EEVblog #168 - How To Set Up An Electronics Lab

How to set up your own decent electronics lab, what you need, and how much it'll cost you.
Electronics test equipment, soldering, surface mount, hand tools, and parts.

[dougcox]

You should do a new version of this. 10 years might have made you change your mind about some things.

[Nets-nutsBr]

Dave Cad, bin, and fire extinguisher were the best ones. It is also missing a broomstick to turn the switch on from a safe distance.

[Arcsecant]

Most important thing you need: a specific project you want to do. Without something specific, you'll have real difficulty just doodling around.

[Vhbaske]

This is for me the best electronics teacher and engineer. If I had found a person like you when I started in electronics, I would have never abandoned the job. I was an expert with repairing radios, but retired when I saw the SMD devices. If I would have seen you in those days I would have continued. It is a real pleasure when you repair an electronics device. It cannot be described in words here.

[maxheadrom]

Watching old EEVBlog ... those two multimeters reminded me of a saying: "a man with one watch knows the time; a man with two isn't sure anymore."

[furrydog]

Get one multimeter or get 3.
Because when you have 2 multimeters and one says 1, 5 V and the other says 1, 7 V, which one do you trust?

[Livefreeman]

I already own an electronic lab, I was just looking for upgrades, and this video was insightful. I have a desoldering gun, very usefull to recycle components from pcb and save money on buying electronic parts. when I started this hobby, my first purchase for my electronic lab was a power supply, over the years I kept upgrading my electronic lab, and now I have semi professional lab. I didn't buy everything at once, and I don't think everyone should buy everything at once, start small and then expand your lab as you learn and experiment with electronic components. electronics is a hobby to relieve stress, and everyone should get involved, this is a motivational videos for people who don't know what they are missing. thanks for sharing.

[gnagyusa]

The *bare minimum* equipment I found:
- a good, temperature-controlled soldering iron.
- a multimeter (2 are better, but you can start with one).
- an adjustable power supply

You can start with that and buy equipment *as you need it*!

Once you start working on a project, you'll find out what you need in your lab.
Just add some *margin*: if you have a simple project that requires a 20MHz oscilloscope, but you think you'll get more serious about electronics later, get a 50MHz or a 100MHz scope, so you don't have to constantly upgrade.
Of course, a 1GHz scope would be overkill. The price goes up *exponentially* with bandwidth!
If you have a friend or two who are also into electronics and none of you will do electronics full time, you all can chip in and buy a better oscilloscope, better multimeters etc. together and time share them.

Do you do SMD? Then, you'll need at least 2 pairs of good quality tweezers and a hot air rework station.
I also got a small electric cooking plate (around $30), so I don't have to use the stove for reflow soldering.
A good magnifying lamp and magnifying goggles are essential.
Do you do digital circuits only? A 0-15V 3A power bench supply should do it.
Are you building a robot with high-power motors? You'll probably need a 50V / 10A or 20A power supply (look at the datasheets for the maximum voltage rating of the motor driver ICs and the motors !).
If you have the money, a good thermal camera will greatly speed up debugging of any circuit and it will make great thermal design possible.

[Ostrica]

instruction not clear, i bought the whole shop

[Xrispy]

I must have watched this back in 2012. I think I can attribute my success in school, and as an Engineering Technologist and Telecommunications Technician to this video.
This video, and Dave's channel, must be the biggest reason I was so interested in electronics, and so capable at learning this stuff easily over my peers.

[__sir]

You forgot to mention the various cad softwares and cnc router, metal lathe, 3d printer; a backup 4000w generator for those stormy days, molding material, metal liquifying machine.
and the mini fridge full of refreshements/snacks, piss station/gourde and the "do not disturb" and "No I'm not building a spaceship" sign for hanging outside the door. At least that's how far Ive gotten.

[techur]

My parents got me a Hakko FX-888D probably 8 years ago when I was 19, I still use it to this day and the only thing I had to change was the tip. It is a fantastic soldering station with phenomenal build quality and a lot of adaptability with the iron tips. Definitely a must have for any electronics lab, even for a hobbyist it makes a world of difference in your soldering.

[BeyondDuctTapeFixItRight]

You covered a lot of gear in a short time. I'd suggest, with a bit of US humor, you're excellent overview of lab gear is missing two pieces of kit. The terrific fundamental lab you described is missing a coffee maker and a proper beer fridge.

[michaelclayton]

I took a high reliability soldering course in the RCAF and we were told to use 63/37 solder as it has no plastic state. It helps prevent cold solder joints because it goes from liquid to solid immediately. With other solders, if there is any movement or vibration during it’s plastic state the joint will probably end up as a cold solder joint.

[raven]

I just recently picked up a 35Mhz Philips dual trace CRT scope on eBay for $27.00 USD + $20.00 shipping. 
It was originally made in ~ 1976/1978 thereabouts and the A channel knob is a bit wonky, needs a good shot of Deoxit all round and the detents are none too tight anymore (have to thump a knob or two to set it right) but otherwise it works fine.  Great little learner scope and fantastic value for money.

[camtheham]

Also ham radio flea markets are a gold mine of electronics tools and components, dirt cheap usually (negotiation encouraged) but also a lot of it is in good shape, and can be tested on site

[FirstWizardZorander]

When you really think about it, it isn't that expensive at all. Most people spend at least as much on computers and musical instruments when they can get by on a lot less. If you're serious about electronics, all this stuff is worth getting, and ensuring that you'll have a good time.

Great video, Dave!

[joeshmoe]

20:51 leads
23:41 organizing bins
4:20 fun gen

[JanPedersen]

Im an electronics engineer that really only have worked with software for the last 20 years. About 6 months ago i wanted to start with hardware again. What do I need ? Well i could go and search my memory 20 years back - or...look at this video....
I took the last choice.And went out and bought: Rigol DS1052E Oscilloscope, Antex 660A Soldering station, Basetech BT-305 Lab powersupply (0-30V/0-3A), UniTrend UT109 Multimeter, A lot of hand tools, a hole bunch of cheap components from China (all kinds of resistors, capacitors, Arduino PCBs, LCD Displays, etc.)...maybe i went a little overboard....still missing a Stereo Microscope for SMD work, ESD protection equipment (argh....), function generator (im about to build one :P ) ...but i certainly got a lot of inspiration from this video...Thx.

[rish]

Glad you included the Fire Extinguisher. I had a work buddy that was working on high current SCRs. He would go into the lab, grab the extinguisher off of the wall, and set it beside him before turning power onto his projects. There were several times when he blew flames out the side of the SCRs. [By the way, this was by design as he was pushing the device limits. I learned a valuable lesson on how powerful electricity can be in high current applications.]