Electronics?

[Anonymous No.338185]

Hey /diy/,

I was curious. What is the best way to teach yourself electronics?

I was never the best at math but would love to learn about how electronic devices work and eventually a bit of programming.

Are there kits/books you could recommend to help me brush up on my math and learn electronics/circuitry at the same time?

[Anonymous No.338191]

>>338185
>What is the best way to teach yourself electronics?

Fix simple broken house hold electronics while studying online tutorials. The sticky has all you need to get started.

[Anonymous No.338199]

Building a 555 circuit is a good beginner project. Start by flashing an LED and teach yourself the basics of current/voltage to calculate the right resistor. What's great is once you have this done you can have fun expanding it, like using the pulses to drive a binary counter, using potentiometers for variable frequency, or connect it to a big transistor to drive a motor or bulb.

[Anonymous No.338215]

buy a book or download a book.

[Anonymous No.338226]

>>338215
>>338215
This. I recently downloaded a torrent with something like 600 eBooks on electronics. I'm sure you can find something in there relevant to your interests.

[Anonymous No.338227]

Not op but interested.

What are the prerequisites to learning electronics?

I feel like I know nothing about chemistry or how electricity works...

[Anonymous No.338234]

>>338185

there's three parts, really, to learning electroncis. all related.

one, a tiny bit of theory on what various components do. at least the rudiments of what current and voltage and resistance are. dont freak out here, jump ahead and go for making shit, but real soon now you'll need to know that shit. ohms law is generally the most complex "math" you'll need -- it's a simple proportion, so a division is generally the most complex

the manual techniques of parts, wire, components, perf boards, breadboards, etc. soldering, practical assembly of tiny parts whose function you cannot see! this simply requires SHUT UP AND DO IT. not that amenable to reading and thinking.

last, but not least! schematics and wiring diagrams. DIFFERENT THINGS! schematics are 'this is what i mean' (idealized) and wiring diags are 'this is how it is assembled' (which color wire).

schematics are like sheet music, only much easier. for super-simply circuits like OPs pic schematic can actually look like 'wiring diagram' (whic pic is sorta like) but with any complexity,t hey dont stay that simple.

last thing is, fucking persist at it. its a skill, and takes time to learn. there's a cerebral knowlesge part, and a physical skills part. physical skills are often lumped in with shovelling shit and digging ditches but that's fucked up. physical skills are what separates fuckwit office-cubicle-fillers from real engineers and experimenters.

[Anonymous No.338258]

>>338234
Anyone have experience with something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-300-in-One-Elecronic-Project-Lab/dp/B00005K86O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&q
id=1353815325&sr=8-1&keywords=300+in+one+electronic+project+lab

To get started that is.

[Anonymous No.338282]

>>338227
Wikipedia is a great place to start. You don't need to understand quantum mechanics for basic shit, the Bohr model of the atom is fine. Look up metallic bonds for why electricity flows. Ohms law, ac vs dc voltages and how they behave in different components. If you are interested in ac circuits look up reactance. If you are interested in wireless shit look up electromagnetic radiation. Once you start reading an article you should find plenty of links to other related pages. Just read.

[Anonymous No.338325]

>>338258

meh. too old-world, and waaaay too expensive. that's a 1960's approach.

others will disagree, but a modern take is something like this. $100, only because you seem willing to spend that. you can pick smaller kits or parts fo ra particular project:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11227

if you have any particular things you think you care more about (music/sound, computer stuff, robotics, vehicles, etc) then look fo rthings pertaining to that.

you can go theory/research first, or hands-on first, depending on how you work (i'm th elatter).

as soon as i post this anons will say "hurrdurr $30 arduino waste make yr own" ignore them. armchair oversimplification (actually making things complicated). yoru first time through make your life easy you'll have more fun learn more.

[anus presley No.338328]

>>338258

these kind of kits are fine for somebody who just wants to create interesting devices but they dont teach theoretical aspects, such as how a transistor turns on or off.
I've seen the manual for this particular kit, and there are many cool projects in it.

[Anonymous No.338331]

Fucking assholes think you need to learn advanced electronics theory to make a led blink. Total bullshit and five years later you will still not have started anything. Just buy some radioshack books and kits. You should be able to get going with all the gear you need for under $200 as a beginner. If you want to do anything over 9v power consumption, then take the time to study

[Anonymous No.338338]

>>338331
Sure you don't need to learn theory to make an LED blink, but you need to know why the LED blinks. That's how you get past the arduino stage, and go on to bigger and better things.

[Anonymous No.338339]

>>338331
Heh, yeah, I started out by jumping into an old TV and making a small Tesla coil. I didn't know anything beyond simple house wiring before that and 0 theory, but I still made the coil and it worked for a time.

With the internet, everything is Legos now.

[Anonymous No.338346]

One thing. Fuck arduino.

[Anonymous No.338362]

Im curious is it possible to make disturbing monstrosities out of stuff salvaged from electronic chinese ripoff toys?

Also aren't there any kits that teach theory as well as fun inventions?

[Anonymous No.338377]

Here are some sources (book, websites and videos):

http://www.wisewarthog.com/electronics/recommendations-practical-analog-electronics-books.html

Pic related, analog electronics legend Jim Williams (1948 -2011) in his lab.

[Anonymous No.338550]

>>338346

For hobbysts and for self-teaching electronics and programming, Arduino is the ideal development platform. It is only frowned upon by developers of professional microcontroller applications that are to be produced in large numbers.

[Anonymous No.338566]

Honestly just go to some thrift stores. The best electronics book I have was $1.79 from a St Vincent de Pauls, you'll find old books but most of this shit doesn't change.

The other thing I used to do was I'd buy cheap sound-making toys and try circuit bending them,I'd find the resistor that controlled pitch and I'd try different values in there and I'd short circuit different connections. I broke more than my fair share of toys but I paid so little for them it didn't matter.

[Anonymous No.338592]

>>338550

this!

[Anonymous No.338593]

>>338362
> disturbing monstrosities

google 'circuit bending'

[Anonymous No.338816]

>>338592
Anyone reccomend a kit + book that teaches how to do electronics while you make stuff?

PlusArduino

[Anonymous No.338848]

>>338377

guy looks shocked, as if someone ordered him to clean up his cave

[Anonymous No.338849]

>>338816
Google:
evil genius book series

They have some great stuff on a pretty wide variety of subjects, all DIY

[Anonymous No.339028]

>>338325
Any recommendations for kits in the 60 dollar price range?

Is it really okay to just buy an ardunio kit and jump in with no prior knowledge of how electricity or circuitry works?

[Anonymous No.339040]

>>339028
Radio shack has some cool kits

[Anonymous No.339046]

>>339028
Yes and no. Torrents are packed full of good stuff, you'll want to download multisim, it's pretty industry standard in electronics simulation. Most of the multisim files to torrent are ripe with spies looking to rat you out, beware.

[Anonymous No.339057]

>>338849
I second this, I'm also looking for a series I downloaded a while back. Any books by... Bucha (? I think) are pretty much what all the universities use.

I downloaded the 1-100, 101-200, etc here, and I found them pretty good.
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/te_interactive_index.html
If you actually want to understand this shit, http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/
That site is well known. I don;t think MIT has any Electronics classes, maybe Khan university?

[Anonymous No.339063]

>>338346

There isn't anything inherently wrong with the Arduino platform. It's the package/cut and paste concept that irritates me.

It's nothing more than a nice hardware platform for the mega series microcontrollers. You can always program it in the mega AVR code...

[Anonymous No.339077]

>>339028
>Is it really okay to just buy an ardunio kit and jump in with no prior knowledge of how electricity or circuitry works?

Sure why not? An ardunio kit isn't really going to teach you much more than microcontroller programming, which is fine. You'll need other resources to learn how to build the circuits that feed into the Arduino (unless you just want to blink of LEDs or something really simple).

Learning EE/electronics/circuits really depends on what you want to do/learn. Programming stuff, any microcontroller is a good start (ardunio, basic stamp, ect..) A lot of digital stuff is fairly straightforward once you build a good understanding of how it works. (Just a lot of reading and research.) Things like analog discrete (like an audio power amp) require a good deal of specific understanding about the basics. That type of stuff gets down to basics, and at that point you'd be looking at electrical engineering books.

>had a Radio Shack 200-in-1 electronic project kit as atalented /diy/er
>built lots of things, took a decade and several courses into my EE classes before I really understand the shit I had done as atalented /diy/er

[Anonymous No.339083]

Anyone have any resources on microelectronics (mm or smaller)?

[Anonymous No.339085]

>>339083
I can deal w/ simple first/second year EE shit, and stats/diff eq/linear algebra.

[Anonymous No.339121]

>>339077
> wont teach more than prgramming

i find in teaching that it's a nice platform from which people do 'functional' electronics. sensors, motors, switches, little one-transistor buffers and amplifiers. principles are principles.

[Anonymous No.339125]

>>338185

the best way is to start, and not meta-worry it. seriously, jsut start messing around.

you will make mistakes. thats how you learn. really, it's required.

[Anonymous No.339127]

Get yourself some components and begin experimenting. Every time you come across something you don't understand, look it up and read about it until you understand it.

[Anonymous No.339232]

>>339083

http://www.designinganalogchips.com/

by Hans Camenzind. This was the guy who invented the 555.

[Anonymous No.339277]

>>339125

But don't mess with anything that is plugged into a wall socket. Even while its not conected, the caps inside it may be charged with a deadly voltage. Stuff that is powered by a battery is more or less safe (unless the battery explodes in your face or something).

[Anonymous No.340042]

get "Practical Electronics for Invontors"

[Anonymous No.340056]

another way would be register on edx.org

[Anonymous No.340373]

>>339063

but it is the best for a beginner.

[Anonymous No.340821]

What you need is a scope. You don't know shit what is going on in your circuit if you have no scope.

[Anonymous No.340855]

>>340821
I second this. If you have an oscilloscope, electricity suddenly becomes tangible, you can see exactly what's going on in your circuit. It's a very good learning tool.

[Anonymous No.341029]

>>339277

This. But if you really want to fuck with higher voltages at least take a look at some safety advice like this:

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_3/1.html

[Anonymous No.341789]

>>338185
bump for interest

[Anonymous No.341807]

>>339046
>multisim
>industry standard
That's just what NI wants you to believe, the big boys use hspice.

Anyways, beginners don't need Multisim, LTspice or circuitlab.com will do.

[Anonymous No.342429]

>>338377

The videos from the 4th link (those by Afrotech) are pure gold.

[Anonymous No.342456]

>>338377
I hadn't heard that he'd died. RIP Jim Williams, I learned so much from your books and appnotes.

[Anonymous No.342471]

>>338362
some people I know do this every christmas. is fun, get a bunch of people together, a big bin of thrift-store toys, and knives and hotglue and thread and soldering irons and go to town. mostly it's about the toy shapes (see pic related, the cacophony societies do this a lot) but people hack the electronics a little too.

[Anonymous No.342484]

Used this to teach myself
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/
Have fun OP.

[Anonymous No.342511]

join the navy as a electronics technician. that's how i learned

[Anonymous No.342578]

>>342484

allboutcircuits is the best for beginners. both the ebooks and the forum.

[Anonymous No.342938]

>>342511

You don't have to join the Navy, only thing you need to do is to download the United States Navy Electricity & Electronics Training Series - NEETS.

http://www.phy.davidson.edu/instrumentation/NEETS.htm

Advantages:
- you can stay at home
- you don't get seasick
- you don't get torpedoed

[Anonymous No.343057]

>>342484

This is an awfully complicated circuit for a beginner. I tip my hat to you, but I would not recommend to other people to start with this.

[Anonymous No.343067]

I'd see if any community colleges in your area offer courses on electronics. I'm almost finished with my first class (Digital) and am taking DC next semester. Not only do you meet people who are noobs like you, but you also learn quicker when you have tests coming up.

I seriously reccomend it, these books help, but having a classroom with other students learning the same thing is the best way to go about it.

[Anonymous No.343092]

>>343057
i think his picture is just a random related image, i think he meant the website

[Anonymous No.343094]

You could do an online course. MIT 6.002x is excellent in my opinion.
You will be forced to learn (or relearn) algebra, calculus and complex numbers to finish the course. I used wxmaxima (free symbolic math software) and LTSPICE (free circuit simulation software) to complete and check most of my work.
It took a bit of effort but was well worth it to me. Knowing the fundamentals makes advanced stuff approachable instead of overwhelming.