Power supplies with a good looking full color LCD display - do they exist?

[Cubdriver]

Go old school - knobs and meters, with glowie things inside!   

-Pat

[rx8pilot]

Maybe make one with an Arduino, they seem to be all the rage... 

In general, if he needs to have a slick display to be interested - he probably does not care about electronics that much.

+1 

The downside of Arduino is that it discourages learning how things really work. It teaches you sorta-kinda how things work while shielding you from the real challenges and at the same time making the user feel like an engineering genius.

[coppice]

The downside of Arduino is that it discourages learning how things really work. It teaches you sorta-kinda how things work while shielding you from the real challenges and at the same time making the user feel like an engineering genius.

That's an idea that's often stated, but are there any studies to back that up with evidence? Huge numbers of people are never going to care who things really work, as they just lack curiosity. Does Arduino really discourage the naturally curious from probing deeper? That seems like the only way it might have a negative effect.

[Electro Fan]

The downside of Arduino is that it discourages learning how things really work. It teaches you sorta-kinda how things work while shielding you from the real challenges and at the same time making the user feel like an engineering genius.

That's an idea that's often stated, but are there any studies to back that up with evidence? Huge numbers of people are never going to care who things really work, as they just lack curiosity. Does Arduino really discourage the naturally curious from probing deeper? That seems like the only way it might have a negative effect.

+1 for coppice's comments

I think it's like saying real basketball players play on 10' goals.  Kids (including those who grow up to play in the NBA) start on 8' goals (and lower), and they use a 28.5cm basketball until about 7th grade before moving to a 29.5cm ball.

Additionally, the world is evolving.  Technologies and tools that are available to kids today weren't available to people who are adults now when those adults were kids - so some adults are learning from an elementary level. 

If an Arduino helps someone become interested in electricity or hardware or software, what's the problem?  It doesn't mean they will never learn anything else or not move on to bigger challenges. 

Some kids who learned basketball on an 8' goal never got around to playing on a 10' goal but many move up to the more challenging height as they gain experience.  I have never heard of a kid who learned to shoot on an 8' goal who then said "that's too easy so I'm going to quit basketball and never shoot on a 10' goal" and I never heard of a kid or parent or a coach who said "because we started with a smaller ball and a lower goal our curiosity about basketball techniques, understanding of basketball, enthusiasm for learning basketball, and basketball skills were ruined before we could get a chance to experience the bigger ball and higher goal."  Just doesn't happen.

[nowlan]

The irony is I am starting to fancy the older looking displays, like nixie or 7 segment. Easier to read than lcd crap.
The siglent and rigol have nice displays however.

I would think RC cars and quad copters might be an easier place to get a kid interested in electronics. Servos, batteries, RF frequencies.
Expensive hobby, but some of the new drones are like $40.

Once they understand how servos, batteries, work, they might be interested in moving into the robotics side. At which point some something from polou might be worth looking at. https://www.pololu.com/

The other avenue might be audio, something like a altoid headphone amp.

[jimdeane]

I second the idea of using something that he would find fun anyway as an avenue into exploring whether electronics is an interest to him. Quadcopter, robot, R/C.

Does his school have a robotics team, like First Robotics or Best Robotics?

[picitup]

Just a suggestion - I wonder if he would enjoy building a kit rather than going from first principles?  It's nearly xmas an there's plenty of wearable stuff around with flashing LEDs he could show off to his mates.  I think the answer here would be to find out what he thinks is cool and also what his peers think is cool.

I think the problem you have with teenagers.  Is that anything you do, isn't cool.  By definition.  What you're trying to achieve is excellent though.  Basic electronics has been going out of fashion for a long time.  Young people take for granted the fact that consumer electronics is actually designed by someone.

Anyway, here's a few suggestions from Sparkfun:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11734

https://www.sparkfun.com/search/results?term=lily

Best of luck on that roller coaster ride that is the teenager lol and I hope you can find something that will engage him.

Just a bit more teenage stuff;  my 13 year old daughter wanted to upgrade her Moto G for the latest iPhone for £600.00.  I made her trawl the net for specs and convince me it was good value for money.  She came up with a Samsung phone for £200.00.  12MP camera, octacore, 32GB etc etc.  So you can see the way they think.  She's pleased with her phone, but I bet she misses the Kudos of owning the latest iPhone.

Cheers

Steve

[coppice]

The downside of Arduino is that it discourages learning how things really work. It teaches you sorta-kinda how things work while shielding you from the real challenges and at the same time making the user feel like an engineering genius.

That's an idea that's often stated, but are there any studies to back that up with evidence? Huge numbers of people are never going to care who things really work, as they just lack curiosity. Does Arduino really discourage the naturally curious from probing deeper? That seems like the only way it might have a negative effect.

I prefer to stick with technical questions, not ethical discussions. There are usually common goals or solutions toward a technical problem, but hardly a commonly accepted answer to a "whether it is nobler" question.

Arduino exists, and we can use it, or choose not to use it. It is the humanity researchers or educate researchers' job to figure out whether it is good for common folks' learning, not our job.

Whenever there is a new concept or product, where are always people supporting it, and people bitching it.

What are you blathering on about? What works and what doesn't for teaching is not an ethical issue. Its a pragmatic technical one. Either presenting simplistic solutions to youngsters who would otherwise have the motivation to gain deeper knowledge discourages them from gaining that or it doesn't. There are certainly ethical questions that come out of the knowing how youngsters react to stimuli, but all we were talking about is what works and what doesn't from a purely educational point of view.

[tooki]

So far, I have found that only the Owon ODP3032 has a nice looking color display. Are there any other power supplies with decent color diplays?

Before you say, "Who cares?" I am trying to get my son interested in electronics and he expects the PS to have a good looking display (like his Android phone). I know this may sound stupid, but, are there any other power supplies with decent color displays?

The equipment isn't the issue. I'd much sooner suggest starting with robot kits or the like, if he's even interested at all. If not, rather than trying to force him into your hobby, explore what his might be. (As for the "trying to get the kid away from the computer" problem, I'm trying to figure that one out with my nephew, who is absolutely obsessed with minecraft...)

[Fungus]

@ SharpEars
This good looking enough:

http://www.siglentamerica.com/pdxx.aspx?id=1393&T=2&tid=17

Best option so far in terms of looks/features for the $ .

It's not touch screen, so.... fail!

Nothing at all like a smartphone.

[SharpEars]

Go old school - knobs and meters, with glowie things inside!   

-Pat

I am trying to get him interested in electronics, not Fallout 4.

[timb]

Go old school - knobs and meters, with glowie things inside!   

-Pat

I am trying to get him interested in electronics, not Fallout 4.

If he's so into video games, maybe having Fallout era gear might interest him?

As others have stated, you can lead a horse to water...

Seriously though, start with robotics or quadcopters. Perhaps an Arduino based robot kit? Robotics is great because it merges software and hardware, which might help him figure out what he's interested in.

A flashy power supply is not going to impress him for more than 5 minutes. Why you think it would is absolutely beyond me.


Sent from my Tablet

[artag]

A power supply inherently isn't very interesting (until you're hooked and love those tubes). Maybe you should introduce him to something with a more interesting interface, like an oscilloscope.

[Fungus]

A flashy power supply is not going to impress him for more than 5 minutes. Why you think it would is absolutely beyond me.

My dad wanted me to play sports. Guess what...? I never did.

[_Wim_]

I would propose to build together a very good an powerfull audio amp with speakers. Lots ofelectronics to learn in that for a beginner, and most 14 year olds I know love a good loud audio system. Throw in some dj gear to really convince him...

[xrunner]

I am trying to get him interested in electronics, not Fallout 4.

Think "Steampunk"! 

[lowimpedance]

I am trying to get him interested in electronics, not Fallout 4.

Think "Steampunk"! 

LOL   ....or if left on to long probably Smokepunk   

Seriously as others have said a power supply is not the way to go (unless 'you' need one!).
RC stuff, robotic kits etc would be more engaging.

[Seekonk]

I'm glad I grew up when I did in the golden age of electronics when you actually built stuff.  I've become stupified by all the stuff you can just but from China.  A recent TV program said this is the first generation that doesn't have to put up with being bored.  I've caught the same affliction.  I watch these videos and scan ahead several minutes at a time.  Most are like soap operas, by watching 1/5 of the video I don't miss a thing.

[Cubdriver]

I am trying to get him interested in electronics, not Fallout 4.

Think "Steampunk"! 

LOL   ....or if left on to long probably Smokepunk   

Oh stop - I've since cleaned the dust and crud off of the tubes!      

That was how it arrived, and the front panel image is from when I'd cleaned only the right half of the faceplate to show the contrast of dirty vs clean.

-Pat

[lowimpedance]

@ Cubdriver   Excellent     , I have done a little 'glowing bottle' gear restoration myself so I know whats involved cleaning and bringing these fossils back to life.

[LaurentR]

Adafruit Cupcade
http://www.adafruit.com/product/1783

A pretty nice blend or assembly, soldering, playing with Linux (Raspberry Pi), searching the web for ROMs, and a final product the teenager will be proud to show his friend and play with. I highly recommend it.

Laurent

[SharpEars]

Adafruit Cupcade
http://www.adafruit.com/product/1783

A pretty nice blend or assembly, soldering, playing with Linux (Raspberry Pi), searching the web for ROMs, and a final product the teenager will be proud to show his friend and play with. I highly recommend it.

Laurent

He already went down this route 3-4 years ago and for a lot less than the $119 that AdaFruit charges. Granted, the result wasn't nearly as small in size (nor used a Raspberry Pi).

[iampoor]

When I was 12 my parents encouraged me to experiment and play around with anything I was interested in. My best friends dad was an engineer at TI. Needless to say I got interested in circuits and started collecting old things to rip apart. My parents bought me a work bench and I bought my first oscilloscope on Ebay when I was 13 (B&K precision dual channel 100mhz model) for 60$ + shipping....that could have bought alot of Lego's
I had no clue what I was ding till I was 19-20 and started to really get interested in the "know-how" side of things. I realized that I was much more interested in system development, rather than all the fine detailed math and fine points that I was desperately trying to understand and not making progress with, with no real goal in sight. I wasnt motivated till I created goals and started pushing twards them. That made alot of the finer pints of engineering much more interesting.

I think there have been alot of well meaning posts in this thread, but I think it really comes down to understanding what motivates him to become interested in something. I know it did for me (22 now!)