I would like to see some interest in basic, for beginners... like:what does a diode do, and what is it for; what is a transistor and what is the difference between a PNP or NPN. Anybody interested in hobby electronics , maybe kit design and building. What say you all about something like that?
Google will find you all sorts of information on any of those things (remember to add the key word [tutorial] to your searches).
If you find something that is confusing or leaves a nagging question, this group might be the place to get help with that. But this discussion forum is not the best place to hold classes.
The subjects you mention are NOT for beginners. Be with electric/electronic hardware for few scores of years and it will dawn on you. "Designing" a kit for someone else to build is an art by itself.
Good luck.
Stanislaw.
Agreed. Books and web pages are fine as one-way conduits of information. What this newsgroup does is add another important dimension, two-way conversation. Learning well often involves two way interactions. This is one place to get some of that. Books and web pages are great for various attempts at explanation in a one-way setting. Start there. Then ask questions as they arise, here.
Jon
You don't get to Electronics 101 until you complete Electricity 101
I don't know, I kind of skipped all that and didn't get lost.
I think too many here are reading too much into the post. "Difference between a PNP and NPN" could simply be wanting to know what polarity goes to their collector. "Diodes allow current to flow one way", and they are commonly used to rectify AC voltage to get a resulting DC voltage.
One problem is that the hobby electronic magazines have gone away. They used to be the introduction to the hobby, and people could build things without needing to know much, yet the practice of drooling over the schematics and reading the "how it works" section of the article helped to raise their technical ability. And those practical examples were the impetus for seeking out more detail in the books.
There is a lot of "basic" informatin that one accumulates that way that has little do with "understanding" yet in effect does help to bring understanding.
Obviously if someone is asking such vague questions, they do need to hit the books Or dig up old hobby electronic magazines at the used book stores (though I think any such magazines have pretty much disappeared from such stores by this point). But sometimes people just want practical bits of knowledge, and they don't care how a diode works, just what it does and how to use it.
Michael
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