Help Me Build a Durable Electronics Lab for High Schoolers - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: micahbriney
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 07:13:34 pm
content: I’m a brand new CTE Engineering teacher, and I am looking to setup a lab that works for high school students. The space I inherited is well-stocked in some areas but has some gaps in others.Here’s what I’m working with right now:• Plenty of Snap-On multimeters (EEDM504F)• Cheap soldering irons (serviceable, but not great for classroom use)• Tetrix robotics kits• Arduino starter kits• A fleet of 3D printers• Fully equipped shop tools (band saws, drill presses, cnc plasma cutter, hand tools, etc.)So in terms of fabrication and hands-on building, we’re in good shape. Where we’re lacking is in electronics test benches. I want to be able to create a setup where students can learn how to measure, build, and troubleshoot circuits.The previous teacher focused heavily on additive manufacturing, but my background is in computer engineering and software engineering (fpga’s, microcontrollers, PLC, automation). I’d like to bring in more electronics, embedded systems, and troubleshooting skills.Budget and Classroom Realities• Budget: about $5,000 this year• Class sizes: between 15–25 students at a time• Priority: equipment that can survive high school students (durable, simple to use)I don’t need a full professional lab, but I do want something that lets students experience real-world engineering tools.What I’m Considering AddingHere are the areas I think would make the biggest impact for electronics learning:1. Upgrading to a Soldering/Rework Station2. Bench Power Supplies3. Function Generators / Signal Sources or maybe combo units (oscilloscope + function generator) to save space.4. Digital/Analog Oscilloscopes5. Entry Level kits. I don’t think they have much exposure with electrical circuits.My Questions for the CommunitySince I’m still in the planning stage, I’d love input from other educators or engineers who’ve built similar labs.• How many stations should I aim for (given 15–25 students)?• Is it better to buy a few high-quality scopes/power supplies and have students rotate, or go with more budget-friendly gear so everyone gets hands-on time?• Are there specific classroom kits or bundles (NI, Tektronix, Digilent, etc.) designed for high schools that are worth the investment?• What electronic equipment have you found surprisingly durable (or surprisingly fragile)?

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 07:19:38 pm
content: I admit to being old-fashioned, but I would buy inexpensive function generators and power supplies that are manually controlled, rather than networked to a NI or similar controller, so that the students experience writing data in notebooks before analysis.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 07:26:46 pm
content: Welcome to the forum.....great first post and questions.....Consider pair learning which will make your budget go twice as far.2ch DSO's can do a lot and are cheaper than the 4ch most hobbyists purchase today to future proof their personal growth.SDS802X HD would be my suggestion to look hard at however its full feature set is probably a bit advanced for most students.Consider a US supplier for best support.EDU discounts are a real thing so ask for them but they might be triggered by a minimum buy.

author: Grandchuck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 07:58:20 pm
content: I am sure you are aware of this, but, it is important to emphasize and enforce safety ... ie, goggles when soldering.

author: armandine2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 08:55:01 pm
content: ... only patches of memory to my first electronics course - pre-university/college level:1) they had the facility to etch and make their own single/double sided pcb's (IIRC)2) much the same as nowadays regarding scopes (but of course CRO), power supplies (linear dual tracking), basic function generators, can't recall what digital/analog multimeters were used.3) most practical equipment was readily available - few students took the engineering option post 16 years old then (as now I suspect) - except we only had one AIM 65 machine code programmer? (which was way over our heads to be of any use to us, but interested our teacher)It should be the curriculum that prompts your first consideration, regarding making your practical lab equipment choices.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 01:53:13 am
content: Check out the demonstration thread for the SDS800X HD scope:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/sds800x-hd-review-demonstration-thread/It has a lot more power than most students will probably need, but it's around $400 +/- $50 depending on whether you want 2 or 4 channels. I imagine they would give you a discount if you're buying a bunch for EDU.

author: Poroit
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 07:11:34 am
content: G'day micahbriney,This brand was popular in Australian High schools and TAFE Colleges;https://www.gwinstek.com/en-global/products/index

author: BILLPOD
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 08:35:49 pm
content: Good MorningMicahbriney, As far as oscilloscopes go, consider the old school CROs, (Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes). When I was in school DSOs, (Digital Storage Oscilloscopes), didn't exist yet. But the advantage is learning how to tune into a frequency by reading the setting on the 'time dial' and calculating the frequency. With digital scopes, it is all done for you by hitting the 'Auto' button; where's the learning in that. Maybe get a mix of CROs and DSOs, and have the students learn each. Also, I agree withTautech, to pair-up students to cut down on the number of scopes you need. In my school 5 of us had to huddle around one scope, so each of us got very little hands-on experience, (I scrounged up enough cash to buy my own CRO for home, and I worked out the exercises in solitude, and that helped me grasp the concepts that were taught). That's all I have. Good luck in updating your lab, and please stop back here to tell us your progress.

author: adam4521
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 08:42:25 pm
content: Definitely simpler kit, especially things like power supplies where you are likely better off, safer, with energy limited devices.You probably have to consider it at two levels -- what the 'project'/elective students might benefit from, and maybe a different requirement for whole class teaching where you need more control. If you look at EDU oscilloscope from Tektronix, for example its sell-point features are fanless, Kensington lock, 5 year warranty, on screen help, not the 'actual scope' features that people on this forum usually prioritise.Then I suspect you need to allow budget for quite a lot of consumables, cables, breadboards, teaching kits, lamps, tools, wire strippers, cutters.Good luck with the job, it sounds like you will be bringing energy to enthuse your students, which counts most of all!

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 08:49:03 pm
content: Quote from: BILLPOD on August 21, 2025, 08:35:49 pmQuite agree and it's something I have never pushed and never like to use as it's more important for the user to have full control of their instrument.When it comes to the learning environment initiation to oscilloscope use should include the simple and basic understandings of amplitude, probe attenuation, trigger settings and timebase usage < the very basics of usinganyscope.....but what would I know, I'm no qualified educator.I first used a CRO at HS to check the ripple on my homebuilt HT valve PSU and had zero instruction other than what I'd read in electronic magazines and finally when I got my own CRO some 30yrs later and within 10yrs crossed to DSO's never to go back to this now obsolete technology.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 08:53:57 pm
content: Quote from: adam4521 on August 21, 2025, 08:42:25 pmEvery modern DSO has a Kensington lock and on screen Help.When it comes to fanless, that's not always a good idea as convection cooled normally means top vented when crap can get into the top of the instrument and possibly wreck it.Ignore this fact at your peril....I lost a TDS2012B in this way....never will I own another top vented instrument.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 08:57:11 pm
content: Quote from: Poroit on August 21, 2025, 07:11:34 amI second the suggestion to go and talk to a GW Instek dealer. Easy to use no-nonsense gear. It just works. A couple of years ago a university in the US closed down and as a result a lot of GW Instek gear ended up on the 2nd hand market. So I guess education is on GW Instek's radar.

author: shabaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 11:52:02 pm
content: At that age, probably the kids get exposed to an oscilloscope in Physics classes, so they will likely know what it does at a very high level.At that age I do recall using pluggable tiles (small PCBs with 4mm sockets on them, for attaching banana plug leads, to assemble very simple circuits, including logic gates, light dependent resistors and so on, but nothing more advanced than a voltmeter and an ammeter in terms of test equipment.For "Design and Technology" (for the 17-18 year-olds) we had free rein over our projects, mine were electronics related (etched PCB, logic ICs and so on) but others did mechanical projects and so on, and we all valued the use of machine tools (probably 3D printers nowadays!). We also did technical drawing a couple of years earlier, very valuable to draw and understand diagrams or component footprints later on, although we didn't study it for that reason. Obviously nowadays that would be CAD lessons perhaps.At 17-18 we also had a whole-class project (there were only six of us) which was to design something of our choice for helping disabled kids, and we made a toy car (one student made the metal brazed chassis, another the vacuum-formed body, I obviously did the electronics (off-the-shelf RC parts, but I made a custom speed controller out of resistors and a mechanical wiper, it all eventually caught fire), and another "integrated" an off-the-shelf games controller to the transmitter. And then we had a lot of fun demonstrating it to kids at the next school, they clamped the controller to a wheelchair and the car sped around the playground, quite destructive when the all-metal multi-kilogram chassis would hit things at high speed!All this is to say, I really valued that we learned from each other doing different things, we had free rein and didn't have to solely focus on one technology if we didn't want to. We were treated as adults at that age, and we were all given the opportunity, perhaps once a month, if we discovered something interesting, we could take the entire class and the teacher out for the day to show it; for instance, a future architect kid took us to see some skyscrapers and we learned the history about them. Another requested seeing an aeroplane, and the teacher somehow arranged it; all the other kids from other classes heard about that and wanted to come too, so they joined us that day.I think if you can generate that more general broader-picture technical-related spark in kids, then those who want to do electronics more seriously will use test equipment far more intensively by the time they get to uni anyway (as will those who do other engineering disciplines, just the test equipment they use may be be different), so I'd be surprised if more than a few pieces of test equipment would be needed at that age, especially if not all students will want to spend time focusing on them.

author: watchmaker
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 22, 2025, 11:45:32 am
content: Given the voltages and currents you are working with, do you really need batteries (pun) of equipment taking up bench space?Do you really have the budget to handle when kids blow scope probes or fry something by trying something silly (in my HS Voc Ed nee CTE, we played "catch" with charged capacitors).Are you preparing them for the workforce or college? If workforce, perhaps separate pieces of equipment are warranted.If you are preparing them for college, then I would closely evaluate the Digilent Analog Discovery. If college bound, it is extremely likely your USA students all have laptops. The AD3 will handle all your low voltage/current projects. Plus, many EE curricula are built around the AD line. And each student could have a complete lab for well under $300 at an EDU discount.You could assign each student one at the course beginning, having their parents sign a reimbursement agreement if not returned with ability to purchase. Then they could take them home to work on projects.I personally use the AD3 for following several 1st year EE texts in my learning (at 72). It is very convenient to keep on the table so I can be with my upstairs while I have way too much equipment for my skill level downstairs along with my fabrication station and materials. Do I need all my downstairs stuff? Hell no; but it is throwback to my Voc Ed years when I could not even afford an Eico VOM kit let alone an RCA VoltOhmist.Simple truth is the AD3 would do suit all my needs except for line voltage items needing repair.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2025, 01:27:07 pm
content: If you are working for a high school in a wealthy area, I wonder if you could limit the cost to allow the families to pick up the tab. Each student being responsible for their own tools. If the goal is to teach the basics of engineering, I doubt you need much.You could have some higher end equipment that are used for presentation only. Maybe with a projector connected to them directly or by camera.Consider posting your course outline. Knowing the details about what you plan to cover may help readers understand your needs.