looking for a beginner's electronics kit for adults

[Tom]

I'm trying to learn about electronics as a hobby. Far too often, I'm
exploring a hobby (flashlights, photography, etc.) and I run into DIY
projects that involve electronics. And I hit a roadblock here because,
even though I can buy the parts and wire them together (albeit,
crudely) as a diagram depicts, I have no clue what's going on and why
certain parts are used. So I've decide to try to learn on my own.

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board. I'm not looking for a banana-plug project board. Does anyone
have any recommendations? My goal is to be programming PICs or AVRs
and integrating them into circuits that I design.

I'd consider buying all the parts separately, but it'll probably cost
me hundreds getting parts at my local, overpriced Radio Shack. Not to
mention that they will definitely not have most of the parts and no
one there would be able to assist me (I've asked a RS store rep about
what tripods they have for my camera, which she responded with,
"what's that?" And yes, they do have tripods for sale.). Along those
lines, where do people get their components at a low cost?

Thanks in advance.

 

[DJ Delorie]

Tom <k9boy@hotmail.com> writes:

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs),

Radio Shack experimentors kits, preferably the ones with books by
Forrest Mims III. Check their web site. I've got the "Learning Lab"
one, with both analog and digital parts.

Along those lines, where do people get their components at a low
cost?

www.vakits.com has a number of getting-started kits.

 

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:47:58 -0000, Tom <k9boy@hotmail.com> wrote:

I'm trying to learn about electronics as a hobby. Far too often, I'm
exploring a hobby (flashlights, photography, etc.) and I run into DIY
projects that involve electronics. And I hit a roadblock here because,
even though I can buy the parts and wire them together (albeit,
crudely) as a diagram depicts, I have no clue what's going on and why
certain parts are used. So I've decide to try to learn on my own.

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board. I'm not looking for a banana-plug project board. Does anyone
have any recommendations? My goal is to be programming PICs or AVRs
and integrating them into circuits that I design.

I'd consider buying all the parts separately, but it'll probably cost
me hundreds getting parts at my local, overpriced Radio Shack. Not to
mention that they will definitely not have most of the parts and no
one there would be able to assist me (I've asked a RS store rep about
what tripods they have for my camera, which she responded with,
"what's that?" And yes, they do have tripods for sale.). Along those
lines, where do people get their components at a low cost?

Thanks in advance.

ELECTRONIC OLD TIMERS visit memory lane, check out this website that
collects data and pictures on the old "P-Box kits" we once built sold
by Radio Shack.

http://my.core.com/~sparktron/pbox.html


I have my own 100% Radio Shack project webpage which would be
difficult for a beginner. Build my Theremin, a musical instrument that
is played without touching anything. It can sound like bowing a
musical saw or womans voice when played.

http://www.oldtemecula.com/theremin/


* * *
Christopher

Temecula CA.USA
http://www.oldtemecula.com

 

[David L. Jones]

On Oct 16, 10:47 am, Tom <k9...@hotmail.com> wrote:

I'm trying to learn about electronics as a hobby. Far too often, I'm
exploring a hobby (flashlights, photography, etc.) and I run into DIY
projects that involve electronics. And I hit a roadblock here because,
even though I can buy the parts and wire them together (albeit,
crudely) as a diagram depicts, I have no clue what's going on and why
certain parts are used. So I've decide to try to learn on my own.

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board. I'm not looking for a banana-plug project board. Does anyone
have any recommendations? My goal is to be programming PICs or AVRs
and integrating them into circuits that I design.

I'd consider buying all the parts separately, but it'll probably cost
me hundreds getting parts at my local, overpriced Radio Shack. Not to
mention that they will definitely not have most of the parts and no
one there would be able to assist me (I've asked a RS store rep about
what tripods they have for my camera, which she responded with,
"what's that?" And yes, they do have tripods for sale.). Along those
lines, where do people get their components at a low cost?

A good lot of todays engineers started with the Radio Shack (Tandy)
200-in-1 type spring terminal kits. They are an excellent
introduction, and you can still get them in various forms.
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/4714320403de645c2741c0a87f9c0670/Product/View/K0030
Aimed at young kids, but probably still suitable for adults too.

The next step after that is building your own breadboard and/or
veroboard designs.

Dave.

 

[Eeyore]

Tom wrote:

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board.

But that won't actually teach you much in the way of circuit theory.

Graham

 

[Jonathan Kirwan]

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:47:58 -0000, Tom <k9boy@hotmail.com> wrote:

I'm trying to learn about electronics as a hobby. Far too often, I'm
exploring a hobby (flashlights, photography, etc.) and I run into DIY
projects that involve electronics. And I hit a roadblock here because,
even though I can buy the parts and wire them together (albeit,
crudely) as a diagram depicts, I have no clue what's going on and why
certain parts are used. So I've decide to try to learn on my own.

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board. I'm not looking for a banana-plug project board. Does anyone
have any recommendations? My goal is to be programming PICs or AVRs
and integrating them into circuits that I design.

I'd consider buying all the parts separately, but it'll probably cost
me hundreds getting parts at my local, overpriced Radio Shack. Not to
mention that they will definitely not have most of the parts and no
one there would be able to assist me (I've asked a RS store rep about
what tripods they have for my camera, which she responded with,
"what's that?" And yes, they do have tripods for sale.). Along those
lines, where do people get their components at a low cost?

Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't worry about the cost details. Just focus on the learning
part and let that take care of itself. If you find the learning
valuable, the nickels won't matter all that much and, in any case,
you'll be able to find alternatives because you will know what you are
looking for, much better than now.

The Radio Shack kits didn't really teach me that much, when I used
them many years back. They had a number of simple circuits you could
build up, but as you point out above, building something doesn't teach
you much -- whether it works or doesn't. It just lets you know one
particular arrangement that you could try and analyze, if you knew how
to. And that's the problem. Getting the theory down.

I'm just a hobbyist myself, with only the occasional moment for play
and learning. One thing that has helped is that I'm okay at math.
How's your math? Do you understand trig and algebra? (Ultimately,
you may want to be able to handle 2nd order ordinary differential
equations and complex numbers, know Euler's by heart, and so on, but
that isn't strictly necessary for a lot of very practical stuff... so
don't worry about it, unless you find yourself needing that much.)

Learning the basics includes learning theory. Usually, this is just
understanding resistors, voltage sources, current sources, and being
able to handle some analysis for networks -- like mesh analysis, for
one example. That stuff, you get from books or from others who can
teach you. Once you get that down, you can either choose to move on
to include AC circuits, capacitors, inductors, and magnetic fields or
else instead focus on transistors, fets, and stay in the DC arena for
a little while longer, adding in a little simplified AC theory as
needed (blocking capacitors, DC vs AC gain, bootstrapping, etc.)
Building things reinforces all this. And you can use Spice to help
you identify places where you aren't yet getting close on your own, in
analyzing something, and that can give you reason to post a specific
and narrow question here.

What kinds of things might you be doing with PICs? Can you suggest an
example of something you are interested in actually making? Perhaps,
by picking something you care about and asking for help understanding
some schematic to do that, you might acquire theory in satisfying bits
and pieces. Just a thought.

Jon

 

[David L. Jones]

On Oct 16, 6:29 pm, Jonathan Kirwan <jkir...@easystreet.com> wrote:

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:47:58 -0000, Tom <k9...@hotmail.com> wrote:
I'm trying to learn about electronics as a hobby. Far too often, I'm
exploring a hobby (flashlights, photography, etc.) and I run into DIY
projects that involve electronics. And I hit a roadblock here because,
even though I can buy the parts and wire them together (albeit,
crudely) as a diagram depicts, I have no clue what's going on and why
certain parts are used. So I've decide to try to learn on my own.

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board. I'm not looking for a banana-plug project board. Does anyone
have any recommendations? My goal is to be programming PICs or AVRs
and integrating them into circuits that I design.

I'd consider buying all the parts separately, but it'll probably cost
me hundreds getting parts at my local, overpriced Radio Shack. Not to
mention that they will definitely not have most of the parts and no
one there would be able to assist me (I've asked a RS store rep about
what tripods they have for my camera, which she responded with,
"what's that?" And yes, they do have tripods for sale.). Along those
lines, where do people get their components at a low cost?

Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't worry about the cost details. Just focus on the learning
part and let that take care of itself. If you find the learning
valuable, the nickels won't matter all that much and, in any case,
you'll be able to find alternatives because you will know what you are
looking for, much better than now.

The Radio Shack kits didn't really teach me that much, when I used
them many years back. They had a number of simple circuits you could
build up, but as you point out above, building something doesn't teach
you much -- whether it works or doesn't.

Only true if it works.
You learn an incredible amount when something *doesn't* work and then
you have troubleshoot it. That's where real learning takes place.

It just lets you know one
particular arrangement that you could try and analyze, if you knew how
to. And that's the problem. Getting the theory down.

And that's the rub. If you start with the theory it's incredibly
boring for most people, and odds on you'll give up pretty quickly.
Most hobbyists start out with the fun practical side and then fill in
the theory later when and as needed. A benefit to this approach is
that the theory falls into place much easier when you can relate it to
the practical stuff you have already done. This is often done as part
of the practical troubleshooting mentioned above.

I'm just a hobbyist myself, with only the occasional moment for play
and learning. One thing that has helped is that I'm okay at math.
How's your math? Do you understand trig and algebra? (Ultimately,
you may want to be able to handle 2nd order ordinary differential
equations and complex numbers, know Euler's by heart, and so on, but
that isn't strictly necessary for a lot of very practical stuff... so
don't worry about it, unless you find yourself needing that much.)

Learning the basics includes learning theory. Usually, this is just
understanding resistors, voltage sources, current sources, and being
able to handle some analysis for networks -- like mesh analysis, for
one example. That stuff, you get from books or from others who can
teach you. Once you get that down, you can either choose to move on
to include AC circuits, capacitors, inductors, and magnetic fields or
else instead focus on transistors, fets, and stay in the DC arena for
a little while longer, adding in a little simplified AC theory as
needed (blocking capacitors, DC vs AC gain, bootstrapping, etc.)

Theory can often start with learning your basic "building block"
circuits and how they interact.
It's possible to do a lot with this knowledge without knowing all the
specific component fundamentals.

If the OP is interested in microcontrollers, then a good understanding
of digital electronics is not going to go astray.

Building things reinforces all this. And you can use Spice to help
you identify places where you aren't yet getting close on your own, in
analyzing something, and that can give you reason to post a specific
and narrow question here.

Unfortunately Spice doesn't come with that all-important "blown
capacitor" smell :->

Dave.

 

[Tom]

On Oct 16, 4:29 am, Jonathan Kirwan <jkir...@easystreet.com> wrote:

I'm just a hobbyist myself, with only the occasional moment for play
and learning. One thing that has helped is that I'm okay at math.
How's your math? Do you understand trig and algebra? (Ultimately,
you may want to be able to handle 2nd order ordinary differential
equations and complex numbers, know Euler's by heart, and so on, but
that isn't strictly necessary for a lot of very practical stuff... so
don't worry about it, unless you find yourself needing that much.)

I admit that I haven't used things like trig for years, but I can
handle my math. I'm a computer programmer by profession (but in a
corporate world, not a technical world), so I'm familiar with
algorithms and debugging. I don't doubt that I've forgotten a good
part of my math education over the years and there's plenty of math
I've never learned, but I don't mind investing the time to figure it
all out.

What kinds of things might you be doing with PICs? Can you suggest an
example of something you are interested in actually making? Perhaps,
by picking something you care about and asking for help understanding
some schematic to do that, you might acquire theory in satisfying bits
and pieces. Just a thought.

Well, the reason why I started in this direction is because of my
photography. Photography is an expensive hobby, so DIY projects always
interested me. One such DIY project is an optical slave flash trigger
- it connects to an external flash unit and triggers the flash when it
sees another flash. The creator uses a PIC is his design. Perhaps
that's a very simple circuit to some people.

http://www.pbase.com/sinoline/pic_ii

I figure PICs would be a nice way to accomplish some very specific
tasks that would otherwise require a lot of wiring. Combine that with
the realization that I've always wanted to "know" electronics, it
seemed like a natural hobby progression.

I'm going to do some research, perhaps find some online guides (that
involves circuit theory) and attempt to purchase the corresponding
parts for those guides. The idea is that I'll then calculate all the
expected voltage and current levels at certain points in a circuit,
then verify it in a hands-on project with a multimeter. Thanks for
everyone's help so far. If there are more suggestions, I'd Iove to
hear it.

 

[Michael Black]

Eeyore (rabbitsfriendsandrelations@hotmail.com) writes:

Tom wrote:

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board.

But that won't actually teach you much in the way of circuit theory.

And that's not relevant because you have to take your first steps first.

LOts and lots of people have built projects without really knowing what's
going on, yet they learn from the process. Such hands on activity takes
things out of the theoretical, it gives them a chance to actually handle
real components (rather than seeing them merely as theoretical items),
they learn a bit about construction, and they have a sense of accomplishment
when the thing works.

It's the same process that means the beginner should grab some junk
electronics and start taking it apart. It helps to demystify electronics,
and a lot of learning is about getting around what appears to be a big
obstacle.

Lots of people build projects because they want to build projects. I
knew someone who built all kinds of things, often from kits, and spent
a lot of time in the packaging, but he was pretty lacking in a real
understanding of it all. But he got a lot out of it all, and that's
all that counts.

But, having a working project in hand is likely an incentive to want
to understand what's going on, which is what should drive learning
rather than filling up on abstract theory in order to even approach
the real world.

Michael

 

[Tim Wescott]

David L. Jones wrote:

On Oct 16, 10:47 am, Tom <k9...@hotmail.com> wrote:
I'm trying to learn about electronics as a hobby. Far too often, I'm
exploring a hobby (flashlights, photography, etc.) and I run into DIY
projects that involve electronics. And I hit a roadblock here because,
even though I can buy the parts and wire them together (albeit,
crudely) as a diagram depicts, I have no clue what's going on and why
certain parts are used. So I've decide to try to learn on my own.

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board. I'm not looking for a banana-plug project board. Does anyone
have any recommendations? My goal is to be programming PICs or AVRs
and integrating them into circuits that I design.

I'd consider buying all the parts separately, but it'll probably cost
me hundreds getting parts at my local, overpriced Radio Shack. Not to
mention that they will definitely not have most of the parts and no
one there would be able to assist me (I've asked a RS store rep about
what tripods they have for my camera, which she responded with,
"what's that?" And yes, they do have tripods for sale.). Along those
lines, where do people get their components at a low cost?

A good lot of todays engineers started with the Radio Shack (Tandy)
200-in-1 type spring terminal kits. They are an excellent
introduction, and you can still get them in various forms.
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/4714320403de645c2741c0a87f9c0670/Product/View/K0030
Aimed at young kids, but probably still suitable for adults too.

They've really dumbed-down the theory sections -- when I was a kid it

was happy little electrons running through the wires on white shoes, now
it's "it works 'cause it works".

--

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

 

[radiosrfun]

"Tim Wescott" <tim@seemywebsite.com> wrote in message
news:j6CdnYrbus5sbYnanZ2dnUVZ_uXinZ2d@web-ster.com...

David L. Jones wrote:
On Oct 16, 10:47 am, Tom <k9...@hotmail.com> wrote:
I'm trying to learn about electronics as a hobby. Far too often, I'm
exploring a hobby (flashlights, photography, etc.) and I run into DIY
projects that involve electronics. And I hit a roadblock here because,
even though I can buy the parts and wire them together (albeit,
crudely) as a diagram depicts, I have no clue what's going on and why
certain parts are used. So I've decide to try to learn on my own.

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board. I'm not looking for a banana-plug project board. Does anyone
have any recommendations? My goal is to be programming PICs or AVRs
and integrating them into circuits that I design.

I'd consider buying all the parts separately, but it'll probably cost
me hundreds getting parts at my local, overpriced Radio Shack. Not to
mention that they will definitely not have most of the parts and no
one there would be able to assist me (I've asked a RS store rep about
what tripods they have for my camera, which she responded with,
"what's that?" And yes, they do have tripods for sale.). Along those
lines, where do people get their components at a low cost?

A good lot of todays engineers started with the Radio Shack (Tandy)
200-in-1 type spring terminal kits. They are an excellent
introduction, and you can still get them in various forms.
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/4714320403de645c2741c0a87f9c0670/Product/View/K0030
Aimed at young kids, but probably still suitable for adults too.

They've really dumbed-down the theory sections -- when I was a kid it was
happy little electrons running through the wires on white shoes, now it's
"it works 'cause it works".

--

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

Lets not forget the "Magic Smoke" theory!

 

[David L. Jones]

On Oct 17, 3:15 am, Tim Wescott <t...@seemywebsite.com> wrote:

David L. Jones wrote:
On Oct 16, 10:47 am, Tom <k9...@hotmail.com> wrote:
I'm trying to learn about electronics as a hobby. Far too often, I'm
exploring a hobby (flashlights, photography, etc.) and I run into DIY
projects that involve electronics. And I hit a roadblock here because,
even though I can buy the parts and wire them together (albeit,
crudely) as a diagram depicts, I have no clue what's going on and why
certain parts are used. So I've decide to try to learn on my own.

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board. I'm not looking for a banana-plug project board. Does anyone
have any recommendations? My goal is to be programming PICs or AVRs
and integrating them into circuits that I design.

I'd consider buying all the parts separately, but it'll probably cost
me hundreds getting parts at my local, overpriced Radio Shack. Not to
mention that they will definitely not have most of the parts and no
one there would be able to assist me (I've asked a RS store rep about
what tripods they have for my camera, which she responded with,
"what's that?" And yes, they do have tripods for sale.). Along those
lines, where do people get their components at a low cost?

A good lot of todays engineers started with the Radio Shack (Tandy)
200-in-1 type spring terminal kits. They are an excellent
introduction, and you can still get them in various forms.
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/4714320403de645c2741c0a8...
Aimed at young kids, but probably still suitable for adults too.

They've really dumbed-down the theory sections -- when I was a kid it
was happy little electrons running through the wires on white shoes, now
it's "it works 'cause it works".

That's a shame. I remember them being really good in teaching the
(very basic) theory.
And they progressively took you from "join this wire to that wire"
instructions, to having to interpret the schematic yourself. All the
time encouraging you to experiment and keep log books of the results.

Dave.

 

[David L. Jones]

On Oct 17, 1:17 am, Tom <k9...@hotmail.com> wrote:

On Oct 16, 4:29 am, Jonathan Kirwan <jkir...@easystreet.com> wrote:

I'm just a hobbyist myself, with only the occasional moment for play
and learning. One thing that has helped is that I'm okay at math.
How's your math? Do you understand trig and algebra? (Ultimately,
you may want to be able to handle 2nd order ordinary differential
equations and complex numbers, know Euler's by heart, and so on, but
that isn't strictly necessary for a lot of very practical stuff... so
don't worry about it, unless you find yourself needing that much.)

I admit that I haven't used things like trig for years, but I can
handle my math. I'm a computer programmer by profession (but in a
corporate world, not a technical world), so I'm familiar with
algorithms and debugging. I don't doubt that I've forgotten a good
part of my math education over the years and there's plenty of math
I've never learned, but I don't mind investing the time to figure it
all out.

What kinds of things might you be doing with PICs? Can you suggest an
example of something you are interested in actually making? Perhaps,
by picking something you care about and asking for help understanding
some schematic to do that, you might acquire theory in satisfying bits
and pieces. Just a thought.

Well, the reason why I started in this direction is because of my
photography. Photography is an expensive hobby, so DIY projects always
interested me. One such DIY project is an optical slave flash trigger
- it connects to an external flash unit and triggers the flash when it
sees another flash. The creator uses a PIC is his design. Perhaps
that's a very simple circuit to some people.

http://www.pbase.com/sinoline/pic_ii

I figure PICs would be a nice way to accomplish some very specific
tasks that would otherwise require a lot of wiring. Combine that with
the realization that I've always wanted to "know" electronics, it
seemed like a natural hobby progression.

Many people consider microcontrollers (PIC's) to be the "end of hobby
electronics". Lots of stuff is now done by software in a small micro
that was traditionally achieved by "real" analog and digital
electronics. So it's possible to learn PIC's and do some very nifty
projects without knowing much basic electronics theory. But sounds
like you want to learn the "real" electronics too which is great (and
wise).

That slave flash trigger is a classic example of that.

I'm going to do some research, perhaps find some online guides (that
involves circuit theory) and attempt to purchase the corresponding
parts for those guides. The idea is that I'll then calculate all the
expected voltage and current levels at certain points in a circuit,
then verify it in a hands-on project with a multimeter. Thanks for
everyone's help so far. If there are more suggestions, I'd Iove to
hear it.

Get yourself an oscilloscope too (20MHz+ analog second hand from
eBay), an essential tool to help you understand what's happening in a
circuit.
You'll need some other gear like DC power supplies (more than one),
and a function generator.
Basic test gear like that can (and should) be built yourself. Plenty
of kits around and DIY articles.

Dave.

 

[Rich Webb]

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:47:58 -0000, Tom <k9boy@hotmail.com> wrote:

I'm trying to learn about electronics as a hobby. Far too often, I'm
exploring a hobby (flashlights, photography, etc.) and I run into DIY
projects that involve electronics. And I hit a roadblock here because,
even though I can buy the parts and wire them together (albeit,
crudely) as a diagram depicts, I have no clue what's going on and why
certain parts are used. So I've decide to try to learn on my own.

I'm looking for an electronics kit that guides you from the basics
using real components (resistors, transistors, etc.) on a breadboard
to more advanced topics (ICs), possibly soldering onto a circuit
board. I'm not looking for a banana-plug project board. Does anyone
have any recommendations?

One each of
* "The Art of Electronics" and its companion student manual.
http://www.artofelectronics.com/
* The "Schwab's School Selection" from Jameco p/n 163213
* Solderless breadboard and inexpensive desktop power supply
(some examples)

<http://www.web-tronics.com/breadboards---prototyping-boards-solderless-breadboards.html>
<http://www.web-tronics.com/30serdigrobe.html>
* A quad-ruled notebook, e.g., Staples p/n 858198
* Multimeter. Web-tronics offers a freebie with qualifying orders
that's good enough to get started.
* Assorted hook-up wire. A few minutes stripping the outer insulation
from a couple of feet of surplus Cat-5 yields plenty and it's color
coded!

Read the book, work through the exercises in the student manual, keep
good notes of what you do and what you observe.

The parts bags from Jameco probably won't have everything you'll need
but they'll give you a place to start.

For general parts and supplies and other gizmos, some samples of
places you can check out:
http://www.digikey.com
http://www.jameco.com
http://www.allelectronics.com
http://www.mpja.com
http://www.web-tronics.com
http://www.sparkfun.com
http://www.howardelectronics.com
http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/
http://www.tequipment.net

 

[phaeton]

Perhaps just before you hit Art of Electronics, don't forget this gem:

http://www.forrestmims.org/publications.html


Forrest Mims' "Getting Started In Electronics" is what got myself (and
probably a lot of others) started in electronics. It won't have the
depth that AoE has (be sure to get that for later), but it will
demystify a great deal of fundamental stuff right off the bat. It has
a pile of cheap n easy circuits that you can build right away and
tweak all night long. I would get the parts from somewhere other than
Radio Shack (see above post, and Jameco is my #1 choice). Note that
there are others in the series, in case you want to expand in those
directions later.

It does NOT cover microcontrollers, however. There are books on that,
but i haven't read any.

-phaeton

 

[DJ Delorie]

phaeton <blahbleh666@hotmail.com> writes:

It does NOT cover microcontrollers, however. There are books on that,
but i haven't read any.

Hmm... is there a market for "Getting Started With Microcontrollers,
now with CD-ROM *and* hardware!" type books? Hardware is getting
cheap enough to just include it with the book.

 

[Jonathan Kirwan]

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:17:22 -0000, Tom <k9boy@hotmail.com> wrote:

On Oct 16, 4:29 am, Jonathan Kirwan <jkir...@easystreet.com> wrote:
I'm just a hobbyist myself, with only the occasional moment for play
and learning. One thing that has helped is that I'm okay at math.
How's your math? Do you understand trig and algebra? (Ultimately,
you may want to be able to handle 2nd order ordinary differential
equations and complex numbers, know Euler's by heart, and so on, but
that isn't strictly necessary for a lot of very practical stuff... so
don't worry about it, unless you find yourself needing that much.)

I admit that I haven't used things like trig for years, but I can
handle my math. I'm a computer programmer by profession (but in a
corporate world, not a technical world), so I'm familiar with
algorithms and debugging. I don't doubt that I've forgotten a good
part of my math education over the years and there's plenty of math
I've never learned, but I don't mind investing the time to figure it
all out.

What kinds of things might you be doing with PICs? Can you suggest an
example of something you are interested in actually making? Perhaps,
by picking something you care about and asking for help understanding
some schematic to do that, you might acquire theory in satisfying bits
and pieces. Just a thought.

Well, the reason why I started in this direction is because of my
photography. Photography is an expensive hobby, so DIY projects always
interested me.

Same here. I was also interested in photography -- but I wanted a
150mm, f/0.6 lens along with a 2000mm, f/7 lens. I wasn't made of
money and as you can imagine, I had to design and make them from
scratch! Electronics came later.

One such DIY project is an optical slave flash trigger
- it connects to an external flash unit and triggers the flash when it
sees another flash. The creator uses a PIC is his design. Perhaps
that's a very simple circuit to some people.

http://www.pbase.com/sinoline/pic_ii

Yes, it is. However, the software will be the more interesting part
of it.

I figure PICs would be a nice way to accomplish some very specific
tasks that would otherwise require a lot of wiring. Combine that with
the realization that I've always wanted to "know" electronics, it
seemed like a natural hobby progression.

I clearly see your point.

I'm going to do some research, perhaps find some online guides (that
involves circuit theory) and attempt to purchase the corresponding
parts for those guides. The idea is that I'll then calculate all the
expected voltage and current levels at certain points in a circuit,
then verify it in a hands-on project with a multimeter. Thanks for
everyone's help so far. If there are more suggestions, I'd Iove to
hear it.

There are some electronics books that may help, but you aren't looking
for too much complexity in the electronics -- most of that will be in
the programming and you are probably better prepared for much of that
than many -- though embedded programming can be like night and day, to
someone in the 'corporate programming world.'

Given the programming penchant, you might start looking for a micro
toolkit that provides some basic features you will need to get used to
using. Perhaps someting with some pushbuttons, LEDs, a prototyping
area (where you can add some parts) or else a way of fashioning a
ribbon cable from it to a prototyping board (Global Specialties has a
nice, cheap one that is serviceable.) Start out from the micro
perspective, learn about the functional units you commonly have
available in them, learn to use the programming tools (linker,
compiler, assembler, etc.), and try your hand at some simpler tasks
there.

Then consider adding some interesting external components -- for
example, try and make a D/A converter using PWM, a resistor and a
capacitor, for example. Make sure you understand that. Then try
learning what bipolar transistors may do for you, after that.

These kits are often VERY inexpensive. Manufacturers are looking to
sell product and make very useful demo boards available to push their
wares. If that sounds useful, I and others may suggest some more
specific ideas there.

Jon

 

[Arthur Rhodes]

phaeton wrote:

It does NOT cover microcontrollers, however. There are books on that,
but i haven't read any.

-phaeton

An easy way to get started with AVR microcontrollers is to get the AVR
butterfly demo board. It's only $20 but has a pretty powerful
microcontroller built in with a bunch of little sensors, leds, an
lcd, etc. (You need to be a C programmer, or otherwise have a compiler
for the AVR for your favorite programming language.)

The process is even easier if you buy a kit from:
http://www.smileymicros.com
They sell kits including the butterfly along with other components to
help you build some simple Butterfly based projects. They also sell a
homegrown book called "C Programming for Microcontrollers." It goes
through a bunch of the Butterfly's demo programs, explaining what the
code does.

I myself went with one of the above kits and the book. While I think
there could be a number of improvements, overall it was a pretty
painless way to get started with microcontrollers.