Review: Adafruit Industries’ DIY Kits
As a physics undergraduate, I never opted to take a circuit theory class. That never bothered me when I was a student. But now, as an adult, seeing the Maker movement in full swing, I’m kicking myself that I never got into electronics.
My dear wife got me a soldering iron, an Arduino Duemilanove, and lots of miscellaneous electronics-related supplies last Christmas, to help me fill this gap in my education.
And finally, last night I sat down and in two hours completed my first soldering project: the Adafruit Industries TV-B-Gone v1.1.
The TV-B-Gone is a simple device whose sole job is to turn off television sets. That might not be too useful at home, since you already have a remote for that. But, consider being out at a bar or restaurant or waiting room, trying to talk to friends or read in peace, while the incessant chatter of talking heads drills its way into your skull. (Why no, I’ve never experienced this, why do you ask?) The TV-B-Gone is a godsend.
The TV-B-Gone kit contains four infrared LEDs, driven by a microcontroller that contains the codes for all major brands of television sets. When you press the button, the TV-B-Gone flashes about 50 power-on codes in sequence, one after another. One of them should turn off the television, giving you the peace you deserve.
(Since televisions use the same codes to turn off and turn on a television, the same TV-B-Gone can be used to atone for your crime if you get caught.)
I opened up the kit and went through the parts list, as recommended. All the parts were included (a very important first step). I brought up the soldering instructions and got to work.
After about two hours of work I was finished, and ready to test my creation. I pointed the infrared LEDs into my phone’s camera, and I could see them flicker when I pressed the button. (Digital cameras can see infrared.) Success!
I liked this kit. The instructions were exceptionally clear, with plenty of photos. The printed circuit board was very clearly marked — if you’re soldering this kit, you have to really have your head in the clouds to mount a component in the wrong place. (And if your mind isn’t on your work, should you really be wielding a 700°F metal stick? Didn’t think so.)
The instructions also provided an intermediate step for testing the device half-way through the build. I understand this isn’t possible for some projects, but I liked having a point at which I could stop, take a break, and verify that what I was doing was working.
I have one very tiny complaint; I would have liked a little more of an explanation of why certain components are needed in the circuit. But I understand that this is a kit for beginners, and too much information might prove confusing.
I heartily recommend the Adafruit electronics kits. I’ll be buying one or two more kits for soldering practice before I start working on my own projects. I think I’ll try the Drawdio next, then perhaps the Conway’s Game of Life kit. If you want to buy the TV-B-Gone kit I’ve mentioned, go here.
Hats off to Ladyada (Limor Fried) for creating a fantastic product.
And, dear readers, if I come over to your house and the television spontaneously turns off? It wasn’t me.
Tags: electronics, ladyada, physics, review, solder, soldering, tvbgone
June 29th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I’ve always wanted to dabble in electronics, but I’m too lazy. If I ever get around to it, though, I’m going to build a mini-MRI machine. It’s really not that difficult, although it would give pretty basic images. I actually saw pretty decent images of vegetables published using MRI that relied on the Earth’s low magnetic field (I’m not kidding, this is serious research. Really!).
June 29th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
@Assaf:
Really? Very cool! If you find some good plans, please send them along!
NMR is my white whale, ever since our experimental physics class’s NMR setup never quite worked. That was back in 1994 and I still haven’t let it go. :-)
June 29th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
There are no plans - not unless you plan on digging in the scientific journals, which is too involved. But building an NMR magnet is really very easy conceptually. You’ll need:
1. One coil to put your sample in. These were once prepared by hand, and you can build your first by winding a long piece of copper wire. The coil’s length should be about 2 cm long, and ideally should be at the width of your sample (NMR samples are put in narrow tubes, such as these: http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/nmr/preparation/preparation.html)
2. Another coil you’ll use to both irradiate the sample and collect its signal. This is a bit more tricky as there are many designs. Google “birdcage coil”
3. You’ll need a way to both measure the voltage in the birdcage coil (with a computer-interfaced scope, probably) and another way of pumping current into the coil (to excite the sample).
That’s basically it! Well in practice it’s more complicated but conceptually it’s very simple. I wonder what sort of actual problems arise. Guess that’ll have to wait until I actually get around to trying it.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
@Assaf: It sounds like a pretty adventurous project, I must say. I’d love to see your results when you try… good luck!
July 14th, 2009 at 11:12 am
I love my drawdio, although I’m still experimenting with the most musical way to use it. But it’s a lot of fun. It was my first soldering project since my childhood days of resoldering broken pickup wiring inside cheap, student electric guitars. I think I’m going to eventually mod my drawdio so I can connect it to an amplifier. But what I really want is a tesla coil bass amplifier. I think that’s a bit beyond me though.
December 13th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
I have 50 Watts soldering iron Weller WESD51 and it works great.
December 13th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
For soldering I use temperature controlled soldering iron. temperature control. Temperature of iron can be adjusted with the front panel temperature control knob - you can precisely control the temperature of iron to within 9 degrees Fahrenheit. It makes your soldering task a whole lot easier. In addition, electronic temperature control allows precise control of the heat level at the tip of soldering iron. This means that you can rest assured that your soldering iron is hot enough and ready for soldering, and at same time you know that it is not too hot to burn some temperature-sensitive components on circuit board.