MN Electronics
We have six electronics benches, numbered 1–5 and 8 in the accompanying floor plan. Benches 1–4 are each equipped with a small set of standard items including various hand tools (wire cutters, strippers, needlenose pliers, ...), a multimeter, a soldering station, and an antistatic mat. We haven't yet decided on the standard equipent for benches 5 and 6, which currently hold a possibly-shifting miscellany of gear.
We currently use benches 6 and 7 as storage space for additional soldering and unsoldering equipment, hand tools, electrical tape, etc.
On tables 10 and 11, we have oscilloscopes, additional multimeters, and other test equipment.
Shelf rack 12 houses a supply of components that have been donated. You are free to use the donated components. However, if you're doing a big project using a lot of something, then you should buy your own supply - and maybe add some to the donation shelf? We have spools of wire on the window ledge behind bench 8 and in a box on the floor between bench 8 and the component shelves (12).
Bring equipment and supplies to your work area as you need, and please return them (or the unused remainder in the case of components) to where you found them when you are done.
There are three (unpowered) work tables in the middle of the room. Please leave them clear and clean when not in active use.
In the hallway just outside the main (west) door of the Electronics Room are an area for donated equipment and the cable-swap rack. If you want to donate something to the Electronics Room, please leave it here. Our Electronics Room Stewards team will decide if we need to add the donation to the Electronics Room or not.
Read on for more details about all the above.
Also just outside the main (west) door are a fire extinguisher (FE on the floor plan) and a badge reader (BR). We'd like to get an idea how many members are using the Electronics Room, so please badge in when you enter. (There's no need to badge out.)
Shop Stewards
We have a small group of members who work to keep the Electronics Lab organized, clean, and settled. This group oversees the layout of the room, the home location of tools, and decides whether donations will be added to the room or not.
The Electronics Lab Stewards are listed on a sign near the entrance to the E-Lab. If you have questions, suggestions, or concerns (or are interested in joining the Stewards team) contact one of the people on this list.
Note that we are rigorous about throwing away things that are left in the E-Lab. If you want to leave a project overnight be sure to have an orange card on your project, signed by a Manager on Duty. Things left in the E-Lab without an orange card are considered donations and may be discarded or taken apart to be used by someone else.
Members are free to make use of the various parts and miscellany left in the E-Lab.
Soldering
Our soldering equipment is a mix of brands and models:
We likewise have a variety of fume extractors:
- OK Industries SA-9-E-115 ESD-Safe Smoke & Fume Absorber
A couple soldering safety notes (not an exhaustive list):
- Be sure soldering irons are turned off and unplugged before you leave. For example, don't create a situation where someone else might turn on a power strip to run some other piece of gear and unwittingly start an iron heating up.
- We ask that you always use a fume extractor when soldering, regardless of whether you are using lead-free or or lead-containing solder, as fumes from the flux can also have health impacts.
- Lead Free or Lead Containing solder? An interesting article.
Heat Guns
We have several heat guns:
- Wagner HT3500 Heat Gun
- Steinel HG 2310 LCD Programmable IntelliTemp Heat Gun
- Master Appliance Corp. HG-301A Heat Gun
There's likely to be a supply of donated shrink tubing somewhere on the tables where we keep the extra soldering/unsoldering equipment, miscellaneous hand tools, etc. However, we don't aim to keep particular sizes and colors in stock.
Power Supplies
Oscilloscopes
Function Generators
- Multicomp PRO MP750510 35 MHz 500MSa/s Arb Waveform Generator
- BK PRECISION 3010 Function Generator
Multimeters
- Etekcity MSR-R500 Digital Multimeters (x4)
Each of benches EL1-EL4 is equipped with one of the above Etekcity multimeters and a pair of pointy-ended leads. We have an assortment additional multimeters and a variety of test leads (such as ones with alligator clips or mini-hooks) in our test equipment area.
- Fluke 8000A Digital Bench Multimeter
- Adafruit DT-9205B Digital Multimeter
- Cen-Tech 98025 Digital Multimeter (x2)
- Cen-Tech 90899 Digital Multimeter
- DT-830B Digital Multimeter (brand?)
- GB Instruments GMT-18A Analog Multimeter
- Mastech MAS830L Digital Multimeter
- MIC-3010 (brand?)
- RadioShack 22-820 Auto-Range Digital Multimeter
Microscope and accessories
- Olympus SZ-PT Stereo Microscope
- Panasonic WV-CL830/G Color CCTV Camera
- Olympus LG-PS2 Fiber Optic Light Source
Miscellaneous test equipment
- Pico Technology TA167 AC/DC Current Probe (clamp ammeter) (x2)
- G.T.POWER Rc 130A High precision watt meter and power analyzer
- Jack Test 2 UTP/COAX Tester
- BSR Model SA-3X Real Time Spectrum Analyzer
- This is for audio frequencies, not RF.
- GB Instruments Circuit Tracker Transmitter GET-1200
Miscellaneous other electrical/electronic devices
- Bluetooth Controller (marked with QR code)
- Netgear Powerline 100 Mini Adapter XAV 1201
- iMAX B6AC V2 AC/DC Dual Power Professional Balance Charger/Discharger
- Ryobi CD100 12V Drill Driver
- Texas Instruments TI-36X Solar Calculator
Miscellaneous Hand Tools, etc.
TBW
Community Components
TBW
Donations Area
TBW
Cable Swap Rack
TBW
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