DIY Hobby Electronics

How to do a simple science project with your kids. I was clearing out the loft the other day when I came across an experiment in electricity that I did with my daughter when she was nine years old.

It's a very simple electric circuit but we managed to combine the fun of learning about electricity with the fun of making a work of art. I can't believe that we kept it all these years but I thought that you might like to see it before it gets thrown out.

It's very simple to make so you can easily try it out on your kids too. More...

A reader emailed me a little while ago to ask for my help to program an Arduino board as a safety cut out. He was building a cartridge reloading machine that needed a safety cut out in situations where the motor jams. The solution using an Arduino Uno turned out to be remarkably simple. More...

Snap Circuits Extreme electronics kits for kids make an excellent gift for a wide age range. The videos on this page demonstrate how much kids love the kits. I got started in electronics with a kit very similar to these. Not only did it provide me with endless hours of fun back then but it also propelled me on my career in electronics and I have never looked back. Take a look at what these kits have to say about it. More...

Have you ever wondered how they make the parking sensors that you seem to find on all new cars? You know, the ones that start beeping when you are getting close to an object you should be avoiding. The beeping gets faster and faster as you get closer until the beeps all merge into one and... too late you've hit it! More...

Don't be afraid to use interrupts in your Arduino sketches. Interrupts enable you to do so much more with your Arduino that it's well worth taking the trouble to learn a few simple rules. Almost every project you work with, whether it's a user interface, a clock or you are controlling a robot, your sketches are likely to benefit from some use of the interrupt mechanism. More...

The Arduino Uno is an inexpensive computer on a board. It has everything that you need to make a smart controller similar to the ones that you might find in any electronic product available nowadays.

If you are looking for a cheap way to start learning how to design embedded microconroller circuits or you need a programmable controller for a project then this could be your simplest and most cost effective solution. Anyone can use one of these More...

Resistors are the most basic building block of any electronic circuit. Luckily they are not difficult to understand and work with once you understand a few simple things. Resistance is measured in Ohms using the greek symbol called Omega Ω More...

Forget the latest video games, smartphones and action figures. Give your kids something to bring out the electronics engineer within them. I might be biased because I am an engineer but I also like to think that everyone has an engineer in them somewhere just waiting to be unlocked. Unlock the scientist inside your children by encouraging them to build stuff.

One of the first electronic circuits I ever built was an astable multivibrator. It's a very simple yet reliable method of flashing a couple of LED's that you can build on a solderless breadboard in no time. Follow these simple instructions and experience the thrill of creating an electronic device and watching it do it's job. More...

Soldering is easy as this excellent comic strip from mightyohm.com illustrates. If you have any doubts at all about your ability to master the useful skill of soldering then you should read this. It's fun, it's entertaining and it's easy. More...