Electronics
I've had a keen interest in electronics since I was young. Since I lit up my first LED, I've dabbled with making my own cables and adapters, minor modifications and minor repairs of electrical items.
While I've always had an interest in electronics, I've never really taken the time to learn more than the basics. Well, I've taken a bit of a leap and ordered some parts on a bit of a whim so that I can dive in and learn.
The main inspiration comes from a website / blog called Hack A Day. The site features lots of electronic projects and hacks, some of which are incredible ( http://hackaday.com/2010/09/14/ritewing-zephyr-build-and-flight-footage/ ) and some amusingly useless! (http://hackaday.com/2009/12/30/simplest-most-useless-machine/ ). If, like me, you wonder how things work, the site will give you plenty of food for thought.
Many of the most impressive projects featured on the site contained a programmable integrated circuit (often an Arduino). I ordered something very similar (not quite as powerful) and a lot cheaper. It was the Texas Instruments Launchpad Development Tool with the MSP430 Value Line Chip along with some electronics basics such as wiring, transistors, breadboard, LEDs.
While I've always had an interest in electronics, I've never really taken the time to learn more than the basics. Well, I've taken a bit of a leap and ordered some parts on a bit of a whim so that I can dive in and learn.
The main inspiration comes from a website / blog called Hack A Day. The site features lots of electronic projects and hacks, some of which are incredible ( http://hackaday.com/2010/09/14/ritewing-zephyr-build-and-flight-footage/ ) and some amusingly useless! (http://hackaday.com/2009/12/30/simplest-most-useless-machine/ ). If, like me, you wonder how things work, the site will give you plenty of food for thought.
Many of the most impressive projects featured on the site contained a programmable integrated circuit (often an Arduino). I ordered something very similar (not quite as powerful) and a lot cheaper. It was the Texas Instruments Launchpad Development Tool with the MSP430 Value Line Chip along with some electronics basics such as wiring, transistors, breadboard, LEDs.