Wanted: Any cheap equipment or parts for a student - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: raventheawesome
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 10:10:53 am
content: Hiyo ^.^I'm a second semester electrical engineering student. I have been playing around with kits and broken electronics sine i was pretty young but my tool kit has always been laughably basic (screwdrivers, pliers, Walmart multi meter & soldering iron, and what ever salvage parts I had). This semester has been amazing because it has been alot of lab time. Where I have gotten to get my hands on some really cool tools for the first time. We are encouraged to utilize the lab during study periods for our own projects but this amounts to just a few hours a week (not nearly enough for an electron-junkie XD) So I want to build a semi-decent lab in my apartment. I am your standard broke student who lives off of whoopers from work so I don't have alot of money I can spare. So I am casting a wide net to see if anyone has any old equipment or components they wanted to get rid of for relativity cheap.P.S. Anyone who helps this broke girl feed her out of control electron addiction gets the official Raven the awesome seal of awesomeness. This sought after seal certifies that your awesomeness level has been tested and is over 9000!

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 11:08:27 am
content: Welcome to the forum. What type of electronics are you interested in?Can you list in detail or show us (even better) what equipment or work space you have currently? What gear have you been using at University (know any brands/models)?Are you interested in anything specific or just anything? Vintage equipment or new equipment? How much can you contribute towards the cost, e.g. I assume you don't have a decent multimeter or oscilloscope how much can you contribute towards something reliable that should carry you through your studies?

author: Rbastler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 11:22:47 am
content: Welcome to the forum !I suggest you get some cheap new stuff, rather then some old cheap(free) stuff. You might have more fun with it and you won't get discouraged because that old gear might be harder to use(depends on how old it is) and break more easily. But also don't get the absolute cheapest new stuff, because that could also result in you getting discouraged. Edit: The old gear might also be more expensive in the end, than new.Aneng seems to make some decent DMMs for beginners. Nothing to work on mains though. But for that you can use the gear at the uni. As for a soldering iron a would recommend the TS100. It's a bit pricey, but definitely worth it. Otherwise get the YIHUA station from Hobbyking.I wound't already decided into what field of electronics I would go. Get some general use gear and let time decide what you wanna do. Specialize later on. That's what I did.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 02:32:42 pm
content: Don't put down the "laughably basic" start. You are not alone. Your description perfectly fits my beginnings ... as it will for a lot of people here.In some ways, getting into electronics with such limited resources is an excellent way to learn a lot. You have to think more carefully and have a clearer understanding to track down faults.But getting a few more bits on the workbench can make things easier.....Getting the things youneedis the trick - and often, you won't know what you need until you need it! As a bonus, what you might end up with foryourlab, is likely to have a number of differences to that of other people's labs.It will depend a lot on the area(s) of electronics that you are interested in.- so tell us this and people might be better able to help you out.Having said that, it is always good to see what others have put together as a general guide ... and Dave has done just this for you and others like you.Have a watch of this and take notes. You might see some things and say "Yes!" and other things may not be so obvious ... yet.Some important things:1. Don't try and get everything all at once. You could end up spending a lot of money for stuff you may not need for a while. (With limited budget, that tends to take care of itself.)2. Don't buy expensive things because they look cool or you think you will need them. Wait until youknowyou need them, because when you know that, you will knowwhyyou need them and what features you need in them.3. It is almost certain that a fair bit of the gear you get when starting out willnotbe the gear at the front of your workbench in a few years time - so purchase accordingly.Have a look here for ideas....

author: raventheawesome
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 04:51:18 pm
content: Thank you guys so much for all the welcomes and advice. ^^ At the college we mostly are messing with more industrial type systems but sometimes I get to play with what i would call more consumer systems. Like yesterday I got to take a crack at troubleshooting a fault in a hot water bath from the 3D printer lab.I really have a interest in about everything. I want to know how anything that gets put in my hands works. At home what usually gets put in my hands is consumer electronics from the biglots or gamestops dumpsters in town. I really enjoy repair work the most right now. Because most of my projects are coming from dumpsters i guess i have kinda gotten addicted to the feeling of fixing something everybody else thought was worthless. It kinda makes me feel clever honestly XD. I also love circuit building when i get frustrated with something ill relax by turning on bigclive, eevbolg, or electroboom and break out my little breadboard and makeing simple circuits.My current tools are two Walmart multi-meters. A 8-in-1 screwdriver. A couple dollar tree percesion screw driver sets (because I break them like crazy XD) a Walmart soldering iron with a few tips. a couple of pliers. A computer power supply I use as a bench top supply. A small bread board. and a "oscilloscope" I made (just a mini CRT I converted its useless for measurement but its let me see some different wave forms and kinda explore a little bit) and then I just have random salvage that ive gotten over time that i use as my stock pile of partsI really don't have much to spend most of my big bucks from burger king goes to rent and food I have 50ish dollars i can spare right now and i hope to save a bit from each check to build my lab with slowly I saw the 1500 lab video before I never knew he had put out a much lower starter cost video. I had no ideal I could get a soldering station for so cheap. :3Again thank you guys for being so welcoming <3 A few of my classmates are very unwelcoming of me being in the program so I was a little worried joining the forum I would find more of that

author: KrudyZ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 12:31:19 am
content: It would help to know where you are located.I would think that many on this forum would have stuff to give away or let go for very cheap, but might not want to go through the trouble of shipping it.

author: raventheawesome
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 02:15:12 am
content: Sorry I didn't even think about that ^^' Im in the southwest VA-East TN border area

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 02:26:40 am
content: Quote from: raventheawesome on February 17, 2018, 04:51:18 pmYou're going to fit right in here!QuoteWhen I started my EE degree in the 70's, there were a couple of females in the class. They were noticed - but nobody thought any less of them (that I noticed). It was more of a curiosity - wondering how they might go. A few weeks in and there was no gender bias that I noticed - but there were a few people who seemed a little less "engineering minded". That was a distinctly male subset. The attitude of your "unwelcoming" classmates was uncivilised 40 years ago - so that doesn't say much about it now. If anything, I'd guess they were worried that a female might "show them up" ... unless it's an even greater insecurity and they simply have to "protect" their little kingdom. Some of them might wake up one day - but some, sadly, will be like that for the rest of their lives.We do have a number of female members here - but the majority are male (from my observation). Our greatest sin is frequently referring to a member as a male due to this being the higher probability - but on occasion, that is wrong ... and we usually get told! However, if you identify yourself as female and visit here enough so that we can get that through our collective skulls, we should get it right ... eventually.Here, the only differences that are really noticed are of skills and interests. Gender may play a part in bench pressing 100Kg - but it matters naught in bench pressing FFT.Welcome to the forum.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 03:54:58 am
content: I'd aim for a Rigol DS1054Z oscilloscope and forgo even getting something secondhand, it's sort of like a waste of money in your position gambling on secondhand gear. They are on special at $350 shipped at the moment fromtequipment.netand with the Eevblog 6% discount code that should drop another $20 off.See if you can hook a few family members into contributing long term loans of $50 here and there and forgo or call in early birthday and xmas presents. You're almost a 1/6 of the way there already.The scope comes with extra features to unlock more bandwidth and signal decoding. This is more than enough if you are keen on learning to carry you through your studies. If your not using the gear to learn though they become paper weights.For a multimeter upgrade to something in the $20-50 range will land you something ok for low voltage (non mains level) electronics. Then a Chinese LCR/ESR tester perhaps with a signal generator for around $20.That will set you up test equipment wise for around $400.Focus on the soldering station as lower priority, but the Hakko FX888D is a good entry level model. Soldering is all about technique and preparation you don't need to spend big money to get a decent result but buying anything else again is a bit of a waste as these stations are so affordable in the US.

author: tpowell1830
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 04:44:24 am
content: Hi Raven, welcome to the forum. This link is to Marco Reps YT video regarding the following link to the actual buy page for this vary affordable oscilloscope, which I own as well and highly recommend for a beginner. Later, when you are a fancy EE engineer making Megabuck, you can buy one of the high end scopes.The scope:https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIABMK58K0827&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC-_-pla-_-EC+-+Test+%26+Measurement-_-9SIABMK58K0827&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwp_UBRD7ARIsAMie3XYyNtLbIWm1rvzKeiHOxc0Xb48HXVLxijnVkNIpUKAEDTNuYD2CjbMaAglhEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.dsYou will be received well here, as most of us are professionals and work with other professionals of all genders.Hope this helps, unfortunately, I have only the equipment needed to support my hobby and can't give any up. You have a good start on tools, the soldering iron that you have should suffice until you can get a newer/better one, and Walmart meters are fine as long as you don't start fooling with high voltage such as mains level voltages. You will learn as you go exactly what tools that you are needing the most and get them one at a time. Hand tools are a personal choice and you will understand what you need as you go along.Edit: Adding some other YT links that may be helpful:https://www.youtube.com/user/reppesis/videoshttps://www.youtube.com/user/ContourCorsets/videos?disable_polymer=1https://www.youtube.com/user/w2aew/videoshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzml9bXoEM0itbcE96CB03w/videos?disable_polymer=1https://www.youtube.com/user/jeriellsworth/videoshttps://www.youtube.com/user/greatscottlab/videos

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 04:49:21 am
content: Quote from: Shock on February 18, 2018, 03:54:58 amI'd argue it's the other way around. You can't afford to mess around with buying new gear when there's excellent second hand stuff to be had. You have to be smart about what you buy, buy you can get like new or near new stuff at a very nice discount. Buying new means throwing away at least 20-30% the moment you pay, while second hand gear has already lost the overhead of buying new, though you can get much nicer deals if you pay attention.And borrowing money? That's a terrible habit to get into if you're already on a knife's edge.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 12:35:51 pm
content: Sure if you can get something as good or better than the Rigol delivered and with warranty for under $320 then go for it.Borrowing is fine as long as you avoid interest, pay it off and it's towards something that will benefit you financially long term.Nothing wrong with secondhand but you're likely to spend a few bucks on postage unless you want to do legwork and then there is the lack of warranty. The only way you're really going to "save" money (which is a misnomer) is buying something cheaper than it commonly sells for, which is true for the Rigol in this case. Otherwise you're buying something just older and not necessarily as good value.

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 05:52:24 pm
content: Can you post a pic of your "scope"? I'm curious how you managed that; it shows a level of resourcefulness that is not very common.Free or cheap generally means older, which means it will have significant mass which can make shipping an issue. DSOs have been a paradigm shift, but that doesn't mean you can't get useful info from an older analog scope, certainly at the initial levels.Fixing old test equipment can be an inexpensive way to outfit a lab and a great learning experience. Nothing teaches better than working through an instrument to understand WHY it is not working like it should and identifying the root cause.Do you need to be able to do this to be an EE? no, just like you can be an ME and never touch a wrench, but it will make you a better one.Building equipment is another avenue, particularly if you build your own design. Packaging can be a problem, unless you have access to a maker space or machine shop. Power supplies are always a good candidate particularly if you're good at scrounging. Here though, it's probably less expensive to buy a dead HP triple output power supply off of ebay and fix it.Still, you can build lots of useful gizmos based on small processor boards and they can be very cheap.If you're associated with a college or univerisity, sometimes you can get samples from the major manufacturers.Anyway, I gotta move my lab in a couple months and I have to weed out some stuff, drop me a PM and we'll see if there's anything you can use.

author: raventheawesome
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 04:28:12 am
content: Sorry for the late reply I'm finshing some homework up before its due tonight and then i will be back with some pics of my franken-scope and workbench. XD

author: raventheawesome
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 09:46:59 am
content: Here is my fraken-scope and bench. The scope is just a old camping tv I found in my dads garage one time. All I did was was change the connections of the coils and add a connection for my multi-meter leads. So what happens is when theirs voltage across the leads its running through the coils changing where the ray gun is sending the beam. So as the signal is changing so is the beam.yea I know $50 isn't a lot at all ^^' but its what I have right now so I have to try to make it work. I'm saving everything extra I get in so over time I think I should be able to build something up ^^ I don't make much more then I need to live. So new several $100 scopes that make my mouth water sadly aren't really possible for me right now. My Dad lives off of SSI and the watchmaking he does so hes not really in a position to loan me anything. He would if I asked him. Hes really proud of me for what i'm doing but I couldn't do that to him. I was thinking about shipping the other day so I was playing with USPS website. According to there calculator I can ship a 15''x15''x15'' 20lb package for $27 priority 3-day it wouldn't tell me how much the lowest regular shipping would be. So I was planing on going to the PO across the street tomorrow to ask.PS: Ignore the shoe on my desk XD. I got them from the goodwill the other day and I decided I would snaz-a-ify them with some LEDs

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 09:53:48 am
content: Go talk to all the lab techs in every tech dept. in your college - it may well be they have interesting stuff that's due to be discarded.

author: hamster_nz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 10:07:08 am
content: If you hunt around on Aliexpress.com you can find some quite useful through-hole parts kits - 600 resistors for $2.40, 200 transistors (ten different types) for $2.38, 16 Voltage regulators for $2.63, 25 dual op-amps for $1.99, capacitor assortments, LED assortments, diode assortments and so on. Perfect for breadboarding with.You two will know the excitement of receiving brown envelopes from China, containing parts that you don't remember ever ordering.If you can, get the kits that come in their own storage boxes - a shoebox full of unlabelled bags is just depressing when you know you have the very part you need in there somewhere!

author: raventheawesome
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 10:24:32 am
content: I do know the joy of packages from china XD I order small pcb $1 kits alot to practice soldering with. I never tried aliexpress. I also have never ordered components. I know there cheap from china I just dont know how to store them in a sensible way that wont make me go mad XD my current system works because I have pretty good memory. "Crap I need a 100k resistor...oh wait didnt that DVD player I took apart have a few" *goes digging through my bin of scrap boards*

author: raventheawesome
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 10:33:00 am
content: QuoteThey say they can't just get rid of it where it was bought with government money. I asked about a relay trainer that one professor was replacing. He said he would absolutely give it away if he could but they have to go through such a long process just to be allowed to throw it away. They instead send it to the state who sends it to smaller colleges.

author: plazma
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 10:38:12 am
content: Bang for buck gear: DPS5005 module for a power supply, TS100 soldering iron, Saleae logic analyzer clone (bought a 16 channel Sigrok compatible model and it works greath, Owon VDS1022(I) USB oscilloscope ......

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 10:41:36 am
content: Quote from: Shock on February 18, 2018, 12:35:51 pmI'm not sure why you consider saving money to be a misnomer. It's obvious raventheawesome needs appropriate tools for her hobby, education and eventual job, so it's not a matter of frivolous spending. If you're going to buy an oscilloscope, anything you don't spend is money saved and money you can spend on something else. If your budget is small, you need to make every cent count.Buying new is a luxury. Having a warranty is nice, but often comes at a substantial cost. For the $320 you suggest spending on an oscilloscope, I've bought a number of more than decent current or last generation instruments in new or near new condition, including a two channel 50 MHz DSO. Even if one breaks after a few months of use, you still come out on top. I couldn't have come close to the lab I have now if I would have bought everything new. This has lead to a disappointment or two where things don't quite pan out, but has ultimately allowed me to stretch the same money much farther.Of course, raventheawesome has a few advantages. She is lucky enough to live in a place where quality second hand test gear is plentiful and relatively cheap. This allows for a number of strategies, which include hunting down cheap modern tools, finding even cheaper boat anchors or repairing broken tools. Having access to a properly equipped lab is a huge boon too, as buying or blagging broken gear to fix becomes viable. Having something break on you isn't as much of an issue either, especially considering the collective EEVBlog forum knowledge is on tap.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 10:58:21 am
content: raventheawesome, I would suggest investing in tools that will serve you for some time to come. You don't have to buy top notch stuff right away, but it's no use spending money on something that's not up to the job. For this reason I would avoid something like one of those DSO kits. They're great fun to play with, but not that great if you're trying to use it as a proper tool. That's one mistake I made myself. With just $50 to play with, I would say buying one usable item might be a better choice than buying more that aren't very useful. It shouldn't be impossible to find a good two channel analogue oscilloscope for that money, for example.What tool are you currently in need of the most?

author: Fortran
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 11:11:18 am
content: I wouldn't mind doing some spring cleaning in the lab.Shipping may be an issue though.

author: ModemHead
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 06:53:45 pm
content: I have some unused items, including one that says "Rigol" on the front, and shipping from NC is not a problem. PM sent.

author: raventheawesome
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 11:27:02 pm
content: I'm really moved by all the help you guys have given. I never expected such a out pour of support from the community. I came in brand new to the forum and everyone welcomed me with such open arms and help. All of you guys get a official seal of awesomeness because your all awesomely awesome. Because of amazing generosity I am able to set up a real work bench that will allow me to dive so much deeper into electronics I already have so many projects planned that ill post for all of you guys to seeIt would be incredibly awkward for this introvert to deny someone who offered me help ^^' so to avoid that im just making this post letting everyone know I'm all set. Again thank you guys so much!

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 20, 2018, 07:50:42 am
content: The reason you are getting such a positive reception is because of your approach.You have been courteous, your requests have been very modest and you have shown a level of skill, ingenuity and drive which most, if not all, members here will want to encourage. Some will be in a position to provide some quite tangible encouragement. Some will have years of invaluable experience which they will freely share. Others can offer encouragement, provide feedback and share their experiences.You haven't come in with a demanding tone (and, believe me, there are some that have been quite outrageously so). You haven't approached with an air of 'entitlement' - something which annoys those of us who have had to earn their stripes. You haven't come across as having high expectations.If these attributes are typical of the person you are, you will be welcome here for a very long time.(Every now and then, just keep us in the loop with the things you are doing ... ok?)

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2018, 08:09:16 am
content: Quote from: raventheawesome on February 19, 2018, 11:27:02 pmThe world really isn't such a bad place. Don't let a few bad people in your program fool youThere will always be those that don't approve of what you do, what you have or what you are, but it's best to leave those people to themselves.I'm looking forward to see what neat projects you come up with.

author: Old Printer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2018, 05:17:53 pm
content: Since no one has mentioned it yet I will put out the Analog Discovery. It was designed with EE students in mind. They offer an educational discount, though not as substantial as it used to be, is still ok. The unit is a USB scope with a 20 Mhz bw, AWG with 10 Mhz bw, dual adjustable power supply, all of the voltages are limited to +/- 5V. It also has a logic analyzer, spectrum analyzer and network analyzer. Probably the best part is the advanced level of the software, usually the downfall of lower priced USB equipment. YouTube has many instructional videos on the AD, one of the best champions of it is a retired EE who goes by Tomtektest.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUEo3LPGD1gWfGJQoE0i1GgI am not current on the student prices as I paid full price ($279) for mine, but when you consider the variety of tool it contains, limited by the 10-20 Mhz bw & 5 V, I think it is a standout that you should be aware of. Best of luck with your studies.

author: salvagedcircuitry
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2018, 06:07:06 am
content: Some colleges have dedicated "ewaste bins." These are 4x4x4ft 1in thick cardboard bins dedicated for electronics recycling which sit on top of wooden pallets that are removed every few weeks by recycling companies. You want to search around your college and see if there are ewaste locations. Your best chance of finding these are near loading docks on the backsides or sides of buildings. Study the exteriors of the buildings at your university and find where they offload stuff from trucks. This is where you want to look. I have found dozens of broken monitors, broken computers, broken printers, floor polishing machines, weird large electronic devices and even test equipment from time to time.Some colleges are real sticklers about what they do with ewaste. Others have no policy. Sometimes when you ask management / staff about ewaste recycling you will get a a generic "ewaste is handled by a 3rd party company."My alma mater had no policy on dumpster diving. When asked, most folks didn't know. I had to find the ewaste locations myself.Sometimes they are near "battery recycling" locations. So if you want, try asking people where you can recycle old alkaline batteries properly, this may give you a lead.I attached some images of what these areas may look like and some stuff I found.I have also seen ewaste bins at other universities such as Cornell and WPI. I am sure other universities have them as well.Good luck. Keep searching. Oh, and don't forget to bring some nitrile gloves, a backpack, and a multitool