Newbie VLF Project?

[daniel]

I've never done a MD project before, and I don't even know how to read a circuit diagram, so I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed here. Where should I start? I'd appreciate any suggestions on books/articles/websites to read, what projects might be good, etc.

I'd like to make something like my White's Spectrum XLT (an induction balanced VLF, I believe). The project posted by Vladimir looks like it might be cool... what do others think?

[Carl-NC]

You should learn to read schematics and build simple circuits first. Jumping straight to a complex metal detector is not a good idea. I suggest you get a plug-in type breadboard and start off simple... opamp circuits, oscillators, etc.

[daniel]

Yeah... that's what I've been doing for the past 5 hours I do software for a living and we had to learn about digital circuits in college, but not all this analog resistor/capacitor/multiplexer/PLL stuff. I'll look into the breadboard suggestion and post back for any other newbies.

[pml]

Carl's breadboard recommendation is very good. I also designed software for a living and taught myself electronics. Unfortunately I did not have some good person like Carl to tell me about breadboards. Breadboards are nice … kind of like plug and play or is it plug and pray. :-) If you know how to program then you can quickly learn electronics.

I don't know if you live near Fry's Electronics but they have some good inexpensive ones. Make sure you get a good selection of jumpers:
http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4612408
a better picture:
http://www.pololu.com/products/misc/..._big_view.html

A really cheap breadboard but it works great:
http://shop2.outpost.com/product/461...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG
close up:
http://www.mid-atlantictraining.com/...d/9830blox.jpg
Note that the above breadboard has notches that allow you to link multiple boards together to make it as large as you want.

Or a more expensive breadboard with 5 terminal posts:
http://shop2.outpost.com/product/461...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Just find a good nearby store that has a good IC selection. NTE parts are fine for now or you can also buy over Internet from the largest dealers such as Mouser or Digikey:
http://www.mouser.com
http://www.digikey.com

Paul

[pml]

and a good but cheap multimeter:
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556052203.html

Or if you can afford it, you eventually want a meter that also measures capacitance and inductance:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=228013
http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-LCR-Capa...QQcmdZViewItem


One last advice is to stay away from the ColdHeat soldering iron. Get a cheap 30W iron or sometimes I need a lot of juice from a soldering gun:
http://www.marcucci.it/english/prodo...da.asp?ID=8772

Paul

[daniel]

Thanks for all the links, Paul! I'll check them out. What does NTE stand for?

[pml]

Thanks for all the links, Paul! I'll check them out. What does NTE stand for?

I'm not sure what NTE stands for, but it's a large semiconductor company.
http://www.nteinc.com

Here's their distributor locator:
http://www.nteinc.com/NET_St_lst/Disty.html

Paul

[pml]

Daniel,

Sorry, I assumed you lived in the U.S. Just ignore the NTE stuff if you don't. NTE sells a wide range of parts to stores in the U.S.

Paul

[daniel]

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I'm American, but "expat" at the moment. I'll probably end up doing my shopping online.