DIY Electronics Projects for Beginners

If you have a love for technology, you will probably come to the point where you want to learn how to make devices of your own. There are lots of things you can build with the right parts, some patience, and a quick tutorial search online. But what should you choose as you start out your journey into becoming a maker? We suggest trying these fun DIY electronics projects for beginners, each of which has many easy-to-follow tutorials on the web.

Lip Balm LED Flashlight

Miniature flashlights that you can easily carry around in your pocket are cool to have, but they’re even better when you can create them yourself. All the components of a flashlight can fit within an emptied-out lip balm container. When it’s switched off, it’ll look like a regular stick of lip balm. In doing this project, you’ll start to learn how to solder small pieces together and form a working battery-powered light that you can turn on and off with the press of a button.

Mint Tin Solar USB Charger

A charger is one of those items that you need in order to keep your portable gadgets powered. You can make an extra one of your own for your phone that utilizes solar energy. Similar to the lip balm DIY electronics project for beginners, this USB charger fits within a common item—a mint tin. You connect rechargeable batteries with a small solar panel to replenish them. The batteries, in turn, connect to a USB port, to which you can connect a typical smartphone charger. You’ll gain insight into circuitry and soldering with this project.

Retro Gaming Machine

For those who are interested in gaming, creating a cheap retro gaming emulator may be an interesting project to take up. With an affordable Raspberry Pi computer, which is essentially a motherboard meant for easy incorporation into home projects, you can play your favorite oldies. You’ll set up the SD card necessary for the emulator machine on your main PC and build the gaming machine itself with the Raspberry Pi, a controller or keyboard of your choice, and a monitor. You can emulate the game system of your choice using a free-to-download graphical user interface called RetroPie.