An Ijitidea’s path to enlightenment.
Electronics has long fascinated me…as a 10-12 y/o I remember getting some books and kits on electronics from Dick Smith Electonics…they were really basic…some were as simple as a piece of particle board and a few screws and some components…each book in the series had a different colour. I remember the blue and green ones though my memory could be playing tricks on me heheheh 
Anyway…cut to many years later and I am now ready to take up the hobby with a bit more gusto than the 12y/o me
It is bewildering how much electronics stuff is out there! So much so one could easily get lost in the mix just trying to choose somewhere to start.
Back to the very beginning seems a tad boring…until one begins to get a better grasp on the concepts of basic electrical experiments and builds are based upon.
I will probably waver back and forth between basic electrical stuff and playing with actual IC’s and circuits.
Sure, I can jump in feetfirst with single board computers…which really interest me, but I need to feel I have actually learned something…gotten a grasp of the fundamentals of some things.
I am terrible when it comes to memory…so things like ohms law and all the other laws, equations and such can be a PITA at times…so I keep them in my notebook and reference as needed.
I have gathered a selection of components, some new, some salvaged from old equipment…buzzers, piezo’s, led’s, capacitors, diodes, relays and motors.
Not to mention power supplies! Heheheh…those are everywhere!
I have a basic 40W soldering iron, a helping hand, a range of magnifying glasses [not very powerful 2-5 diopter] some bright work lamps a desoldering tool and enthusiasm!
I have a small selection of power tools and hand tools, screwdrivers, pliers, grippers as well.
I also have a selection of rechargable batteries and battery holders, some lcd, vfd and 7segment displays to fool around with.
I have come across some good online vids to help learn electronics.
I quite like the Molloy vids from university of dublin as I find his manner easygoing and his info concise without blather.
I do not really expect to make anything practically useful anytime soon, but will instead focus on some small basic learning circuits to make noises, flash lights and do stuff. Hopefully this will help me get a grasp on what I am doing.
I have an arduino clone, sensors, some spare atmel 328 chips and some hobby boards. I also have a jaycar avr isp socketboard kit I shall put together sometime soonish.
I have a scavengers parts bin with 3 coffee machines, some solar garden lights, a few routers, modems and pc add on boards and a few wall wart power supplies, many cables from audio to tv to router cables…some are useful to scavenge for solid core wire to solder with, others for simple lengths of hookup wire.
So, apart from the above stuff I really don’t want to buy anything else unless I cannot scavenge or build it.
This self-limit is to MAKE myself do the best I can with what I have or can scavenge.
2nd hand shops are a good place to buy power supplies, old remote controls and cabling…all useful as components or parts.
I am aiming to get an old tower computer and strip it, leaving just the power supply so I can make myself a bench power supply into the computer case with some lcd or 7segment readouts and other stuff added as I can.
OK…enough blathering on about it. My next post shall have some pics and actual electronics in it! 
II