the most basic thing you can learn is how to measure capacitance and inductance 
take some wire… wind it around a core… measure the inductance… take a few turns off… measure again… understand how the wire turns create inductance… change the shape of the core or space out the wires more… measure… inductance and magnetic field shape is honestly one of the most black magic fucking things you’ll ever need to learn and it’s super critical to passive tag performance… making a circuit and powering it can be as simple as playing connect the dots… but understanding how to harness one of the primary universal forces for fun and profit… priceless.
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Thanks, I will see about starting this sooner rather than later.
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Do you have any suggestions for sizes to start with or type of wire?
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it’s called magnet winding wire… usually 30awg. it is covered with enamel for insulation instead of plastic. you have to typically burn the enamel off, or painfully scrape it off with a knife… but the enamel is thin so your copper wire turns can be very close together.
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Thank you
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I like 18awg magnetic wire (the stuff I used for the working bracelet prototype) purely because it’s easy to shape by hand and will easily hold that shape. The smaller stuff is better for more turns / less space and also boosting voltage I think.
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yes to all of that… it’s just, you typically end up with giant coils when dealing with 125khz stuff.
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Does material matter? Is copper the best?
Yes. Aluminum wire is cheaper, but it has slightly higher resistance. When you wind very long coils that minor difference becomes significant, and you can’t deliver as much current through the wires
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Late to the party, but…
Solder wick. It’s basically just flat braided copper wire. Search Amazon for “solder wick”. It comes in a huge array of sizes, brands, etc.
You use it to UN-solder things. Basically you lay it on top of the solder joint to be removed, put your hot soldering iron on top of that, then when the heat soaks through, the solder will liquify and be pulled into the wick. Remove wick while still liquid, let harden and then cut the end off (with the solder on it).
Think of it the way you’d think of an eraser for pencil marks.
Good for fixing mistakes, and for occasionally salvaging components from random electronics.
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100% love this stuff. When I was soldering/repairing PCBs in a factory full time management kept buying me those plastic solder plungers and I finally convinced them to get me some solder wick. Much preferred that!
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I fell like @Pilgrimsmaster should split this topic out on its own if he feels like it 
Not because it is off topic, even if it is. But because it is full off enough good content that it deserves its own spot that is easier to search for.
Just my 
And furthermore…
disposable ziploc containers. Pick a size / style / brand, and get a bunch of 'em. Electronics as a hobby means you’ll collect a bunch of random “stuff”. You can’t just put it all in a pile.
Label with a sharpie, stack neatly.
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Partly why I come back to this one to post. People can follow my journey. Ha.
Just kidding
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Felt like it and done did it 
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Ohh noes, I should have though to ask you first 
before suggesting it. If it helps there is a link from that to this.
Nah, it was a good idea…Deserves it’s own thread, although it is just a more specific to @Backpackingvet than the already established Kinda/ sorta / a little replicatey of @Devilclarke Tinker lab setup
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Words on a website man. Don’t care.
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Yeah that is a good function, it puts a link in automatically, I often delete them if they have gone waaaay off topic, but this one, I left it in there
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I though that but this is more of a “where do I start to dabble” and the existing wiki is more of “How best to cave to the tinkering addiction” / “How best to become small time mad scientist”
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