What are some good beginner type electrical projects - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: ENIAC
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2014, 03:04:15 pm
content: Please list any and all I want to fully immerse myself in the world of electronics. Got to start somewhereThank you

author: xibalban
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2014, 05:29:01 pm
content: Quote from: ENIAC on December 09, 2014, 03:04:15 pmWelcome to the forum, and the wonderful world of electronics. How about building your own variable voltage power supply, which will turn out to be a very useful friend of yours, eventually.

author: KM4FER
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2014, 05:33:18 pm
content: Tough one to answer given your broad question with no background.What do you already know?Do you understand what an electric circuit is? Have you made a complete electrical circuit with a battery, light bulb, switch and wire?Can you calculate current flow in a circuit consisting of a resistor and a battery using Ohm's law?How much schooling have you had?What equipment do you have, if any? A Multimeter, an oscilloscope, a computer?Tell us more and we will be more willing to offer suggestions.

author: monksod
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2014, 09:31:11 pm
content: Quote from: xibalban on December 09, 2014, 05:29:01 pmWhy is a variable power supply often suggested as a "beginner" project when it requires working with mains? Aren't you better off making a DC circuit, like a fuzz pedal or something

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 12:01:55 am
content: How about picking up an electronics kit from a supplier like Adafruit / Element14 or many other local suppliers? They usually list a bunch of fun projects to do and learn from. Many people are buying Arduino and getting into small micro-controller stuff as well. But you can certainly do simple circuits with some basic microprocessors like 555 Timers, Shift Registers, and so on... to drive LED's. Here are some kits:Component kit:eBay auction: #390853325414Component kit:eBay auction: #22132288618Component kit:eBay auction: #221279473763I think that would be an easy way to get in without blowing yourself up, and cheaply. There are lots of internet resources for simple projects using 555 timers, buzzers, blinking LED lights, etc... Also can learn about circuits and component behaviours.

author: AG6QR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 12:02:09 am
content: Quote from: monksod on December 09, 2014, 09:31:11 pmWell, there's only a little bit of AC in it, only up to the primary of the transformer. And even that can be optional.One route to making a homebrew supply is to take something like a discarded laptop power brick and use that to convert mains AC down to the neighborhood of 19VDC. You can then build the circuitry which regulates that down to what you'll eventually be using, and add features like adjustable current limiting, meters, or whatever else you want.I guess the reason a power supply is so often suggested is because it's not particularly difficult to do a reasonable job at it, and it's one of those things which every workbench needs. Plus, a power supply (not necessarily variable) is a part of so many other electronics devices, so it's good to have some basic understanding of how one works.

author: denelec
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 12:33:52 am
content: If you're more a "digital" kind of person, why not try microcontrollers like Arduino or Picaxe.http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Starter-Official-170-page-Projects/dp/B009UKZV0A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418171376&sr=8-1&keywords=arduino+kit&pebp=1418171380524http://www.amazon.com/Picaxe-Elementary-Starter-Earbud-Headphones/dp/B00K9WDRFO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418171487&sr=8-3&keywords=picaxe+kit&pebp=1418171544412

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 12:48:36 am
content: Keep your first PSU build simple, a basic LM317.Then have a play with 555's. Many circuits online.Understand Logic basic principles.http://tams-www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/applets/hades/webdemos/00-intro/00-welcome/chapter.htmlUnderstand clean PSU's and ripple.Presuming you wish to use your acquired knowledge to fix stuff, gain knowledge of Linear and SMPS PSU's.Others will have more to suggest.

author: bance
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 01:11:37 am
content: QuoteIf one wants to learn to swim doesn't one have to get into the water?And aren't the best swimmers, the one's who learn as a child. Proposing caution is one thing, imposing fear is another....Awareness is key.

author: Yansi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 01:25:20 am
content: Quote from: denelec on December 10, 2014, 12:33:52 amReally bad suggestion fora beginner, just a big no.

author: xibalban
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 04:54:55 am
content: Quote from: monksod on December 09, 2014, 09:31:11 pmLike other goodfellas have explained, I find the power supply an ideal beginner's project. It would let you delve into the rudimentary stuffs about voltage measurements, rectification, regulation, filter-circuit, power supply frequency, transients, mutual inductance, and more.Eventually, one would end up acquiring (or at the very least, researching about) all these basic electronics knowledge. The added bonus would be, of course that one would have built a variable power supply unit on the bench, which is an essential device to any electronics hobbyist.Quote from: bance on December 10, 2014, 01:11:37 amNote that!!

author: ampdoctor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 05:56:14 am
content: From the tone of the OP's original post, it sounds like he knows almost nothing, which is a good thing. Means he doesn't have to unlearn anything. Having said that, I would recommend starting with the basics. Start with a wall wart for power and make some ridiculously basic circuits; voltage dividers to understand current and voltage in series and parallel with resistors and capacitors, then turn on and off an LED. Understand bias! Now make a peak detector that turns on the LED at a certain point. Understand that. Now make it flash. Then move up the food chain with basic transistor circuits for switching, then maybe a basic single ended audio amp. From there move to the 555 timers and basic opamp circuits. Onward and upward but always always always UNDERSTAND what came before it. Electronics has a habit of catching up with gaps in knowledge with a vengeance.I'm not saying project kits are bad but personally I think they teach you more how to read a schematic and connect the dots. Most seem good in theory bad in execution. Like a few others have said, learn the absolute basic building blocks well. Now you can roll your own kits with a breadboard based on what turns you on at any given moment. Then when you try to figure out why it won't work...and it won't work...that's when the serious learning happens. IDK, I find it far more satisfying building something from an idea and getting it to work while finding out where I fucked up beyond all telling. I'd be like YES YES YES YES!!!! I RULE! YES!!! It's more addictive than crack.Just don't try to bite off more than you can chew initially. This leads to frustration and makes people want to give up prematurely. But definitely snag a mid grade multimeter, a solderless bread board, and one of those 50 dollar or less packs of misc components. From there you can just go crazy!

author: Yansi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 08:36:14 am
content: Possibly the best thing you can do, is to find someone who can teach you electronics, or can give you advice or troubleshoot things when needed. Or try to find local radioamateur-like hobby group. Usually they have access to lot of stuff (experienced people, lab equipment, components,...) and probably they will be kind to help you.//PSU is NOT good thing to build for a beginner. Better is to actualy have one working from the beginning.

author: 22swg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 09:36:30 am
content: Walk before you run ... start with a simple kit ... a small PSU kit would be good , you need a multimeter and a breadboard plus a few basic components , , ask questions.....

author: jlmoon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 04:40:31 pm
content: How about employing the principle of simplicity? Might I suggest starting with the basic understanding and functions of various components such as Resistors, Capacitors, Diodes, Transistors and the like, experimenting with DC principles and theory then moving to AC circuits and the combinations. Learn the math and all the derivations of, once you understand these then start using op-amps in the analog world and make some digital logic using only diodes, transistors & resistors. You have to decide which area of electronics you like the most and evaluate what your goals are. I know in the beginning it might be boring to some, but if you develop an understanding of the basics it will reward you with a better foundation of the higher level areas of this field. If I was a beginner and had to start with a basic power supply I would have quite a few questions about the little black boxes with all those labels printed on them and would rather know them well before I evaluated the entire system.

author: jlmoon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 04:43:53 pm
content: Quote from: monksod on December 09, 2014, 09:31:11 pmI had to use those old crusty aluminum "D" cell battery holders when I was exploring circuits. Mains stuff were a No No in most cases.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 11:44:21 pm
content: Virtually no project is co0mpletely safe. Batteries can leak, some contain toxic substances and have a high enough short circuit current to cause burns: I remember badly burning my finger when I accidentally short circuited a NiCad cell, causing the wire to glow red hot and my flesh to smoke.If you can get an old pre-wired magnetic halogen lighting transformer you can build a PSU without having to worry about mains connections. The trouble with this, is it's easy to end up with a modern electronic transformer which isn't much use for anything other than halogen lamps or a hot wire foam cutter.