BASIC TOOLS AND SUPPLIES NEEDED
THIS IS A LIST OF SUPPLIES AND TOOLS TO GET STARTED IN ELECTRONICS
When I am asked by a person what he/she will need to get started in electronics, I usually answer, "A pencil and a piece of paper". Why? Because most of electronics is done with your mind and a scratch pad is the easiest outlet for free flowing ideas.
But once you have a nice stock of ringed binders and want to actually lay your hands on real live parts and tools you will need to shop. Don't run out and buy a $3,000 oscilloscope and $500 multimeter just yet. You won't need them as bad as everyone may have told you. Here is a list of items you may want to purchase, preferably in this order. Other people may disagree with this list but this is from MY personal experience on a tight budget.
Note: I wrote an article titled, "Electronics on a Budget" in the September 1995 issue of Popular Electronics that may help further. I will try to get permission to reprint that soon.
Here is the list:
1. Electronics Magazines and Books to find interesting projects and keep your interest piqued.2. A calculator for simple circuit calculations. Don't worry about getting a special algebraic version as the plus, minus, multiply and divide keys are enough for now.
3. A multimeter. If you wish to start with a cheap $20 digital or analog model, it will be fine for a short time. See the Multimeter Ultra Basics page for more advice on this subject. The meter pictured here is my Micronta unit which I purchased from Radio Shack. I also have an analog meter that was given to me by a friend. It came as a kit and was enjoyable to build. Remember, if you purchase a cheap meter now, plan to purchase a good unit soon.
4. Either a Radio Shack 101 Projects type kit, or a breadboard and a handful of miscellaneous components such as resistor, capacitors, transistors, LEDs, ICs, batteries, etc. I was given a 101 Project Kit that you run wires to and from components hooked to springy terminal things. It is still in use today, along with a mixture of breadboards and pre-built circuit boards.
5. Once you start building permanent circuits, you will need PCB boards. Don't rush out and purchase those expensive etching combo kits. Instead look for perforated printed circuit boards such as the one pictured here. Don't get the plain kind which is only a plastic sheet with holes in it. They are totally useless. Get the ones that have the little copper circles around each hole. See bottom figure. I will explain why in a later section.
You can look for the larger boards (4"X6" or so) and use a utility knife to cut them into smaller boards to save costs. The one pictured is from a kit that came with the perf board, enclosure and screws.
I will explain a procedure on how to use these boards in a future section as well.
6. Wire. I use old phone wire that I acquired from various jobs. One 50 foot length of 50 strand phone cable is enough copper for years.7. Solder and Soldering Iron. Most electronic stores and department stores sell a variety of these for under $20. Try to get a 25-40 watt model for now and consider either a variable heat unit in the future, or a low temperature one for soldering delicate Integrated circuits. Try to get an iron that lets you replace the tip - you may wear it down faster than you think or accidentally bend it. I try to stay away from soldering guns as they are bulky, not very accurate and expensive. The idea of a gun is that it heats up very fast when you pull the trigger. I have never been in such a rush that I cannot wait 5 minutes for my trusty Weller Hand Iron to fire up to temp.
8. Parts, Parts and more parts. I collect broken down equipment, tear out the PCBs and stock them for parts I may need. Get a good desoldering tool and pull off parts as you need them.
9. Tools. Get a large supply of screwdrivers, needle nose pliers of various sizes, wire cutters of various sizes, and anything else you run across. Don't buy those "ALL-IN-ONE" tool kits offered by electronics stores. You will end up paying $300 for tools you could have bought at a flea market for $30. The motto is, "You can never have enough tools"…insert Tim Allen grunt here!
Future sections will include an expanded list of tools.
©Copyright 1999 * John Adams
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