Raspberry Pi Projects For Dummies. Evans Jonathan

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       Figure 2-3: An entry-level soldering iron and essential accessories.

       Physical building and fabrication tools

You also need some basic tools for light fabrication. Not all these tools are essential, but often the one tool you don’t have is the one you need so you may want to stock up. Figure 2-4 shows some of the essential tools. We’ve listed these roughly in order of importance, from most to least:

      ✔ A selection of precision screwdrivers: Both flathead and Phillips-head screwdrivers are essential.

      ✔ Helping hands: This is a small clamp with two alligator clips to hold your work piece; it often comes with an integrated magnifying glass. This tool is essential for gripping objects you’re working on – unless you have three arms.

      ✔ Wire strippers: You use these for cutting and stripping the insulation off of wires. They come in several different styles. Splurge a little here – if they’re too cheap, they’ll produce poor results and be frustrating to use.

      ✔ Angled side cutters: You use these for clipping component leads and cutting wires.

      ✔ Needle-nose pliers: Use these for holding fine objects. You should have both small and large ones on hand.

      ✔ A task light with magnifier: Use these to provide direct illumination and to make it easier to see fine work. Get one with a spring arm so that you can place it right over your work, if necessary.

      ✔ A box cutter/carpet knife with replaceable blades: Use this for cutting sturdier materials.

      ✔ A cutting mat: You need this to protect your work surface.

      ✔ A Sharpie and a pencil: Use these for making cutting marks and permanent marks. No workbench is complete without a Sharpie!

      ✔ Hand drill and small hand saw (not shown): For small projects, you can probably use inexpensive hand tools, which you should be able to get at your local hardware store. Power tools will also work, but they’re generally more expensive.

       Figure 2-4: Some essential light fabrication tools.

      Using Your Tools Safely and Effectively

      When you’ve assembled all the tools and set up your workspace, you’ll probably be eager to dive right in! But before you do, take a few minutes to read the information in this section so you don’t hurt yourself or those around you.

       Working with electricity

       In working with electronics, safety is critical. You should take basic precautions to protect yourself. None of the projects in this book involves connecting directly to the wall power, but you should use precautions anyway and develop good safety habits. Even though you may only be working with low DC voltages, it’s a good idea to follow some basic safety rules when working with all electronic projects:

      ✔ Don’t touch metal contacts or leads in a live circuit.

      ✔ Don’t alter a live circuit. Always disconnect power before removing or adding components to your Raspberry Pi or breadboard.

      ✔ Always test with one hand tied behind you back. Well, at least one hand not on the work piece. If enough stray current flows between both your hands, and across your heart, it can cause arrhythmia. That’s not likely at the low DC voltages we’re working with here, but it’s best to be safe and get into the habit.

      ✔ Sounds crazy, but don’t work barefoot. Maximize the resistance between you and the floor by wearing good, rubber-soled shoes. A puddle of water is a great conductor, and you don’t want to be in one, if something goes wrong.

      ✔ Wear an antistatic wrist strap. Your Raspberry Pi is a tough little computer, and if it’s in an enclosure it should be well protected. However, it and other components are sensitive to wayward voltages, including static electricity. Several thousand volts of static electricity can build up on you, and you may not even know it, especially on carpeted floors. If it does and you touch your hardware, you can fry it in an instant. An inexpensive antistatic wrist strap will guard against unexpected sparks by connecting you at all times to ground, which diverts any electrical charge from building up on your body.

      ✔ When fabricating or soldering, wear light, comfortable safety glasses. Wire offcuts can fly around the room when they’re clipped, and hot solder can sometimes spit and splutter. You don’t want any molten metal heading for your eyes.

       Laying the foundation for your electronics work

      To quickly and easily connect your project circuits, start out by using a breadboard. All the projects involving electronic circuits in this book can be built on a breadboard. After testing on a breadboard, you can either put your Raspberry Pi and your breadboard inside an enclosure or build your circuit permanently on a stripboard or perfboard, which requires a bit of soldering.