This was good fun: EEVblog #168 – How To Set Up An Electronics Lab. I think I ticked most of the boxes, but it did give me an idea of a few things I’m missing. But not for long! :)
EEVblog #168 – How To Set Up An Electronics Lab
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Category Archives: Electronics
Resistance is futile
I was chatting with my mate CK about my resistor inventory. I’ve got two sets of shelves dedicated to resistors, and a folder with 50 resistors of pretty much every type possible at 1/4 watt and 1% precision.
Diagnosing non-functional RD6006W
So I have a Geekcreit® XH-M229 Desktop Computer Chassis Power Supply Module ATX Transfer Board Power Output Terminal Module which I’ve plugged into an old ATX power supply. I’m using that to power a RD RD6006 RD6006W USB WiFi DC DC Voltage current Step-down bench Power Supply module buck adjustable converter multimeter 60V 6A. When I assembled my RD6006W and powered it up, “nothing happened”. I wasn’t sure where the fault was, but I used my new OWON XDM1041 Digital Multimeter and my TENMA 72-10505 Bench Power Supply to narrow down the problem: I’ve blown the fuse for the 12 volt line on my ATX power supply. So gonna replace that soon. In the mean time I’ve been testing my RD6006W by powering it off the 5 volt line. So far so good.
ANENG AN-999S Desktop Multimeter
So I got myself a new toy from AliExpress: ANENG AN-999S Desktop Voice Multimeter Professional Digital Bluetooth 19999 Counts True RMS Auto Range DC/AC Meter (I got the ‘AN999S 4’ option with batteries and extras). It’s just a bench multimeter, but it has some cool features which make it a welcome addition to my workstation, which is that it has a built-in clock and thermomiter, and if you press the button on the COM lead it will speak the reading for you, which is pretty cool, and I guess means you don’t have to look away from the circuit to get your reading. Look forward to playing with this one, definitely a happy customer so far.
Rigol Scopes
So I watched this talk about setting up a home electronics lab in which the presenter recommended Rigol scopes as being a good budget brand for entry-level hobbyists (like me!). I did some research and collated some data and put together this report on Rigol scopes. As mentioned in the report in the end I settled on an MSO5074. I’m a prosumer, baby!
References
Some references I have in my lab (so far!):
New toys
Got myself some new toys! On the left is an OWON XDM1041 Digital Multimeter (for AUD$169.49 from AliExpress) and on the right is an UNI-T UTG962E Function Waveform Generator (for AUD$202.35 from AliExpress).
On the black table in the left is my Digitech QM1323 Digital Multimeter. You can see I’ve been hanging my probes from my lamp, which seems to work:
@epilys on #lobsters asked about my LED Lamp, which is an 5 Diopter LED Illuminated Magnifying Lamp.
Fixing HB6317 bin
I got myself a few more of these HB6317 bin racks from Jaycar. The problem was one of the bins arrived damaged, the small extrusions which hold the bin in place had snapped off:
So I busted out my rotary tool:
My hot glue gun:
An old coat hanger:
And fixed my storage bin:
Bug fixed!
Lab upgrades
So today I installed two shelves above one of my workstations. I also bolted a power board and an ATX power supply adapter to the wall:
Can’t wait for my bench equipment to arrive!
Continuity tester
I had a suspected short circuit in a cable I made (I think I used too much heat on the heat shrink and caused insulation to melt) and what I needed was a continuity tester. My multimeter is bollocks for continuity so I knocked together my own:
I used a green 5mm LED, a 68 ohm resistor, two AA batteries, some banana sockets, and a bit of wire. I used my rotary tool with drill bit, burr, and countersink to score the holes in the case.
I used this LED Resistor Calculator to figure out the resistor rating (~50 ohms). I used my M328 Multi-Function Tester to figure out the forward voltage across my LED (it was 2.1 V, the default).
p.s. the cable under test was shorted! Turns out its a bad idea to put heat shrink tubing over electrical tape! And now we know.