Heck, even as I was messing about with my own Arduino, I was scared to burn out my PC through my USB port. I burnt out a few LEDS, because I'm rubbish with current-resistance calculations. Got that burnt plastic smell, and started sniffing around my PC. Luckily for me, it was just the LEDS. Almost had a heart attack.

Sounds like you should consider buying yourself a Pi kit... :P Rig it up on a wireless connection and SSH or remote desktop into it, and you have a fully isolated system that will only cost you a little bit and be easy to replace if/when you set fire to the whole thing.

May also want to get a ceramic topped work bench just to be safe. And maybe a fume hood. Magic Computer Smoke is probably not good for the lungs. (Okay, maybe going a little far with it, but non-flammable work surfaces are kind of nice, assuming you remember to not clutter them with papers.)

Yep think I may need a Pi too noe after this was said.

Posted Today, 07:25 AM

SillyCow, on 24 Sept 2015 - 09:12 AM, said:

Heck, even as I was messing about with my own Arduino, I was scared to burn out my PC through my USB port. I burnt out a few LEDS, because I'm rubbish with current-resistance calculations. Got that burnt plastic smell, and started sniffing around my PC. Luckily for me, it was just the LEDS. Almost had a heart attack.

Sounds like you should consider buying yourself a Pi kit... Rig it up on a wireless connection and SSH or remote desktop into it, and you have a fully isolated system that will only cost you a little bit and be easy to replace if/when you set fire to the whole thing.

May also want to get a ceramic topped work bench just to be safe. And maybe a fume hood. Magic Computer Smoke is probably not good for the lungs. (Okay, maybe going a little far with it, but non-flammable work surfaces are kind of nice, assuming you remember to not clutter them with papers.)

that will be me for sure. I have a old Xp system doing nothing i'll start on that.

.

Heck, even as I was messing about with my own Arduino, I was scared to burn out my PC through my USB port. I burnt out a few LEDS, because I'm rubbish with current-resistance calculations. Got that burnt plastic smell, and started sniffing around my PC. Luckily for me, it was just the LEDS. Almost had a heart attack.

Sounds like you should consider buying yourself a Pi kit... :P Rig it up on a wireless connection and SSH or remote desktop into it, and you have a fully isolated system that will only cost you a little bit and be easy to replace if/when you set fire to the whole thing.

May also want to get a ceramic topped work bench just to be safe. And maybe a fume hood. Magic Computer Smoke is probably not good for the lungs. (Okay, maybe going a little far with it, but non-flammable work surfaces are kind of nice, assuming you remember to not clutter them with papers.)

Justify the new gaming rig due to all the money you're saving by removing the risk of having to replace your current computer in case you fry it while playing with your hardware experiments?

Justify the new gaming rig due to all the money you're saving by removing the risk of having to replace your current computer in case you fry it while playing with your hardware experiments?

I was going to replace it when I fry it. ;-)