One of the common hobbies of hobbyists and professionals in the field of electronics is the design and manufacture of various homemade products for the home. Electronic homemade products do not require large material and financial costs and can be performed at home, since work with electronics is, for the most part, "clean". The only exception is the manufacture of various body parts and other mechanical assemblies.
Useful electronic homemade products can be used in all areas of everyday life, from the kitchen to the garage, where many are engaged in the improvement and repair of electronic devices in a car.
Homemade products in the kitchen
Electronic homemade kitchens can be added to existing accessories and supplies. Industrial and home-made electric BBQ grills are very popular among apartment residents.
Another common example of homemade kitchens made by a home electrician is timers and automatic lighting over work surfaces, electric ignition of gas burners.
Important! Changes in the design of some household appliances, especially gas appliances, may cause "misunderstanding and rejection" by regulatory organizations. In addition, it requires great care and attention.
Electronics in the car
Homemade devices for a car are most widespread among the owners of domestic brands of transport, which differ in the minimum number of additional functions. Such schemes are in wide demand:
- Sound indicators of turns and hand brake;
- Indicator of operating modes of the storage battery and generator.
More experienced radio amateurs are engaged in equipping their car with parking sensors, electronic window drives, automatic light sensors to control low beam headlights.
Homemade products for beginners
Most novice radio amateurs are engaged in the manufacture of structures that do not require high qualifications. Simple proven designs can serve for a long time and not only for the sake of benefit, but also as a reminder of the technical "maturation" from a novice radio amateur to a professional.
For inexperienced hobbyists, many manufacturers produce ready-made design kits that contain a printed circuit board and a set of elements. Such kits allow you to practice the following skills:
- Reading circuit and wiring diagrams;
- Correct soldering;
- Adjustment and adjustment according to the ready-made method.
Among the sets, electronic clocks of various designs and degrees of complexity are very common.
As an area of application of knowledge and experience, radio amateurs can design electronic toys using simpler circuits or reworking industrial structures to their wishes and capabilities.
Interesting ideas for crafts can be seen in the examples of making radio electronic crafts from worn-out parts of computer technology.
Home workshop
For the independent design of radio electronic devices, a certain minimum of tools, fixtures and measuring devices are required:
- Soldering iron;
- Side cutters;
- Tweezers;
- Screwdriver Set;
- Pliers;
- Multifunctional tester (avometer).
On a note. When planning to do electronics with your own hands, you should not tackle complex structures right away and purchase an expensive tool.
Most radio amateurs began their journey with the use of the simplest soldering iron 220V 25-40W, and from the measuring instruments in the home laboratory, the most massive Soviet tester Ts-20 was used. All this is enough for practicing with electricity, acquiring the necessary skills and experience.
It makes no sense for a novice radio amateur to buy an expensive soldering station if there is no necessary experience with a conventional soldering iron. Moreover, the possibility of using the station will not appear soon, but only after sometimes quite a long time.
Also, there is no need for professional measuring equipment. The only serious instrument that even a novice hobbyist may need is an oscilloscope. For those already versed in electronics, the oscilloscope is one of the most sought after measurement tools.
Inexpensive Chinese-made digital devices can be successfully used as an avometer. Having rich functionality, they have high measurement accuracy, ease of use and, what is important, have a built-in module for measuring transistor parameters.
Speaking of a homemade workshop at a homemade product, one cannot fail to mention the materials used for soldering. This is solder and flux. The most common solder is POS-60 alloy, which has a low melting point and ensures high soldering reliability. Most of the solders used for soldering all kinds of devices are analogs of the mentioned alloy and can be successfully replaced by it.
As a flux for soldering, ordinary rosin is used, but for ease of use it is better to use its solution in ethyl alcohol. Rosin-based fluxes do not need to be removed from the installation after work, since they are chemically neutral under most operating conditions, and a thin rosin film formed after the evaporation of the solvent (alcohol) exhibits good protective properties.
Important! When soldering electronic components, under no circumstances should active fluxes be used. This is especially true of soldering acid (zinc chloride solution), since even under normal conditions such a flux has a destructive effect on thin copper printed conductors.
For maintenance of highly oxidized leads, it is better to use active acid-free flux LTI-120, which does not require rinsing.
It is very convenient to work using solder, which includes a flux. The solder is made in the form of a thin tube with rosin inside.
Breadboards made of double-sided foil-clad fiberglass, which are produced in a wide range, are well suited for the installation of elements.
Security measures
Electricity is associated with a risk to health and even life, especially if do-it-yourself electronics are designed with a mains supply. Self-made electrical devices should not use transformerless AC mains power. In an extreme case, the adjustment of such devices should be done by connecting them to the network through an isolation transformer with a transformation ratio equal to one. The voltage at its output will correspond to the mains, but at the same time, reliable galvanic isolation will be provided.
Every day it becomes more and more, there are many new articles, it is quite difficult for new visitors to immediately navigate and revise everything that has already been written and previously posted at a time.
I would very much like to draw the attention of all visitors to individual articles that were posted on the site earlier. In order not to have to search for the necessary information for a long time, I will make several "entrance pages" with links to the most interesting and useful articles on specific topics.
Let's call the first such page "Useful electronic homemade products". Simple electronic circuits are considered here, which are available for implementation by people of all skill levels. The circuits are built using a modern electronic base.
All information in the articles is presented in a very accessible form and in the amount necessary for practical work. Naturally, to implement such schemes, you need to understand at least the basics of electronics.
So, a selection of the most interesting articles on the site "Useful electronic homemade products"... The author of the articles is Boris Aladyshkin.
The modern element base of electronics greatly simplifies the circuitry. Even an ordinary twilight switch can now be assembled from just three parts.
The article describes a simple and reliable electric pump control scheme. Despite the extreme simplicity of the circuit, the device can operate in two modes: water rise and drainage.
The article contains several schemes of devices for spot welding.
With the help of the described structure, it is possible to determine whether or not a mechanism located in another room or building is working. The vibration of the mechanism itself is information about the work.
A story about what a safety transformer is, what it is for and how you can make it yourself.
Description of a simple device that disconnects the load if the mains voltage goes out of range.
The article describes a circuit of a simple thermostat using an adjustable zener diode TL431.
An article on how to make a device for smoothly switching on lamps using the KR1182PM1 microcircuit.
Sometimes, with reduced voltage in the network or soldering of massive parts, it becomes simply impossible to use a soldering iron. This is where a step-up power regulator for a soldering iron can come to the rescue.
An article about how you can replace the mechanical thermostat of an oil heating radiator.
Description of a simple and reliable thermostat circuit for a heating system.
The article provides a description of the converter circuit made on a modern element base, containing a minimum number of parts and allowing to obtain significant power in the load.
An article about various ways to connect a load to a control unit on microcircuits using relays and thyristors.
Description of a simple control circuit for LED garlands.
The design of a simple timer that allows you to turn on and off the load at specified intervals. The working time and the pause time do not depend on each other.
Description of the circuit and principle of operation of a simple emergency luminaire based on an energy-saving lamp.
A detailed story about the popular "laser-ironing" technology for manufacturing printed circuit boards, its features and nuances.
Since you have decided to become a self-taught electrician, then surely after a short period of time you will want to make some useful electrical appliance for your home, car or summer cottage with your own hands. At the same time, homemade products can be useful not only in everyday life, but also made for sale, for example,. In fact, the process of assembling simple devices at home is not difficult. You just need to be able to read the diagrams and use the tool for radio amateurs.
As for the first point, before you start making electronic homemade products with your own hands, you need to learn how to read electrical circuits. In this case, ours will be a good helper.
From tools for novice electricians, a soldering iron, a set of screwdrivers, pliers and a multimeter will come in handy. Some popular electrical appliances may even require a welding machine to assemble, but this is a rare case. By the way, in this section of the site we even talked about the same welding machine.
Special attention should be paid to the materials at hand, from which every newbie electrician can make elementary electronic homemade products with his own hands. Most often, old domestic parts are used in the manufacture of simple and useful electrical appliances: transformers, amplifiers, wires, etc. In most cases, it is enough for novice radio amateurs and electricians to look for all the necessary tools in the garage or shed in the country.
When everything is ready - the tools are assembled, spare parts are found and the minimum knowledge is obtained, you can proceed to the assembly of amateur electronic homemade products at home. This is where our small guide will help you. Each provided instruction includes not only a detailed description of each of the stages of creating electrical appliances, but is also accompanied by photo examples, diagrams, and video lessons that clearly show the entire manufacturing process. If you do not understand at some point, then you can clarify it under the entry in the comments. Our experts will try to advise you in a timely manner!
If you think that homemade products are the lot of toddlers and bored housewives, we will very quickly dispel your misconceptions. This section is entirely devoted to the manufacture of homemade products from car parts and rubber tires. Almost anything can be made from a tire. From garden shoes to a full-fledged playground with swings, fairy-tale characters and elements for relaxation. Finally, always busy dads will have the opportunity to show their creative talents and create something useful and beautiful on their own personal plot or backyard.
Car tires tend to become unusable, especially given the domestic quality of roads and sudden temperature changes. Instead of sending an old tire to a landfill, it can be slightly transformed and given new life in the playground, garden or vegetable garden.
We have collected a huge number of examples of how to do car homemade products using tires for various household and aesthetic purposes. Perhaps one of the most popular ways to use your old tire is the arrangement of playgrounds. The easiest option is to dig in half a row of tires and paint their upper part in bright colors. The architectural element created in this way will be used by kids as a device for walking and jogging with obstacles, as well as instead of "furniture", because sand products can be laid out on the surface of the tire, or even sit by yourself, resting on a quiet summer evening.
You can aesthetically diversify the exterior of the site by creating fairy dragons, funny bears that will greet your guests at the entrance to the courtyard, crocodiles and other animals lurking in the garden with the help of tires. For flower lovers, a car tire can replace a full-fledged flowerpot, and the plants planted in it will give the yard a well-groomed look.
You can delight children by creating a comfortable swing from the best-preserved tires. You can leave the shape of the tire in its original form, and, spending a little more time and effort, create an unusual swing in the form of horses.
Whatever you choose to create a car craft, your children will in any case be delighted to see a homemade car for a car in the yard. Inventive kids will be able to play new games, and will definitely be proud of their folder, showing off your creation to friends. And the mixing of happiness and pride in you in the eyes of a child is perhaps the only thing for which you can step on the throat of a long-awaited weekend in the company of a sofa, TV and beer.
A selection of original and interesting circuit solutions and improvements for various types of vehicles.
Car charger machine- The circuit turns on the battery for charging when the voltage on it drops to a certain level and turns it off when the maximum is reached.
Charger for a car on an integrated circuit LM7815- The basis of the circuit is an integrated circuit LM7815 with a protection system and analog indicator circuits. A voltmeter and ammeter added to the circuit as indicators provide current and voltage monitoring while the battery is being charged.
Voltage polarity switch for charger - designed for charging twelve-volt car batteries. Its main feature is that it allows the connection of the battery, at any polarity.
Automatic charger for automotive lead acid batteries
Charger for powerful car batteries- based on the IR2153 microcircuit, this is a self-clocking half-bridge driver, which is quite often used in industrial ballasts for fluorescent lamps
Engine overheating sensor... In order not to wait for the moment when the water in the radiator turns into steam, you can use the design on the DS1821 thermostat
Ice sensor As soon as the air temperature drops to 4 degrees Celsius, the LED fixed on the dashboard of the car will start blinking, with a further decrease in temperature, the LED blinks with a higher frequency. And if the temperature drops to - 1 degree or lower, then the LED will light up constantly to - 6 degrees, and then the device automatically turns off.
Seat belt sensor If you ride with unfastened seat belts, you can get injured in an accident, or run into a fine. In the arsenal of the radio amateur, there are special developments that signal the driver that the belt is not fastened
Radiator water level indicator... A device that signals a decrease in the water level, which will inevitably lead to overheating of the motor.
Vehicle voltage indicator Most cars do not have a device, according to the readings of which the driver could judge the voltage of the on-board network. The voltage of the vehicle's on-board network varies widely, depending on the operating mode of the power supply system.
Drivers pre-sleep indicator circuit As you know, up to 25-30% of traffic accidents are caused by drivers falling asleep while driving. To assess the psychophysiological state of a driver in the process of driving a vehicle, telemetric systems have been developed for monitoring the frequency of blinking of his eyelids, recording biopotential, galvanic skin response, and motor activity. All of the above methods have not found wide application in practice due to their complexity, high cost, the need to fix various sensors on the driver's skin.
An amateur radio collection on the topic of lighting in the passenger compartment, as well as home-made constructions from backlighting the back number to replacing bulbs in the instrument panel: LED turn signal repeater, automatic anti-glare lamp, Low beam diagrams, structures and accessories for headlights, Stop signal, its purpose and refinement, Scheme of the delay of turning on and off the light in the car, Running lights automatic control circuit on a microcontroller, etc.
Neutral sensor manufacturing... Many car enthusiasts know that a car alarm with auto start on a car with a manual transmission is quite difficult to install, and switching the alarm to automatic mode can get an unpleasant result. But, in order to solve these problems, you can make the autostart work safer by installing a neutral sensor from a reed switch. Recall that for autostart with a manual gearbox, the logical neutral of the car to alarm and blocking the doors can only be done when the engine is running and the handbrake is raised. If these conditions are not met, then autorun is not possible.
Anti-theft device simulator simulates your car's engine malfunctions
Infrared remote anti-theft device... The schemes of remote security devices for a car on IR rays are considered, in which information coding is used
Recommendations for installing car alarms What can be done to prevent car theft? Of course, install an anti-theft system. There are many different types of signaling devices currently available. Many firms and installation stations can offer the car owner a number of ways to protect the car from theft. A good alarm does not guarantee complete safety. It also requires a competent, and sometimes non-standard alarm installation. A qualified installer knows the most common methods used by hijackers and uses this knowledge to install
Simple starter interlock circuit consists of only one resistor and an optocoupler.
Diagram of a simple bicycle anti-theft system This design for a bicycle will work, it is worth changing its position, or if you touch it. The alarm sound signal lasts 30 seconds, and after a few seconds, it repeats and so on until the bicycle anti-theft device is turned off.
Wireless car alarm- blocks the car engine using any mobile phone or smartphone
Articles about the manufacture of tools and devices for the maintenance and repair of cars and their main units with their own hands: Service of car batteries; strobe-tachometer circuits; Thickness gauge for car paintwork; Homemade regruver for tread cutting and other original designs.
We bring to the attention of radio amateurs the scheme of an electronic "mass" switch, which does not have mechanical contacts and therefore is more reliable and durable. In addition, this device can be used as an anti-theft device.
Auto schemes. Parktronic on a digital microcircuit |
Parktronic is a special auxiliary device that provides additional convenience, especially for a novice car enthusiast, when parking by calculating the distance to obstacles closest to the car and signaling when approaching them with sound and visual signs. All parking sensors work like a radar, that is, they emit ultrasonic waves with special ultrasonic sensors and analyze the sound signal reflected from obstacles
It's the 21st century, and car speedometers in most cars are still analog, processing signals from a conventional speed sensor. Let's correct this misunderstanding, nav to help, a simple speedometer circuit on a microcontroller for DIY manufacturing
Of course, this is not a professional device, but its modest capabilities will also allow you to identify the degree of alcohol concentration for the driver's self-control in order to prevent trouble on the road.
I think every motorist will not refuse to have an additional service connector in the car, adapted for USB or miniUSB. Such adapters will help out in many situations, for example, powering PC peripherals, charging mobile phones or smartphones, event recorders, and anything that is powered from the USB bus.
Motion sensors (DD) can be used not only for their intended purpose to turn on the light or as an element of burglar alarms, but also in cars. For example, it will scare off a cat who decided to bask under the soot of your car, thereby saving her life, and relieving you of the work of cleaning your engine from the remains of a poor animal. After all, infrared DD will react to any moving biological object that has a "thermal" background.
In a car, there are many nodes to control the inclusion and serviceability of which is quite difficult, and for these purposes an audible signal is ideal, in addition, its use while reversing informs surrounding pedestrians and other drivers about the vehicle's movement back, which is especially important for large trucks
I suggest for your judgment, to familiarize yourself with a simple diagram of a car glass closer. It performs the role of lifting the windows at the moment when the car is put on the security alarm. The shutdown of the window regulator device is carried out as a result of an increase in the flowing current in the load at the moment of full lifting of the glass.
Automotive electric gasoline pump device, principle of operation and repair. As an example, consider the device and principle of operation of the BOSCH 0580254 submersible electric gasoline pump, which is used in all modifications of the K-Jefronic fuel injection system.
Car alarm It is designed to simulate a car horn, and is made on composite transistors and thyristors
Many have portable receivers and tape recorders with a 9 volt krone battery. On the road, they are conveniently powered from the car battery, without consuming expensive batteries. It is impossible to connect such radio equipment directly to the battery, since its voltage can vary from 10 to 15 V. In addition, when the engine is running, impulse noise appears in the car's on-board network
A selection of simple schemes for motorists: Anti-sleep buzzer, ice alarms, Installation for cleaning crankcase gases, Device for quick engine start in any frost, Compressometer, Anti-radar, Aerodynamic nozzle on the exhaust pipe and other designs
The collection of wiring diagrams for cars is a very large selection.
The circuits considered below on microcontrollers are displayed on a two-digit digital indicator with a common reading from a fuel sensor of 40 liters. The structures are powered from the vehicle's on-board network. A native vehicle sensor in the tank is connected to the “in” input.
Probably all drivers at least once forgot to turn off the direction indicators after making a maneuver? Regular clicks from the front panel are not always well audible, especially if music is playing in the cabin, so I propose to supplement your car with a simple do-it-yourself turn signal indicator circuit.
The cigarette lighter is one of the few car features that has retained its original design for over 70 years. As a result, the same design is used on both vintage cars and the most modern models. Of course, in the old days this device was used only for one function, although now in the modern "information world" it performs different functions, for example, a connector for charging various digital gadgets or even starting a car.
Radio amateur circuits of turn signaling devices are designed to work only with LEDs in your car's brake lights, if you are still using conventional bulbs you can easily duplicate the design of the turn signal. Simple development " Stop lights"- a homemade time relay will turn off the latter if they burn for more than 40-60 seconds, and turn relay modernization 495.3747 will allow you to introduce LEDs instead of incandescent lamps into the standard configuration of VAZ or GAZ.
The proposed first version of the modernization of the car wiper relay has a higher reliability of operation, can provide dynamic braking of the engine. In this case, no alterations of the standard electrical circuit are required. Quite simple options for upgrading the wiper relay will allow you not to be distracted by turning the wipers on and off. In addition, many older cars have a simple wiper motor speed control - two positions "fast-slow" - little modification is simply necessary. And install a humidity sensor and water droplets falling on it will start the circuit themselves.
A car monitor with rear view cameras is a very important element in your car, because in modern urban realities you need to be a parking master to find a place to park your car. An example of installing the monitor in the visor of a car is clearly shown, which makes the image optimally positioned for the driver's eyes.
Nowadays, as never before, there is the issue of accounting and saving energy resources, including fuel for vehicles. Of the wide variety of devices that take into account fuel consumption, the most widespread are devices with a sensor recording element in the form of an impeller. Sensors with a different measuring principle, although they have sufficient accuracy, are difficult to manufacture and have drawbacks. Practice has shown that impeller sensors, made with the necessary and sufficient accuracy, can work for years without requiring maintenance, with an error in registration below the tolerance for this type of devices.
An ignition system is a collection of various automotive instruments and devices that generate an electric spark to ignite the air-fuel mixture in the cylinders of an internal combustion engine at the moment the ignition key is turned. On this page you can find various ignition connection diagrams for VAZ cars. As well as homemade radio amateur versions of the electronic ignition circuit
It has the following advantages: the spark power is increased, the breaker contacts do not burn; no need for a resistor in the ignition coil circuit; when the ignition is on, but the engine is not running, the circuit is smoothly without a spark, it turns off
In the Soviet automobile industry, the turn signal interrupter of the PC57 type was of an electromagnetic principle of operation and was used to ensure the flashing of the signal lamps, which makes the supply of the turn signal to other road users more visible and noticeable. The turn signal interrupter is connected in series with the turn signal lamp circuit. Within the framework of the article, we will consider options for replacing this electromagnetic device with its electronic counterparts.
Probably every motorist forgot to close the windows in the car in the warm season, so that this does not happen anymore, I propose to assemble a scheme designed to automatically close all windows in the car's interior when setting the alarm. Consider several possible options for implementing the design from simple circuits with relays to an automatic window regulator on a microcontroller.
Every driver of a truck or bus with a 24-volt on-board network has faced the problem of connecting a 12-volt consumer. This article implements a solution to this problem.
In all modern cars, when the engine temperature reaches a critical level, the radiator cooling fan is activated. But there are a lot of negative effects of a sharp start, which over time affects the electrics of the vehicle. This article describes a diagram of an option for replacing the relay for smoothing the cooling fan.
Carburetor economizer device |
Carburettors were installed on the car for many years until they gradually freed their place for various fuel injection systems. But the automotive age of Russian cars is long, and you still have to deal with vehicles that still have a carburetor. Well, as you know, its normal operation is provided by some devices, among them the main one is a fuel economizer. It is about him that we will talk, and also consider the diagram of the forced idle economizer system for VAZ cars
A car starter is a device that allows the engine to start after a turn in all weather conditions. Almost all starters are, in essence, conventional, short-acting, high-power electric motors. The start-up cycle of a typical device consists of three attempts with a 30 second interval between them. Since the car has a single source of electricity (battery), the engineers chose a DC electric motor for the starters.
Every car owner who has driven a budget car knows how long to wait for heat from the engine when it warms up in the winter, especially if you live in the northern part of the largest country in the world. The time for a comfortable temperature is about 30 minutes, and so every morning. The best idea for solving this problem, in my opinion, is to heat the car interior with a fan heater. An old toaster and a faulty computer power supply helped to bring the idea to life.
In winter, many Russian drivers start the time when a pre-warmed engine is required to travel by car. The car antifreeze heating circuit helps to solve this problem. The first one discussed is simple enough to repeat.
Heated steering wheel, along with heated seats, mirrors, glass, is not a luxury these days, but an indicator of the level that a person lives in a civilized country. All of the above parameters in a private car are very convenient, and I help the driver to focus only on driving the vehicle, and not on their frozen fingers.
This design is designed to generate a sound signal when trucks and buses move backward, while in automatic mode, a sound signal starts to generate a warning of danger.
The main advantage of the second battery is that the accumulated energy is consumed through an additional battery, and the first is in reserve, that is, you do not have to worry about planting a car after a picnic far from civilization. Many foreign cars already have a second battery under the hood. The only drawback they have is the parallel connection of 2 batteries
This amateur radio design is suitable for charging most smartphones and tablets from 5 volts even with the ignition off. Or it will allow you to power the DVR for 40 minutes, at the moment when the car is waiting for its owner in the parking lot. The basis of the circuit is the AVR Tiny13 microcontroller, the firmware is attached to it.
