Tools of the Trade

Hand Tools

One of the best things about getting into electronics as a hobby is how accessible it is. You don’t need a shop or garage to work in, I do most of my soldering at a desk in my frankly tiny apartment. And perhaps even more importantly you don’t need to spend huge sums of money on tools to get past the starting gate, a usable toolkit can be put together for around 50 or 60 dollars and most of the parts you need can be found for small change. In the interest of helping you begin building your toolkit I’ve added a new article to the “Basics” area of this page. Have a look at The Tools of the Trade to get an idea of what tools you’ll need to get started in the exciting world of electronics DIY.

Definitions!

What is an oscillator? What is an control voltage? What is love? (Baby Don’t Hurt Me)

The first hurtle to overcome when getting into almost any new hobby is learning the language. The use of jargon can make new interests or hobbies seem unapproachable and confusing and can turn off many would be enthusiasts. I do my best to write my tutorials and projects using the simplest terms possible but as I move into more complex topics and projects the use of this jargon will become unavoidable. It is for this reason that I’ve added the first two pages to the basics area of this page. These are Electronics Definitions and Synthesis Definitions. Over time I will be adding definitions for all of the special terms I use for electronic components, measurements, synthesizer modules, and anything else that someone new to electronics DIY may not be familiar with.