Electronics Blog

7 Things ALL Electronics Hobbyists Must Have at Their Workbench

Regardless of your level of experience, there are certain tools that all electronics hobbyists and makers will find are “go-to” tools.

Test equipment and tools are probably the most important investment a hobbyist can make.

These tools can tell you how something works (or doesn’t). They let you explore the inner workings of a circuit or gadget. They enable you to take something apart and put it back together (in the case of tools such as screw drivers etc.). Test equipment and tools help you create. Testing also collects data.

This post goes over 7 of the most important and common tools you’ll want to have at your workbench. Some you may use more than others, but if you’re serious about electronics you’ll want all of them at your disposal.

Electronics Quiz #2

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Unlike college finals, little “unofficial” quizzes can be fun. Plus, it’s been a while since the first electronics quiz, which many of you seemed to enjoy. Enter Electronics Quiz #2.

This post is another short electronics quiz to assess your knowledge, perhaps learn something along the way, and most of all, have some fun — just as last time.

However, this electronics quiz is a bit different than the last.

[Read more…] about Electronics Quiz #2

What is a Quantum Dot?

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You may have been asking yourself the question what is a quantum dot?

After all, the buzz surrounding quantum dots — especially in the TV and display industry — is loud right now.

And while this post is about what a quantum dot is and how they work and not about TV displays, television is something we’re all familiar with and most of us own at least one. This gives us a convenient and familiar way to explain some of the concepts behind them and answer the question: what is a quantum dot?

Toward that end, if you’re looking for a write up of various display technologies or recommendations on which TV to buy, sorry, this is not for you.

If you’re looking for information on quantum dots and want to learn more about them, this is for you.

How OBD-II Vehicle Diagnostics Work, Part 2: A Closer Look

How OBD-II Vehicle Diagnostics Work

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Since January 1^st, 1996 all vehicles have been required to have On-board Diagnostics II, also known as OBD-II.

On-board diagnostics existed before then, but the process for reading diagnostic data varied from manufacturer to manufacturer.

If you knew the “secret” sequence, you could use your car key to turn the ignition switch a certain way and hopefully get the check engine light to blink out the error code. Not only did you need to know the correct sequence for the ignition switch, you had to then be able to decode the blinks.

7 Mistakes to Avoid When Programming Arduino & Other Microcontrollers

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For the electronics enthusiast, programming languages have become a tool almost as ubiquitous as the soldering iron. Just as there’s the old trusty iron on most workbenches, not far away lies some sort of compiler or IDE.

Sure, there are useful and cool things that you can produce without the use of a microcontroller, but there’s also a lot of useful and cool things that would be very difficult or impossible to make without a microcontroller.

One problem is — for those new to electronics at least — that learning to program can be daunting, just like learning to solder for can be daunting some.