What kind of project could help a software engineer become more of an electronic engineer?
Here are some suggestions for projects which would not be hard to get into for a software developer. They might all appear rather hard, but I'm a big fan of attempting projects that are way outside my skill set. If they're fun, compelling projects, they will drag you joyfully through the learning process. And remember, we're all here to help.



LED Matrix



This is an entirely digital project, and but lots of fun (who doesn't like LEDs). You'll need some drivers like the ULN2803, and a microcontroller. Get the matrix to tell the time, or show a picture. I was just about able to show a picture of Bjork on a 16x16 green matrix.



Gyro stabilised foam plane

Get a foam plane and a couple of micro ailerons:

 

You'll also need a MEMS gyro with an analog output and some tiny OpAmps. Mix them all together to make a gyro stabilised rubber band foam plane.



Robot

Everyone loves a robot. The great thing about a little robot like this is that you can start with something extremely simple (just drives forwards), and slowly add more and more functionality (Sensors and decision making), learning all the while.