Tutor/answer basic electronics questions by phone
March 17, 2015 8:22 AM
I would like to be able to call you up and ask things like: Can I use this power supply with slightly different amp output than a previous power supply? Where can I buy a 3/64" outer diameter plug? Do I really need a charge controller between my new solar panel and my fancy conventional battery charger? What do I need to buy to make this 20V solar panel power some kind of small fountain pump?
I could probably get answers to a lot of this through AskMe, but not all of it, and the immediacy of having someone to just phone and do back-and-forth discussions with would be very much worthwhile.
I can solder and do math, have assembled several kits, and learned the basic physics of electronics years ago in physics class -- but none of that gives me the knowledge to have an idea, find parts, and assemble them. I have some ideas for other projects (most kits are not for creating useful items), but I'm missing some critical knowledge that I think people often acquire person-to-person.
You're probably fairly creative yourself, knowledgeable enough to have wired a thermostat into an old box fan, reasonably good at explaining things, patient with my somewhat aggressive learning-by-asking-questions learning style, open to creative ideas. I know people like you exist because I used to work at a product design company with some in the nineties -- although most of the really clever folks like that I have met are probably over seventy now.
I may have three questions one day, then no questions for a year. I probably don't have questions for my current (very simple) project, but a quick review might be helpful.
At the moment, I *think* I have my solar power to battery charger project under control, so this wouldn't start immediately.
Pay negotiable. I was thinking $20 for the first call per incident, then $10 for additional calls on the same day (averaging 15-20 minutes per call). Maybe slightly less through e-mail, but I really have no idea how much time this would take you or how much would be fair, so please feel free to suggest another payment scale.
payscale: $20-30 / question
job type: contract
I could probably get answers to a lot of this through AskMe, but not all of it, and the immediacy of having someone to just phone and do back-and-forth discussions with would be very much worthwhile.
I can solder and do math, have assembled several kits, and learned the basic physics of electronics years ago in physics class -- but none of that gives me the knowledge to have an idea, find parts, and assemble them. I have some ideas for other projects (most kits are not for creating useful items), but I'm missing some critical knowledge that I think people often acquire person-to-person.
You're probably fairly creative yourself, knowledgeable enough to have wired a thermostat into an old box fan, reasonably good at explaining things, patient with my somewhat aggressive learning-by-asking-questions learning style, open to creative ideas. I know people like you exist because I used to work at a product design company with some in the nineties -- although most of the really clever folks like that I have met are probably over seventy now.
I may have three questions one day, then no questions for a year. I probably don't have questions for my current (very simple) project, but a quick review might be helpful.
At the moment, I *think* I have my solar power to battery charger project under control, so this wouldn't start immediately.
Pay negotiable. I was thinking $20 for the first call per incident, then $10 for additional calls on the same day (averaging 15-20 minutes per call). Maybe slightly less through e-mail, but I really have no idea how much time this would take you or how much would be fair, so please feel free to suggest another payment scale.
payscale: $20-30 / question
job type: contract