New Guy

[Simo7007]

Hi,
My name is Marc, but most know me a Simo, and I'm from a small village in England. I'm not new to forums, I belong to several. I'm VERY new to this. I have just received my first kit from PICAXE. A, AXE003U PICAXE-08M2 Starter Pack (USB). I have also ordered the Picaxe Microcontroller Project for the Evil Genius book to give me a start as well as a few eBay starter packs too. At the moment I am wanting to build a clock thermometer, I have got most of the stuff I need. I will be on here for tips and help over the next few weeks. So please. Be patience. I'll get there eventually.

 

[John West]

Welcome to the forum, Marc. I'll get there too, eventually.

 

[JimPerry]

I've been there - done that - and forgot where I was going ...

 

[Simo7007]

Could you recommend a tool kit of what I need? I going to the Derby B&Q next week. I have seen a cheap soldering iron, but what else do I need?

 

[bfgstew]

How big is your bank balance.................................

Do not, and I repeat do not get a cheap soldering iron! Layout a few more pounds and get an Antex iron, with some spare tips.
Side cutters.
Tweezers
Wire strippers
Multimeter
Oscilliscope
Small set of screwdrivers
Magnifying glass
and lots more to come!
Get the basics and build up as your skills improve.

Stewart

 

[John West]

Yep, a good iron (and appropriate tips) does indeed make a difference.

Rosin-core solder for electronics work. Something slightly smaller than .031" is best for small electronics work.
Solder wick braid for removing excess solder and for correcting errors.

The types of each that you use will make a difference in the quality, effectiveness and convenience of your work. You'll have to try them out and see which work best for you.

 

[John West]

For a 'scope, take a look at this thread:http://www.picaxeforum.co.uk/showthread.php?20378-Simple-oscilloscope-for-Picaxe-work-finally-finished!-(DPScope-SE)&highlight=dpscopese

 

[Jamster]

I survive on a basic list of:
Side cutters (or 'Knippers' as we call them in my house )
Some relatively small long nose pliers
An Antex soldering iron
A variety of screwdrivers we've collected over the years
And a desolder pump

I actually find side cutters a hell of a lot easier to strip with compared to wire strippers because I'm used to using them for that purpose. People in my Systems and Control class seem to give me funny looks though if I call them Knippers...

Jamster

 

[TheChief]

I'd recommend a good bench power supply over an oscilloscope. A wiser spend?
Also forget about soldering at the start as there is absolutely no need.
Get a decent size breadboard as this will serve you a lot better.
A good starter project if you have a soldering iron is to build yourself a basic stable power supply. A LM111x
and a few caps. is all you need.
My list would be as follows;
Breadboard
Jumper wires
An assortment of resistors
An assortment of caps.
LEDs
Multimeter
Power supply

 

[Simo7007]

How big is your bank balance.................................

Do not, and I repeat do not get a cheap soldering iron! Layout a few more pounds and get an Antex iron, with some spare tips.
Side cutters.
Tweezers
Wire strippers
Multimeter
Oscilliscope
Small set of screwdrivers
Magnifying glass
and lots more to come!
Get the basics and build up as your skills improve.

Stewart

The Oscilloscope are not cheap. I have been looking on eBay and even they are going for £150 +.

 

[JimPerry]

Could you recommend a tool kit of what I need? I going to the Derby B&Q next week. I have seen a cheap soldering iron, but what else do I need?

Miss B&Q completely - in Derby vist RF Potts on Babbington Lane - "old school" electronics/ham/enthusiast shop - everything you might need PM me if you want a guide!

 

[geoff07]

I don't think that Picaxe 1.01 needs a scope. Later, maybe. I do use mine but not that often with Picaxe, generally for complex things like bit-banging i2c using C or decoding salvaged kit.

One of those little grip stands for holding a board while you work on it is useful.

A few Picaxe proto boards can come in handy.

Plus a selection of resistors - 330R, 4k7, 10k, 22k would be a start (100 off each on ebay for a pound or two, 1/4 w ).

Plus a few caps (0.01u, 10u, 100u).

Plus some leds.

Connecting wire.

A little pot of solder tip cleaner/flux is good to keep the tip in good shape, though expensive.

My iron is a Maplin BP53 with temp control, which helps keep the tip in good shape, and that works well. You need the sponge thingy to help clean the crud off before you wet the tip. And a fine tip.

A bright work light (such as an IKEA led spot) is very useful when soldering

But it never stops, there is always some useful gadget to buy.

 

[eclectic]

Just agreeing with the other posters.

PICAXE protoboards, breadboards and lots of wires and bits. First.

AXE091 IF you can afford it. Pricey but classy.

Then, a good soldering iron / soldering station.

And the very nice 'scope, mentioned in post #7
http://www.pdamusician.com/dpscope/buy_it.html

e

 

[nick12ab]

Could you recommend a tool kit of what I need? I going to the Derby B&Q next week. I have seen a cheap soldering iron, but what else do I need?

Don't buy a soldering iron from any place like that. Chances are it's designed for plumbing and will be far too powerful. I have a Homebase soldering iron and it just couldn't be used for any electronics because it vaporizes half of what's in the solder on contact and you just end up with horrid dull, spiky and dry joints - it can also quickly overheat components. The purpose of this soldering iron was to enable replacement of a failed element in my Antex soldering iron since the geniuses at Antex decided that the element should be soldered to the mains cable.

On that topic, get a stand with built-in cleaning feature that's suitable for your soldering iron. Pennypinching by scraping dirt off on a radiator or the edge of your stripboard is an excellent way to prematurely kill tips - and burn a hole in your carpet by not having something to hold the iron when it isn't in use.

As well as the breadboard suggested by others, I'd recommend that you get some stripboard. Even if you buy five of these larger breadboards, you'll quickly run out of space and end up having to decide which one of your projects to cannibalize next. Once you have finished a project on breadboard, move it over to the stripboard in order to free up the breadboard(s), improve robustness (breadboards can often have wires and certain components fall or pop out when moved around a bit) and reduce the size taken up by a project (stripboard doesn't have the restriction of the positions of rows of connectors so you can often halve the size of a circuit) however don't develop the hardware on stripboard as it's a pain to move stuff around afterwards. Stripboard is quite cheap too, especially when compared to breadboards. Large pieces of stripboard can be divided into smaller pieces by repeatedly scoring the solder side along the holes with a stanley knife and then snapping the stripboard along this cut.

With that stripboard I also suggest that you buy a reel of wire and also use offcuts from LEDs and resistors where possible - using precut wires designed for breadboard use for this will be expensive but I do use that linked wire set for breadboard use.

Don't forget that you can use stripboard to increase usable breadboard area by building commonly used circuits on stripboard (such as a voltage regulator circuit, preferably with a switching regulator) and using connectors like these to enable these circuits to just push fit into the breadboard.

Any solder you buy should be leaded. Lead free kills soldering iron tips constantly, is difficult to work with and just generally sucks.

 

[IronJungle]

My thoughts..... You are just learning, so buy quality but you don't need to buy everything.

A few items:
For a power supply, a bigass 5VDC USB power hub will work and in cheap
Don't get the scope until you think you need one. A simple LED to test signals for now is fine.
Don't cheap out on the solder iron. Whatever you get, make sure replacement tips are easy to get.
Buy a breadboard and some hookup wire
Get a pair of those fancy pliers that allow you to easily strip your hookup wire
A few LEDs, some 10K, 330R, 20K, and a few other resistors
A multimeter and don't spend a fortune; most cases you are just reading rough values
Stay close to this forum; it is amazing how helpful people are to all questions from basic to advanced.
Search youtube.com for PICAXE and get an education.

 

[erco]

Some multimeters have a frequency counter function built in. That can be very helpful in lieu of a scope for a while.

 

[Brian M]

Try http://cpc.farnell.com Here are some examples of some of the things you asked about. The soldering iron is an Antex 18 watt 240V iron. The solder is solder that should flow (don't bother with lead free). Prices I've shown do not include VAT or delivery. If you order over the weekend (online) they are offering free delivery on orders over £10.

Don't bother with gas soldering iron kits. OK for emergency field repair jobs, but otherwise steer clear if you are an amateur.

TL10330 1 5 PIECE MINI PLIERS SET £5.74 In Stock £5.74
SD01535 1 SOLDER WIRE, SN60/PB40, 0.7MM, 100G £4.23 In Stock £4.23

SD01865 1 M18 18W IRON £13.86 In Stock £13.86
SD01123 1 SOLDERING IRON STAND £1.59 In Stock £1.59

I always seem to be promoting CPC but they do have some reasonable kit at good prices and they quite often have special offers on tools, components etc.

Check out their web site before you buy in town. Forget B&Q unless you want to build a shed.

They do a cheap handheld DVM Part No IN01640 at £5.49 (+VAT), it isn't a Fluke, but for a hobby person, should do the job. Oh and steer clear of theIMO over inflated prices at Maplins.

 

[mrburnette]

Welcome.
A coworker once described work as what one does to be able to afford their hobby. But, while you could spend a bundle on PICAXE, you can also get by more modestly.

Lots of good advice in this thread, but I will add just one statement of advice - get TWO of every PICAXE kit/chip and keep ONE virgin... you will find that a known good board/uC are more important than a scope and about any instrument other than a digital Volt/Ohm meter. Never move a good uC chip into a suspect circuit, rather move the suspect uC into a known good board and run test code to verify the microcontroller fitness. You're young and this advice will keep you from going prematurely gray.

Also... the PICAXE product line is great and you can do most anything- even if you probably could do that "thing" easier in a different hardware line. Learn about PICAXE competition and respect what the different environments are best at doing.

- Ray

 

[Simo7007]

I have start getting a few things from eBay. I got this lot http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160861821528 for £17, a helping hand hobby tool for £2.50 plus a few more bits. I need to look into a soldering iron, i have heard mixed responses on make and model. what is the PICAXE one like in their shop?

 

[bfgstew]

I am sure the soldering iron on sale is OK, but, and I am not on commision, go for the Antex one, I have had numerous irons over the years and none have come close to it, the best £25 I have spent, really is worth the few extra pounds.
As for components, I use these, order before 2pm and its with you the next day, always been excellent service and reasonably priced.

 

[Haku]

Like most things in life the expensive ones are often built to last and will give you many years of hassle-free operation, but you can always find things cheap that will do the job just as adequatly.

Soldering iron - For years I used those Antex 15watt irons but when I did some work for an electronics engineer I used a 48watt variable temperature iron and bought a cheap one myself for about £50 and never looked back, the original iron part of it died eventually but got a replacement for £10 and am continuing to use the original tip without fuss, giving me a spare tip should I need it one day.

Power - A bench PSU is highly reccomended, the more you can spend the better, I got a £200 digital controlled one which can output up to 35v at 3.1A and it was well worth the money.

Solder - Get the leaded stuff, much easier to work with than the non-leaded. Also get some solder-wick, helps remove solder when you overdo things.

Wire - Rapid Electronics have a nice range of very affordable 100m spools, 10/0.1 for general stripboard/low power work and 7/0.2 for rugged/higher ampage stuff does the job for me. Get red+black and at least 2 other colours.

Multimeters - One of those cheap yellow multimeters does fine for checking wether your power source/output is roughly correct (ie checking you're not trying to power a 3.3v device with 5v) but a decent Fluke or Metrix one will give you years of accurate trouble free operation, usually including ampage measurement. Make sure whatever you get has a continuity checker with audible alarm, it's an invaluable function.

Vice - I did once have some of the 'helping hands' type of vice but personally found they were more hassle than they were worth as the wingnuts kept getting loose, now I have a heavy solid metal mini-vice with suction mount that does the job much better (nothing worse than trying to solder something that doesn't want to stay put).

Magnifying glass - Always have one. I also have a head mounted magnifying setup which really helps (my eyesight isn't great to start with - I envy people who can solder SMD without help).


A lot of reccomended things aren't always necessary for starting out but when you start exploring electronics more you'll realise what you need when you need it. It is nice when you've amassed a large amount of equipment and components for the times when you have an idea for a project and can get stuck-in without having to wait for parts to arrive

 

[Simo7007]

I have a new boy question.

Where can I get a copy of a circuit board symbol plan? I'm finding it hard to understand a circuit diagram.

 

[srnet]

Try a Google search;

'electronic symbols'

or

'wiki electronic symbols'

 

[nick12ab]

Where can I get a copy of a circuit board symbol plan? I'm finding it hard to understand a circuit diagram.

This is the official Rev-Ed one, and you can also do a Google search if the symbol you're looking for is not there.

 

[SAborn]

Gee thats a international universal thing with schematics and data sheets they all work to a basic standard.

Try google or time spent with viewing designs and data sheets will give more than a basic list of symbols.

Its hard to start with but gets easy fast as you learn some basic understandings,

 

[srnet]

Whilst a lot of us would know that when we see an Earth\Ground symbol on a circuit diagram we know it means a common ground or chassis connection.

A novice might easily see the Rev Ed list and assume a Earth\Ground symbol on a circuit diagram does imply you poke a wire into the Earth hole on a mains socket, not something I would recommend myself.

 

[SAborn]

A novice might easily see the Rev Ed list and assume a Earth\Ground symbol on a circuit diagram does imply you poke a wire into the Earth hole on a mains socket, not something I would recommend myself.

In all due respects we cant help total idiots that think they know everthing, when 5 minutes on google will give the correct answers, its not our fault if someone is to lazy to find the correct answer.

Where do learniig start.

 

[eclectic]

Simo.

Please take a look at

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/symbol.htm

Then, have a wander around this excellent site.

It's been developed over years,
specifically for intelligent school students.

e

 

[Simo7007]

Simo.

Please take a look at

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/symbol.htm

Then, have a wander around this excellent site.

It's been developed over years,
specifically for intelligent school students.

e

That's a good web site. I've saved it in my bookmarks. I've also been reading the BBC GCSE Bitesize web site.

 

[Grogster]

Welcome to the world of PICAXE.


These forums are great, very active, and very actively policed.
This means there is pretty much no spam, as it gets zapped so fast, you hardly ever see it, which is a good thing, and not so of all forums.

This is a great learning forum, in MHO.
I find that the members here WON'T solve your problems for you, rather will give you the hints you need on the bits that are stumping you, to allow you to solve your own problems with a little help. I find this works really well(for me, at least), as the idea is to work out what you are doing wrong with help, rather then just have someone fix the problem for you.

That is not to say that members here won't provide complete code solutions if you are not up to it, but I still like the cattle-prod idea that seems to be around here, in that it also helps you learn where you went wrong.

I see you are starting with the 08M - a very good place to start, and I applaud your decision to start there. Some of my colleagues here have seen what I am now doing with the PICAXE, and jump right in with a 40X2, and get totally lost.

I really DID start with the PICAXE, just flashing LED's on an 08.

Keep us posted on your progress, and I am sure there will be plenty of helping hands whenever you need one, and feel free to ask ANY question - members here don't jump on you for asking simple things, which is another reason I like this place.

 

[John West]

Also, if it's possible for you to meet in person with someone who does electronic soldering and construction, you might ask them to help you pick out some appropriate tools and materials, Simo. While the the Internet is very useful, and folks here can provide a lot of good suggestions, actually having someone speaking with you and showing you items that are good choices and discussing the reasons why is likely to be quicker and more effective for you.

 

[ashfaqjuna]

good advice on the forum

Hello Simo

Welcome to the world of embedded stuff, you will love it

I just wanted to say that you can also borrow stuff sometimes

I travel a lot , all over the country and could lend you stuff like scopes and things

I would recommend getting a small selection of components like this http://mobile.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=13487

Pm me your address, I can offer to send you some bits and pieces that I have plenty of that I think may of interest to you

Regards

Ashfaq

 

[JimPerry]

I have start getting a few things from eBay. I got this lot http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160861821528 for £17, a helping hand hobby tool for £2.50 plus a few more bits. I need to look into a soldering iron, i have heard mixed responses on make and model. what is the PICAXE one like in their shop?

A fair selection of parts - but you also need:

A Picaxe AXE027 download cable
Some Picaxe chips
Some Picaxe download sockets
Soldering iron (and stand), solder and desoldering sucker - Antex are very good - use Lead solder - suckers are are a few quid
A small pack of stripboard


PLUS get some storage boxes for all the parts - 99p Shops are doing a great multi-storage box at the moment.

EDIt: My offer to show you Potts in Derby still stands - use Notification to send me a PM - you can bring your Mum/Dad/Other along!

 

[Simo7007]

A fair selection of parts - but you also need:

A Picaxe AXE027 download cable
Some Picaxe chips
Some Picaxe download sockets
Soldering iron (and stand), solder and desoldering sucker - Antex are very good - use Lead solder - suckers are are a few quid
A small pack of stripboard


PLUS get some storage boxes for all the parts - 99p Shops are doing a great multi-storage box at the moment.

EDIt: My offer to show you Potts in Derby still stands - use Notification to send me a PM - you can bring your Mum/Dad/Other along!

Jim I don't think my mum and dad would like it, as I'm 43 and they are in their late 60's...

 

[JimPerry]

Jim I don't think my mum and dad would like it, as I'm 43 and they are in their late 60's...

Just goes to show - I think most of us "Old Codgers" thought you were a teenager - I'm 61.

I was just being "PC" about meeting via internet - anyway I live less than 2 miles from the main Derby B&Q and am quite willing to show you my office/pit/workshop and Potts ..

EDIt: And you can buy me a beer!