Equipping a newbie EE lab

>>1081400
buy a power supply that can be put in constant current mode (it turns the volts down to stop the amps coming up). CC is incredibly useful and you'll never regret spending the extra dosh.

digital scopes age really badly.
a 10 year old tektronix is going to be hilariously slow, clunky and featureless compared to a new rigol at the same price.

if you're self-teaching rather than troubleshooting, you'll want a function generator to go with the 'scope.

you don't need a better multimeter unless you're dickwaving, but whatever. flukes are nice.

>>1081420
Cool deal, thanks for the info.
I thought the same about the scope, unless I can get an older one at an insane deal, but looking at many of the features on the new ones would be the way to go. Will definitely check out a function generator. May invest in a fluke, but like you said, so far my el cheapo does what I need it to. Maybe I need more accuracy when doing the single board rig, but I figure by that point I would have also made some more additions to the lab.

Any suggestions on a CC brand/model?

>>1081400

> 3) A better multi meter. Using a random Southwire one from the Home Depot.

If it has a fast (semi-) latching continuity test mode, a decent display, is auto-ranging and doesn't eat batteries just keep using it. IMO those are the only things which matter, precision/protection ... irrelevant.

>>1081425
no clue about modern brands, sorry.
find a cheap unit with the features you need, then google it to make sure it's not a complete turd.

constant current mode is good.
two or more channels in one box is good.
isolated outputs (third banana jack for chassis/mains ground) is good.
seperate readouts for V and A on each channel is good.

>>1081400
All depends on what money you have, if you have about 700$ to spend, id say get:
-Rigol DS1054z (might be expensive, but if you are serious about the hobby it will last you a loooong time)
-Hakko soldering iron
-korad ka3005p power supply (there is a video from the EEVBlog about it breaking, but that has been fixed a long time ago, doesnt break anymore, a very good linear PSU for the price)
- Fluke 17B+ from china, a real fluke, for a non fluke price

>>1081501
>- Fluke 17B+ from china, a real fluke, for a non fluke price
Also forgot to add, you could even skip this, and use what you have and/or the scope to crudly measure voltages. It is just that it is a nice addition and you wouldnt regret spending the cash for sure if you will have this hobby for a long time.

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Nothing wrong with ambitious goals anon, worst comes to worst you just end up learning a lot.

Definitely pick up a decent temperature controlled soldering iron with swappable tips.

A parts drawer is also a very nice thing to have. I just use those mastercraft hardware organizer bins from Canadian Tire.

A good quality set of wire strippers and flush-cuts will also save you a lot of headache in the future.

Since you seem to be very interested in digital stuff, it might also be worth taking a look at a bus pirate or some other logic sniffer if you every find yourself needing one.

Jellybeans like resistors/caps/generic transistors/some ICs are essential

If you don't already have a jeweler's loop or some kind of inspection magnifier, those are also always helpful.

Best of luck!

>>1081501
>a real fluke, for a non fluke price
You say that like it means anything

I bought used Flukes for like one third or one quarter of their original price. Its a reliable brand and if its not broken even 10y/o Flukes used by industry electricians should last for several more years in the hobbyist environment. I know the precision is not necessary but it feels great having measurements you can rely on and a meter which you know is just not going to fail even if you put it on 1kV.

>>1081512
It does, they are safe, precise, reliable and very robust.

>>1081425
Get a Rigol 54z (can't remember the entire number) it's a 50MHz unit that can be easily converted to 100MHz

It also has 4 channels

>>1081623
see
>>1081501
>-Rigol DS1054z

>>1081501
Pretty sure you mean the fluke 12b+

>>1081652
I am pretty sure I dont.
Google it.

>>1081654
Digital Multimeter FLUKE 12E large LCD Display Digital Multimeter Meter DMM with TL75 test leads F12E
http://s.aliexpress.com/ZJVNjeaE


12e is the Chinese one I know about

Never heard of the 17b

>>1081657
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Fluke-17B-F17B-Digital-Multimeter-with-temperature-probe-can-measure-temperature/32548406195.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.1.eVpM1e&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_2_10091_10090_10088_10089,searchweb201603_1&btsid=f41a39c6-1a76-4dbc-ae17-512d75d9af48

Search for Fluke 15b+/17b+/18b+ series.
It was originally a fluke meter designed for the chinese market, and they have recently started selling it on the international market as well.
The fluke 12e you mention seems to be comparable to the 15b in specs, the 15b+ has slightly better specs (for example more capacitance).
However, the 17b+ also has temperature measurment, which is handy for a beginner. I think that is worth the extra 10$.

>>1081662
Cool I'll look into that. Though I've got a fluke 77 I took home from Afghanistan already though

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>>1081501
Awesome, thanks a bunch, will look into all of these.

>>1081510
Thanks, appreciate it. I do need to move up to a temp control iron, I have a basic Weller, but I do have a Hakko 808 desoldering gun (mainly used it to reclaim old gold ICs and delicate parts) and it's an amazing investment. Parts bins and a multitude of parts are already on the way.

Also, probably a bit overkill, but I'm getting an actual macro/microscope by Wolf that belonged to my grandmother, it'll be terrific for checking surface mounts.

>>1081623
I've heard this can be converted, so yep, sounds like a good deal.

Thanks again errybody. Here's a picture of a thing I'm building. All the chips are dead ones, but I couldn't bring myself to throw em out because of how pretty they are. So I mocked up a single board computer in this nice aluminum box, and all the LEDs and displays you see will be wired up to do various fun things. This thing will end up being a clock. The two chip sized displays (HDSP, god I love these things) will display time/date/temperature/weather. I'll put together a microcontroller board to mount behind this board and drive the actual live components.

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>>1081819
Also, here's what HDSP-2011 chips look like all lit up.

>>1081819
>>1081820
Nice graveyard anon.

>>1081820
Where do you get these for a reasonable price? They are certainly the kind of display that burns out so some spares are mandatory too?

>>1081831
Not that anon but I would troll ebay, make an alert or something. They don't really burn out but they are very sensitive to overvoltage and ESD.

>>1081831
They aren't that prone to burn out, but HDSP2011 and its direct relatives are kinda pain in the ass to use.
Consider something with a complete buit-in drive circuit instead, like HDSP2110.

>>1081830
Thanks!

>>1081831
>reasonable price
That's the hard part, and I do troll ebay for them, but generally they're insanely overpriced. Sometimes you get luck and find them for under $10 each. I managed to find a big display unit and could see from the pics that the whole thing was made of HDSPs. I got it for $140, and there were 30 some chips on it. Since then, I've seen some floating around for $15 each-ish, but they get snapped up really quick.

>>1081845
So maybe I should protect them with some kind of diode clamping circuit?

>>1081884
The issue I have with them is pulsing the column lines...I can do this from my microcontroller but I'd love to be able to do it instead with a separate oscillator and free up pins. Maybe I could do a 555 timer and a shift register? I dunno.

Also, just found this thing:

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Micro-Commercial-Components-MCC/ESDBV5V0AE2-TP/?qs=%2fha2pyFaduj%2fUJM5eDnha5TR3fWe%252bllMSEuH65M9IgiEpsIJDybM3ay4go%2fNMoT9

Would it be worth my while to put one of those on each of my HDSP 5v in pins? I'm driving the whole thing with 5v from an LM7805 with a couple of caps on it, and the micro is an atmega328.

>>1081400

you'll DEFINITELY want a logic analyzer as well for that project. Perhaps even instead of an oscilloscope; For digital things a typical 2 channel scope barely even helps

A garage shop like that would probably have a logic analyzer/laptop combo + psu and scope. You'll find the laptop is the best tool you can get for a shop that's actually doing something beyond your typical automotive shit because you can use it for viewing datasheets, flashing memory, programming, CAD, gay porn, etc..

I would consider trolling Craigslist for analog scopes before succumbing to the digital variety

>>1081400
>Bench supply
I'm building my own. discussing it on and off in another thread

>Oscilliscope
get yourself a a used analog one on ebay. it won't cost nearly as much as a brand new digital scope and its plenty good for hobbyist work. Get a better digital one if/when you start wanting features that the analog one cannot. Or i suppose you could just drop money on a decent one off the bat. Not sure how much use you'd get out of its featureset if at all. Mostly a moneysaving rant
>mutlimeter
i bought a brymen one. one of the eevblog ones.
I started with a 10 dollar one, then a 40 dollar uni-t one (admittedly pretty shitty) that i used for like 6+ years. the selector was sketchyand i started doubting its accuracy so i finally dropped money on a big boy meter

I am also intending to attempt building my own function generator too.

I think you like electronics.... not EE. EE is so much more than electronics.

>>1082507
Don't people choose their specialisation at school? for example I attend STEM uni that has EE faculty that has like eight bachelor programs. For example I'm in microelectronics and electrotechnology.

>>1082507
True, but you gotta start somewhere.

>>1082087
You could also get a cheap logic analyzer from aliexpress, they are literally just a few bucks and work just as well.

>>1082515
Most schools are turning away from specializations at the BS level and letting them decide at the MS level

>>1083751
huh
do you think its better that way?

Although my work may not be completely relevant some aspects do cross over and have been mentioned but I will say them again.
Most used test equipment i use would be:
multimeter naturally, if you get a good one it will last forever
clampmeter, not used anywhere near as much as multimeter
IR thermometer, probably not relevant to your purpose but when power IC's/diodes are in parallel or are part of a rectifier this is is extremely useful.
Load banks, probably not relevant but i use low voltage ones and mains voltage ones.

other test gear is multifunction meter but most likely not relevant as you are not interested in insulation resistance or rcd operation time.
95-99% of repairs/work i do dont require the use of a oscilloscope however for some difficult jobs one would be very handy for sure.

Other things like people have already said is good handtools especially flush cuts, and a good soldering iron. And if you need it a good heatgun is very useful too, can be used for de-soldering/soldering anything your iron isn't big enough for and of course heatshrink.

I dont have a use for power supplies as such, 9 times out of 10 i can get away with the drill battery for low voltage dc and have 110, 230 and 400vac available for everything else.

Hey I'd like to add that a saleae logic analyzer 8 is pretty good. For like $250 bucks you get an eight channel logic analyzer and 8 channel O-scope.

I should point out the scope parts are really limited with a 0 to 5 volt range, but for a hobbyist it would be pretty good.

A good soldering Iron will be worth it. Personally I have a https://www.amazon.com/Zeny-Soldering-Rework-Station-852D/dp/B00NINOV56

Decent DC adjustable power supply https://www.amazon.com/Tekpower-HY1803D-Variable-Power-Supply/dp/B000CSQK5E

This is the multimeter I use https://www.amazon.com/Extech-EX430-Autoranging-Multimeter-Capacitance/dp/B0000WU1AC

Bump for OP

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>>1081400
what about soldering station with warious replacable tips?
and a organizer for parts?
PCB making and etching equipment?
what about tools like pliers, screw driwers etc?

>>1087191
You don't need that sort of soldering station when starting out

>>1087269
You sortof do need at least a chisel a pencil tip.

>>1087293
Yes. but not that whole shebang of a station

>>1087269
>>1087293
>>1087299
Just get one of the chink hakko clones off of ebay.

>>1087300
Yup. I got one that is model SBK939D+
its pretty good

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So for a power supply I would definitely recommend an atx conversion, especially if you already have one. I use a sparkfun breakout
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12867 but I don't like how it terminates in that style of binding post and I also don't like how it slides around my desk all whimpy like. So I've designed this breakout board that terminates in screw terminals that I can then use to run to a front panel, I really like this guy's power suppy so I would model it after this https://hackaday.io/project/5287-atx-benchtop-power-supply-refined

For a multi-meter I have to go with the fluke 17b+, has nice features, $100 for a fluke, and it is good enough imo for bench-top work or field work.

I don't have any suggestions for oscilloscope though, whenever I need to use one I just go to the lab at my uni and use their tekronix mso scopes, they are something crazy like 10k each.

>>1087191
i have a similar one of these for $65 on ebay and its 150% better than any shitty direct to wall iron ive ever used

>>1087321
>for a fluke
dude you're getting a dell

>>1087334
Wait what?
I usually recommend the 17b+ because it has temp, freq, micro-amp readings and is fairly rugged.

>>1087337
Idolizing a brand is idiotic. You're not getting a "$100 fluke", you're getting a $100 meter by fluke. It's no better or worse than any other equally priced meter from a reputable manufacturer.
Saying "it's a fluke for cheap" is as meaningless as those shitty dell comercials.

>>1087343
Not him but
>Idolizing a brand
>any other equally priced meter from a reputable manufacturer
define the bounds of "reputable"
Fluke has the reputation it does for a reason.