Function Generator DIY KIT by JYE Tech FG085

I needed an inexpensive function generator just for playing around with electronics. "Real" lab grade ones cost several hundreds of dollars so I decided to purchase this one in light of good reviews elsewhere. The first one came in a padded envelope with all of the parts in a ziplock bag. No padding = a cracked inductor and a returned package. The second one was in the same type of packaging but undamaged. It took exactly 1 hour to put the kit together Right.Take your time with the buttons! Yes, there are a lot of them and they are polarized with 6 legs each! They install with the two "teeth" facing towards the BNC socket, the manual doesn't show it clearly. I recommend putting the male brass standoffs with the screws into the face plate first. Then install one button at a time and use a little sticky tack to hold it in place. Use the front face plate to align the buttons! Take your time and solder one leg in. That way if you mess up, it is easy to move a switch over a little. Once you have them all tacked in, screw the front face plate in, check the button for smoothness and then solder them in. I did the capacitors next, a few of them go behind the LCD- if you do the LCD first it will be impossible to solder the caps in! I did the caps after the buttons because a few of the button pins comes close to the caps.After I had it together, it powered up fine. The manual and menus are kinda intuitive. It takes a few minutes to understand what does what. One thing that did not stand out was that the HZ/V/sec/uS and KHz/mV/mS buttons act as enter buttons for some menus. Once I had it figured out, it is pretty easy to work with.The actual waveforms are pretty darn good for a $46 kit using a couple of micro controllers. I can't complain at all! It will be more than adequate for my purposes. However, if you were intending to use it for more serious projects such as HAM, you may want a real function generator.The servo output is also very useful but DO NOT WIRE IT UP DIRECTLY TO A SERVO! Mine had center pin as signal and the outer pins as 15v and ground. In other words, you will fry any servo you attach! You need a voltage regulator to drop it down to 5v! Going from 15 to 5v is quite a jump, I would recommend using a switching BEC to drop that down with minimum heat. (A 7805 would get a little toasty probably) Be sure to solder a servo extension to the right pins and with regulated voltage before trying that function out. For a few bucks more, JYE could have completed that feature. It really feels half baked on the hardware side but the software side is great.Overall, this was a fun and useful kit. I recommend it for anyone in the electronics hobby or those who are curiousEdit: Mine came with firmware 08501-130 which enables a lot of cool features such as user generated waveforms from a computer, sweep mode, and a trigger input function!

Like another reviewer here, mine came in with some minor damage to the inductor. I emailed both the seller and manufacturer...both responded very well and quickly. They offered to send replacement part if needed.I wanted to go ahead and build it, so I did.Let me add some building comments and to say you should read some of the other in depth reviews that will help you build the FG.On step 5 and 6: Pay attention to which way the two pin headers solder to the board...the 8 pin header goes in short side to the board...the 16 pin header goes in long side...read and check carefully before you solder it to save you some work having to correct a mistake.When I wanted to put all those switches on the board I decided to put all of them in the large group on the board and solder them at one time...how though...they will fall right out when you turn it upside down to solder...I made sure all the switch pins were straight to start with (some were bent by the way), then I used a plastic card (credit card or thinner) to slightly bend them out, then placed them on the board...also, placed the cover over them to make sure they will be lined up when you put the cover on...soldered them in place.After you solder all those...(lot of connections!), go back and check your work...I had skipped a couple...check!On that BNC connector...I found that confusing. Before you cut off that "wing" on the bnc, I would test fit it and make sure how it fits, and how it is oriented so you can make sure the wing will reach the solder point on the middle board...make sure you understand how this will connect before you cut it...might save you from having to redo it. That "wing" on the BNC is a side pin that will be soldered to the middle board. I found it all a little confusing, hopefully you won't.Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed putting it together and then using it to generate some waveforms on my oscilloscope.I am a rookie with both devices, learning....if you need solder practice...this kit will give it to you.Took me longer than an hour (other reviewer), but like I said, rookie...and wanted it to work.I did use a magnifying headpiece to help me see the board while soldering...(I'm 60).Hope this info helps you along with the other detailed review.

Function generator, signal generator, whatever you call it it’s an important tool for your workbench.This is an inexpensive one, and the build is pretty simple. I thought it was going to be more challenging, but it’s almost all surface mount already installed, so it’s an easy kit.And very useful, you may never decide to upgrade from this one.Good for anyone doing electronics,For a build video and demo, search YouTube for "C.K. builds a signal/function generator kit from JYE Tech"

i've been adding stuff to my electronics bench pretty steadily recently, and i saw this product for a good price and thought it'd be a good enough addition to my bench and at a good price. What i didn't expect was for it to arrive 95% assembled. All i have left to do is put the front and back acrylic plates onto the brass standoff screws and mount the BNC connector to the board. The assembly also has a strong garlic odor that transfered to my hands while touching the board. all told, if i knew i was buying something fully assembled i'd have bought a different product.