How To Use Goals To Help You Build Amazing Projects

When I started learning about electronics, I never cared about goal setting…
goal
I had no clue about what it was. As soon as I had an idea, I brought out my soldering iron and started to put things together. Even though that was fun, it wasn’t very efficient. And a lot of the times I never finished what I started…

It wasn’t until several years later that I stumbled upon a technique called SMART goal setting. And it was really a game changer.

SMART goal setting is super useful when you want to build electronic projects. It helps you clarify what you are trying to do. And it makes it much easier to estimate project costs, tasks that need to be completed and time needed to finish the project.

Brainstorming Techniques to Build Mindblowing Circuits

brainstorming techniques list stuff2Sometimes I find myself bubbling with ideas for amazing projects to build!

But unfortunately this is not always the case… Sometimes I just can’t come up with a single idea. I’m just totally stuck. But over the years, I have armed myself with a secret weapon against it. I’ve learned to use brainstorming techniques.

Tips: 4 Simple Steps That Will Help You Build Better Circuits

Planning the development of a 7-segment display circuit

One of the most important steps of building electronic projects is not soldering. It is not drawing a schematic. And it is not debugging you circuit…

The most important step is the step that comes before all those steps. And it’s a step that is easy to skip, because you want to start building. At least I have on several occasions.

Planning the development of a 7-segment display circuit

But you can drastically reduce the time you need to build electronic projects, if you invest a little bit of time in planning. It will also drastically increase your chances of finishing the circuit.

What is a Microcontroller?

A microcontroller chip on a finger

When I first started learning about microcontrollers, I found them really intriguing. The thought of being able to write code to control electronics was so cool! But what is a microcontroller?

At that time I had already started playing around with programming. And with the microcontroller, I saw that I would be able to interact with the real world through programming! I was intrigued indeed.

A microcontroller chip on a finger

But even though I was very enthusiastic about the microcontroller, I didn’t start using it until years later. The thing was, it seemed so complicated to use. I realize now that if I had invested just a little bit of time to learn about it, I would have been able to work with it.

But instead I waited several years before I actually took the leap and started using it…

Sound Card Oscilloscope

A homemade sound card oscilloscope

A sound card oscilloscope might be exactly what you need if you are stuck in the frustrating “I don’t know what’s wrong with my circuit!” state.

Oscilloscopes have helped me countless times when debugging both analog and digital circuits. But they tend to be expensive. So what to do?

Electronic Kits For Gettings Started In Electronics

Arduino Shield LED Matrix kit
Arduino Shield LED Matrix kit

A few years ago, I found myself at a Christmas party building electronic kits with the other guests.

We were all really focused.

Both men and women partaking in the fun.

My business partner at the time had taken the time to design a custom kit for our Christmas party.

We gave one to each guest.

Binary Number System And Working With Ones And Zeroes

Binary number system - ones and zeroes
Binary number system - ones and zeroes

The binary number system is an important system in digital electronics. Because in digital electronics we are using only 1’s and 0’s. But what does this mean?

That’s something I was wondering about for a long time. I thought it was something really difficult and abstract. But when I one day asked my dad about it, it really surprised me how easy it was!

It turns out that a “1” is just a wire with voltage and a “0” is a wire without a voltage. It’s that simple!

The reason for this system is to make the electronics easier. A circuit which only needs to check if there is a voltage or not on the wire is really easy. Just have a look at how the transistor works and you’ll get an idea.

In order to make any sense out of the ones and zeroes, we use a binary number system.

Circuit Diagram: How To Read And Understand Any Schematic

Circuit design from scratch

When you start learning about electronics, you might see a circuit diagram drawn with realistic looking drawings of the different components.

But this method is not very effective.

To make them more effective, all electronic components have been assigned much simpler symbols. And wires are drawn as lines to show how to connect them.

It’s not always easy to understand a circuit diagram. But with practice and experience you will understand more and more.

Capacitor Values – Prefixes, Standards and Calculations

There are some standard capacitor values that have developed over time. To find the value you need for your circuit you need to know how to deal with prefixes. And you need to know how to calculate capacitor values.

Electrolytic capacitor

If you have looked for capacitors, you have probably seen many different letters and weird values. Like 0.47 µF or 22 pF. It is a bit confusing, but it’s easy to learn what it means.

In this article you will learn the most standard capacitor values, the prefixes used and how to calculate a capacitor value for your circuit.

Build A Circuit Efficiently With 5 Techniques

Microcontroller circuit board

Have you ever had those times where you were really passionate about a project? But somehow you never found the time to continue on it. And before you knew it weeks turned into months and you decided to give up on it… I hate that feeling! Learn the tricks to build a circuit efficiently.

Build a circuit

I can remember several times when I have been in that situation.

  • Do you have a project you have been wanting to work on for a long time?
  • Do you always find yourself too busy to work on it?
  • Do you wish there was a way to spend more time on your project without cutting down on other activities that you appreciate doing?

This is completely normal. I get hundreds of emails every month, many from someone who wants to build a circuit, but can’t because he is too busy.

But what I have found through my own experience and through communicating with people like you is that it’s not about not having enough time.

DIY Sous Vide Cooker

This DIY sous vide cooker was made by my friend Markus. He built it for about 1/10 of the price of the commercial cookers. And it made some really good chicken =)

A sous vide cooker is a machine for cooking food using a temperature-controlled bath.

You can take whatever you want to cook – chicken, fish, steak, etc. – and put it in a vacuum-sealed bag. Next, set the temperature on the DIY Sous Vide to the temperature you want for your food. Then put the vacuum-sealed bag into the water and let it cook slowly for a long time (several hours).

When the chicken (or whatever you are cooking) is done, fry it quickly in a frying pan with high temperature to get a crispy finish.

How To Make Circuits On A Stripboard

A stripboard is a circuit board with holes and printed strips of metal.

Stripboard circuit with components

These boards are a good way of connecting simple to medium complicated circuits. I highly recommend using stripboards in the beginning. They give you a lot of control of your connections and it’s relatively easy to fix errors.

Though when your circuit gets too many connections, it can be a real hassle keeping control of all the connections.

Digital Stopwatch Circuit

This digital stopwatch circuit is a circuit I built for testing some 7-segment displays. It consists of four displays that I control using a microcontroller. The microcontroller counts and makes sure the correct LED segments on each display is lit up.

Check out the video below to see how I built it.

How To Build Circuits

Build Circuits Using a Stripboard

If you want to make electronics you need to build circuits. But how to build circuits?

Here are three methods you can use to build any kind of circuit, ranging from super simple to advanced.

Build Circuits With A Breadboard

Breadboard with blinking LED circuit

Building circuits using a breadboard is super easy and quick.

A breadboard is a board for prototyping. It has holes where you can stick component leads or wires into. Some of the holes are connected horizontally and some are connected vertically.