Building Your Own

Electronics Lab

Dale Wheat
Apress*

Contents

About the Author

I About the

Technical Reviewer

J
xi
xii

Acknowledgments

xiii

Introduction

xiv

Chapter 1: Planning Your Electronics Workshop

What to Expect

It Starts with

Plan

A Broad Outline

A Little Time

A Little Space

Basic Tools

Fundamental

Components

Ideas

Goals

Inspiration!

How

Electricity Works

The Theoretical
A Practical

Approach

Approach

7
7
9

Safety

10

Lighten Up!

11

Environmental Impact

14

CONTENTS

Budgeting

14

Buying New

14

Finding Used

15

Harvesting
Some

or

Recycling

15

16

Example Workshops

A Fresh Start

16

The Robot Clubhouse

17

A Cautionary Tale

17

Summary
m

Chapter

18

2:

Building Your Tool Chest

The Most Important Tool Ever

Care and

19

Feeding of Your Brain

All Those Other

21

Bits, Too

21

Basic Hand Tools

Wire Cutters and Wire

22
23

Strippers

Pliers and Tweezers

29

Screwdrivers, Nut Drivers, Wrenches,

and Ratchets

Screws, Bolts, and Nuts

More

30
33

Specialized Hand Tools

Wire

19

34

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

Inspection Equipment

Equipment

44
45

Physical Measurement Devices

46

Simple Electronic Measurement Tools

47

Advanced Test and Measurement Equipment

49

Multimeters

50

Oscilloscopes

51

Power

ii

CONTENTS

Supplies

55

Organizing Your Tools

56

Summary

56

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

CONTENTS

Component

Data Sheets

Summary

86

Chapter 4: A Portable Mini-Lab

87

Have Lab, Will Travel

87

The Compact Executive Model

87

No Soldering

Required

The Ever-Shrinking

Electrical

90

Computing Device

Experiments You Can Perform

91

91

Lighten Up, 20th Century Style

91

95

Slightly More Permanent Circuit

Multiple Uses for the LED

The

Special Project Portable Laboratory

100

101

Summary

104

Chapter 5: The Cozy Corner Lab

105

The Rehabilitation of

105

Small but Useful Area

Science to the Rescue!

106

Organization

107

The Great Divide

107

Adding
A

Power Source

Clean, Well-Lighted Space

110
111

Tools

112

Under the Desk

115

Components

115

Where to Go from Here

116

Projects

viii

86

116

Parallel and Series Circuits

117

Batteries in Series and Parallel

122

CONTENTS

Switches in Series

123

Switches in Parallel

124

The

125

Three-Way Switch

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

133

Summary

Chapter 6:

The Small

Group Lab and Classroom

Know Yourself

135
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
Be

Hospitable Host

Be a Courteous Guest

Workstations
Safety Planning

140
140
141

142
142

Presentations

143

Summary

143
ix

CONTENTS

Appendix A: Getting Started

A

Very Simple Power Supply

An

Easy 2.5

Watts

Adding Features

with Tool

Building

145
145
147
154

Various Indicators

155

Power-On Indicator

155

Power Supply Voltage

156

Power Supply Current

158

Summary

159

Index

161