Electronics beginner questions?

[meathead2k2]

Hi,

I have a keen interest in computers, I have always enjoyed building pc's and fixing any problems that may arise for my self and friends. From an early age i have always dismantled things to try and work out how they work.

I would like to try and build something electronic from scratch, starting from maybe a small circuit board working towards something more complicated.

Only problem is .... I have no idea where to start!

Could any one please push me in the right direction to start on my quest to learn the basics? Websites with good tutorials?

Possibly the best websites to buy parts/ components / kits to learn?

If any one could push me in the right direction i would greatly appreciate it.

Lewis

 

[davenn]

Hey Lewis

welcome to the forums

as for basic theory tutorials there a good section for that on this forum

dunno where in the world you are mabe there electronics stores nearby that sell electronics kits... this is a good way to start off
start with some low component count/basic kits and as your confidence grows so can the complexity of the kits you experiment with

cheers
Dave

 

[cjdelphi]

Depends on your interests, lots of hardware and electronics for all kinds of different circuits, you need to think about the basics. - eg way to power it.

So what exactly has taken your eye and what would you like to do?

If you're starting from scratch, you'll need a power supply, a variable voltage regulator. then can power any project you decide to build, if it's back to basics, learn about all your basic components and then buy a few small kits to build, or get an arduino and take that approach.

 

[sjgallagher2]

Code by Charles Petzold is an awesome book that shows how to put together a computer from scratch, starting at lamps and circuits, through binary, hex, flip flops, the most basic processor, RAM, a legitimate computer, real processors (8080s and such) and operating systems, and more! It's an interesting book to look at and understand how things come together from the basics.

As for project suggestions, I ask my friends what kinda cool gadgets they would want and I try and design those, like for a hacker friend, a little box that gets text input via keyboard or USB, encoded in some kinda hash function, and it cracks the function. I've been working it for a long time, using it to learn about keyboard inputs, usb stuff, LCD screens, and programming skills!

You'd be surprised what kinda things you can come up with, like robots, making your own components and batteries, using things like screens and cameras, microphones and speakers. Try making an audio mixer, at first it might only combine audio signals, but you could improve upon it to record, and reverse the stuff. That's a really challenging and continual idea.

Make something you can show off too. Like a Tshirt with lights, a kind of cool watch looking thing that does something completely different. Or make a watch. Just suggestions.