they are right now.What would really be a mistake would be to run off and start throwing money at bigger better things before you know you need them.Glad to see you're taking the feedback on board, but the main driver for buying equipment should be your own requirements. Make use of what you have, enjoy it and learn from it.

author: simpson
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 08:09:54 pm
content: To me your new stuff seems more than good enough to get you started and better than what most people start with.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 08:12:43 pm
content: When you have time and the money, post what your budget is and what your interests are and you will get too much advice.The comments so far about "crap" is valid. A cheap meter that is not reliable isn't just not safe but will mislead you without you knowing it. You don't need to spend big bucks to get something useable, $25 or less for a UT136B is one way, $45 for a Digitek DT2843R, $55 for a Uni-T UT61E, $90 for an Amprobe AM-270, $135 for Brymen BM257, are all my personal and experienced suggestions. Only the last two would I trust for anything other than bench electronics but all are nice meters within their budget range.Your oscilloscope is fine, not junk, and will be useful for a long time. When you need better you will know. Until then it is fine.The other tools might be junk, I don't know, but use them until they break or you outgrow them and then get better. Well maybe I would be very suspicious of the Mastech power supply. Remember that I am biased against Mastech.

author: AndrejaKo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 08:13:46 pm
content: I think you made a mistake with the MS8268 multimeter!I think it's a flawed product that had potential to be very good, but was later on designed to fit a very specific type of customer, which makes it less valuable to someone who has different needs.At the first look it has some very interesting features such as beep when probes are incorrectly connected, illuminated sockets, so that you can easily see where to plug each probe, auto turn off, so that it doesn't drain battery when it's left on, hFE mode for transistor testing, very nice back-light for the screen, rubber holster and probably few more things that I can't think of at the moment.On the other hand, almost every one of the things I have listed has at least one major fault. First, the range switch is such that when switching between modes, the meter must reboot because off position is in the center. Next, hFE position is such that if you're going to Hz/% position, the bad probe connection will beep. On the right side of the switch, all settings except hFE use COM and V jacks, only hFE uses COM and mA jack. So if you're going from say voltage measurement to frequency measurement, meter will reboot and them beep because it has to go through the off position and hFE position.After the switch, there's another problem with probe detection: Probes are a bit strange and can't be effectively replaced with regular banana jacks. I guess that's a plus for electrician use, but for electronics use, I think it's a bad mark. There is a plug detection spring at the bottom of the receptacle which will push out regular banana jacks. It will also increase power consumption, since the red LEDs will be on if banana jacks are inserted.After that, there are problems with the probes. The probes themselves have quite thick points and have fixed shroud around the point tip. This makes it a bit harder to probe around stuff. Most other multimeter probes I've had can fit regular banana jack plus binding post well, but this ones can't. Also if you need to probe a deep connector with conductive surfaces on its inner side, such as various power receptacles, it will be difficult because the probe tip is often too short to reach the bottom and because of shroud can't easily reach sides.Then there's the auto off feature. After some time working, the multimeter will beep. It will continue beeping at regular intervals after that until it turns itself off. I have an older Mastech true RMS multimeter whose model number I can't remember at the moment and on it, that would only happen if measurement result stayed constant for a long time. This way, you could turn the meter on and do a measurement every few minutes and the meter won't shut down until you're done measuring. On this meter, the timer is not reset by making a measurement, so it will turn itself off even if you're doing measurement!Then there's the back-light. On my other Mastech, it says on until it's either turned off or the meter is turned off. On this model, it works fine for about 5 seconds and then fades out! It's only useful just to check the value, so don't expect to use the multimeter in low light conditions.The design of the bottom of the case is such that meter is relatively unstable. I would have liked it better if the bottom was flat instead of being curved.The last thing that I have about it and I can think of right now is the diode/continuity test mode. By default it's in diode mode, which can't turn an LED on, and you need to press a button to switch it into continuity mode. This one can be a bit more subjective than other bad sides, but I think that continuity mode is much more useful than the diode mode and that the default setting adds one more unneeded button press.Also I couldn't figure out how the hFE mode adapter works, so I won't comment on it.If those things I listed aren't a major problem for you, then the meter is quite useable. I'm using it almost as much as my old Mastech meter right now.I really don't know how good or bad the PSU is. The rest of the stuff looks fine to me.

author: Nerull
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 09:50:15 pm
content: I got a sparkfun branded Aoyue 938 clone because it was cheap. It worked, but after a few months the iron went crooked in the handle! I kind of wish I had gone for the real thing from the start. Now I've got a FX-888D and I'm pretty happy with it. It's not as nice as the metcals I use at work, but it gets the job done.It was, however, miles ahead of a ratshack fire starter and it doesn't come with bare copper tips that erode in a week.

author: Noize
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 10:02:12 pm
content: OP you got good equipment to do electronics with. Just make sure you learn how to use it. The equipment does not teach.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 09:31:49 am
content: Quote from: Lightages on October 15, 2013, 08:12:43 pmExperiences on this forum with Mastech power supplies (eg. from Saturation) have been fairly positive, certainly for the price.

author: headwes
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 02:57:03 am
content: Quote from: AndrejaKo on October 15, 2013, 08:13:46 pmThe Hz/% button allows you to select frequency measurement directly from the voltage or current modes without having to move the switch.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 05:28:14 am
content: Scope is fine for a starter, and there's lots of information in the forum on it, including how to hack it (additional bandwidth for example).As others have said, you could have done better within your budget. So long as you keep it to low voltage circuits, you should be fine regarding safety, but you might want to reconsider it and go with an alternative.For an additional $10, you could have gotten a Hakko FX-888D, which is a far better station. Much better built. I'd recommend returning the Aoyue and exchange it for the Hakko. Can't stress this enough. And as it happens, Amazon is running a deal that includes a pair of free cutters with it (http://www.amazon.com/Digital-FX888D-CHP170-bundle-cutter/dp/B00AWUFVY8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382677831&sr=8-1&keywords=hakko+fx-888d). Cutters included are of the same type of construction as Xuron (stamped steel), which sell for $6.95 on Amazon. So really more like an additional $3.00.Breadboard will be fine, and better quality than a lot of the no-name stuff on places like eBay.Power supply will do, but you could have done better by going with a used model IMHO (gotten a dual or triple channel from a better manufacturer for example). Additional channels can be quite handy, as you may discover (will depend on what you'll be experimenting with). You can accomplish it with multiple supplies should you find you need them, but say 3x supplies vs. single unit that has 3x channels takes up more bench space, and tends to cost more.

author: KJDS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 08:25:00 am
content: You've bought enough to make a start.Go and build your function generator and as you encounter the need for more or better test gear then ask on here. Ignore the doomsayers, I often end up using a cheap meter or power supply simply because I have it to hand and it's rare that it causes problems.

author: makerimages
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 03:47:40 pm
content: Hmm, everyone here is claiming about how bad Mastech multimeters are.. I have a old Mastech M-830B multimeter myself, had it for a while now, works great, I dont complain. The only thing is, i need to buy the ends for the measuring wires-doubting on easy hooks or croccodiles...

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 12:02:46 am
content: Quote from: makerimages on October 25, 2013, 03:47:40 pmYou may have gotten one that is the exception to the rule. That being said almost across the board they are crap and/or a bad value. Just because something doesn't break doesn't mean it isn't safe and/or a bad deal.