DIY Electronics: 7 Simple Design Projects For Beginners
Wannabe DiY tinkerers, creators and toy makers take note: there’s never been a better time to bring your ideas to life!
No longer dependent on costly degrees or professional electronic product developers, cheap and readily available beginner electronic equipment and Microcontrollers like the Arduino and Raspberry Pi have given rise to a hobbyist community that welcomes new members and exciting new projects every day.
Still, every journey needs a beginning. You won’t be the next Nikola Tesla or Albert Einstein overnight! Which is why we’ve hand-picked 7 of the best DiY beginner electronic design projects from around the web to help get you started. Each of these projects is perfect for any skill level, and we’d be surprised if at least one didn’t spark your electronics imagination.
Fast food and electronic product development don’t have all that much in common. At least at first glance. But the first project in our list definitely puts that theory to the test.
The pizza itself is, unfortunately, optional – it’s the cardboard we need here – but nevertheless this project does a great job of stepping you through the process of creating a fully-functioning electronic circuit similar to what you might find on a circuit or PCB board. And all of that with just a handful of readily-available materials.
The humble light bulb is largely taken for granted nowadays. Instead, we’re all focussed on much more exciting technological marvels. But even something as simple as an LED light bulb can offer an exciting insight into the inner working of an electronic circuit.
This simple project sees you exploring just that, illuminating the inner workings of both light bulb and switch with a breadboard circuit. There’s even a smaller version of this project that sees you creating a light-up card, which might just be the perfect gift card for the tech-savvy friend or family member.
The true joy in any DiY project is finding ways to make the ordinary extraordinary. Is there anything more ordinary than the humble chapstick container? We didn’t think so! This project sees you applying the basic circuitry principles you’ve learned in earlier projects to turn it into a fully-functioning LED flashlight. It even comes complete with an on and off switch!
They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but with this project it also – seemingly – keeps the electrical bills at bay, too. At least to an extent! This nifty project shows you how to power a clock with a single piece of fruit. Lasting for as much as a week, it harnesses the chemical reaction between the citrus and metal components used to create it. How’s that for ingenuity?
The clap switch is a device often associated with the lives of the rich and famous, but with this project you’ll be surprised to find just how simple – and inexpensive – these seemingly exclusive devices are to make yourself.
The humble night light is usually the go-to cure all in this situation, but why buy one from a store when you could get the kids involved in fighting those nighttime nightmares and make one yourself?
This project highlights how to do just that, providing you with the perfect opportunity to solve a problem, educate yourself – and your kids! – on the basics of electronics, and at the end of the day have a multi-colour night light to show for it.
Feeling Adventurous? Build A Robot With This Bonus Project
From the terror of the Terminator to the far friendlier faces of C3PO and R2D2, who doesn’t love a good robot? Sure, while Hollywood may still be undecided as to whether they’re our friend or foe, for now they remain the pinnacle creation in every DiY electronic hobbyist’s collection.
This may sound like an advanced project, but with Lifehacker’s step-by-step guide you can create at least one part of your own robot. Namely, the arm. Just be sure to leave out the world-destroying robot AI while you’re at it.
Scratch Your Electronics Itch With Even More Electronic Projects
Whether you’ve burned through these projects and need more to keep your mind occupied, or you’re intrigued at just what the wide world of electronics has to offer, the following sites are a constant source of inspiration, ideas and new projects. With these sites bookmarked, the possibilities for future electronic creations are truly endless. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and get creating!
◦ Instructables
◦ Build Electronic Circuits
◦ Hacked Gadgets
◦ Hackaday
◦ Electronics Lab