>Specifically for tinkering with FPGAs, I'd recommend looking into Numato. They're a small-ish business based out of India that produce cheap and cheerful FPGA

>Specifically for tinkering with FPGAs, I'd recommend looking into Numato. They're a small-ish business based out of India that produce cheap and cheerful FPGA boards. The products are well-made and support is great. How comparable are they in power and featureset to chips from Xilinx and Altera? >Whatever route you go, make sure to get good solder (e.g. Multicore). With or without lead? >Final thing, if you're looking for a cheap oscilloscope for getting started, check out EspoTek (disclaimer: I own the business). It's cheap and cheerful, and designed for newbies just getting into the hobby. A lot of effort has been put into the product, and it's still (semi) actively maintained on GitHub. https://espotek.com/labrador https://espotek.com/labrador. I'll be sure to consider it!