Where do I start?

[zcmrfrodo]

Hello

I am COMPLETELY new to electronics, but I've had an interest in them for a long time and would like to get into them. I want to get to the point that I'm able to fabricate devices for custom applications and practical uses. Ultimately, I have an idea to create a more effective form of Laser Tag that I would like to make a reality.

Could anyone share some advice on the best way to begin learning about electronics? I know it is advised to post questions in other places, but i didn't see any other area that suited this question.

Anyways, this forum looks pretty cool and am looking forward to exploring it!


-Brian

 

[(*steve*)]

Where do you start? I guess the answer to that depends on where you are now. Are you still in school? University? Or perhaps in the workforce?

And welcome to Electronics Point.

 

[zcmrfrodo]

Ah yes, I am currently in the workforce.

I've been neglecting my desire to study electronics for a long time. My dad was a Army Infantry veteran and valued being rough & tough. I took that viewpoint and decided to find and strive for a career that required being rough & tough. I got my GED last august and thought that's all I needed to get into the Marines, but turns out they are only accepting HS diplomas or people with a certain amount of college credits. So, I went to school this past spring to take "transferable" courses. But for some reason(maybe a complete lack of interest in the courses), I was having a tremendously difficult time learning the material, began falling behind rapidly, and decided to drop out.

I'm thinking that maybe my lack of interest in school is due in part to my lack of participation in hobbies and activities during my upbringing years. So I came to this website, a few others, and plan on purchasing a couple electronics' books and magazine to get into this "hobby." Hopefully, eventually I would like to turn it into a career somehow.

As far as school goes, I hear that there are many famous geniuses that dropped out of school in some way(Einstein and Bill Cosby to name a couple). So it could be that I'm a complete genius. Or maybe I'm just dumb. Doesn't matter really, I plan on doing a lot of reading to get smarter either way.


So, that is where I'm at. I'm open to any advice on where to start or where to go, and I would really appreciate any ones' input.

 

[davenn]

welcome,

well dunno what country you are in, but if , USA, Australia or UK, then there are lots of good multi-project kits with good teaching in electronics basics as you progress.
Stuff like that is a great place to start

cheers
Dave

 

[zcmrfrodo]

Ok yea I'll look into those kits. Any suggestions for the best type of learner kits? I see there are breadboard kits, and there's those 300-in-1 type kits.
Also, any suggestions for learning programming? I took a intro to C++ course a few years back, but it was really confusing and I can hardly remember anything from it.