Meet Jan de Jong, an Elektor reader for over 55 years and a retired electronics enthusiast with decades of experience in building and repairing electronic devices. From his spare-room workspace, he continues to work on repair projects, from LED lamps to battery chargers.  


When you set up your space, what were your requirements and goals?

I started with a multimeter, a power supply, and an oscilloscope. My goal was to create a space where I could design, build, and repair electronic devices.

Do you enjoy learning about where other engineers and makers work on electronics projects? Take a look at these electronics workspaces.

Tell us about your technical interests. What sort of projects do you work on in your space? Why do you focus on such projects?
My interest is in electricity and electronics. Especially DIY projects and repairing a wide range of devices. I now work on almost every type of electronic design, including robot mower boards, battery chargers, and all kinds of LED lamps, such as tubes and custom designs that shops no longer repair. I also repair guitar amplifiers with tubes. I don’t do much programming anymore, but for context, I started with Algol. Years ago, I did a lot of repairs on radios and TVs with tubes.
 

​​Jan's desk in his personal workspace.


What sort of equipment and tools do you have in your space? 
I have two soldering stations, two oscilloscopes, four power supplies, three multimeters, two capacitance meters, a frequency generator and counter, and a power meter. Since I do a lot of repair work, I also keep thousands of components on hand, including resistors, capacitors, and transistors. I consider my scope, multimeter, and soldering station to be my most important tools.

Is there anything special about your space, and are you planning any changes?

One unique feature of my workspace is my self-built desk. As for future plans, I may add a new desk lamp to improve the lighting.
 

Tell us about your favorite electronics-related project. What did you build and why?

Most things I built when I was younger were several Edwin amplifiers, a test image generator for TV, and car ignition units. The greatest design I made was an electronic unit to guide archery contests, based on STD computer boards, with several time displays. I also built my own oscilloscope in the early days. I did repairs as well, including an onboard car charger of an electric car, which was hard to get a replacement for.

Jan de Jong’s Lifelong Electronics Workspace


Are you currently working on an electronics project?
Most of what I do now is repairing electronics whenever possible. The last thing I built myself was a day/night switch using an op-amp and a power FET.
 

Do you have any advice, tips, or encouragement for other engineers or makers who are thinking of putting together a workspace?
I think that’s difficult to answer, because most electronics nowadays are based on processors rather than analog devices.
 

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