Learning Electronics

--FWIW I got all thru highschool without getting to first base in electronics mainly, I think, due to a professor that used the 'plumbing analogy': a thing to avoid IMO. What made sense to me was understanding the difference between what comes out of the wall (AC) and what's needed in most circuits (DC). It takes one each of all the basic components to modify the AC waveform into a nice straight DC line and understanding how each one tweaks a wave is the secret, or at least it was for me... The first book I found useful was from Parallax: "What's a Microcontroller". That and some of their stuff might be a good beginning; YMMV. And check out the books by Forrest Mimms if you can find them; sometimes to be found at the 'toy store', aka Radio Shack.

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        "Steamboat Ed" Haas         :  The impeachment process             
        Hacking the Trailing Edge!  :  exists for a reason...
                          www.nmpproducts.com
                   ---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

Cheap scope, maybe an old Tektronix 7000 series if you have the space. Digital scopes are good if you want to do lots of digital project, for a beginner in the analog world they'd have too many pitfalls IMHO. Harborfreight has lots of tools, mostly quite low-end but for hobby it's good enough. For example you can buy a nice multimeter there for $20-30 plus a couple really cheap ones for $3 when on sale. Get a good Weller station, some parts from Digikey or Mouser, and do it right from day one: Use only the perf boards with a full ground plane on one side.

Auctions such as EBay also offer tools. Mostly for a sad reason like when grandpa passed away and nobody in the fqmily had a clue what to do with this stuff.

Horowitz/Hill "The Art of Electronics" (an absolute must have) ARRL Handbook (if you want to do some RF stuff)

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

The scope is extremely handy, but for starters you can get by without one. The two essential tools for debugging are a multimeter and a brain. You can get by with an el-cheapo multimeter, you can get by (for a few years) without a scope, but use the best brain you can find.

The ARRL handbook will have a section on prototyping: read it.

Unlike Jeorg I'm willing to use breadboards from the Rat Shack. Used with care they do fine for audio-frequency circuit that aren't critical. Once you get something working you can get one of the PC boards that are laid out the same as the breadboard, and transfer it, usually with a decrease in odd behavior.

For critical circuits I either lay out a board and have it prototyped at a quick-turn house, or I build it over unetched PC board using 'dead-bug' style construction.

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Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Do you need to implement control loops in software?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" gives you just what it says.
See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html

I (very occasionally) use those as well. But don't be surprised if everything quits behaving when someone with a cell phone walks in. Those transmit from time to time even when nobody talks. If you must be available via cell phone at least place it at the far corner of the room.

Good point. I prefer "living bug", less confusing with pin numbers. I cut myself a few small pieces of wood. Those are glued down to the copper clad and then the chip on top of that. I also cut a few chuncks off of the copper clad and dremel a cross into them. Those are handy to mount transistors because they can be soldered right onto them. I recently introduced a client to this method and he then cut triangles instead of squares. It looked really cute, much less boring than my stuff.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

One thing that could help is to post the area (not address) where you live. There are a few people around who might help you initially, and some of us have things to give away to a serious hobbyist. The caveat is that if the goodies later show up on eBay, you might have an accident.

When I was a kid, I worked my way through the "electronic" section in the children's library, in quotes because most of it was actually electrical, things like making hot dog cookers and such. I then got access to the adult library, which had a better selection of books. I worked my way through that section too, though of course much of it made little sense to me initially.

I think before I got access to the adult library, I found hobby electronic magazines at the newsstand. So I started buying those. I know most of it was incomprehensible to me initially, but there was enough peripheral stuff that I could understand to keep buying the magazines and slowly it all started making sense.

About three months after I started buying those hobby electronic magazines, I tried to build my first project. Copied the parts list and went down to an electronic store that I'd basically pulled out of the Yellow Pages at random (though it turned out be a good choice). It never did work. I didn't have the background or experience to troubleshoot it, and obviously my beginner status was the reason for my inability to make it work in the first place. In retrospect, my awful soldering skills likely had a big impact, and I was unable to know whether the transistor substitutes made at the store were suitable, or if that tapped coil actually had the same wiring as the one in the magazine.

But if I'd not made that first step, well I'd not have gotten very far. You have to take that first step some time.

The next one or two projects didn't work either, again me copying the parts list and going to the store.

Ironically, the first thing that did work was maybe a year later, and I made a tiny audio oscillator. By then I had a better font of knowledge, and was taking things apart (transistor radios and "computer surplus" boards bought at that store), providing a bigger base of parts. But I'd learned enough by then about parts substitution, so I did pull that transistor out of that radio, and that transformer out of that other radio, and wired it together with success. Though, I just twisted wires together that time, which I think helped in the success.

I was 10 when I started in on the library books, and already had the goal of getting an amateur radio license. But I was also so young that it was all very fascinating, so I read anything I could get ahold of. It was pure curiosity, unlike some later friends my interest wasn't first in building projects, but the project building helped to reinforce the theory.

It's harder now, since virtually all of the hobby electronic magazines ahve disappeared. I suspect it would also be quite different if I as an adult approaching it for the first time. If nothing else, much of how I approach a new subject derives from how I approached electronics almost forty years ago.

I was about a year and a half in before I got a meter. That was a mistake, I'd say that's one of the first things you need. Now you can get really cheap digital meters, and they are likely a far better choice for a beginner (my meter didn't last too long, too many instances of overvoltage and leaving it in the wrong function wrapped the needle around the stop pin fairly early). You can always buy a better one later, when you have a better idea of your interest and even a better idea of what the specs mean and what you might use the meter for.

A lot of people have tools around the house anyway, and might as well start with those. A soldering iron is likely not present. I've never had an expensive temperature controlled one, but I learned early on that the cheapest often aren't so great. Other tools I added as needed, including watching for the time the local hardware store was closing down so I could get cheaper pliers.

A power supply of some sort is useful at this point, though for a start one could use an AC adapter. The earliest project that I actually finished that I still have is a power supply, though it's been stripped down and rebuilt a number of times.

An oscilliscope is a neat thing to have, but better to wait until you have a better idea of what you want to do and what you'd use it for. I had one within two years of when I started reading hobby electronic magazines, but I paid five dollars for it at a local radio club auction, and while it weighed a ton, it wasn't good for much more than audio. It was great to play with, but couldn't do much and it was only some years later when I started playing with higher speed digital that having access to a scope mattered.

Find local amateur radio clubs, and find out when they have fleamarkets, which many do have. That can often be a good source of books and magazines and parts and even tools, and of course it will all be used and carry a lower price than new. Reading as many magazines and books is a good idea, but given new prices it isn't smart to just work your way through them. On the other hand, if you can get them used, the cost drops a lot. I've often bought used books because I can get them for a few dollars, adding a little bit of knowledge in an area that I might otherwise not pursue.

If you're in the US, the American Radio Relay League keeps a list uf upcoming amateur radio club fleamarkets and hamfests,

Find the local electronic stores that sell to hobbyists, if any still exist. Maybe ask in a local newsgroup for this. The Yellow Pages may not be clear whether that store there sells in small quantities or even wants to deal with someone spending a few dollars at a time, but the locals undoubtedly have already sifted it out.

Junk electronics can be a good source of common parts. It won't supply all you need, but it will supply lots of resistors and capacitors and general purpose transistors. Even transformers to build that power supply. Things like VCRs, cordless phones, old radios, printers and even computers can often supply lots of parts, and can be had quite cheap at garage sales and such, and even found waiting for the garbage trucks. Having a good variety of parts means you can experiment, and when building you may not have to wait for a large order to get that one resistor to finish the project.

Michael

You'd be disappointed today. Our library is pretty good but in terms of engineering stuff, zilch. So I donated some of my books to them, figuring I could look stuff up at the livbrary if I needed to. One day I wanted to do that. Guess what? They had sent them away, probably to some university library.

It's not harder, it's a lot easier now. We have an incredible supply of parts at amazingly cheap prices at places like Digikey or Mouser. The Internet is chock full of tons of projects. Piece of cake compared to the 70's where I had to bicycle five miles to the next electronics store to buy an RF transistor, only to discover that it was so freaking expensive that I needed to leave empty-handed and return after next week's allowance.

Plan on the DC current ranges to go kablouie rather quickly :-)

The fuse in there doesn't really help. After umpteen hits that section is all dead.

Thrift Stores often have a motley collection of cheap wall warts. The usual, people lose or drop cell phones and then the no longer needed wall wart goes to hospice.

Yes! Joining the local ham radio club was the best thing I ever did back then.

Those stores are dying like flies :-(

You can get really nice LCD text displays out of faxes and older LaserJets. Complete with a HD44780 interface that is easy to talk to from a circuit board.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

So, get a shunt, (a nice heavy one) and read the voltage off it. Though it does rather depend on how hard you hit it...

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Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

A lot depends on where your interests lie. Electronics is a huge field.

I got into electronics firstly as a motor mechanic.

Then later as a guitarist for effects pedals amplifiers etc.

When I was 23 I did a Government course in electronics and got my City and Guilds. Then I got a job testing electronic equipment. I then found I knew enough to repair the equipment. Later i got into designing new equipment.

A little later i got a job as a electronics design consultant. I got into software for PC's and microcontrollers as well a electronic design.

That's what I usually do. But you know how it goes. You are somewhere in the boonies, quick, let's see whether the current changes when we start this super-duper-looper routine, whoooops, oh no! ... POOF.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

A bit spendy for the beginner just learning, but for you, Joerg, a clamp-on multi with DC clamp-on capabilities might be a good idea. ;-) Just don't leave it in the garage were it can grow legs 8-(

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Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

I might do that some day. But often it's current inside a circuit, all very tight. So I got myself half a dozen Harborfreight meters. The cheap kind for $3. They are surprisingly accurate, just not very robust. 200uA FS to 10A FS. If this pans out I might get another dozen or so. If one grows legs, oh well, hopefully it'll help someone learn the ropes in electronics. Just like I'd never complain if someone would steal my bible.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

The most important thing you need is a solderless "breadboard" (prototyping board). This allows you to do all sorts of experiments with minimal soldering. You just plug the parts into the little socket-holes, which are internally connected in orderly rows, and use solid copper hookup wire to connect as needed.

Get a cheap DMM, such as the $3.00 (on sale) Harbor Freight unit that others recommended. Good for ohms and DC volts, which you will use a lot. The thing that's missing on a cheap meter is sensitive AC volts, but you can wait on that. In fact, building a precision rectifier so you can use your DC ranges to measure AC would be a good project.

Your first project could be a power supply. Assuming you will be using op-amps, you should build a dual supply, with +15 and -15 and a common ground. This is an easy project because there are regulator ICs that do all the heavy lifting... you just need a suitable transformer, rectifiers, and capacitors.

You could wire that up on perfboard, but if you also want to get into making your own printed circuits, I have a tutorial with lots of tips and tricks at:

A scope is a *really* handy thing to have, but I got along without one for years as a kid, when they were too pricey for me. I tended to build lots of simple audio oscillators and receivers, so I could use my ears to tell when they were working. But troubleshooting was often hit-or-miss.

You don't need a fancy digital scope, and unless you are planning on working on high-speed digital or RF, you don't need a high bandwidth. Starter scopes tend to be 20 MHz or so, which would be fine.

In fact, you may be able to get away with a sound card and the right software. A sound card scope is limited to the audio range (under 20 kHz or so), but that isn't a problem if you are doing audio work like musical electronics. One thing that sound cards do not handle is DC, so you need to keep your DMM handy when you are checking voltages in a circuit you are troubleshooting. (DC won't hurt sound cards, assuming it is less than 10-12 V, they just ignore it.)

One big advantage of the sound card approach is that you can have a superb signal generator, spectrum analyzer, AC voltmeter, and frequency counter all in one package.

(Shameless Plug:) My Daqarta package offers all these and a lot more, and it's free to try for 30 days/30 sessions. After that, it will no longer respond to input signals, but the signal generator is free to use forever. If you decide to purchase, it's only US$29 for hobby use.

Or, if you have an old ISA-bus system that can run real-mode DOS (Win98 or earlier), you can get a free license for my old Daqarta for DOS just by requesting it. This supports ISA-bus Sound Blasters and a few other cards, or you can even build the super-simple 8-bit LPTX "card" from a handful of resistors that plugs into the printer port and responds down to DC. (Note that 8 bits is a typical resolution for digital scopes, so you are not hurting there, just in the audio-range frequency limits.)

Daqarta for DOS info is at:

Best regards,

Best regards,

Bob Masta DAQARTA v3.50 Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis

Scope, Spectrum, Spectrogram, FREE Signal Generator Science with your sound card!

Hey again,

Thanks for all the good advice, it's greatly appreciated. I have purchased a solderless breadboard, soldering station and little multimeter ($35.00 for the lot). In terms of other equipment such as scopes and whatnot, turns out the company I work for has a bunch of oscilloscopes and high end test gear, so I can take my projects to work and tinker on them there so that's cool.

I've been reading about PCB etching, and made a bubble etch tank with some tupperware, a fishtank heater, some tubing and a 12v DC fan .. i tested it out and it doesn't leak or anything which IMHO means it's to specs :D

I have an old inkjet printer and want to turn it into a PCB printer after I saw how some guys managed to do it with an epson C84, i have a Stylus C44UX. What are you guys using to do your PCB's? Does the laser printer transfer (w/ an iron) work better? Or is it worth modding an inkjet?

I live in Northern BC, and (thankfully) there is a Amateur Radio Club in town, so after checking it out I think the first thing I will do will be to get my Amateur radio license, I managed to scoop a PDF copy of 'The Art of Electronics' and the ARRL book is full of information.

Thanks once again guys! :)

-Andrew

Most of us use one of the quick prototyping PCB fabs. Less mess, no chemicals in the house.

Nah. Just my personal opinion. I'd rather spend the time designing and building. For a one-off project there is nothing wrong with a perf board build. I have some that I built as a kid and that are still in use. But do yourself a favor and buy perf board with a ground plane.

Joining an ARC is an excellent idea. The PDF may not be, that sounds like a counterfeit copy. Get the real AoE book, worth its weight in gold. BTW one of the authors (Winfield Hill) is a regular on the sci.electronics.design newsgroup.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/