> From: "Bob Ammerman" > I have been developing software, embedded and otherwise, for the last 25 > years. I have often tinkered with hardware (in fact I went to college as an > EE), but have only gotten paid for doing so a few times. > I am trying to build up a moderately complete hardware lab, at modest cost > (<= $1000 total, I hope). I intend to focus on digital systems (up to maybe > 40Mhz) , with some low-frequency (ie: less than RF) analog tossed in for > flavoring. > I'm hoping you Piclisters can tell me what I need to round out my lab. > So far (largely thanks to eBay) I've got (or am awaiting shipment of) the > following: > A couple of DMMs. > A Tek 465 dual trace 100MHz delayed sweep analog scope + 2 good probes. > An HP1600A logic state analyzer. > A couple of logic probes. > A Picstart Plus. > An EPROM burner. > A UV eraser. > A frequency counter. > A triple output bench supply. > A large 'protoboard'. > A modest collection of discretes, transistors, diodes, SSI LS TTL, etc. Some > of this stuff I've had for 20+ years! That's a good starting list. Also a good quality, temperature-controlled soldering iron with stand. I use Weller, no partcular reason , just that it's what I've used all my working life, it's pretty much standard issue in the UK. A solder sucker, tweezers, tiny needlepoint pliers and a larger set of longnosed pliers, wirestripper (ask someone that uses one they like, there are some dreadful wirestrippers around). Can of freezer spray, reels of solder-wick braid. Solder of course. I've tried several types but have reverted to using Multicore brand rosin-cored which seems to wet and flow better than any of the newer flux compound types. Get thin solder, I use 22 gauge/0.7mm which is a good compromise for chunky discrete components and smaller stuff. Desk magnifier, light source, jeweller's loupe for when you need more magnification (some of those pesky solder whiskers can be very small indeed!). When buying tools DON'T ECONOMISE! This is an area where "Buy cheap" really does mean "Buy twice". I'm not sure about the protoboard. I've used it before but it really is a messy way to do stuff and you can never be really sure if a problem is with the circuit design or the protoboard. Things don't always make good contact, especially if the thing has been standing around awhile, the contacts seem to go a bit high resistance. A couple of times I've "fixed" a faulty prototype by pulling and pushing the components in the holes of the protoboard. Also quite a lot of external things won't fit neatly into the protoboard and you can end up with long patchwires and other nasty layout stuff that you'd never dream of doing on a PCB. What I do these days is prototype on PCBs designed for the this kind of thing. Don McKenzies's SIMMSticks (www.dontronics.com/simmstick - as if you need to be told:) are a good platform for developing PICS (and Atmel), I use a few of these: DT106 which is a board that takes a 16F87x, serial EEPROM, RT Clock, character LCD and RS232 or 485 chips plus all the supporting circuitry. The board has provision for a 40 way header bringing the processor pins out which is handy for a ribbon cable to an external stripboard (or protoboard if you must) for experimenting with other peripherals/IO conditioning/dummy front panels etc. With one of these and an ICD you can have an 87x prototype up and running in almost no time at all. There are similar boards for other PICs, someperipheral only boards e.g. one for relays with Darlington drivers and also some uncommitted "sea of holes" type Simmsticks which are useful for more peripheral chips, pushbuttons and pretty much anything you can devise. I've actually built a couple of custom devices using only simmsticks. As a motherboard for this I use Don's DT003 which is a simple board with power rectifier/regulator/smoothing and a MAX232 and bus slots for a few SIMMStick cards. Other manufacturers do prototyping PCBs. One of the larger ranges is from ME Labs http://www.melabs.com/mel/picproto.htm though I've not tried these yet. I'm sure others will have suggestions where to look. When you've built a few devices and have a better idea of what you're likely to be designing you might also want to consider designing your own prototype/universal/custom-product PCB and get a batch made, which would be less expensive in the long run. Other stuff: Databooks/CDs from as many chip makers as you can find. Data CDs are good but I find that with a databook I'm more likely to browse other sections, which is where those serendipitous ideas for a new product or solution occur. And, if you don't have one from your EE college days, a copy of Horowitz and Hill's Art of Electronics (ISBN 0 521 37065 7). . -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! use mailto:listserv@mitvma.mit.edu?body=SET%20PICList%20DIGEST