10 ms·

Electronics Lab Bench Setup Guide

• anonymousiam 3y ago
  Not directly related, but I'm curious how much revenue all the Amazon affiliate links will generate for the author.
  • georgeoliver 3y ago
    Given how much time it probably took to document the setup (never mind creating the setup), I'd say he deserves every penny.
    • anonymousiam 3y ago
      Probably, but most sites that use Amazon Affiliate tags usually disclose it somewhere on the page. I didn't see any disclosure on this one.
• rapjr9 3y ago
  The guide needs a section on safety with a notice that users of the bench can read. A cordless vacuum cleaner would be a useful addition to the tool list as well.
• vrglvrglvrgl 3y ago
  [dead]
• zwieback 3y ago
  Nice setup! In addition to a decent scope I like having a USB logic analyzer. There are lots of cheap ones but Saleae (no affiliation) makes really nice ones.
  • flyingcircus3 3y ago
    If you have to make the choice between getting a Saleae logic analyzer and a similarly priced oscilloscope, I think the logic analyzer fits more people's use case than the oscilloscope, because digital electronics and signals are more approachable to hobbyists and novices. If you're primarily concerned with decoding digital communications signals, and inspecting their timing, a logic analyzer is the tool for this job.
  • quailfarmer 3y ago
    The Analog Discovery Pro on the middle shelf is a USB/Ethernet Osciliscope/Logic Analyzer/more.
    • zwieback 3y ago
      Nice, wasn't aware of these. We have a lot of NI boards and Picoscopes for analog and mixed signal but this looks like a good choice. We've used their FPGA boards in the past.
• massaman_yams 3y ago
  Mean Well has some constant current dimmable 24v power supplies with zero flicker. You'd need 2 if you want each strip to be independently controllable. They also can take a PWM signal if you're so inclined, but I bought them because I prefer flicker-free dimming. e.g. https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/709-HLG40H-24B https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/709-HLG40H-24B
  • steve_adams_86 3y ago
    Mean Well’s power supplies are by far the best I’ve used. Apart from working really well, they also seem to be constructed better than others I’ve used. My 3d printer, grow lights, hydroponic automation hardware, and a little CNC project are all run on Mean Well power supplies now.
    • Washuu 3y ago
      Mean Well has been around for a few decades. They are in a lot of pinball machines too.
  • amluto 3y ago
    You are unlikely to get amazing dimming performance using constant current with a 24V strip intended for constant voltage operation. For a bench application like this, get a constant current strip from Bridgelux. They’re cheap and excellent. Digi-key sells them. The “thrive” series is a bit less efficient but has a very nice spectrum. The tiny drivers from Cuvee Systems work well, start quickly, and dim well, but any ordinary LED driver can drive them. Or the bench power supply :) For 24V tape, here are a few decent choices for drivers: The Meanwell PWM series. The frequency is below IEEE 1789 recommendations but is okay. eldoLED LinearDRIVE. The best, but kind of expensive and annoying to use. Program it for a log curve. Here, for example: https://www.ll-sales.com/eldoled-lineardrive-212d-dmx-led-driver-p/lin212d1.htm https://www.ll-sales.com/eldoled-lineardrive-212d-dmx-led-dr... These are convenient but massively overpriced: https://www.diodeled.com/switchex.html https://www.diodeled.com/switchex.html
    • massaman_yams 3y ago
• tpmx 3y ago
  24 inches (60 cm) is not deep enough, IMO. It's incredibly irritating that IKEA stopped selling reasonably priced 75+ cm deep bench tops (except for in a few markets, like Germany, maybe IKEA thinks they still use CRTs there?). Also: I see that your photos include a proper solder fume extractor, but the BOM doesn't. I think it makes sense to include one. I did some research a few months ago for a suitable model available in the EU. My research ended up with this one: Weller ZERO SMOG EL KIT 1. About 700 EUR + VAT. (Didn't pull the trigger yet - curious about thoughts on this one.)
  • johnwalkr 3y ago
    That series has a corner piece which is very deep. I got rid of it in all an international move, but I made a workbench with two of those desks one wall, a corner piece and then one more desk on the adjacent wall. It was nice to have enough space for keeping multiple projects out and felt deep enough in the corner for a PC and monitor. I like that it's very configurable too, you can put legs instead of storage units where you want more legroom.
  • CamperBob2 3y ago
    What works surprisingly well are ordinary folding tables from Staples/OfficeMax, bolted together with brackets for stability. You can create a workbench of any desired shape, size, and depth that way. Once you keep them from swaying side-to-side by fastening them together, the effective load capacity goes way up. Best of all you don't have to feel bad about drilling into them. Trouble is, I don't think they sell anything but the plastic ones now. Working with anything more ESD-sensitive than 6L6s is a bad idea with those.
  • mwbajor 3y ago
    I have about 40 linear feet of bench space in my garage. Its cheaper to make durable benches out of 4'x8' sheets of 3/4" plywood with another 3/4" sheet of mdf underneath. I cut them to 3'x8' sheets and use the extra 1' as a shelf. You need the 3' bench space for equipment. Ikea used to make things out of real wood but they haven't in years. Anything other than actual plywood will sag.
• sokoloff 3y ago
  I find "SMD Sample Books" to be a more effective storage/retrieval system for SMD passives than the lidded parts enclosures. I've got some of the latter, but stopped using them for passives (and repurposed them for small 3-6 pin commonly used parts). But I have to admit that that setup is far cleaner and more organized overall than my disaster of a workbench...
  • mwbajor 3y ago
    Its a pain to restock the books though and they store alot less. Buying SMD box kits that are already populated is worth the cost. Like this. https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/analog-technologies,-inc./R08E96-100/16365911?utm_adgroup=Resistor%20Kits&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping_Product_Kits&utm_term=&utm_content=Resistor%20Kits&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpPKiBhDvARIsACn-gzAOVDHX5GcHo_i675lAmULvWnLiIr_MQLl7enMglF5bvyDppeV8ELIaApSYEALw_wcB https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/analog-technologi...
    • OJFord 3y ago
      $625?! I'm not saying it's not worth that, for the ... 510 values, 100 of each, but who's this advice for? To a newcomer, just get some common values, and perhaps not even 100 of them. Then you find out which ones you use most, or a slightly less common value you're missing but use/want, and restock those. To anyone else, you know what you do, what you use, get that - I'm not sure there's any point in generic advice.
      • mwbajor 3y ago
        Get one of the cheaper ones. $625 is for 510 values, you don't need that.
  • farkanoid 3y ago
    For prototype/repair/rework parts, we use cheap folders with business card or CD/DVD inserts at work - Cheap and effective! The labels reflect the location of the item in the folder (Folder x Page y) and also the shelf in Storage (Rack-Bay-Shelf-Place), if it's a part we use also in production. https://i.imgur.com/awt8HMw.jpg https://i.imgur.com/awt8HMw.jpg https://i.imgur.com/xVguVGn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/xVguVGn.jpg
• steve_adams_86 3y ago
  This is great. My own setup would benefit a lot from some of these ideas. Glad to see the omnifixo in there! It’s one of my favourite things I keep on hand. I’ve never found the need to keep heaps of components on hand, but I guess I’m not an electrical engineer or anything remotely like it. I just fix stuff and make junk when I’m inspired. What kind of situation would justify having so much stuff on hand? Maybe if you actually design and prototype PCBs and know which components you’ll typically need?
  • johnwalkr 3y ago
    Yes, if you design and prototype PCBs you find pretty quickly that you don't need that many standard components. It's nice then to think about what you need again and again, and then organize it somehow. You can also just collect it over time, but then you end up with large digikey bags filled with smaller digikey bags of components, and it becomes easier to just order everything you need each time instead of sorting through it all.
    • steve_adams_86 3y ago
      > large digikey bags filled with smaller digikey bags of components Ha, this is me. Maybe I should get some bins…
• fnordpiglet 3y ago
  [flagged]
• Wafje 3y ago
  I am interested in the airtable inventory system. Anyone else got good experience with airtable?
  • phcreery 3y ago
    Me too! I have never used airtable before but have heard of it. I needed an inventory system but I wasn't satisfied with the options I found so I created my own. Right now it is rudimentary but it can import BoM, export to CSV, "build" BoM's (auto-deduct from inventory), octopart API integration for grabbing component info/specs, and all of this compiled to single binary for lightweight selfhosting. https://github.com/phcreery/partman https://github.com/phcreery/partman
  • SignificantDuck 3y ago
    I don't have any experience with Airtable, but I do have experience with Retable. If you're looking for an inventory management system, Retable offers customizable templates for various types of inventory management, including product inventory, asset management, and more. Let me know what your specific needs are, and I can help you find the best solution with Retable.
• zackmorris 3y ago
  This is just a fantastic page, why aren't more on the internet like this, with specific parts lists and sources? Very similar to the stations we had when I was doing computer repair a decade ago (no, I will not fix your computer.™) and out of everything on there, be sure to get a good ESD mat, or else you'll never stop chasing random glitches. I just want to add that the best way to get over starting friction is to have everything ready to go like this. IMHO it's much easier to take care of the low-hanging fruit of arranging and cleaning, than it is to have to do that and THEN work. I struggle with organization though, so I treat that as an active exercise and devote 15 minutes at a time to the chore, rewarding myself with a cup of coffee or whatever afterwards.
  • analog31 3y ago
    I just start a new project on top of the pile of unfinished projects, coffee cups, home repairs, bike parts, etc.
  • nunuvit 3y ago
    > why aren't more on the internet like this, with specific parts lists and sources? There are forums where people post pictures of their benches, but it's a lot of work to document everything and you're going to use whichever distributor has sufficiently similar items in stock at your price point and can ship to your country.
    • ssklash 3y ago
      Got any links/suggestions for those forums? I'd love to get some inspiration, like the OP provides in spades.
      • linker3000 3y ago
        Reddit. r/electronics. Workbench Wednesdays. https://www.reddit.com/r/electronics/?f=flair_name%3A%22Workbench%20Wednesday%22 https://www.reddit.com/r/electronics/?f=flair_name%3A%22Work...
      • deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
• ilyt 3y ago
  IKEA had great workbench for that, sadly I think they stopped making it (I bought mine like 10+ years ago). It was bench + 2 shelves above as one unit
• johnwalkr 3y ago
  Hakko FX-888D is great and appropriate with the other stuff mentioned (although I prefer the older version with an analogue knob for temperature control), but it's $115 and for most new hobbyists a $25 pinecil or a $25 knockoff Hakko T12 is perfectly adequate and miles ahead of anything you'd find in a home depot for the same price.
  • crote 3y ago
    The TS100 and TS80 are also good cheap alternatives! One drawback of the Pinecil is that it is solely the iron. You still need to add a power supply, heat-resistant cable, a stand, and a sponge. Not a huge deal, but it is a bit more than $25 to actually start soldering.
    • johnwalkr 3y ago
      Yes but on the other hand, it works with your existing usb-c charger and usb-c battery if you have one. I always reach for my pinecil over my 888 because it is tiny and sits in my pen drawer. When I need it, I just unplug my laptop and plug in the pinecil.
  • joemi 3y ago
    I had tried my hand with hobbyist electronics a few times over the years, and had a few different cheap pencil style soldering irons from Radio Shack and always found soldering so hard to do well. I had no idea how people were getting the kind of joints that all the "this is how it should look" pictures showed. On a whim a few years ago I got a Hakko FX-888D, and it was like night and day! All of a sudden soldering was _easy_. I spent a couple decades convinced that I was really bad at soldering or that it was incredibly hard to do, but all that time, I had just never had a decent soldering iron. I'm sure there are probably cheaper soldering irons that would work essentially as well as my FX-888D compared to the Radio Shack irons I had, but I don't know which ones specifically they are and recommending a $25 knockoff Hakko T12 sounds like advice that'll send someone down the same difficult path I had. (Unless the floor for all soldering irons has been permanently raised, and no one makes any as bad as those Radio Shack ones anymore?)
• geocrasher 3y ago
  That is wonderfully thorough. And overkill for a large number of projects. But if you're doing real EE work, this is excellent stuff.
  • myself248 3y ago
    > real EE work Oof, we must have different concepts of what that means; I thought just the opposite. The dummy-load is awful and prone to oscillation on certain sources. The o'scope is entry-level, 50MHz (100 with hacks), and doesn't support any advanced analysis. There's no discussion of scope probes whatsoever. There's only one power supply, for cryin' out loud, and it's neither precise nor clean. The DMM is 3½ digits and there's only one of it. There's no AC isolation transformer, variac, or current-limit box. No signal generator, frequency counter (no, the scope isn't very good at that), etc. An ESD mat but no strap or tester. Further, there's nothing of what you'd want to actually bring a product to market. No EMI/EMC precompliance setup. No hi-pot tester. No ESD gun. I mean, this is a very capable setup for someone poking at arduinos and stuff. But I wouldn't want it anywhere near analog, audio, radio, or power. It's a great start for a hobbyist with modest ambitions, but "real EE work" would be the last description I'd reach for.
    • geocrasher 3y ago
      You have a good point. I'm thinking of prototyping more generic "stuff" with that setup. For my own work (mostly amateur radio stuff) the setup is quite different. I also noticed that the scope was only 50 MHz and the power supply was... ungreat.
    • quailfarmer 3y ago
      Even in a professional environment, there's a limit to how specialized the gear on a single bench can be. With a constraint of finite money, there's a tradeoff between specialized and general-purpose equipment. The Analog Discovery Pro is only 50Mhz, but it's radically smarter than any "real" scope I've ever used. It takes the place of the frequency counter and signal generator. The most obvious omission is a good power supply.
• proee 3y ago
  Love this article. Regarding bench design, if the budget allows, it's nice to make the desktop height adjustable via a motor drive. Depending on mood and project, I prefer to set a specific height for working. For additional test hardware, I like to have an IR thermometer handy to measure critical thermal components. Also nice to have a sound level meter available to calibrate any audio projects. For soldering, nice to have a diverse set of tweezers to hold SMD components and wires.
• Scene_Cast2 3y ago
  I see a fume extractor under the desk. As someone who was in the market for one recently, I'd love some discussion (like loudness, price, performance, etc).
  • Workaccount2 3y ago
    I use the simple fan+filter ones at work, I've always found them to work fine. Although the comparison is against normal lab air conditions, which aren't great, as opposed to something like a home lab. At home I just open the window.
    • tomatsu 3y ago
      The coarse carbon mats don't even filter half of the fumes. These super basic fan+mat fume extractors do get the fumes out of your face, which is the most important part, but the particulate and VOC levels in the room will quickly exceed acceptable levels. But even with a proper filter stack which filters over 99.9%, you can only filter what's actually captured. You still need some ventilation and it's also a good idea to run an air purifier in automatic mode to filter what wasn't captured at the source. What isn't filtered by filters is filtered by your lungs.
  • foofoo55 3y ago
    Absolutely essential. Fumes from lead-free solder fluxes are nasty [1]. I find that bench-top "fume extractors", consisting of a fan and thin dust filter, are extremely noisy and essentially useless. I love my Hakko FA430-16. It's relatively quiet such that a regular conversation can be had in its presence, and it really works with the right hose & hood setup. 1: https://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/electronics-soldering.htm https://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/electronics-soldering.ht...
    • realharo 3y ago
      I wouldn't call the simple fans useless - just the fact that the fumes are being blown away from your face is a huge improvement over not even having that. Of course there needs to be somewhere for them to go, but if you can have an open window close to your bench, that solves that problem quite nicely.
• Workaccount2 3y ago
  This looks like a beautiful setup that isn't used too much. Or perhaps I am just jealous that I can't keep my active work spaces neat.
  • georgeoliver 3y ago
    Or the author is incredibly thorough and detail oriented, and cleaned it up for the photos. I agree, it's a great setup.
  • mwbajor 3y ago
    Do you buy alot of surplus components/equipment? 50% of my garage workshop is from bulk buys from hamfests and machine shop auctions. Its nearly impossible to keep organized because you always get extra stuff that you "can use later" which just adds to the clutter since there isn't always a place to put it.
    • CapstanRoller 3y ago
      >50% of my garage workshop is from bulk buys from hamfests and machine shop auctions Is there a cure for this disease?
      • mwbajor 3y ago
        Some sort of organizational method. I've thought about it alot, its more of an inventory system with an unknown amount of items and categories. Simple things become organizational nightmares forcing you to rethink you're bench layout for example: I put my LM317s in a small bin because I only had 3 but now I have a bag of 300, I guess I need to get a bigger bin, or do I just use the small bin and save some for later but where, but how many, how do I know how many I have in total?
        • 83 3y ago
          I fight with this a lot. Best solution I've found is add a 'bulk' label to the bin so I know to refill from my 'warehouse' stockpile when something gets low.
• hommelix 3y ago
  Is it me or it looks like an amazon affiliate links farm?
  • rudedogg 3y ago
    Yes, but it’s all well researched and they obviously spent a lot of time finding a good setup. I think quality stuff like this deserves the affiliate revenue.
  • inconceivable 3y ago
    king hommelix decrees that people are not allowed to monetize recommendations lists on the internet.
• tverbeure 3y ago
  Something isn’t right. You can see the bench surface.
  • WaitWaitWha 3y ago
    Exactly! And, there are no burn marks on that desk or the mat, the trash bin is empty instead of full of Jolt or Rockstar cans, and those cables? Not a single knot. The bins are labeled and the label matching items in the bins. Those stacked containers on the right middle shelf? Never would be put back in that fashion after labeling them. Look at the cute scre driver organizer on the bottom wall-shelf, right side! They are in order! How?! Those drawer bins on the middle wall shelf? It will fall on your face dumping all, specially with the sharp and pointy parts looking for soft spots in your eyes. I am calling shenanigans! (Seriously - Good job on the write-up!)
    • keithnz 3y ago
      and the part opened packages of new stuff that you will get around to using "shortly" :)
  • rescbr 3y ago
    You can see the bench surface; things are neatly arranged; no cardboard boxes storing half-done projects, etc. I have the theory our desks/workbenches reflect our own mind, but I digress... :)
  • stephen_g 3y ago
    If they're anything like me, they cleaned it up to take the pictures, there's a bunch of junk hiding just off camera, and it will be messy very quickly after! But perhaps they're just that rare breed who actually are just normally this tidy!
  • deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  • stacktrust 3y ago
    They added another photo to the article :) > Since there were so many comments about how clean the bench is, I just wanted to leave this here to show how it normally looks when I am working on it.
• myself248 3y ago
  I was expecting to grouch all over this, but I really like it. A lot of thought went into this, and the choices are mostly very good. A few notes from someone who's been doing this 30+ years and 10 of those years as a volunteer in a community makerspace: * 10" shelves aren't nearly deep enough for vintage test equipment. If all you need is a DS1054Z, that's fine, but as you move up and your needs expand, you'll find that more advanced test equipment is astonishingly expensive new. Some older stuff is obsolete junk, but some is still relevant and performant, and wonderfully affordable, albeit bulky. A cart can be a good way to accommodate the larger infrequent-use items without corrupting the elegance of the shallow shelves. * The FX888D was indeed an inflection point in hobbyist-priced soldering stations, but the UI/UX is so terrible it's easier to blow away the calibration than to adjust the active temperature, and more than half the ones I've found in the wild have suffered exactly that. (I carry a calibrator.) The result is that someone either doesn't know why their solder behaves terribly when they set "the right temperature", or they've found a setting that works and the display is just showing a completely insane number that has nothing to do with anything. Either way it completely negates the benefit of a display in the first place! The old analog FX888 is a gem, but the D is so terrible I'd love to just yeet them all into the sun. As soon as the TS100 and Pinecil came out, it no longer made sense to buy any other soldering station, full stop. I keep one of each on my bench, with my two most commonly used tips in them, so I rarely find myself swapping tips, and I can dual-wield if the need arises. And all that is still cheaper than one FX888D. * The digital microscope is a pale shadow of the experience with a proper binocular view with true depth perception and zero lag and stuff. Worth having for portability alone, and ultra affordable, but recognize that it's a crutch and you should upgrade to genuine glass if you find yourself using it a lot. This is the only thing on the list that really made me cringe. * The Knipex side cutter is indeed great, if you don't need a true-flush end. I really like true flush, especially on zipties, because it doesn't leave a burr. (Ask anyone with ziptie scars down their forearms about sharp burrs!) The Fastcap Micro Flush Trimmer is the best I've found, and ridiculously durable. My first one is now 15+ years old, the edges have picked up a few dents and the jaw is slightly skew, but I keep it around because it still does better work than the Xcelite cheapies. New ones put in 5+ years of hard service before they start to show any age at all, and that's frankly incredible. It's roughly twice the price of the cheapies and does 100x the work. * For tweezers, look no further than the Electron Microscopy Sciences economy tweezers kit K5-ECO.SA, $26: https://www.emsdiasum.com/economy-tweezers-kit-00-2a-3c-5-7 https://www.emsdiasum.com/economy-tweezers-kit-00-2a-3c-5-7 These are an order of magnitude nicer than the Amazon cheapies, and within spitting distance of the same price. I've got hundreds of hours on mine at this point and I give sets as gifts to anyone getting into SMD. Friends don't let friends suffer with bad tweezers.
• seabass-labrax 3y ago
  I have one of the more basic UNI-T multimeters and can highly recommend it. It's always there when I need it (the single 9V battery keeps it going for years) and has great precision. One thing that I don't have - and really want to have - is a variable power supply with constant voltage/current. They can be used when you have an unusual battery you need to charge safely, for instance. Unfortunately, they always seem inordinately expensive considering that all they are inside is a few coils and some ICs. I've looked into building one myself, and found the very informative EEVBlog series on it[1]. However, there's one thing I don't understand: how do you compensate for the voltage drop over your current measuring resistor? Is it a simple linear equation and you just boost the voltage accordingly? I'd love an explanation! [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIGjActDeoM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIGjActDeoM
  • dekhn 3y ago
    Just buy this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FPU6G4E https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FPU6G4E worth every penny the answer to your question is in Art of Electronics.
    • qbasic_forever 3y ago
      Yep I've had that Korad for years and it's great. I'm sure there are far better power supplies out there but this one is great for hacking on digital stuff and maker projects that aren't demanding or sensitive to the PSU quality (which is like 90% of projects).
  • sersnth 3y ago
    In a power supply you can sense your output voltage with a differential amplifier between the positive and negative outputs that way the voltage drop across your current sense resistor is not included in the measured differential voltage. Alternatively you can use high-side current sensing where your current sense resistor is before your positive output. You can also use a differential amplifier for that, but there are purpose made current sense amplifiers which are probably best.
  • crote 3y ago
• garbagecoder 3y ago
  Beautiful. In another life long ago, I was a radio repairman at a truck stop. My bench did not look like that.
• danaos 3y ago
  > Rigol DS1054Z Digital Oscilloscope Interesting as I'm considering buying a scope. Does this still give the most bang for your buck in 2023? Many online commenters mention the Siglent SDS1104X-E as a more modern alternative.
  • jimnotgym 3y ago
    Or you can buy an old crt one for £10 and see if you have use for a scope before you commit. They do take up more room though!
    • danaos 3y ago
      No way I could find anything at £10. Do you have any examples to share?
      • jimnotgym 3y ago
        Facebook marketplace
    • crote 3y ago
      Except that those old cheap ones are almost universally analog scopes. They are pretty much completely useless for digital work. In the current Arduino-filled world, you are probably going to need a DSO.
      • jimnotgym 3y ago
        I think that is very misleading. It depends what you are interested in. There are lots of uses for an analogue scope...including arduino.
  • contingencies 3y ago
    The key differences: the screen is a bit better on the Siglent, Rigol makes you go through a stupid unlock routine to get your features, but (and this is the killer) Rigol has LXI (scriptable ethernet control) whereas the Siglent only appears to have a web-based remote control mechanism - substantially inferior IMHO.
• tastyfreeze 3y ago
  Wow! Not my kind of workbench but I appreciate a well organized workbench. The site looks like an excellent resource if I ever wanted to get into this hobby.
• lanewinfield 3y ago
  As a person who's been tinkering with hardware the past couple of years, I had been trying to search for exactly this kind of guide for MONTHS. This is so well documented and made. I love it!
• ablyveiled 3y ago
  I wish I had the living situation to implement this.
• gaudat 3y ago
  This is some unpopular opinion but please, do not buy extra components thinking that you will use it in some extrea projects. Only buy components that your current design needs. It's even better if you can get a board house to assemble them before it arrives at your desk. Otherwise it is the beginning of the fall to a hoarder life. Except if you are playing in RF or some black magic where simulation does not cut it...
  • SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
    I prefer to buy components I need, but buy enough extras to deal with failures or losses easily. E.g. if I'm buying SMD resistors (of reasonably common value & package like 4k7 in 0402) I buy at least 100, even if I only need 10. That way when I inevitably drop one or send one flying by forgetting to turn down the hot air flow I can just grab another. And 100 costs $0.56, 10 costs $0.14, so there's not much point trying to save money. When I run out of a cut tape of 100, I know I've used enough of them and I just buy a reel of 10,000 for $15-20. Lifetime supply, easy tracking. That obviously doesn't apply to the more expensive components.
    • ComputerGuru 3y ago
      > That obviously doesn't apply to the more expensive components. Or the larger ones! I bought a 100 of pretty much every standard resistor value in through-hole format from a bulk seller and came to regret the mess of loosely taped together resistor bundles intermixing and tangling and the shelf space they occupied!
  • rescbr 3y ago
    What? Nooooo, you must buy enough components for future projects to qualify for free shipping.
  • runtime_blues 3y ago
    This is often impractical when shipping costs more than the components. Yeah, there are things you shouldn't be buying "just in case" - for example, a stash of SoCs will age faster than you can use them - but definitely buy a hundred of common capacitors, such as 100 nF, 1 µF, or 10 µF, rather than buying them one-by-one. You generally don't need a complete set of all standard resistances or capacitances - there are precious few circuits where you need precisely 47 pF and 6.8 kΩ - but there's plenty of stuff that goes into almost every single project you build. Battery clips, 100 Ω / 1k / 10k resistors, 100 nF / 1 µF / 10 µF decoupling caps, LEDs, PCB-mount switches...
• KaiserPro 3y ago
  This is a very nice guide. Lots of good choices. One thing I would add is that having a solid bench with a replaceable surface to do dirty/cutting things on is really useful. I have a really solid desk I made out of scaffolding planks and recycled roof timbers. The surface is then made using either Ikea bamboo chopping boards (they were on offer) or some other replaceable work top. Another thing that might be useful for Beginners +1 is a second hand bench top multimeter. This is only useful if you are not going to be mobile. They have the advantage that they are always there, and aren't moved much. If you have a more fancy o-scope, this isn't probably needed as you can do most things on that (once you've learnt how to.) This is personal preference, so do take this as a personal opinion.
  • rzzzt 3y ago
    I see "self-healing" cutting mats all the time in tech videos, with the measurement grid and angles printed on top. I'd like to get one at some point.
    • JohnFen 3y ago
      I recommend them, they're great. When I got mine, it seemed like a bit of a luxury, but now it seems like essential equipment. Also, I recommend getting a rotary cutter (link to illustrate the tool type -- not a recommendation for that particular instance) to go along with it. https://www.amazon.com/Olfa-Deluxe-Handle-Rotary-Cutter/dp/B000BNLLHW https://www.amazon.com/Olfa-Deluxe-Handle-Rotary-Cutter/dp/B...
    • OJFord 3y ago
      I'm sure they're the kind of thing that can bw ludicrously expensive, in part because they sound complicated/high-tech. Note that they can be really cheap, as in sub-£10 for A4 maybe even A3. I just mean don't do much (or any) cutting thinking 'I should get one of those at some point' before getting one, as excuses for new tools/toys go that's a good & also cheap one!
      • exmadscientist 3y ago
• tomatocracy 3y ago
  This is a very comprehensive list (and the organisation is pretty inspiring) but missing a few things I have personally found very valuable in what I do (which involves a mixture of smallish new projects and retrocomputing repairs/upgrades/etc) - main one I'd mention is low melting point solder to use for desoldering larger components (both plated through hole and SMD) - it took me ages before I tried it and it's made a huge difference at least for me. Chip Quick is the well known brand but you can get cheap unbranded "bars" of it as well. I've also found desolder stations much easier to get on with than solder suckers - Hakko 808 is what I see recommended a lot though it's not what I have. Ultimately if it's temperature controlled I think there's not much to choose between them. Finally there are some great very cheap logic analyzers out there - modern oscilloscopes will do this too but you have to get pretty high up the price list before you can make do with just one device for both uses.
  • prova_modena 3y ago
    Regarding desoldering tools, I also hate solder suckers and instead use a mix of desoldering stations and desoldering braid. I used to very heavily use desoldering tools in challenging situations, such as large traces/joints covered with a lot of flux residue or conformal coating. I ended up working my way up the Hakko desoldering line and developed some opinions. The Hakko 808 is discontinued and the FR-301 seems to be the current replacement. I used a FR-301 for a while and it was a fine tool. I've now switched over to a FM-2024 which connects to a FM-206 base station (among others). I found out that with heavy use I had many more issues with the FR-301 due to the longer tube between the nozzle tip and the solder capture chamber. The FM-2024 has a much shorter tube and the nozzle is integral with the tube. These factors make the FM-2024 more reliable and easy to clean under heavy use. The FM-2024 is also more lightweight and can be used with a gun or pencil grip. So if you do a lot of desoldering, desolder a lot of gunky/fluxy stuff, or have/want a compatible Hakko soldering station, I would suggest the FM-2024 over the FR-301.
    • tomatocracy 3y ago
      Interesting - though for nearly £1900+VAT for the FM-206 (including hot-air and soldering tools as well as desoldering to be fair but excluding tips and nozzles) I'd hope it performs a lot better indeed!
• oliverx0 3y ago
  This is truly an amazing write-up, thank you!! I would love it if someone with experience in the bio lab scene (PCR machines, electrophoresis, western blot, pipettes, cell incubator, and so on) could write something similar.
  • uneekname 3y ago
    I would also love to see something like that. It would be a fun premise for a blog, kind of like Uses This [0] but for workbenches https://usesthis.com/ https://usesthis.com/
• SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
  Good guide for getting started. I'd definitely recommend having more than one power supply channel. I use a logic analyzer (and PCBite probes) quite a bit, but that'll vary depending on what you do. Other tools tend to be more specialized. Function generators are useful if doing analog circuits, board pre-heaters are important for some rework operations, and of course RF circuits have their own set of tools needed.
• no-dr-onboard 3y ago
  Super clean personal site. No fluff, straight to the point. What a beautiful portfolio as well.
• TheCleric 3y ago
  Best bang for the buck here in my opinion: The Engineer SS-02. Before I bought this I thought all solder suckers were the same. I was wrong. Well worth the ~$20, built like a tank, and works very well.
• deweywsu 3y ago
  FAR too organized.
• penguin_booze 3y ago
  I used be an ameteur electronics enthusiast. When I was young, I used to assemble trivial circuits (dancing lights etc.): I could go to an electronics shop. They used to sell hobby kits for simple, accessible, devices. The kit had circuit layout, component list, labels, what goes where and all. I then assembled them per the layout ("this leg of the transistor goes to the left leg of the capacitor"). It worked - I used to be quite pleased with myself, and used to show that off to other people. No mentors; no one to consult on my doubts. I was "self-made". But the thing is that I never had a clear idea of how it worked; or, if some parts were broken, how to identify what was broken (other than, of course, sniffing for burned smell or charred look on the PCB). That condition is what I now realize as being unable to reason about the circuit at hand. As in, how would I arrive at that circuit by myself - being able to point at components and say, "this guy does this, and the other guy does this, and voila, we've dancing light". I can name individual components and stuff, and can wave my hands and say what it does individually. The fact that I can't compose a circuit from scratch still gets me. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how one can build an intuitive understanding and a mental model? EDIT: it just occurred to me "dancing lights" are called Astable Multivibrator! We were taught this at school, after I built them. Oh, I still can remember how smug I felt!
  • deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  • ploxiln 3y ago
    I think you just have to start: have an idea for something slightly different than any of your kits do, assemble it on a breadboard, go through the pain of troubleshooting it (and maybe working-around issues you can't quite solve directly). After that, blog posts and youtube videos about other people's little projects will be of more value, you'll be able to really think about the circuit they designed in a different way, it'll have some concrete ideas in your brain to make connections to. (This is how I think about software too fwiw. Start trying to write something on your own, then study the technical detail after, the technical detail will have something to relate to instead of just floating abstractly away. Then try to apply it yourself again, you'll probably be excited to use it at that point.)
  • 3y ago
• BobTheDestroyer 3y ago
  I'm still searching for a solution to organise the hundreds (thousands?) of anti-static component bags I have from the likes of LCSC, Mouser, etc. It's so difficult to find something that is the right size and shape to hold them upright, allowing organising, sifting through them to find the one I need, etc. The repackaging shown here is nice, but I don't want them ultimately stuffed into a drawer, nor can I see myself going to the effort - especially the part where I'd need to enter them all into a database.
  • stacktrust 3y ago
    What are typical dimensions of those bags?
  • deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  • nunuvit 3y ago
    I use assorted long boxes roughly the dimensions for storing CDs. Then I wedge stuff like cardboard and packaging foam periodically so the bags don't all tip over and pile up on each other. It's literally garbage, but it works well enough for being free.
• ftxbro 3y ago
  I wonder how much this entire setup costs is it like $20,000?
  • ftxbro 3y ago
    Anyone who has access to a good LLM maybe you could use this as an example puzzle for it? I tried but my context window is too small and it's not allowed to browse the web, and I'm too lazy to break up into tiny parts.
  • riceart 3y ago
    No, much much less. That o-scope is $349 and that's the most expensive item (well outside of the computer workstation), and everything is cheapish (which as pointed out elsewhere is only going to be used for a restricted set of hobbyist work). It is somewhat telling that there is more money paid on the computer - this is more a computer enthusiast who dabbles in electronics setup (not that there is anything wrong with it) - but if you're doing serious circuit design work you're going to find this setup lacking in many ways.
    • ftxbro 3y ago
      i dunno man, stuff adds up. He says he has "more than a thousand different electric components for PCBs" and that's just some random stuff not the big ones. How much do you think his more than a thousand different electric components for PCBs would cost, just by itself? Do you think he buys each one in bags of 1? That's not including any of the other random things.
      • riceart 3y ago
        1000 different components is really not that many - especially if you're counting individual resistors and diodes (as the pictures would suggest). These passives are literally pennies or fractions thereof in bulk. You can buy large kits of 100s of resistor values for less than $20. > How much do you think his more than a thousand different electric components for PCBs would cost, just by itself? Easily less than $500 based on the items there's a glimpse of - probably much less. > Do you think he buys each one in bags of 1? I doubt it - that would be utterly stupid for passives and this guy doesn't seem stupid - if anything obviously frugal to a fault. I think there are too many corners cut - there is some bench equipment that is worth splurging a bit on. But even when you buy small quantities of SMT components they are usually cut off a tape - and in the US sold for a huge ass markup. It seems his bagging and inventory system is homegrown.
• junon 3y ago
  I also just started going through the EE lab setup from scratch after 20 years of programming. What a great little guide, and matches my experience thus far (though the author is way more organized). I'm pretty proud of the little parts system I've made, albeit much more primitive. I use pretty exclusively Mouser at this point so I invested in a cheap barcode scanner and just keep the bags in a box since I have limited space. I have a parts database that wraps SQLite and has operations such as "inventory" (taking inventory of my existing parts, updating counts), "shipment" which is a quick way to increase counts of a new shipment of parts (I just have to scan the mouser ID and then the part quantity), and "populate" which decrements each part by one per scan as I'm populating a board. It's one of those quick-hack-and-slash setups that is really fun to build and is just another part of the yak shaving process. Overall getting into PCB design has been a very, very fun hobby, and since I have real projects I need custom PCBs for, it's been a great supplemental skill to have. Cool article!
  • jacquesm 3y ago
    Programmers tend to turn everything into a programming problem (guilty as charged). But I got into electronics before I got into programming and rather than spending time on parts inventory programs I would spend the time on fixing things and designing little circuits, then build them up on vero board. No software required!
• bsder 3y ago
  The only argument I have would be the soldering irons. You really want a Metcal or Thermaltronics station. They're just so much better that it's ridiculous. Yes, they are expensive. However, you will have them forever. And you will never have to worry about too much heat, too little heat, or calibration ever again. Your soldering will be so dramatically better that you will wonder how you ever did without them.
  • loph 3y ago
    I love my metcal. It was so expensive I had to buy it from a surplus store. there is no substitute. Also use a lot of Weller, but I have had them for a very long time.
• lifeisstillgood 3y ago
  I know this is probably the dumbest question but I hate mounting swivel arm monitors / TVs to stud wall / plasterboard. The stud is either in wrong place and all the clever expanding screw fix things just seem ... meh. I miss brick walls
• georgeoliver 3y ago
  A great write up and I think the author has a bright future ahead of him. However I can't help but think of something I read recently, https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/an-ontology-of-electronic-waste https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/an-ontology-of-elect.... I'm still trying to square my enthusiasm for electronics and micros with the counter points raised in that essay.
• scld 3y ago
  This is a great writeup. I'd personally go with a binoc scope and some other personal preferences, but either way it's awesome to see a nice breakdown like this.
• contingencies 3y ago
  I would caution against taking the power supply recommendation for two reasons. (1) Don't buy equipment without LXI as IMHO once you get going you really need coherent and scriptable ethernet control of everything. Yes, you can work manually or use some oddball vendor tool over USB. Yes, it's slow, error prone, and frustrating. The difference between getting things done and getting burned out is largely down to choice of tools. Spend the money. (2) Multi-channel is important. Pretty much anything needs more than one voltage. It really sux having multiple PSUs because it doubles bench space, cable overheads, is a pain to synchronize. I would recommend a three channel supply with LXI at a minimum.
  • InvisibleUp 3y ago
    Regarding point 1, USB-TMC is just as good as LXI, really. Completely industry standard, just like LXI or GPIB. LXI is great if you need it, but you probably don't if everything's on the same desk. And there's even more instruments that just create a virtual COM port over USB and allow SCPI commands over that, and that's perfectly fine. You just have to configure it via something like [Keysight's Connection Expert program](https://www.keysight.com/us/en/lib/software-detail/computer-software/io-libraries-suite-downloads-2175637.html https://www.keysight.com/us/en/lib/software-detail/computer-...) first.
    • contingencies 3y ago
      Yeah, no. USB is terrible at resisting electrical interference and has a world of poor cables with a connector half-life of about 10 years. TCP/IP over STP is cheap, ubiquitous and not going away. Routable instrument control > non-routable instrument control. See https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools/wiki#background-information https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools/wiki#background-infor...
• jensenbox 3y ago
  You should sell this page as a kit. Buy all this stuff, all in for $ + shipping.
  • ComputerGuru 3y ago
    There is zero fun in that. You’re supposed to assemble your collection over the span of years!
• CarVac 3y ago
  I urge people to ditch leaded solder in favor of lead-free. Most difficulties people have in using lead-free comes from one of three things: 1. a poor soldering iron 2. bad quality solder (the cheap stuff with bad flux is bad, duh) 3. poor technique (among other things, wipe your tip just before using, not before putting it away) I like the Chipquik SAC305 with no-clean flux and other people I've recommended it to find it no harder to work with than Sn63Pb37.
  • digitallyfree 3y ago
    I learned from the start on lead-free RoHS solder (doing SMT work) and had zero issues with it. Honestly I've never tried leaded solder as I just use lead-free all the time, though I know people who swear by it.
  • crote 3y ago
    The biggest difference is that an improperly soldered leaded joint looks very obviously wrong, whereas a good lead-free joint can be pretty much indistinguishable from a bad one. If you are just starting out - and will therefore by definition have a poor iron, cheap solder, and poor technique - leaded is definitely the way to go. Once your first spool of leaded runs out, it is probably time to switch to lead-free.
    • CarVac 3y ago
      The "shiny" aspect is the only way an improperly soldered joint can look the same on lead-free, and as a lead dev on an open-source hardware project that attracts a lot of people new to soldering, I have never ever seen a non-shiny leaded solder joint that wasn't horrendously bad in many other ways. When a joint is bad, you get obviously poor wetting and weird mushroom shapes, but even so a newbie will not really notice that even using leaded solder. If you are starting out, and you have a poor iron, cheap solder, and poor technique, you have already made two grave mistakes. We always urge people starting out to shell out in the $50 range for something that won't actively make them suffer, and they do just fine with SAC305.
    • lukego 3y ago
• clumsysmurf 3y ago
  I found the Inventory system interesting. I have lots of small items I would like to inventory, i need something like a ECC200 sticker 5mm x 5mm that has a GUID. Anyone have ideas?
• 10g1k 3y ago
  My recommendation: A strong extractor fan/range hood, or open windows. The solder fumes are killers. Protect your health.
• aetherspawn 3y ago
  Does anyone have recommendations for a cheap rack mount setup of power supplies, testing equipment etc? We have a 1/3 height wheely rack in the office that can be wheeled over to someone’s workspace, and it would be more convenient than setting up a dedicated station.
  • stacktrust 3y ago
    Good quality, 30" wide wire shelving on wheels can support the weight of a small (e.g. 12U) rack loaded with equipment. For cost savings, you can use an open rackmount frame instead of an enclosed rack. Additional wire shelves can be used as needed for containers. Example baker's rack, https://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-Supreme-Kitchen-Microwave-Chrome/dp/B007EIXU30/ https://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-Supreme-Kitchen-Microwave-Chr...
  • procarch2019 3y ago
    I’ve never seen rack mount kits for that equipment. Best bet would be to buy some rack shelves and affix standard equipment to it. Get a little horizontal PDU or 2 for the back side and you’re made.
    • aetherspawn 3y ago
      I think this is the most economical option too, thanks. There are some decent rack mount shelves you can buy. It would not look as aesthetically pleasing or perhaps be as stable as bolted and racked equipment, but the function is the same.
  • willis936 3y ago
    Depends on what you consider cheap and how janky you're willing to go. I put together a $350 22U SysRack this week. Not my first choice, tolerances are high, everything is flimsy, but it works on a budget. As for rack mount power supplies: HP models on ebay or the university auction are usually a decent option.
    • aetherspawn 3y ago
• stacktrust 3y ago
  Building a workshop in an SF rental studio, http://dammitcoetzee.com/2019/01/a-workshop-in-an-sf-studio/ http://dammitcoetzee.com/2019/01/a-workshop-in-an-sf-studio/ “I should just build a floor on my floor!” I joked to my friend. “Yea, I could just put some plywood on top of the carpet. Then it would be safe from metal shavings and other workshop mess.” We laughed at the ridiculous idea. However, my subconscious wasn’t laughing. “build a floor on my floor…. build a floor on my floor” it echoed in the depths. It waited.
  • stephen_g 3y ago
    Good build, not sure why they're making a big deal about the idea, I think it's a pretty normal solution and what a lot of people would do? Makes for more interesting reading at least I guess! A bit more ideal would be to use an ESD dissipative vinyl flooring product on top of the ply and properly ground it, but what they've got is better than carpet and probably fine for most of what you'd do at home I guess.
• nuker 3y ago
  Change PSU for lab grade one, this one is nasty.
• k_sze 3y ago
  Just a quick note that you DON'T want the Hakko FX-888D soldering station. It has a push button UI that doesn't make sense. Louis Rossmann had complained about it on YouTube a loooong time ago. If you still want a simple Hakko soldering station, pay a bit more and get a Hakko FX-950, which has an analog turn-knob UI; the old FX-888 (without the "D") had been discontinued a loooong time ago.
  • iz_zi 3y ago
    Pinecil ftw
  • midoridensha 3y ago
    The iron itself works great. The UI is insane, though: you'll want to keep the instructions next to the station in case you need to make any changes. However, in practice you probably won't need to make changes much. I think the UI of the FX-888D was really designed for production environments, where managers set them for a certain setting and leave it there, and then prevent the operators from changing it.
• femto 3y ago
  I generally find that storage drawers and trays don't work for me. Invariably you get it all nicely organised, then at a future point you acquire a new component that breaks the organisation, or you eventually want finer grained sorting than the number of drawers/trays can provide. The method I've settled on is a (cheap) set of steel storage shelves. I have a bunch of labelled cardboard boxes (shoebox sized) stacked on those shelves, a box per major category (resistors, capacitors, ...). Inside the boxes are a bunch of (cheap) zip lock plastic bags, each holding a particular value component. This system is versatile as bag sizes can be varied according to how much space is required. (eg. the surface mount box has lots of small bags). It's easy to add new components as you just break out a new bag and throw it in the appropriate box. Have a "miscellaneous" box for bits that don't fit in a category and if that box fills up break out an extra box or two and create some new categories for some of the "misc" stuff. You can customise what goes inside the box, such as anti-static bags for semiconductors, no bags at all for things that will stack in a box or a box full of loose odds and sods of wire. Shoebox sized is small enough to easily search, but big enough to hold things. The upside down lid of the box can be used as a sorting tray whilst searching.
• zargon 3y ago
  schmartboard.com has the best jumper wires. No more dealing with prototypes not working because the cheap wire flexed at the wrong angle.
• dismalpedigree 3y ago
  I’m pleased to see the similarities with my own setup which is likely a year or two behind this setup. Same desk, organizers, most of the products, similar challenges with a proliferation of components. Separate work desk from bench. I look forward to the inventory post as it is definitely a challenge for me.
• knodi123 3y ago
  A $70 screwdriver. Must be nice to have the kind of budget where numbers just don't matter. Ironic that he said about his iron, "Get this once and never think about it again". But he got it twice! What do you do with dual soldering irons? Does he need someone to foster the spare $120 tool in a good home?
  • InitialLastName 3y ago
    > What do you do with dual soldering irons? As someone who has multiple times heated up my soldering iron and realized it had the <big|small> tip on it when I needed the <small|big> tip, and then gone through the annoyance of swapping tips on a hot iron, I can think of at least one thing to do with two irons.
  • BluePen7 3y ago
    If I were to attempt to re-buy any large portion of my tools all at once, I'd consider it an absurd amount to spend. But over a lifetime of things breaking, you'll get a lot of large quotes for professional repairs, or replacement of a much bigger part than what actually broke. When the washer fluid sprayer on my old Tacoma failed due to decades of a wire rubbing against a sharp metal edge, I was quoted $300 for the whole harness, and 2 hours of labour at $100 an hour. Suddenly, the $120 soldering iron didn't seem so expensive. tldr: I'm only 30 and own thousands of dollars worth of tools, but at no point have I ever spent more than the quote to fix the problem at hand.
    • fuzzfactor 3y ago
      >What do you do with dual soldering irons? I still use the cheap soldering irons, carry about a dozen different ones for different occasions in my truck in a travel case. One of the most challenging was a fish-finder on an offshore boat where the very expensive underwater sensor was just fine but it was only the business end of a long waterproof multi-shielded power, analog, digital cable which was what the marinas replace whole-hog when somebody ends up with the cable caught in the propellor or something like that. Can't bring that kind of thing to the bench anyway.
• mike50 3y ago
  As an actual electronics engineer. Author is an RC Arduino hobbyist not really applicable to RF or hard core electronics. The Uni-T meter is only usable if you work at less then 50 volts. These DMM are unsafe at high voltage. Xcelite is a joke only techs from the 1970 and 1980s use their stuff nowadays it's rebadged made in china by the Apex tools conglomerate. Could by the same tool from home depot rebranded. Interesting recommendation for a multibit screwdriver when in commercial electronics screw are deeply recessed in narrow openings.
• eternityforest 3y ago
  This is the analog/dedicated enthusiast setup. Beginner/Digital: * Use the Falstad sim to play around. It's amazing and runs in a browser. * Plano molding ammo boxes. If you can't fit everything in a few, help is available, a few months in parts bin addiction rehab can change your life! * Pinecil soldering iron * Unless you're working with mains there are almost no bad meters, just ones with crappy specs. Get one with good accuracy and all the features. * Now get an ESP32 Arduino-alike module. Something similar to a wemos S3 mini. Don't pay more than $15. Or get an M5stack. * Those crappy little modules are your friends. Especially if you are making installations and art. You don't wanna be fussing with actual soldering for onsite parts. Use female pin jumpers. Might not even need a breadboard till later!! There's a crappy little module for everything these days and they're all pretty reliable. * But not LM2596 buck modules Those are actually crappy. Other cheap regulators are probably fine. * Don't buy a bench power supply. That's more towards the enthusiast stage. Instead buy yourself some USB-PD trigger modules. Watch for 12v ones, they actually give 9v aside from some newer PPS ones, because they removed 12v from the spec. * When your thing needs power, put a trigger module on. They're like $2. If your thing needs something other than 5, 9, 15, or 20v, use a cheap regulator. * Or just power it right from the ESP32 Arduino-ish board. Either way, USB saves the day. * If you want to do anything beyond this, just buy exactly the stuff you need for the project. Parts hoarding is an unrelated hobby that doesn't have much to do with electronics. * Get a 3D printer or learn woodworking if you want to make nice finished projects * Wago connectors are your friend if you ever encounter wire bigger than 24awg or so. * All cherry MX keyboard switch clones are good. All other cheap switches are suspect * Microusb is evil
• xarromaster 3y ago
  10/10 Awesome!!! When I was a child, I dreamed of having one like this !! I love Electronics.
• jvandonsel 3y ago
  New blog genre. “Workbench porn”
• bjkayani 3y ago
  Hi all. I am the author of the article and wanted to address some of the points raised here. First of all, thank you reading the article and giving feedback. I never thought it would ever reach this many people. I wanted to address the choices I made and the discussion of the lab being inadequate for real EE work. I wont argue that my choices are a bit over the place with some tools being at the highest end (eg. Knipex Side Cutters) while others being at the very low end (eg. Electronic Load). The math of cost for my lab doesn't work the same way as a professional lab. I don't make any significant money from it. Hence the way I make choices is purely based on my requirements and on how much I use a particular tool. I use the hand tools most frequently hence I splurge on the expensive stuff. For the equipment (Scope, DMM, PSU), I slowly work my way upwards in price on a as needed basis. The current options work fine for me for the projects I work on and hence I dont see a good reason to invest in the more expensive piece of kit right away. If I need it, I will realize that and then go and buy that. Compare that to a professional lab where there is a big cost of time and failures. Hence it makes sense to have higher end, more reliable equipment from the get go. And most labs are more purpose driven and will have equipment for that specific purpose anyways. Moving on, there was good advice on soldering irons. I would admit that my setup might not be the best option for the current times. I have ordered the Pinecil and other similar options and will update the guide with my findings accordingly. I will also add info about some of the missing stuff like the fume extractor, tweezers (dont know how I missed those), logic analyzer etc. I will share more details about my component inventory and organization system soon. My setup is always evolving and improving based on my needs, knowledge and experience. This was just a snapshot in time of how it currently stands with hopes that it would help and inspire other makers and engineers out there. There wont be a singular solution that works for everyone and that is the way it is. I just wanted to share what currently works best for me. Finally, I apologize for not disclosing the Amazon affiliate links. I added that to the post and will be more transparent about it in the future. Thank you.