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Getting started and so overwhelmed

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roads

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I have taken a real intrest in building my own circuits for a hobby. I just don't know where to get started. I know next to nothing about this stuff. What I'm looking for is a solid starting point. Should I buy a beginners kit like the what parallax offers or get something else? I am just so overwhelmed with all the informtion. I also need to know about what tools are recomended to start me off. It would be best to keep the cost down at this point. Please show me the light!
 
I think the best way to start is with a $12.00 multimeter, a handfull of resistors, and a battery.

Connect the resistors in various ways, compute the voltages and currents, then confirm the computations with a measurement. After becoming familiar with resistors I would try either an LED or a capacitor. Look for combinations of these components in more complicated circuits, build them, and test them, and keep a lab notebook.

If you are overwhelmed, then you need to crawl before you try to run a marathon.
 
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Just to give you an idea of how nOOb I am... What exactly does a resistor do? How exactly do you compute the voltage and current and confirm it? What exactly will that teach me? What kind of battery do I use? When you say to connect them in different ways do you mean soldering? I am an extreme nOOb.
 
A resistor is a device that opposes the flow of current. Voltage and current are related by Ohm's Law which states that the voltage across a resistor, in Volts, is equal to the resistance, in Ohms, times the current, in Amperes.

Code:
V(Volts) = I(Amperes) * R(Ohms)
Example:
A 470 ohm resistor is placed across a 9V Battery.
How much current is flowing in the resistor?

Answer: By Ohm's Law

9(Volts) = I(Amperes) * 470(Ohms)
I(Amperes) = 0.01915
or
19.15 milliamperes

Computing the values of voltage and current, and confirming them with measurements will teach you how to predict what is happening in a circuit and how to debug circuits when things go wrong. We are starting at this most basic level because you said you were overwhelmed.

You can use any kind of battery you can get your hands on. A 9V battery with the two snap terminals works well for experimentation.

You can solder them, or twist the leads together, or use wire nuts, or use aligator clips, just so long as the leads on the resistor make contact and you can form a complete circuit.
 
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Where you start really depends on where you want to end up. If your goal is to be able to work with simple circuits for something to do, it might be best to start with resistors and then study other parts individually, learning the simple step-by-step methods that work most of the time. It would be best to keep well organized notes of everything so you can refer back to them.

The first thing I would do is get a really good understanding of voltage and current--what they are and where they come from. For example, voltage is the result of a line integral through an electric field. You'd have to understand vector calculus to directly do a line integral (which isn't necessary), but knowing how it produces a voltage makes Ohm's law and Kirchoff's laws seem like common sense.

Equipment wise, I would start with a *large* breadboard, resistor and capacitor assortments, op amps, transistors, LEDs, a multimeter, and (if at all possible) some type of oscilloscope. 9V batteries are great for powering experiments, since they don't really put out enough power to do much damage (I've seen mid-size lab supplies leave craters in breadboards).
 
Thanks for the replys and giving me some direction as to a good starting point. I think it would be easier for me to buy a kit, like the one kjennejohn pointed out, **broken link removed**. I don't think I would know what I'm doing If I were to go out and just buy some resistors. I really need to start with the basics and work my way up. My end result will probably be with robotics. The only thing I don't like about those kits is that they seem to be geared towards kids and not adults. Is this true? Would this kit be too simple and lose my intrest? At $60 is it a good value or are there better ones out there?
 
That should be excellent for you, it will get you used to electronics and provides you a reasonable selection of components - it also means you don't have to solder.
 
For a book I can recommend "The Art of Electronics" by Horowitz and Hill. (ISBN 0-521-37095-7)

Basic ideas are explained in a "grown-up" way with practical examples. The book also goes on to some in-depth explanations of complex electronic subjects.
The mathematics is kept to a minimum, just enought to understand the subject rather than the author on a "look how clever I am" type ego trip.

JimB
 
roads said:
Are there better labs out there? I don't really know what to look for when I see one

I don't know what that ones like, but any should give you an idea of what's going on - and you have a number of components to use later on as well.
 
There are many electronics hobbyists that start off with nothing and teach themselves enough to become proficient in one of the more difficult aspects of electronics, that is, Radio Frequency electronics. These are called Hams, or Radio Amateurs. There are some really good books designed for adults that take you through the basics and teach you what you need. Look for some of them at this site:

https://www.arrl.org/catalog/index.php3?category=Circuit+Design

Scroll down the page at that URL and you will see many books, not all of which are appropriate for you. Two that look just right are "Understanding Basic Electronics" and "Electronics for Dummies".

I think that it is an excellent investment to buy a copy of "The ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs", any edition from the last five years or so. You can get used ones if you look around. This book is not exactly the best for a beginner, but it has a lot of good reference material and has chapters that explain many electrical principles very well.

It is a given that in order to learn how to do this hobby, you will have to do quite a bit of reading. Happily, much of the material is quite interesting for the newcomer. Good luck.
 
Some more thoughts...

You know, I think you will learn the most, and the quickest, by having a goal. The best goal for a beginner is to try and build a gadget of some sort. When I started out, my first gadget was simply a group of switches for turning various stereo speakers around my room on and off, with volume controls included. You might want to pick something a bit more interesting. In any case, pick something that you want to build, and then use the books and websites and stuff to figure out how to build it. Along the way you will learn a lot. And you will become very frustrated at times, but this will drive you to learn some more. That's the way it should go.

Learning electronics without having a goal of building something is like learning how to program a computer by just reading a book. Its really BORING! You need to want to build something.
 
The book Electronics for Dummies by Gordon McComb is actually very good as a starting point and covers everything from common components; how they are used and what they do. It touches on basic theory; Ohm's law, series and parallel circuits.
There are sections on how to read schematic diagrams, using multimeters and oscilloscopes, breadboarding, soldering, even PCB making. It provides a bit of information on a wide range of subjects. There are a bunch of project instructions/plans as well.

Another book I highly recommend you check out is Junkbots, Bugbots & Bots on Wheels (Building Simple Robots with BEAM technology) by Dave Hrynkiw & Mark Tilden.
Along with showing you the basic tools you'll need and how to identify components, it also provides plans for some very easy robotics related projects - since you said that is your interest.

I think these are great "first" books to get your feet wet. There isn't a lot of heavy-duty theory/math and everything is broken down into the most basic, understandable terms. They won't make you an EE, but if you don't know a resistor from a diode, they'll get you up and running.

I buy a lot of different books and even if some of the information in them is rudundant, I've found that sometimes it can help you to understand things better if you read from a few different sources. One author might add a small tidbit of info, or word things in a way that makes a concept clearer to you than if you only had read it to read in one book.

If you look around a little there are some free books online. The Navy's basic electronics manual is one of them.

Those kits like what Radio Shack sells are nice. I had their "150 in One" kit about 25 years ago and recently found and have been studying the manual. It does a great job explaining how/why the circuits work. I've been learning a lot from it lately.
 
Hello,
Even though you have some excellent advice here so far, I'll add my penny's worth.
The Radio Shack Lab is probably a good way to get going, especially if it includes the beginner books by Forest Mimms, which are very easy for a beginner to follow. You could, in fact, just get those books (they should be very low cost,) and the breadboard which i_build_stuff mentioned. (I would disregard everything in his second paragraph, though! You don't need to 'understand vector calculus to understand how current flows in a circuit. You can also learn a lot without the large expense of a scope.)
Don't be afraid of soldering though, it can be a relaxing and enjoyable part of this. You could start by removing components from an old radio, amp, or whatever. The best ones would be very old, before surface mount became popular. After you have some experience, then try soldering components together.
I really agree with RadioRon; a project is a great way to get going. It will give you direction. Even something simple, like a switch, resistor, led would be good for a start. You could play with the value of the resistor, and see what effect that has on your led. Learn Ohm's law by heart, then look at the data sheet for your led. Compute the current flow on paper, then wire it up and see how it works. You may even exceed the maximum current by a bit, at the cost of the led, just to see what happens.
The main thing, is to have fun. The complex stuff, like vector calculus and line integrals can come much, much later.
Best wishes,
Robert
 
The first projects I built were from diagrams in Forrest Mims' "Getting Started in Electronics" book (which I'd recommend getting, but unfortunately, I don't think Radio Shack stocks it anymore) ...transistor testers: made of two resistors, two LED's, and a push-button switch mounted on a thin piece of wood.
Next was an audible light probe - which I built into an old transistor radio case and could be played like a crude theremin. It consists of two transistors, a CDS cell, a capacitor, a resistor, and a speaker. Very simple, but fun, rewarding project.
I also took apart old radios, electronic toys, etc... got practice soldering/desoldering. Some of the parts and enclosures come in handy.
 
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Thanks for all the replies. I ended up buying the electronics lab from radio shack. I only had time to build and analyze the first project. It was a slow flashing LED using a 555. I think I made the right decision buying this. It's informative and the black shroud over circuits is slowly fading.
 
on on the same boat as you Roads

well maby off a little...i can follow simple wiring sheets but when it comes to making circuits from nothing but just the parts and nothing to follow I'm lost.

I have a few of those kits for basic step by step electronic circuits and can follow them well enough as well.

when it comes to those ICs im like...WTF lol
like magic to me lol

I'm more into higher voltage with residential and commercial wiring with electricians but also like some electronics.

in a few days i'm going to get a cheap Wah pedal from my guitar from musicians friend.com and start opening it up to modify it to get some of the "noise" out of the circuit and increase the "range"

this will be one of those tough projects but I hope to fix the pedal up at least 50%
 
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