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Complete Newbie to Electronics

Former Member
Former Member over 10 years ago

Hi

 

 

As per the topic title I am a complete newbie to electronics and would like to know where I should start.

There is associate degrees in Australia, at university but I live way to far away and want to know where I should start.

 

 

My first thing in mind is to buy the following project and start with it, and I am kinda looking for a similar process where I buy the tools and equipment and learn from the basics up in each area etc.

 

 

http://www.pirateselectronics.com/products/pirates-electronics-kit

 

 

So this is coming in September and I would like to get a head start, I don't know the difference between a ohmn to a diode etc. I am a disability pensioner with a neurological condition so working full time is not an option any more. My dream would be fixing old gaming systems or something in the repair technician avenue.

 

 

So previous to me being made a disability pensioner I was a watchmaker's assistant and have love working with my hands and diagnosing problems and fixing them properly. So watchmakers over here aren't that well trained and just movement exchange a watch's movement rather then repairing it. So I have plenty of time on my hands and want to do this OLD school.

 

 

I am looking at getting some basic tools, I already have a bunch of tweezers and pliers etc from my watchmaking days, so I was going to get a multimeter (fluke) and a soldering iron (digital, with variable temperature adjustments) I am guessing this is a good place to start.

 

 

Please don't flame me or diss me, Like I said I am new here and I am wanting to know what to buy from the ground up and what sites/books to read through.

 

 

Kind Regards

Scott

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Top Replies

  • jw0752
    jw0752 over 10 years ago +1
    Hi Scott, Welcome to E-14. This is a very good place to start. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here and everyone is respectful of each other regardless of our different skill levels. Here is a…
  • gadget.iom
    gadget.iom over 10 years ago +1
    Hi shen_lun . Welcome to Element14. Don't worry about getting flamed on here, it's not that type of community. With respect to repairing old equipment, google is most definitely your friend. Many devices…
Parents
  • balearicdynamics
    balearicdynamics over 10 years ago

    Hello Scott, you are welcome.

     

    Let me just suggest a thing. With pirate electronics kit you buy almost 10$ of stuff for 60$. That is not the worth, in my opinion. At the same price you can buy a breadboard for a couple of $, a couple of Arduino and probably less resistors than what you have with this kit but sure it is very difficult that (without eating them) you need about 400 different resistors for ANY project you can start with. Take a look on Element14 what is the price of a resistor and you can have an idea. Sorry for my criticism but I really dislike those companies that attract the newbies with just something having (maybe) a nice design. If you want a metal box like that yellow one (the most valuable stuff in the kit, it seems) I can send you black and you also enjoy painting it of your preferred color.

     

    With the same budget (about 60$) you can alternatively buy a Raspberry PI (B+ or version 2) and save again 20$ for discrete components. But it is better for you that before buying components you get a microcontroller board or SBC (Single Board Computer, just like Raspi) and start playing with it. See what happens and when a project start growing in your mind you buy the components you need.

     

    Enrico

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  • balearicdynamics
    balearicdynamics over 10 years ago

    Hello Scott, you are welcome.

     

    Let me just suggest a thing. With pirate electronics kit you buy almost 10$ of stuff for 60$. That is not the worth, in my opinion. At the same price you can buy a breadboard for a couple of $, a couple of Arduino and probably less resistors than what you have with this kit but sure it is very difficult that (without eating them) you need about 400 different resistors for ANY project you can start with. Take a look on Element14 what is the price of a resistor and you can have an idea. Sorry for my criticism but I really dislike those companies that attract the newbies with just something having (maybe) a nice design. If you want a metal box like that yellow one (the most valuable stuff in the kit, it seems) I can send you black and you also enjoy painting it of your preferred color.

     

    With the same budget (about 60$) you can alternatively buy a Raspberry PI (B+ or version 2) and save again 20$ for discrete components. But it is better for you that before buying components you get a microcontroller board or SBC (Single Board Computer, just like Raspi) and start playing with it. See what happens and when a project start growing in your mind you buy the components you need.

     

    Enrico

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