You only need to look around the room to see the influence that Electronics has on your life. It’s pretty hard to imagine an existence without modern electronics, almost everything we do during the day (including reading this website) is made easier and better thanks to the cool electronic devices that we pretty well take for granted.
Electronics as a hobby is something that has been around for decades, indeed some of the earlier advances in electronics where due to hobbyist and their experiments. Things like radio, television, computers and even robots have all been developed and perfected by hobbyists long before they became commercial devices.
You might think that in this modern age it’s pretty well impossible to build or develop something new in electronics – after all you really need to be a multi-billion dollar corporation with a research team and a high-tech manufacturing factory in order to do this right? Well actually that isn’t true at all! In fact today’s new generation of microcontrollers, inexpensive electronic parts and circuit boards assembled in China and Taiwan have ushered in a new era of electronics experimentation. Consequently you can now build things that we could only dream of just 10 years ago, even if you’re just a beginner.
So check out our easy to follow tutorials and detailed videos and get started on your electronics creation today. Even if you’re just a beginner you’ll be a young Tom Edison before you know it.
Welcome to the Workshop!
Diodes are the oldest and most elementary semiconductor. They are also among the most useful, and there are a variety of diodes to do everything from convert AC to DC to detecting radio waves and to producing light. Today we wil take a look at diodes. We'll see how they work, and how to use them. It's time we took a fresh look at infrared remote controls, so here is everything you need to know about using IR remote controls with microcontrollers. Learn how to receive, decode and send IR signals, including ones from those hard-to-decode remotes like air conditioners. Examples with both an Arduino and ESP32. LoRa is a Long Range radio system that is inexpensive and free to use. You can achieve great distances with a simple wire antenna, and LoRa is very easy to use. Today we will see how LoRa works and how we can use LoRa modules to communicate between Arduino, ESP32 and Raspberry Pi Pico boards. We'll also build a data-gathering system that you can easily expand upon. Operational Amplifiers, or "op-amps", are fundamental analog electronics building blocks that are used in both analog and digital designs. And if you are not using them, it's about time you started! Op-amps can be wired in dozens of different configurations, they are very versatile.< /p> Let's learn more about using Operational Amplifiers. Learn to use seven different DC motor drivers with an Arduino Uno. We'll see how to put these to use with motors of all sizes, and of course we have hookup diagrams and code samples! Linear DC Power supplies are no longer as common as switching supplies, but they are still a good choice for many applications. Today we will learn how linear power supplies work, how they differ from switching power supplies, and how to use voltage regulator modules. We will then construct a DC Power Supply suitable for use on the workbench. The GC9A01 is a circular LCD module that is ideal for instrumentation and other cool display applications. In this article, we will learn how to use this display with an Arduino Uno and an ESP32. Learn how to use both 7-segment and dot-matrix LED displays with an Arduino. We will be working with both single and multiple display units, in a variety of configurations. LEDs are by no means dead, they are still a great choice for a number of applications. Add one to your next Arduino project. The 555 is one of the most popular integrated circuits ever created, with over a billion of them produced every year. In many cases, the 555 is a simpler and better choice than using a microcontroller. Today we will learn how the 555 works, and then we will build five simple projects using a 555 timer. LiPo batteries are incredible powerhouses, they have a higher power-to-weight ratio than any other type of battery. But with all that power comes a number of safety concerns, and not following them could lead to a deadly LiPo fire. Today we will learn how LiPo batteries work, how to charge, discharge, balance, store and dispose of them. And, just in case, we'll see how to extinguish a LiPo fire. Come and meet the XIAO, a tiny 32-bit Arduino-compatible microcontroller that goes for only 5 dollars! This amazing little device outperforms the Arduino AVR boards and offers features like an analog output and 10 PWM pins. We will explore the XIAO using the Arduino IDE and see how easy it is to use. We have seen how to control DC devices with an Arduino, now it's time to learn how to control AC equipment. In this article I will show you a SAFE method of experimenting with AC on your workbench. Basic Logic chips have been around for a very long time, yet they are still used in new designs. An understanding of how basic logic chips work will move your design skills up a notch. Today we will look at the most elementary of logic chips, the basic gates. We'll also learn about logic families, and we'll see how to create a logic chip emulator using an Arduino. We'll finish up by designing a simple intruder alarm using an Arduino and a basic logic gate. In this rather shifty article I'll show you how to use some fundamental electronic building blocks - shift registers. These handy devices can let you add oodles of input and output ports to your Arduino or other microcontrollers, and they're very easy to use.. Follow along and learn how to make 74HC165 and 74HC595 shift registers work for you. The TB6612FNG is a MOSFET-based dual H-Bridge motor controller that can be used in place of the popular L298N. This controller is smaller and much more efficient. Best of all, you can use it in L298N designs without changing your code! Let's see how to make use of this H-Bridge with an Arduino Today I'm going to compare the performance of a tiny Laser-based time-of-flight sensor, the TOF10120, with the classic HC-SR04 ultrasonic range finder. After we hook the sensors up to an Arduino I'll put them to the test on my "unique" testbed. The results might surprise you. Learn how to use Bipolar Junction Transistors and MOSFETs to interface high-current DC loads with an Arduino. We will cover both BJTs and MOSFETs in this guide to interfacing your Arduino with the outside world. Today we will construct a simple bench power supply that has both fixed and variable output voltages. It's a great project for beginners and useful enough for an expert! Our design will make use of popular buck converter modules and an unused power "brick" from an old laptop computer, which you should have no problem obtaining. Learn about the Peltier Effect and how to use a common and inexpensive Peltier cooler to cool down your electronic projects. We will perform a few experiments with a Peltier module, including using it to make ice! We will also hook up a Peltier Cooler assembly that you can get on eBay. An Analog Feedback Servo Motor is a servo motor that has a connection to its internal feedback potentiometer. Thi sallows you to measure the precise position of the motor shaft in real-time Today we will learn how to calibrate and use this motor, we'll even see how it can be used as an input device to memorize and repeat a sequence of movements. The NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit is a powerful AI development platform that can be had for only 99 US dollars. Today we will look at the Nano and set one up with a microSD card image. We'll also run a few test programs to show off its capabilities. Prototyping and breadboarding is an essential skill for anyone working with electronics or experimenting with microcontrollers and microcomputers. In this article I will show you the basics of breadboarding, along with some breadboard accessories that you are sure to find useful. A Bench Power Supply is an essential component for any serious electronics experimenter. But a good supply with multiple output voltages and a high current capability can set you back some serious cash In this article we'll look at an alternative - using an old computer ATX power supply as a high-performance workbench power supply. It's a simple project that can give you a highly capable piece of equipment for next to nothing The WiFi Stepper is exactly what its name would imply - a board that lets you control a stepper motor via WiFi. Its full-featured web-based interface gives you complete control of your motor, and it can support steppers of all sizes up to 85 volts at 10 amps! Today I'll demonstrate how to use this versatile board. I'll hook it up, learn how to use it and even run a simple Bash script on a Raspberry Pi to demonstrate how to incorporate it in your programs. The RCWL-0156 is an inexpensive yet useful proximity sensor that can be used on its own or with a microcontroller like an Arduino Uno. The device is unique in that it uses microwaves and Doppler Radar to detect moving objects In this article I will show you how the device works on its own and how we can add an Arduino (or two) to create some useful projects One of the most important, yet most overlooked, aspect of building a project is designing a method of giving it power. Power sources like batteries and AC adapters are only half of the answer, you still need to provide logic-level voltages to safely power your devices. In this article we will look at several methods of providing safe regulated power for your electronic designs. RGB (Red-Green-Blue) LEDs are versatile devices that can add color and functionality to your Arduino projects. In this article we’ll examine the different types or RGB LEDs available to experimenters and see how to best use them with an Arduino. It promises to be a very colorful read! Here's a quick tip for soldering a 40-pin GPIO connector to a Raspberry Pi Zero or Zero W. While it's not a difficult solder job the problem many folks have is getting everything aligned and held together while you do the soldering. In this article I'll show you a trick I use to make this job a lot easier. And unlike some other methods this one won't sacrifice a solderless breadboard So warm up the soldering iron and get ready to add a GPIO header to your Pi Zero! It's hard to say anything nice about static electricity. It causes things to stick to your socks, makes it difficult to comb your hair and can give you a nasty zap when you touch a doorknob after walking across a carpet! Even worse, static electricity is a deadly enemy for electronic components. A static shock can completely destroy or severely degrade fragile semiconductor devices. In this article we'll examine what you can do to prevent that from happening to your precious components and circuit boards. Electronics can be a fun and rewarding hobby especially when you have the right tools and test equipment. A lot of people think that some of the specialized equipment for working with electronics is beyond their reach but this isn't true at all. You'll be amazed how much you can get within the constraints of a small budget. In this detailed article I'll discuss the tools that you need for working with electronics and how to select them. So read on and learn how to pick the right tools to do the job!Diodes - A Practical Guide
IR Remotes Revisited - 2023
LoRa - Getting Started with Arduino, ESP32 & Pico
Op-Amps - Analog Building Blocks
Driving DC Motors with Microcontrollers
Designing and Building Linear DC Power Supplies
Using GC9A01 Round LCD Modules
LED Displays with Arduino
Using the 555 Timer
Safely using LiPo Batteries
Meet the Seeeduino XIAO
Controlling AC Devices with Arduino
Using Basic Logic Gates - With & Without Arduino
Shift Registers - 74HC595 & 74HC165 with Arduino
TB6612FNG H-Bridge with Arduino - Better Than L298N?
LASER vs Ultrasonic - Distance Sensor Tests
Arduino High-Current Interfacing - Transistors & MOSFETs
Simple Bench Power Supply that Anyone Can Build!
Peltier Effect Cooling Experiments
Analog Feedback Servo Motor
Getting Started with the NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit
Prototyping & Breadboarding
Convert an ATX Computer Supply to a Bench Power Supply
WiFi Stepper Motor Controller
Experiments with the RCWL-0516 - Doppler Radar Distance Sensor
Powering Your Electronics Projects - Voltage Regulators and Converters
RGB LEDS - Colorful Arduino Experiments
Soldering the Raspberry Pi Zero GPIO Connector
Don't get Zapped by Static Electricity!
Tools for Your Electronics Workbench
