Electric components are easy to get hold of these days, and all you need is a little know-how and some basic tools to start putting together simple electronic projects. To get you started, there are plenty of channels and videos on YouTube with the sole purpose of teaching basic electronics. Alternatively, if you want to have official proof of your skills, you can take a simple course to show you the basics. Throughout this article, we will introduce you to five simple projects suitable for any electronics enthusiast.
Battery-Powered USB Charger
Countless devices are charged through USB cables these days, which is why this battery-powered USB charger is a go-to for first electronics projects. Yes, you could just go to Amazon and buy a power bank, but where’s the fun in that? You can choose any enclosure you like for your project, but the most popular choice is an Altoids tin because it’s small enough for the parts and can easily be covered. You can be as creative as you like with this project, and the best part is that you’ll get plenty of usage out of it.
The supercapacitor USB light is a really simple design that utilizes a supercapacitor to give power to an LED light. The USB is used to charge up the supercapacitor, which can be used to power the LED light while unattached. You likely won’t get much use out of this design, but it’s fun and introduces you to the idea of new components. To source your equipment, use an online search engine like Octopart, which is the best semiconductor lookup site.
The MiniPov4 brings programming to the mix, which can be enough to put anyone off. However, the input is simple and can be copied and pasted into the device. You can get the whole kit online and there are plenty of videos that show you how to assemble a persistence-of-vision toy. If you’re not happy with the default programming, you can easily tweak the output by editing a couple of lines.
This project is designed to be simple and adds a bit of fun to the mix. You can use these LED throwies to decorate rooms with fun colors. Essentially, all you need to do is attach an LED and a watch battery – you can see how they work here.
Circling back to the Altoids tin, we can use it to create a stereo mixer. This is a basic electronics project that lets multiple input devices be connected to the likes of car stereos. When you first have a look at the project, you may feel a lot is going on, but keep in mind that it’s relatively simple and you will get plenty of use out of it.
Electronics are everywhere, which makes them perfect for your next project. There is a relatively little cost involved, and all you need is a bit of knowledge. The majority ofinstructions can be followed online with simple videos lighting the way.
