Help with Intro to Electronics

[Husos]

I was wondering if anyone could point me to some PDF's so I can start to learn the basics of electronics. Any texts would be appreciated. I would prefer PDF's as I would like to save them to build up a library or resources.

I would rather read and learn than always pose questions without doing research myself.

Thank you in advance

 

[westaust55]

Have a look here: http://www.talkingelectronics.com/te_interactive_index.html

In particular down the left side of the page. there are electronics books and article on many electronics topics

 

[Dippy]

Good for you

There must be a load of stuff around. I'm sure you'll get a list as long as your arm.
For starters, try:
http://www.learningelectronics.net/vol_3/index.html

PS. Alternatively, you can just type "Learning electronics" into google and have a hunt around. That will save eclectic hours of fun,.

 

[womai]

Here's a whole introductory textbook online:

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/

And here is the complete electronics training course of the US Navy - just pick the chapters that are of interest to you:

http://www.phy.davidson.edu/instrumentation/NEETS.htm

Wolfgang

 

[Pauldesign]

WELCOME to the endless abstract world of wonders. I hope you've got good reading glasses, if not you'll need a big one (goggles).

Start with:

www.kpsec.freeuk.com/

www.design-technology.info/electronics/[/url]

www.makingthings.com/teleo/products/documentation/teleo_user_guide/electronics.html[/url]

[You can always print the info in pdf file format]

You can download good free pdf electrical/electronic books such as electronics for dummies or demysified electronics from www.rapidlibrary.com or www.freebookspot.com;

Also visit for applications or alternative ideas.

WARNING: Note, some of the info MAY NOT be authentic and i reckon you used good peer review books to get the concept right first time esp for a novice.

www.scribd.com;
www.epanorama.net;
www.educypedia.be
www.hobbyprojects.com
www.allaboutcircuits.com
www.discoverCircuits.com
http://pdfdatabase.com/search/electronics.html

Don't be freak out, i may be out of line but just in case...as it's better to have lots of varieties from which u can always choose from maybe not now but in future once you've grasped the nitty gritty.

 

[Dippy]

To Everyone ELse.

Do you think this is enough for Husos to be getting on with?

Or do you want to drown the bloke with more?

This could develop into a massive and chokingly tedious long list of things he'll never have time to look at.

 

[BeanieBots]

I'm sure that's enough to put him off

Don't be afraid to ask though. This might be a PICAXE forum but as long as it's remotely related and of benefit to others, we don't mind answering more general electronics questions. Particularly if it's clear that some effort has already been made.

 

[boriz]

Get a copy (hardback book) of The Art Of Electronics. You'll never look back.

 

[Husos]

Thanks All

Wow, reading reading and more reading ... If I didnt wear glasses now then I think I would after this. LOL

But seriously thank you all for this, this should get me going thats for sure. I hate being one of those guys that asks questions before reading or researching and expecting everyone else to provide the easy answers (i have seen alot of these type of posts on the forum).

Well I will crack on with some of the links and start now, my wife hates it when I start a new hobby as I throw myself in head and shoulders feet first into whatevr I do. I will be back with questions I am sure, but thanks again for the support.

Husos
(unfortuantley means fat in Hungarian)

 

[slimplynth]

Proud to say I've read more text books than fiction... the first thing i do with any textbook is flick through the glossary/index. Perhaps the forum would benefit from a sticky/glossary. Am sure if a thread was started tonight it would be a hefty read by the morrow.

edit: What would be the first 'A' ?

 

[manuka]

Simulators such as Yenka's Crocodile Clips are worthwhile too. However all the theory in the world may mean little unless you get significant HANDS ON. Solderless breadboards have made this much easier of course. The legendary Forrest M.Mims III swears by them in his lucid Electronic Engineers Notebook(s). Stan.

 

[westaust55]

Perhaps the forum would benefit from a sticky/glossary. Am sure if a thread was started tonight it would be a hefty read by the morrow.

edit: What would be the first 'A' ?

But there is already a thread with a PICAXE orientated Glossary
http://www.picaxeforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11867&highlight=glossary

See post 10 for last version todate

"A" for ASCII, Alphanumeric and ADC . . . . .

 

[Pauldesign]

I 100% concur with Manuka and i just forgot to mention also.

Simulators and animators are very vital tools and i strongly reckon Fat uses them if he really wanna have fun and say WOW, WOW.

Rev Edu VSM is also nice, NI design suite and some of those free online electronics JAVA applications.

Start simple by learning all the basic operation of the discrete components such as resistors (how it limits current, voltage/current dividers etc, capacitors charging/discharging, inductors, diodes etc), progress to how they function as a unit and then move to logic gates then ICs (555 timer, opamps, BJTs)

 

[slimplynth]

But there is already a thread with a PICAXE orientated Glossary
http://www.picaxeforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11867&highlight=glossary

See post 10 for last version todate

"A" for ASCII, Alphanumeric and ADC . . . . .

Yeah, that's really good.. but perhaps given a permanent home such as the picaxe datasheet page, where the I2C tutorial is.

 

[John West]

While drowning in info in this modern Internet Age can become a problem - I will never forget living a rural life as a child in 1950's Michigan and signing out every book on electronics from my local library - both of them - after begging for permission to be allowed on the "adult" side of the library. And while it was indeed the 50's the books were from the 30's.

That was my early electronics education. Far better to try to fight off being inundated with information than to be starved for it - from one who knows.

Post the links. Post 'em all. I'll check 'em out too!

BTW - mine was the only name I ever saw on the check-out card for those two books in my village library.

 

[John West]

Simulators such as Yenka's Crocodile Clips are worthwhile too. However all the theory in the world may mean little unless you get significant HANDS ON. Solderless breadboards have made this much easier of course. The legendary Forrest M.Mims III swears by them in his lucid Electronic Engineers Notebook(s). Stan.

They are OK for low frequency projects with no noise concerns (and low power only) but there are often intermittent contact concerns with them. I have always preferred just soldering things together. Perhaps it's the smell....

 

[Dippy]

I agree with Stan to a large degree but not completely re: Hands on.
Learn a little theory first unless you like the smell of burning plastic
i.e. absorb a few useful basics first.

And I agree 100% on breadboards. Great things.

Hands On and Theory can run brilliantly in parallel with a good tutorial or, better, a good tutor.
But stuffing away without any basic knowledge is , how shall I say it politely, a little adventurous. i.e. FS.

Being inundated is great as long as you have the time to sort the W from the C.
Being given half-a-dozen super-dooper appropriate newboy links would surely be far better? i.e. selected by old-lags and or experienced tutors.

Anyway, I'll leave others to swamp the poor guy with random Googled links

Husos/fatty, if you are going to take this hobby seriously and intend to have a good go with it then can I suggest you get yourself a bench power-supply with voltage AND current limit adjustment.
They come in various qualities and prices. They could save you money and a lot of time by preventing the *crack* of exploding epoxy.

 

[Husos]

Bought the shop

Well All,

Based on all the advice and looking around I have bought the following books, just waiting for them to arrive now ... cant wait.

Electronics for Dummies
Engineers Handbook
The Art of Electronics
The Illustrated Dictionary of Electronics

This should keep me busy for a while.

Going to learn DipTrace until they arrive

Husos

 

[papaof2]

They are OK for low frequency projects with no noise concerns (and low power only) but there are often intermittent contact concerns with them. I have always preferred just soldering things together. Perhaps it's the smell....

I've been soldering stuff together for 50+ years and am now moving up to welding (FCAW) for some other projects (also has the smell of hot metal ;-)

How things get connected sometimes depends on the user(s) - for my 8 year old granddaughter, the "keeps coming back to it" gift last Christmas was a Snap Circuits kit. Her 6 year old sister is now also interested in building things. Since they're 600 mles away, I don't have much opportunity to guide them and snapping things together is simpler and safer then soldering.

My wife had doubts abiut Snap Circuits as a gift for an 8 year old girl, but it's kept in her place for favorite things - under her bed - so it was a good choice. She's also figured out that the rectangular base is't needed as long as all the parts are connected correctly and that the parts work work at interesting angles, not just in straight lines or at 90 degree angles (her artist side is in sync with her techie side ;-)

John

 

[manuka]

John West: Two books-my local only had one! At least your library had enough books for a 2nd opinion! Did you-ahem-ever return them? I can't say low frequency limits are a factor with breadboard circuits here- inter connector capacitance may well be an issue eventually, but we regularly rustle up ~100 MHz FM transmitters on them, & 433 MHz modules are right at home. Certainly 2.4GHz would be pushing things!

Papaof2: Those "Snap" circuits are certainly fun,& I've used a swag with local school groups for some years. However,unless supervised, many kids tend to just randomly "snap em together" to see what happens...