Cool projects to do

[Daniel Gerhard]

Hi, I am new to this forum and was looking for some advice on projects. I am only 15 so no AC sadly. I am not really new to electronics, can use arduinos and stuff like that. Most of my electronics have been torn from dead circuit boards or things like motors from fans being thrown away, I also know how to do things like create logic with transistors. Just wanted some cool projects to do. Plz don't just say LMA02823 or because I will have no clue what that means. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Daniel

 

[JimB]

Welcome to the forum.

Plz don't just say LMA02823 or because I will have no clue what that means.

Please don't use text speak words like "plz"

I am only 15 so no AC sadly.

What is an "AC sadly", and why does being 15 prevent you from having one?

JimB

 

[Visitor]

I believe "no AC" means no line voltage projects. Based on some of the posts, that might be a good idea for many people here.

 

[Daniel Gerhard]

What is an "AC sadly", and why does being 15 prevent you from having one?

JimB

AC stands for alternating current- also known as mains. What I am looking for is DC- direct current what batteries produce

 

[JimB]

AC stands for alternating current- also known as mains.

OK, if you don't have a mains supply, how are you going to power a soldering iron to join the components and wires together?

Do you have any test equipment, even a basic multimeter?

JimB

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

OK, if you don't have a mains supply, how are you going to power a soldering iron to join the components and wires together?

I suspect his parents won't let him play with mains, for safety reasons.

 

[Daniel Gerhard]

I suspect his parents won't let him play with mains, for safety reasons.

Yes I have mains but I just can’t use it to power a circuit I have made. And yes I have a multimeter soldering iron and stuff like that

 

[gophert]

OK, if you don't have a mains supply, how are you going to power a soldering iron to join the components and wires together?

Do you have any test equipment, even a basic multimeter?

JimB

Why are you so binary and lacking in empathy?. Think about his situation. He is 15 and coming here for advice.

I am guessing (empathy in action) that his only mentors for electronics are likely here on the internet. We will not be able to look over his shoulder to make sure he is working safely and building safe projects. Additionally guessing (more empathy) that the adults in his life seem to understand that electricity can be dangerous so they are asking him not to make projects that take mains power into the project box or breadboard. I am guessing battery power snd, possibly, 12V dc or USB adapters for 5v are all safe options for his quest to play/learn electronics. See, all those assumptions from his little statement..."no AC". I am sure nobody has been electrocuted by plugging in a DC/USB adapter or used a soldering iron with reasonable care.

 

[gophert]

Hi, I am new to this forum and was looking for some advice on projects. I am only 15 so no AC sadly. I am not really new to electronics, can use arduinos and stuff like that. Most of my electronics have been torn from dead circuit boards or things like motors from fans being thrown away, I also know how to do things like create logic with transistors. Just wanted some cool projects to do. Plz don't just say LMA02823 or because I will have no clue what that means. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Daniel

im working on a wifi weather station for my back yard. I am using a small solar panel and lithium battery to power an Arduino IDE programmable ESP32 (kind of a 3.3v Arduino with wifi and Bluetooth). It also uses a temp/humidity/pressure sensor from Bosch. There is a lot going on there for a beginner but, let us know what you are interested in and we can get you started.
also, have you designed a PC? Custom PCBs can be made in China and you can get 5 pieces for about $10 with non-express postage. It might be an interesting place to start.

 

[Daniel Gerhard]

im working on a wifi weather station for my back yard. I am using a small solar panel and lithium battery to power an Arduino IDE programmable ESP32 (kind of a 3.3v Arduino with wifi and Bluetooth). It also uses a temp/humidity/pressure sensor from Bosch. There is a lot going on there for a beginner but, let us know what you are interested in and we can get you started.
also, have you designed a PC? Custom PCBs can be made in China and you can get 5 pieces for about $10 with non-express postage. It might be an interesting place to start.

Hi thank you for all of the advice. Sounds like a great project and will definitely give it a try, I do have a pressure sensor and loads of arduino boards, none of which contain WiFi or bluetooth, however, I am sure I can pick one up for not too much. I also have plenty of solar panels from old garden lights which I can hook in series to charge about 5V hopefully. Never properly designed a PCB but have the ones you just solder things to and "connect the dots". Thanks for the help.
Daniel

 

[gophert]

Hi thank you for all of the advice. Sounds like a great project and will definitely give it a try, I do have a pressure sensor and loads of arduino boards, none of which contain WiFi or bluetooth, however, I am sure I can pick one up for not too much. I also have plenty of solar panels from old garden lights which I can hook in series to charge about 5V hopefully. Never properly designed a PCB but have the ones you just solder things to and "connect the dots". Thanks for the help.
Daniel

Free software to design boards is available from easyEDA

EasyEDA - Online PCB design & circuit simulator

EasyEDA is a free and easy to use circuit design, circuit simulator and pcb design that runs in your web browser.

easyeda.com

Or designsparkPCB (google it). Several others also exist.

Also, pcbs can be made at JLCPCB.com or pcbway.com (I've used both). Many others also exist.

Tutorials are on youtube. Check back if you want to refine an idea as you think of some.

 

[Daniel Gerhard]

Just checking that this is correct???

 

[atferrari]

Caps for decoupling?

 

[Daniel Gerhard]

Caps for decoupling?

Hi, the power supply will be coming from a solar charge controller, in this case do I need the capacitors, secondly- I know what decoupling capacitors do but can i just use any old capacitor and put it in?
Thanks
Daniel

 

[atferrari]

I always had the concept that not only noise from the circuit itself but the one induced into your circuit could affect it.

 

[Daniel Gerhard]

I always had the concept that not only noise from the circuit itself but the one induced into your circuit could affect it.

Ok

Would this work, and if so, if the input voltage is 3.7V how many farads would the capacitor need to be, how many volts and what kind (electrolytic or ceramic)?

 

[Visitor]

Bypass capacitors are usually 0.1uF / 100nF (2 ways of saying the same thing). In the case of an ESP32 module, bypass caps are already on the board, so adding another is unnecessary but it couldn't hurt. Match the pitch (leg spacing) on the board to the pitch of the caps you have.

Great first attempt at laying out a board. A couple suggestions:

Usually, 90° turns in tracks are avoided. Use two 45° angles instead. 90° turns can result in a weak point during fabrication, and the track breaking at the sharp turn.

For simple boards, I like to use wide tracks, say 0.016" or even wider where space isn't an issue. The fab house may be able to do 0.006" tracks, but if you push the limits of what they can do, sometimes boards fail.

Mounting holes in the corners are usually a good idea so the board can be mounted to a panel or in an enclosure. I usually use 3.2mm holes which will work with either a 3mm or 4-40 standoff.

Rounded corners on the pcb ("rounded rectangle" in EasyEDA) are a nice touch too. Nothing wrong with square corners on the board, but boards with rounded corners are nicer to handle.

My personal approach is to take a wider view, especially where lots of I/O pins are available. You might not need some "extras" on the board, but will adding an LED or tactile switch make the board useful for something else? Or bringing out a few port pins to 3-pin connectors (signal, power and ground) be useful at some point to add another sensor or drive a relay? It doesn't cost anything to add holes to the board and you don't have to add those parts if not needed for a particular app.

 

[throbscottle]

Don't forget good old perf-board. I've been using it a lot lately. Combined with some cheap 0.1mm magnet wire (you solder through the insulation) it's not a bad way to try out circuits when they've got too complicated for the solderless breadboard, also not bad as a permanent build if you choose. Certainly simpler and arguably cheaper than making pcb's or getting them made.
Hi Daniel, btw
You could make yourself the logic probe and logic pulser I've been failing to make for myself for the last 20 years. Very useful items for the experimenter! Continuity tester also (current limited!) - save wear on your dmm battery when hunting for bad connections

 

[Daniel Gerhard]

Hi thank you for all the suggestions
this is what i got:

any other suggestions would be much appreciated

 

[Daniel Gerhard]

Don't forget good old perf-board. I've been using it a lot lately. Combined with some cheap 0.1mm magnet wire (you solder through the insulation) it's not a bad way to try out circuits when they've got too complicated for the solderless breadboard, also not bad as a permanent build if you choose. Certainly simpler and arguably cheaper than making pcb's or getting them made.
Hi Daniel, btw
You could make yourself the logic probe and logic pulser I've been failing to make for myself for the last 20 years. Very useful items for the experimenter! Continuity tester also (current limited!) - save wear on your dmm battery when hunting for bad connections

Will definitely give it a go after this project