Carlyn Maw’s How to Pick a DIY Electronics Project is so much more than that! It is an excellent tool for planning for just about any project. It covers thinking about project scope, tools, skills, parts and more.
Many of the questions are phrased for electronics, but most of them are applicable no matter what project you’re thinking about. And even if you have already picked a project, you can use the questions as guidelines for ways forward and to illuminate possible stumbling blocks.
We often get asked about what project to pick, and I’m glad to have this thoughtful tool to share.
As a teen o/a 1960 I wanted a multi-band SW/AM radio. I could afford a Heathkit model that had a few hundred discrete parts to bolt or solder in. Soldering was done with a copper block I heated on the kitchen gas stove. A week or more and with Dad going over the joints I got the BBC. I want instructions like those.
I have never done any electronics before although I work in the film industry as a Director of Photography. I’m doing a long term project on mice behavior and need to build a PIR to trigger a single but fairly bright LED, it needs to be battery operated and last about a year. I also need to cable the LED up to 200m from the trigger can anyone help me, it would be much appreciated
Mark Chamberlain