The Best Electronics Component Kits for Beginners

If you are newbie to electronics or a student pursuing electronics engineering and have started working on DIY projects, then you might require stock for electronic components at hand. Being a good embed and application engineer not only require tech and know-how but also experience through assembling some only to dream of crafts like the GPS controlled tracker lawn mower using sensors technology and handy microprocessor units.

What is an electronic components kit?

Factors to consider then procuring an electronic components kit is checking what sort of projects you will be working on as you might need variety of tools and electronic parts. You need to have a good idea of what you will do with the kit? Are you building, testing, learning using practical projects or getting prebuilt kits etc.?

Anyway, there is a wide variety of electronic components and this can make it hard for a beginner. In this article we hope, we’ll mention a few electronic parts that are essential for your assortment kit.

Essential Electronic components

Essential components mainly electronic components used in majority of projects. This can be either active or passive components which we will list below and state their functions. Since they are essential for most projects a good way of spreading the cost is to always add them in your shopping basket when buying specifics for your upcoming project.

A common list of components that helps you to create a new project include:

Breadboard
Modules for Power Supply
Jumper Wires (U-Shape and Solderless)
Jumper Wires – 20-Pin (F-M, F-F, M-M)
Sided PCB Board (Single and Double)
Solder Wire
Female and Male Pin Headers
RGB LED Emitting Diodes
5 MM LED’s (10XWhite, 10XRed, 10XBlue, 10XGreen, 10X Yellow)
Resistors from 10Ω – 1MΩ variation
Battery Clip Connectors
Capacitors (Ceramic & Electrolytic)
Diodes (1N4148 and other common types)
Transistor (2N2222, SS8550 etc)
Timer IC (NE555)
Potentiometer
Photoresistor
Thermistor
Push Button preferably a Mini Tactile & Toggle Button (2)
Tilt Switches
Active Buzzer
Passive Buzzer
Relay (5V 10A)
Screw Terminal

Functions of these electronic components and how to choose them.

1. Resistors

Resistors are usually colour coded and main purpose in a circuit is to limit the flow of current and divide current. The best resistor packs you can get provide a good selection of resistance range from 100ohm to 1Mohm.

2. Capacitors

Capacitors store energy and often come in different types from film, ceramic, aluminium, and electrolytic capacitor etc. For most DIY projects a kit with a range between 0.01µF and 0.1µF for smaller range and 1µF and 470µF with a voltage rating of 25V.

3. Diodes

Diodes allow electricity to flow in a single direction and are mainly made of silicon material. Because of their ability to act as a one way street they are typically used as check valves in electronic circuits and in convertors for example ac to dc converter.

As highlighted in the essential list above, the 1N4148 signal diode is a part you might want to have in stock and the 1N4001 rectifier diode. These are essential arsenals for your electronic components tool kit box.

4. LEDs

Light emitting diodes are good for display and having 5mm LEDs is is a must as they are the standard size.

5. Transistors

Transistors are often characterised by their 3 terminals and are used mainly as amplifiers and and switches. Their special characteristic is they can turn a circuit on and off without moving any part. Some of the common types of transistors include NPN, Bipolar, RF and unijunction transistors. A common example of a NPN transistors you will find in many electronic parts kits is the BC548B.

6. Integrated circuits

An Integrated circuit or IC as they are commonly known as is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece of semiconductor material usually silicon. An IC can function as a timer, amplifier, oscillator, computer memory or a microprocessor. In your components pack you will certainly need a timer like the NE555P timer.

Conclusion

A recap of this article, we realise that tiny electronic circuits and their parts are the foundation of all electronic equipment. From capacitors to integrated circuits, reading about the various functions and understanding will help you a great deal in your future embedded systems project. Remember to stock up on common parts with general electronic components kits as this will go a long way in cutting your cots on future DIY projects. Do share you view and suggestion in our blog below:

Article written by https://www.electronicscomponents.co.uk/ electrical and electronics parts writer James Corden