devroom.io/content/lab.md

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type = "page"
title = "Ariejan's Electronics Lab"
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I'm always curious to see what tools others are using. In that spirit I'd like to share with 
you the tools I use in my electronics lab.

_Full disclosure: the links below are Amazon Affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but
I will get a small commission on each sale Amazon makes._

## Multimeters

Multimeters are easily the most commonly used tools any electronics engineer will 
use. I've got a few in my lab. 

### Fluke 115

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This is a lovely multimeter. I bought it used on eBay in 2017, and it's still available. The 115 is a 6000 count
multimeter that does _almost_ everything you might expect: DC and AC voltage, resistance, capacitance, diode and 
continuity testing and frequency. What is does _not_ have, however, is a milliamp or microamp range.

But, it's a very decent Fluke multimeter. It feel very solid and it measures and updates very fast.

### Uni-T 61-E

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This was my first _real_ multimeter. I picked it for it's friendly price, huge feature set and good
reviews on the internet. This is a 20,000 count multimeter, meaning it offers better precision than the
Fluke 115. For all intents and purposes, this is a very fine multimeter. I've used it for a few years 
and I'm still using it every now and then. 

## Oscilloscope

If you're getting more serious about electronics, a decent oscilloscope is a must-have. It allows you 
to measure voltage over time. If you have a modern scope, you might get a lot of extra goodies like 
support for reading different protocols (serial, i2c, spi, etc.) and multiple channels. 

### Rigol DS1054Z

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I went with the Rigol DS1054Z for two reasons: it has a low price and it's features packed. It got good
reviews and I prefered to buy something new and modern over some _vintage_ analog scope. 

I later discovered that this scope packs all the hardware of its bigger brothers and can be hacked
to unlock these. I'm still tempted...

## Power Supply

When I first started to look beyond Arduino, I quickly found myself in need of a power supply that
could deliver different voltages. My first attempt was to build my own power supply, but I quickly
learned that I would be better of with a commercial product.

### Siglent SPD-3303D

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I bought the Siglent at a local electronics convention and I have never regretted that decision. This unit
has two adjustable (0 - 30V/0 - 3A) and one fixed (1.5/3.3/5.0V 0.3A) outputs. This means I can power an
arduino with the 3.3/5V outputs easily and use the other two outputs as a positive/negative supply.

Also, current limiting has saved my ass more than once ;-)

## Soldering

I have an assortiment of small pliers, solder wick and solder suckers. 

### Aoyue 968

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My wife gifted me this Aoyue 968 soldering / hot air station for my birthday a few years back. Best. 
Gift. Ever. It might not be a Weller or Hakko, but it's a decent unit that has served me well.

Best part of this unit is that it contains a fume extractor on the soldering iron. No more toxic 
fumes for me! Yay!

## Wishlist

There's still tons of goodies on my wishlist. A good bench multimeter and signal generator are high on 
my list.