Learn thru Hobby Electronics

hobby-electronics.info information site electronics hobby. For beginners or learners taking an electronics course! would be a fun way to start. Electronics Projects page has some projects with a PCB layout for easy building too.

Learn thru Hobby Electronics



The Course - "We start with a few lessons about voltage, current en resistance. Next, we'll discuss power dissipation and capacitors, diodes and transistors. We now have enough knowlegdge to build a simple power supply. And after a few lessons about differential amplifiers and operational amplifiers, we are even able to design and build a professional lab power supply."

Thermostat circuits - Craig Forsythe

The circuits below are variations on basic thermostat designs that can be used to control either heating or cooling devices.

Potential applications include such diverse jobs as opening flaps or controlling heat in greenhouses, powering automatic fans that only cut in when needed,

Thermostat circuits - Craig Forsythe



The 311 is a purpose-built comparator chip (these circuits work by comparing a set voltage with a changing one produced by the inversely temperature-sensitive thermistor). For this application, however, it's a bit like using a Ferrari to do the work of a wheelbarrow. The 311 is very sensitive and, unless significant feedback is provided, stray electrical noise will tend to make it oscillate (the relay will get jittery). ......

MadLab – Inventive electronic kits

Unique, hands-on electronics workshop for children and adults. In the workshop participants solder electronic components onto specially-designed circuit boards.

MadLab - Inventive electronic kits

MadLab has been made possible through the generous sponsorship and support of the Edinburgh International Science Festival, Zot Engineering and Microchip.



A really useful tool for the budding electronics engineer - a digital frequency meter. New and improved version.

• input signal range from about 15Hz to 8MHz
• new feature - bypass switch for low-frequency TTL-level signals from 1Hz
• internal accuracy +/-1Hz
• 4 digits of displayed accuracy
• input conditioning amplifier sensitive to 50mV

MadLab presents an absolute beginner's guide to electronics. Following this short course will lead you from basic ideas about electronics right up to an understanding of how the simple MadLab kits actually work.

KTechLab - Open Source IDE

KTechLab project. KTechLab is a an IDE for microcontrollers and electronics. It supports circuit simulation, program development for microcontrollers and simulating the programmed microcontroller together with its application circuit. Ktechlab was developed by David Saxton.

KTechLab - Open Source IDE



Integrated Design Environment (IDE) for electronic and PIC microcontroller circuit design and simulation. Featuring an extensive circuit designer with autorouting and simulation of many common electronic components and logic elements, KTechLab is the idea tool for educational or hobbyist use. You can simulate analog circuits and logical circuits using KTechLab.

You can write programs using Assembly, C (SDCC), or Flow Code - program the microcontroller(PIC) using flowchart. Another option is Microbe a programming language like BASIC.

KTechLab supports a wide range of Open Source PIC programmers, enabling finalised PIC programs to be quickly and easily transfered to a real PIC microcontroller.

Toy SMPS or an Overkill White LED Driver

Jonathan Westhues site of Intriguing Projects include A Test Instrument for HF/LF RFID and a compiler that starts with a ladder diagram and generates native PIC16 or AVR code.

Toy SMPS or an Overkill White LED Driver



I sense the load current and control the duty cycle. The PWM pin on the AVR drives the gate of the FET through a couple of BJTs. Note the absence of any input capacitance; Vin looks terrible but it works. The micro power supply section is isolated with an RC.

delabs Notes

This is a nice way to start, learn uC and Power electronics in one go. It does not matter if it an expensive solution for LED Lighting. It certainly is an excellent Educational Project.
It may also be useful to use Intelligent Systems (uC and Firmware) to monitor and manage LED Arrays and control their brightness and color. Large Arrays can be Interfaced to PC by XBee for Home/Office or Factory Lighting Automation and Energy Consumption Optimization.

Microcontroller Interfacing

uC Real World Interface

uC I/O is Keyboard and LCD when you Build a calculator or a Text/Morse Communicator. When you control a motor it is Drive/Speed and Direction for Motor and Tacho or Opto Counters for Feedback. In both cases you have Input and Output which is Logic or Analog which has to reach the CPU.

Amateurfunkbasteln - Amateur Radio Crafts and Electronics

Amateur radio is a technical hobby. The attraction? To cover long distances with a low power radio to talk with other people, learn about their countries and cultures.

Amateurfunkbasteln - Amateur Radio Crafts and Electronics

But amateur radio also means tinker devices themselves, solder, apply electronics and learn something. In this sense, it can be a preparation for a technical career or even an engineering degree.

Use Google Translate, the pages are in German.

A Data Logger that records Slowly varying parameters, such as the temperature or decreasing the voltage of a battery. This copy records up to four measurements on parallel and saves it on a EEPROM.



Four Channel Data Logger

It measures self-sufficient - without a PC - analog voltages (0-5V), it digitizes and stores the numerical value obtained in a separate memory. Later, after the measuring and recording phase, passes the data logger its information to the PC.

The Radio Electronics Magazine

Radio-Electronics was an American electronics magazine that was published under various titles from 1929 to 2003.You can Read them all here .



Recently i found a collection of those mags at Archive.org .....

Radio Electronics Magazine at Archive.org

Hugo Gernsback, sometimes called The Father of Science Fiction, started it as Radio-Craft in July 1929. The title was changed to Radio-Electronics in October 1948 and again to Electronics Now in July 1992. In January 2000 it was merged with Gernsback's Popular Electronics to become Poptronics.



Gernsback Publications ceased operations in December 2002 and the January 2003 issue was the last.

Over the years, Radio-Electronics featured audio, radio, television and computer technology. The most notable articles were the TV Typewriter (September 1973)[1] and the Mark-8 computer (July 1974). These two issues are considered milestones in the home computer revolution.

Radio Electronics Magazine at SWTPC

Radio-Electronics was aimed at electronics' professionals such as radio and TV repairmen. And they were men, the tag line on the cover was "For Men with Ideas in Electronics".