Advice on Electronic Labs?

I don't know about the Ramsey one, but the Radio Shack kit is high regarded and has helped start countless thousands of beginners into a career in electronics for over 25 years.

Dave :)

If you want to have a lot of help in electronics, from simple stuff to more complex things, check out

I wish this was around when I was learning and experimenting with electronics.

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Thanks, I bookmarked that and will check it out sometime. I think I would like to start with actual hardware, though. Much of my day is spent in front of computers (I'm a software engineer), and I'm trying to find hobbies that don't involve staring at a screen. Of course, electric circuits are still pretty geeky :)

Thanks! I have no idea what Radio Shacks's current reputation is among electrical hobbyists, so I just wanted to see if anyone had harsh objections. Sounds like the kit is a safe buy. I can't wait to start playing!

I can appreciate where you are coming from, I also spend a lot of time at a computer screen. The program that you see there, is not a circuit simulator. You won't need to spend a lot of time in front of the computer screen (if you don't want to).

As an example, let's say that you want a power supply to power some circuits that you want to play with. Click on the power supply section, and enter in the output voltage and current that you will need, and it will draw the schematic (with all the component values that you will need to build it). Click on Print, and you will have a hard copy of the schematic to work from (with very little time spent an the computer). Buy the parts and put it together. You now have a power supply that fits your needs. Want to know the formulas that were used to compute all the component values (so you will have a better understanding of what's going on), just click on "Formulas" (after the schematic has been displayed).

Their repution is mud, no hobbyist with any clue buys parts from Radio Shack :->

But their xxx-in-1 kits are tops. Well, actually I haven't seen the new crop of units, but I presume they wouldn't mess with the winning formula they had.

These kits aren't the only way to learn of course, and they won't teach you everything, but they make a great starting point.

Using software as recommended on another reply is a contentious issue. In theory someone could learn a heck of a lot about electronics by using the resources available on the net and using these learning packages to simulate circuits and operate virtual CRO's etc without owning a multimeter, cro or breadboard. But you simply can't beat hooking stuff up, using a real meter and CRO, blowing stuff up, building something wrong and then troubleshooting it etc. Over time you'll find by far that a lot of your understanding will come from troubleshooting a faulty circuit. If you build something and it works first go, you haven't learnt much!

Regards Dave :)

How much one can learn by this way, the "click" and "learn"?

Computers can be a very powerful tool. They can be a big time saver, or big time waster. Your choice.