Looking for an eletrical project for cheap

[[Tycho?]]

I figure that wiring and basic electrical engineering are quite useful skills. I am also interested in the physics involved.But a big problem with talking about capacitance or current or whatever in a classroom is that it is not hands on, and so doesn't help me a lot in real life.

 

So in this thread I would ask for people to suggest very simple projects to give me some experience with basic cicuits, wiring things, stuff like that. Basic is the key word here. While I know a fair amount of basic theory I've never wired a single thing in my life. So a project doesn't have to be big, or educational, or anything.

 

Basically as long as I can make something, and then somehow see a result is what I'm looking for.

 

And the BIG requirement is that it must be cheap. I dont have money to go out to buy all kinds of wires or resistors or other components. I have some basic materials already (aligator clams and the like) and some batteries. But other than that I'd like to be able to collect my materials from scavanging. I dont have any problem rooting through dumpsters to find a radio or something to get the _____ that I need. And I would likely need advice on what I can actually scavenge the component from.

 

Is this too much to ask? I'm not sure, which is why again I will emphasize that I'm looking for the simplest of the simple, at least to start me off. Any takers?

[KFC]

Components Are Dirt Cheap Here And You Can Find Tons Of Projects Here.

[trvlrpsmyrph]

Get a simple toy crystal radio kit at any electronics hobby store. Assemble it per instructions enclosed, learn it and understand it from top to bottom. It's much safer than 110 and doesn't EVER need batteries.!

[Klaynos]

in my practical electronics class last year we build a very small RAM circuit and loaded pi onto it...