Hi folks,
ok so i'm as new as it gets in the electronics world. I've got a good deal of experience building computers, most of it self-taught from books and the internet. Now instead of just putting a bunch of parts together, i would like to design and build my own parts. This stuff looks very addictive and i can't wait to get started, but where to begin? :?:
I would love to build a LANC controller to allow me to start recording on my camcorder at the press of a button. Is there any way i can get started on this quickly? Any good websites that focus on a hands-on approach rather than learning math formulas for months?
What about those boards from www.parallax.com ? I'm not sure but it looks like you just need to write some (BASIC) code and transfer it to a microchip that is already on a pcb and voila, you've got a LANC recorder?
Any help, pointers, tips, etc. is appreciated. thanks!

 

The basic stamp is a good place to start. That company does offer LAN devices that are very easy to interface to. Its a nice place to start because you can build up a simple circuit, learn a simple code language like basic and get the thing running quickly. It will be a great first-timer learning experience.

 

Check out HVWTECH.COM they have a lot of various stuff there. Basic Stamps are probably the easiest way to go for a beginner if you are thinking of using a microcontroller. I've found that you can simulate thousands of circuits with a microcontroller without having to buy all the hardware. I recommend the Stamp-Stack SX kit from Hvwtech, they are relatively inexpensive and it gives you a little soldering experience as well as pretty much plug and play (don't need programmers or development boards etc.) Check out Parallax's website in the documentation section and you will literally find thousands of pages of instructional material for the stamp stuff.

If you want to really get into it, check out PIC's they are much faster than Stamps and have some nice built in hardware features but you need more equipment to get them running and basic language software can get expensive unless you want to take the time to learn ASM code. The initial setup for pics are probably a lot more than the stamp, but the pic controllers are less than $10/each compared to Stamps which probably run 50+$ each.

You can also learn basic electronics through simulation on the computer, such as the virtual breadboard (I think hvwtech has them as well) or the more higher end Proteuse or Spice modelling software.

Resc. (not affiliated to any supplier)

 

Thanks for the input, very much appreciated!