electronics workshops
DESCRIPTION
How an electronics workshop should be likeTRANSCRIPT
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Building Your Own
Electronics Lab
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Dale Wheat
Apress*
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ContentsJ
m About the Author xi
I About the Technical Reviewer xii
Acknowledgments xiii
i Introduction xiv
m Chapter 1: Planning Your Electronics Workshop 1
What to Expect 1
It Starts with a Plan 2
A Broad Outline 2
A Little Time 2
A Little Space 3
Basic Tools 3
Fundamental Components 4
Ideas 5
Goals 6
Inspiration! 7
How Electricity Works 7
The Theoretical Approach 7
A Practical Approach 9
Safety 10
Lighten Up! 11
Environmental Impact 14
V
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* CONTENTS
Budgeting 14
Buying New 14
Finding Used 15
Harvesting or Recycling 15
Some Example Workshops 16
A Fresh Start 16
The Robot Clubhouse 17
A Cautionary Tale 17
Summary 18
m Chapter 2: Building Your Tool Chest 19
The Most Important Tool Ever 19
Care and Feeding of Your Brain 21
All Those Other Bits, Too 21
Basic Hand Tools 22
Wire Cutters and Wire Strippers 23
Pliers and Tweezers 29
Screwdrivers, Nut Drivers, Wrenches, and Ratchets 30
Screws, Bolts, and Nuts 33
More Specialized Hand Tools 34
Wire Crimpers 34
Computers 35
Tools for Soldering 37
Power Tools 40
Drills and Drill Bits 40
Laser Cutters and 3D Printers 43
Basic Test and Measurement Equipment 44
Inspection Equipment 45
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a CONTENTS
Physical Measurement Devices 46
Simple Electronic Measurement Tools 47
Advanced Test and Measurement Equipment 49
Multimeters 50
Oscilloscopes 51
Power Supplies 55
Organizing Your Tools 56
Summary 56
ii Chapter 3: Components 57
Conductors and Interconnects 57
Electrical Schematics 57
Wire and Cables 58
Connectors 64
Passive Components 68
Resistors 68
Capacitors 76
Inductors 78
Switches 79
Active Components 81
Power Supplies 81
Diodes 82
LEDs 83
Transistors 83
Integrated Circuits 84
Acquiring Components 84
Buying New Components 85
Recycling Used Components 85
vii
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CONTENTS
Component Data Sheets 86
Summary 86
Chapter 4: A Portable Mini-Lab 87
Have Lab, Will Travel 87
The Compact Executive Model 87
No Soldering Required 90
The Ever-Shrinking Computing Device 91
Electrical Experiments You Can Perform 91
Lighten Up, 20th Century Style 91
A Slightly More Permanent Circuit 95
Multiple Uses for the LED 100
The Special Project Portable Laboratory 101
Summary 104
Chapter 5: The Cozy Corner Lab 105
The Rehabilitation of a Small but Useful Area 105
Science to the Rescue! 106
Organization 107
The Great Divide 107
Adding a Power Source 110
A Clean, Well-Lighted Space 111
Tools 112
Under the Desk 115
Components 115
Where to Go from Here 116
Projects 116
Parallel and Series Circuits 117
Batteries in Series and Parallel 122
viii
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s CONTENTS
Switches in Series 123
Switches in Parallel 124
The Three-Way Switch 125
Resistors in Series 126
Resistors in Parallel 129
Capacitors in Series and Parallel 130
Inductors in Series and Parallel 130
LEDs in Series and Parallel 131
Summary 133
Chapter 6: The Small Group Lab and Classroom 135
Know Yourself 135
Facilitator or Coordinator 135
Teacher or Presenter 136
Participant 137
Observer 137
Know Your Group 137
Your Family 137
Your Friends 138
Coworkers and Fellow Students 138
Special-Interest Groups 139
The General Public 139
A Shared Resource 140
Be a Hospitable Host 140
Be a Courteous Guest 141
Workstations 142
Safety Planning 142
Presentations 143
Summary 143
ix
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CONTENTS
Appendix A: Getting Started with Tool Building 145
A Very Simple Power Supply 145
An Easy 2.5 Watts 147
Adding Features 154
Various Indicators 155
Power-On Indicator 155
Power Supply Voltage 156
Power Supply Current 158
Summary 159
m Index 161
X