Tinker Tools

TOOLS


If you are going to tinker, you will, of course, need some tools. The “Construction Techniques” chapter in the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Handbook does a good job of showing what you need to get started. Actually, the ARRL Handbook is one of the most useful “tools” you can have, so consider it to be “tool number one” on your list. You can sometimes find used (and unused) handbooks, on the “freebie” table at your local Ham Radio Club meeting. I’ve seen them in used bookstores for five to ten bucks. Even if you pay the new price, whatever that is these days, the handbook is worth every penny.

You don’t need all the stuff mentioned in the ARRL Handbook in order to get started. I think a minimum list should include:

[] ARRL Handbook (tool number ONE)
[] Long Nose Pliers
[] Diagonal Wire Cutter (commonly called “dikes”)
[] Wire Stripper for removing insulation from wire
[] Assorted Screwdrivers (at least a couple sizes each: slot and Phillips)
[] Assorted small wrenches, up to 5/8”
[] Soldering Iron (25 or 30 Watt “Pencil” type)
[] Quarter-inch Electric Drill and Assorted Drill Bits
[] Hack Saw with Blade(s)
[] Pocket Knife
[] Digital Multimeter (DMM) that measures Voltage, Current, and Resistance. You can get a basic DMM that is more than adequate to do all the measuring required of the circuits that will be presented in this blog for twenty dollars, or less. For less than a hundred dollars, you can get a DMM that measures Voltage, Current, Resistance, Capacitance, Temperature, and Frequency; a diode checker, and a transistor checker.

Just about any DMM will serve you well. The meter that I use most often on my workbench is a “cheapie”BBBB import from China that I purchased for less than five bucks.

[] An electrical power source. Batteries of various sizes can be used to power most, if not all, of the circuits that will be described here. Having said that, I should point out that if you plan to do much in the way of building electronic circuits, you will, sooner or later, want to have a power supply that will provide about 12 volts of electricity and electrical current of two or more Amperes. Such a power supply is relatively easy to come by. I’ll have more to say about power supplies in a later post.

OPTIONAL (helpful, and relatively expensive) TOOLS

[] A GENERAL COVERAGE “SHORT WAVE” RECEIVER, preferably with digital read-out. I use a Grundig YB400, which also serves as a back-up receiver for my Ham Radio station in addition to being an excellent AM and FM broadcast receiver. Other, similar, radio receivers will serve nicely.
[] An electric “hobby” tool with assorted cutters and grinders. The “DREMEL” is one such tool, and there are other brands available.
[] An OSCILLOSCOPE is one of the most useful pieces of test equipment you can have when testing and/or troubleshooting electronic circuitry. An oscilloscope is also one of the most expensive pieces of test equipment, but worth every penny if you do very much “tinkering” with electronic circuits. I purchased a used Tektronix ‘scope several years ago at a good price, and it has served me well.

MATERIALS

Parts lists will be included with each circuit presented on this blog. A generalized list of things that will be needed when building is shown below.

[] Electric Tape
[] Shrink-tubing in various sizes (more expensive than tape, and much better for most applications)
[] Solder (Rosin Core, NOT Acid Core)
[] Insulated Hook-Up Wire. I recommend stranded, #24 wire. When making connections from one circuit board to another, it can be helpful to have several colors of hookup wire. White, black, red, green, yellow, orange, and blue are commonly available.
[] Bare copper wire, #20, #22 or #24. One inexpensive source for bare copper wire is automobile battery cable. About a foot or two will provide a lifetime supply. Simply remove the outer insulation, and separate the bare strands. Be sure the cable is copper. Some battery cables I have seen in auto parts stores is made of aluminum and/or aluminum alloys, which is worthless for electronic construction because it is virtually impossible to solder aluminum without special equipment and special solder.

Additional tools and materials will be detailed for individual projects, if required.

- END of TOOLS -

INTRODUCTION

The two assumptions I have made are that the reader (You) have an interest in the technical aspects (the “guts”) of electronics, and that (for whatever reason) you want to build something electronic.

Other readers are certainly welcome.

I plan to “kick-off” this blog with tutorials about fundamentals for those who may need that sort of information. Readers who already know this stuff can “sing along” and keep me honest.

The main thrust here is learning (or reviewing) how to build relatively simple electronic circuits using readily available parts and materials. What, exactly, we (You and I) build here depends largely upon the feedback I receive in the form of comments to this blog and/or email

I should point out that my experience in electronics is (mostly) high frequency (HF) radio. Accordingly, the circuits and “projects” you find here will be mostly radio receiving and transmitting equipment, along with a few accessory devices and simple test gear. Also worth noting is the fact that I will be using, for the most part, “trailing edge” technology and components for the simple reason that I find them easier to work.

I confess . . .

. . . I was born with no knowledge whatsoever about electronics, so everything you see here came from somebody else at some time or the other. I try to give credit where credit is due, and if I know the source of the circuit I am using I will site the originator(s). I have kept notes and diagrams of circuits that have worked for me, and those notes, specification sheets from component manufacturers, and an occasional construction article from various electronics magazines are my main sources of inspiration.

Every circuit you find here is one that I have built, tested, and used.

Building electronic devices from “scratch” is not everyone’s cup of tea, but for some, myself included, it is an enjoyable and rewarding hobby. A “home brew” electronic project is just that, a p.r.o.j.e.c.t, a work in progress. I have never built anything that could not be improved upon. Most of my home brew stuff is, therefore, never quite finished. There are some things I have built and used, unchanged, for years. Sooner or later, however, I simply must take the covers off and “improve” the device. Some work better, some look better (or worse), some show little or no change in appearance or performance, some never recover from the “improvement” and end up being cannibalized for parts. Each and every one provides entertainment, education, and the satisfaction that comes from messing about with tools, components, and test equipment.

Speaking of building electronic stuff, can YOU do it?

Sure you can!

Even if you have little or no experience building electronic stuff, you can do it. The entries in this blog will lead you, step-by-step, through the whole process. This, of course, will take time and effort on your part. With patience, persistence, and the ability to use simple hand tools and a digital multimeter (DMM) you will succeed and have something that you built from “ground, up” (more about the importance of “ground”, later).

Building electronic circuits provides a vehicle for exploring electronic terminology & definitions as well as components, circuits, and applications, such as - - -

[] Diodes
[] Transistors
[] “Bread and Butter” Components
[]Resistors
[]Capacitors
[]Inductors
[] Switches
[]Relays
[] Radio Receiver(s)
[] Radio Transmitter(s)
[] Electronic test equipment

. . . and, other things that do not come to mind at the moment.

You will not find much theory here, but sometimes a little knowledge can be helpful. For example, if, after you have lovingly assembled your project, it just sits there and does nothing. Yes, this sometimes happens (unless you are very, very good and/or very, very lucky). That’s part of building electronic stuff. So, we (YOU and I) will get into a bit of theory from time to time to insure you know what’s going on. Don’t worry about the theory; I’m not talking hi-tech stuff here, just simple arithmetic along with some terminology and definitions.

In my next post, we will take a look at some TOOLS you will need.

Under Construction

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Wannatinker has had several homes on the internet:


The first was at Hamradio-Online.


Next, I had wannatinker.com for a few years (it goes into the bit bucket as of 16 January 2009).





So, here I am starting all over again with Blogspot, mostly to have a place to save some of the web pages I have created over the years. It will be a while before the content is ready for prime time.