Start Prototyping Today!

Maybe you've always wanted to just sit down and invent something, or maybe you already have some ideas of things you would love to try. Well I'm going to try and help you out and try to get you started, or on the right path at least, to be able to make your thoughts come to life!

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!!!!! I URGE you to use CAUTION in playing with electronics! They can be Harmful/Deadly if caution and common sense are not applied! This is something only an adult(With common sense) or an adult(With common sense) supervised child, should do. You should never work on any electronics without unplugging them first!!!!!!

American household items run at 110V (volts) and anywhere from 1-50A (amps). Most other countries run on 220V. 10mA that's "Milli-Amps" (10 THOUSANDTHS of an amp) is enough to KILL you so be sensible. I do not assume responsibility for personal injury!!!!!

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That being said: There are a few tools you will want/need. Here is a list with some specifics!

#1 The Arduino Duemilanove. This is an amazing little circuit board which lets you hook it up to your computer and write a program of what you want it to do with the input and output devices! A little programming knowledge is needed but if you just look at the pre-written programs that come with the software its a little easier to figure them out! I found one of these on ebay for around $30. The website ( www.arduino.cc ) has the program on it and any information you will need!

#2 A multimeter is a GREAT tool to have if your getting into electronics. It can tell you almost anything you need to know about the circuit, battery, diode, resistor, amps, ohms, volts, and a lot more of whatever it is you are testing! This is a great tool to have and you can find them at most electronics stores like radioshack. They range from under $10 up to around $5000 so keep that in mind, and if you have the wallet for it, the higher price you go the more you can do with them! Mine was $15 and does pretty much everything I need!

#3 A Bread Board A.K.A Solder-less Circuit Board and Pin Board. Again a MUST for prototyping and learning about circuits! I found mine on ebay as well around $20 depending on how many pin (holes to plug wires into) and whether or not it comes with the pin wires. I would suggest buying one that does its much easier, and cost and time effective!

#4 Hand tools! Pliers: needle nose and bent needle nose are great! You will also WANT to have some sort of cutters!I have a pair of Diagonal cutters, and What I call "Nippers", Which are like the diagonal cutters only they snip at the front instead of the side! Which are perfect for getting right next to the circuit board to clip stray wires!

#5 A soldering iron or gun. Though you may be shy about soldering wires together (or soldering parts to a circuit board) at first you will find that you will want one of these eventually. Along with helping you out in a finished prototype, they will also help in fixing electronics if you get into that! The one I have is a butane powered "Bernz-O-Matic" and comes with 4 different tips, all very useful in their own way! I mostly use the pointed tip but you may find you need the others eventually! These get VERY hot so use caution when soldering!!!

#6 Solder. This one is important when it comes time to throw your project together in its Finalized form. I tend to stay away from the lead kind (though you shouldn't be eating it anyways) lol :) Just in case they make ones mixed with tin which are far better in my opinion at sticking to wires and other metal pieces such as those on a circuit board!

#7 A Case to carry it in! It's a lot nicer to have a clean, organized, place to store all of your tools. There's nothing worse than blowing half of your day trying to find that ONE tool you need because it's just tossed into a pile of other stuff. The one I use is actually a CD case I tore the booklets out of. Hows that for finding different uses for things? lol Once again this is cheap its not gonna break the bank to find a nice storage box for your tools so don't go without this if you can!

#8 Rubber mat. You can find these at any car parts stores (Rubber "Floor Mats") or an electronics parts store should have them as well! These are needed to keep whatever it is you're working on from getting shocked, which can destroy circuitry.

#9 This one is not a must but it helps! Gather up some old electronics, cables, radios, CD players, anything broken you may be able to use for parts down the road!

Those are not all the tools/items you are necessarily going to buy/want/need, there are others and they all do things that are important. For now though, those are the things you are going to want that will help get your foot into the door and be able to have a good time prototyping.

Now, I can't tell you what kind of things your into, only you know that. So before you sit down to start a project think of something you're really into! There are a few places you can go to get "Do-It-Yourself" kits that come with all of the parts and circuit boards to make that specific thing. My favorite place would be www.makershed.com which is a GREAT website with all sorts of do it yourself projects that come with all the parts (including the circuit boards and leds and resistors and such) and information on how to build whatever it is you want to build. They also have an "under $20" section with some great do it yourself projects for beginners on a budget.

Starting out with one of these do it yourself kits is a great idea, it gives you the chance to see something you built come to life right away which will help to build your confidence when it comes time to do it ALL yourself!

You will also want to get a book on electronics, you can find them anywhere, go to your local hobby shop or go online they are readily available! You will need a little knowledge of parts, how electricity works, and so on, before you start prototyping.  I don't have space to put all of that information here or else I would!

Last but not least, DON'T BE AFRAID! If you are worried about shock wear rubber gloves. Be smart, be sensible, use common sense, and get a little knowledge about what your working on first! Prototyping and building electronic things is exciting and a LOT of fun! There's no end to the things you can do with a little electronic knowledge, the tools to do it right, and the supplies to finish the project!

I hope I helped you at least a little to encourage you to go out and get started yourself!