More Electronics Forum Categories? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 08:43:47 am
content: Following on from recent discussion on the off-topic thread.Given that this is an electronics forum, and we only have 5 electronics areas:BeginnersProjects, Designs, and Technical StuffProduct Reviews, Photos, and DiscussionMicrocontrollers & FPGA'sOpen Source HardwareShould we have more?It has been suggested that there be a specific test equipment section for example.Dave.

author: Chet T16
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 08:56:27 am
content: Sometimes I've had a question to ask but I wouldn't class it as beginners but then it doesn't seem right to post it in the projects section either so I think something in between is needed.

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 09:01:48 am
content: I was wondering this just the other day. Would the creation of particular catagories stimulate discussions in those areas?If so would renaming beginners or perhaps a new catagory along the lines of Fundamental Electrical Principles or how about an Analogue forum?

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 09:20:15 am
content: Comparing with other sites CPF for instance has very many different forum categories and the moderators are strict about moving threads to the right forum if they are apparently started in the wrong place. Personally I don't think it helps much and I'd rather just see one forum with category tags in the subject to allow filtering--but I don't know of any forum software that works that way. So on balance, it doesn't seem worth making more categories.

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 09:36:24 am
content: yes a test instrument section would be nicealso a "repair fix yourself"a distinction between analog and digital stuff may be ?

author: jaqie
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 10:00:35 am
content: I suggest these:test equipmentrepair specific (any type of electronics)as a transverse to the beginners section, I also suggest these:analog circuits/projects design, troubleshooting, discussiondigital circuits/projects design, troubleshooting, discussionhybrid circuits/projects design, troubleshooting, discussionand maybe also:power supply circuits/projects design, troubleshooting, discussionMaybe these would be useful, maybe not... I dunno but to me it sounds like a good idea to have them right now.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 10:02:49 am
content: Definitely need test equipment section ( don't think there is any need to subdivide it in to types), as things other than reviews don't have any obvious home.

author: Rick
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 10:08:05 am
content: A repair section would be helpful for those who want to locate quickly the past threads created by other people.

author: CarlG
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 10:13:58 am
content: I think a test equipment section is a good idea.I don't think separate Analog and Digital sections is a good idea, since the boundary is floating and many devices contain both analog and digtal parts.

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 10:38:13 am
content: Separating Analogue1and Digital, possibly, but a lot of digital projects have a significant analogue component.+1 for test equipment (though it might have been me that suggested it anyway)+1 for a repair projects forumBut then where do test equipment repair projects go? Delete last two letters to taste.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 10:54:44 am
content: +1 for test equipmentMay I also suggest a "NEWS" section?A place to post and discuss the latest news (and gossip) like the latest corporate cannibalism or the latest development from the lab, or the latest fad of the maker community for example.In short, something of a more temporary (but still on topic) nature.

author: Kevin.D
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 11:20:52 am
content: I agree with chet 16 ,,theres only two places to post electronics questions ,in "beginners" or in " projects,design and technical stuff ".I think the "projects,design and technical stuff" should be split into two , "projects and designs", and " Technical Questions " .I like reading through peoples project's and what they are working on or have built ,but the few projects that get posted do get buried in with the multitude of questions under one heading presently .Why another separate section for test equipment. ? I don't think that's needed when it already basically has one in "product reviews" ,if you look in there it's 95% already about reviews of test equipment . I mean if you split it up into "test equipment" and "other reviews" then the latter will not have much in it.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 11:44:35 am
content: I've created a Test Equipment section, but have not moved everything yet. Let me know how you like it.BTW, SMF is smart enough to auto-redirect URL's, so any old URL for threads will be redirected to the new test equipment board.Dave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 11:56:57 am
content: Quote from: kevotronic on February 10, 2013, 11:20:52 amI've been bulk moving threads over, and I'd guess it's about 60-70% test equipment, so seems worthwhile.Those who don't care about test gear can ignore the topic, and still get other interesting products and tools etc.Dave.

author: M. András
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 12:08:43 pm
content: maybe some form of chat again? for things you want to ask but not worth to open a thread for it

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 01:06:26 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on February 10, 2013, 11:44:35 am

author: IonizedGears
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 04:16:22 pm
content: I really would like a section for "Electronics Design Help" or "Misc. Electronics Help" <---Misc electronics help seems like a really good idea that really would only pertain to simple questions to get simple answers rather than having a full on rant about something.

author: Martin.M
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 04:23:35 pm
content: ... and a place for vintage Electronics & restoration projects.My postings are mostly glowing, full of tubesgreetingsMartin

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 04:29:56 pm
content: I agree with the idea of splitting "Designs and Projects" from "Technical Questions". "Designs and Projects" could be for discussing designs on the larger scale and "Technical Questions" for discussing specific bits of information relating to transistor biasing, component failures, capacitor types, grounding techniques, etc... as examples.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 04:54:30 pm
content: I would like to amend my suggestion. I think it would also be useful to have another section in the electronics area named "Equipment Repair and Restoration". I also think that instead of just a "General" section that another might be added "Physics, Chemistry and Mechanical Relating to Electronics" that specifically omits any woowoo stuff.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 05:35:15 pm
content: Repair sectionTheory sectionReview section ( review can include a teardown )How-to section ( here a topic start cannot be a question. It is a short article where someone explains how to do something. Then questions can be posted in thetopic asking to elaborate on soemthing , or provide additional information.

author: smashedProton
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 06:45:27 pm
content: +1 for the how to section+1 for test equipment+1 for forum chatNews would be alright tooThis will pull most of the off topic stuff out of general chat.Also, chat is better for off topic stuff. It's more personal and It's temporary

author: IonizedGears
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 06:57:12 pm
content: Wait didn't there used to be a chatbox at the top of the forum? Where did that go?

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 08:42:15 pm
content: Caused a lot of server load and traffic, if I remember correctly. Much more than the rest of the forum.

author: IonizedGears
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 12:53:11 am
content: Why not get an outside source to host the chatbox, maybe chatango?

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 02:14:53 am
content: Quote from: alm on February 10, 2013, 08:42:15 pmYes, a lot of server load. But it also got hacked via a serious exploit, which is why it was dumped.Have not looked for another one since.Dave.

author: smashedProton
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 02:26:43 am
content: If we find a good one for you, would you add it in?

author: GK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 02:29:58 am
content: An analog computing section.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 06:07:58 pm
content: A battery and power supply section or sub section. A lot of question involve these.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 06:47:42 pm
content: however it works out something to split up the technical/projects sections as i often have a begginer question but it's quite technical and not a really really basic one, the seprate analogue and digital sections sound good.Specific categories for pic, atmel etc, and specific sections for pcb software, if we play it right we can become the number one place for certain software like kicad that has no open forum at all.

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 07:05:20 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on February 11, 2013, 06:47:42 pmI always kind of figured this was what the "Microcontrollers and FPGAs" section was for.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 07:25:05 pm
content: I just look at unread posts and read the ones with interesting titles. I never notice or care what category a post is in. So adding more categories would for me be entirely pointless...

author: Jon Chandler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 08:10:00 pm
content: Adding too many categories can make it difficult to go back and find things...."I remember a great post about x (that I suddenly now need) about repairing an battery-powered data logger. The analog section was extensive and it used a PIC and FPGA for data processing... "It could fit in many of the suggested categories, making it tough to locate again.I have this problem in bookstores when somebody has tried to break things down too finely.