I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

fmilburn — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 19:11:59 GMT

My formal exposure to electronics was quite some time ago and there have been numerous advancements since then. Further I specialized and worked in other technical areas so I have had to go back relearn it. The books I currently use are the following:

Practical Electronics for Inventors Edition III by Paul Scherz and Simon Monk - this is the book recommended by John above and it is usually my first stop for the reasons he lists. My local public library has it but it is always checked out and I ended up purchasing my own copy.
Electronic Principles by Albert Malvino, Fifth Addition - This is an undergraduate EE book that was published in 1993. I picked it up in a used book store. It forgoes the complicated math and I find it easy to follow for the basics that never change. It covers things simply and in sufficient detail that are assumed known in the next text. Old text books like this can be purchased quite cheaply.
The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill - Third Edition - I like this book but it is not for beginners. Get it after you have developed an understanding and want to dive deeper.

Finally, I never miss a new lesson from The Learning Circuit that shabaz recommended above. They are a great refresher even if you are familiar with the topic.

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

shabaz — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 12:34:29 GMT

It looks like nowadays this video series possibly rivals and exceeds some books : )

The Learning Circuit

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

jw0752 — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 16:36:33 GMT

A recent question on the forum about parts and help identifying them leads me to add these links that are useful to me when identifying parts and searching for data sheets. I have found that many of the sites that advertise data sheets are just scams to pull one to unrelated sites. These two sites actually do a pretty good job.

https://octopart.com/

http://www.nteinc.com/

The octopart site allows one to enter partial parts numbers and then it looks for matches that may relate. I use the NTE site and its cross reference numbering system to organize and consolidate the thousands of different transistor and diode numbers into a manageable quantity of drawers and bins where I can store related components.

John

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

wayko621@gmail.com — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 01:17:55 GMT

I started with on of those radioshack springs circuit kit and also the snap in kits that uses clothing snaps and made circuits with that. I like the little bits also but that's a bit expensive. Good reference books like the ugly's electrical reference book and others like it. Oh here is something funny. The RCA company book you are showing is where I work now. It's now called TCI College. https://www.nationalappcenter.com/gotocollege/campustour/undergraduate/814/TCI_College/TCI_College1.html

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

balearicdynamics — Thu, 26 May 2016 06:41:18 GMT

In my library of more than 6500 ebooks I have a considerable number of electronic books, if you are interested let me know and I will try to send you a list as much complete as possible.

Enrico

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

DAB — Mon, 23 May 2016 19:04:26 GMT

I found this site that has a wealth of older, but well written PDF copies of books on electronics.

These things are just pure gold for those interested in learning electronics.

Technical books online

Enjoy,

DAB

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

mcb1 — Mon, 23 May 2016 05:20:16 GMT

Excellent observations.

Most people would have no idea what a valve was or indeed how they worked ... so you scared them with that glass thing.

Sadly there is a whole generation who believe the internet is the answer to all their queries and knowledge is not required if you have access.

I do blame the IC for many of the problems.

Discrete components required some knowledge other than which pins are the power and what are the output.

The 50/100 circuits book were great to get you going.

I have a few older ones buried somewhere, but they usually came from the electronics components retailers ... of which there are less and less.

I'd suggest finding the local electronic enthusiasts group and joining them.

At the very least you may find someone who can mentor you as you start the journey.

Since my parents had no electronics skill, I ended up being helped by someone locally.

Mark

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

shabaz — Sun, 22 May 2016 19:12:49 GMT

Also old magazines and books from the local library are still a good option, because pre-WWW they had to explain a bit more : )

In the UK there were lots of books from people like Owen Bishop and also the Bernard Babani series of books, they were like the equivalent of the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew books for the electronics world, there was such a proliferation of them at libraries. They were ideal for practical experiments, with just enough theory to get people interested to study more. I bought loads of the Babani books at the time since they only cost maybe 0.75 GBP each at the time.

(babani example book, photo from some Amazon reseller, shrunk/cropped).

[View:/resized-image/__size/172x213/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-7abccd8b-3591-4c74-9a57-a913bab1a2e3/contentimage_5F00_180150.jpg:172:213]

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

e14 Contributor — Sun, 22 May 2016 15:19:49 GMT

i love your topic John about learning electronic! It's really helpful and I'm going to start reading the books Right away.

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

DAB — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 20:08:39 GMT

There are excellent electronics starting kits available at Maker Magazine this month, some up to 50% off.

So if you are interested in learning basic electronics, go to their web site and give it a look. Tis the season to get bargains.

DAB

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

scitechindian — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 17:12:24 GMT

very thanks for posting awesome links and cool data [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-7abccd8b-3591-4c74-9a57-a913bab1a2e3/contentimage_5F00_1.png:16:16]

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

e14 Contributor — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 16:17:03 GMT

Thanks for posting this, this has been a great resource as I get started with my learning journey.

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

jw0752 — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 23:33:24 GMT

In many of the posts on E-14 the engineers use Acronyms and Initialisms to stand for ideas and other things. When I first started I found it a little confusing so I have compiled many of the letter codes used by the engineers and their translation. For example a MPU is a microprocessor unit and a VFO is a variable frequency oscillator. If you need to learn more about the item it is simple to search for Variable Frequency Oscillator or what ever the translation of the code is. Here is a link to the downloadable document with the Acronyms and initialisms:

http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-76551/l/electronic-abbreviationsxls

Note: You may have to download the document to see the full list.

John

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

makerkaren — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 20:20:08 GMT

A great idea for beginners is to pick a project that really interests you. Maybe try to come up with a solution to a problem you are having, make some gadget or nicknack that you've always wanted, or make a gift for someone. Your vested interest will help make sure you see the project through to the end. This will also likely give you an opportunity to do some troubleshooting, which can be one of the best ways to learn. Get an idea for your project and then do some searching online for a tutorial or someone else who has done a similar project.

Projects using Arduinos are great for beginners. They are fairly easy to learn, inexpensive, the parts are versatile and can be reused for other projects, and there is a lot of documentation online to help build and troubleshoot, plus huge communities of experienced users online.

If you want a little more real world assistance, see if there is a hackerspace or makerspace near you. There is usually at least one in most major cities around the world. They usually welcome guests and will have members that would be happy to help you out with your project.

RE: I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

DAB — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 19:46:16 GMT

Hi John,

Seeing the old RCA tube book took me back to my tech school days.

There is a site with all kinds of links at Sam's Neat, Nifty, and Handy Bookmarks website.

They provide a wealth of links to electronics and teardown sites.

DAB