Ask HN: How / where to learn practical electrical / electronics?
30 comments
You probably want something that gets you started with some hands-on projects, actually building stuff and seeing results. I'd recommend something like the following, and ignore anybody who says "Start with The Art of Electronics" or similar. Not that The Art of Electronics isn't something you might want to get around to eventually. But it's good to get your hands dirty and start building stuff, blinking LED's, etc., early on IMO.
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Pl...
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Journey-Amplifiers-R...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680453742/
When you're ready for more of a "textbook" instead of the hands-on stuff, consider the aforementioned The Art of Electronics and/or
https://www.amazon.com/Grobs-Basic-Electronics-Fundamentals-...
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Pl...
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Journey-Amplifiers-R...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680453742/
When you're ready for more of a "textbook" instead of the hands-on stuff, consider the aforementioned The Art of Electronics and/or
https://www.amazon.com/Grobs-Basic-Electronics-Fundamentals-...
Also worth checking out on Amazon, search for Arduino or Raspberry Pi Starter Kit (Elegoo’s a popular brand), and look for the ones with a breadboard and decent mix of components. My old kit came with a disc but I assume most now have downloadable tutorials in PDF of how do to simple projects such as a light meter with output to LEDs, or input using a 4-way joystick.
I just bought that first book. I have a little free time in the foreseeable future, and this seems like a useful thing to learn about. Thanks!
Thank you.
Those books look right up my alley/ a good starting point.
Those books look right up my alley/ a good starting point.
"Written by, (and with the advice of), senior technicians in these ratings, this series provides beginners with fundamental electrical and electronic concepts through self-study. " http://www.compatt.com/Tutorials/NEETS/NEETS.html
Forest Mims "Getting Started in Electronics"
Horowitz and Hill "Art of Electronics"
Horowitz and Hayes "Learning the Art of Electronics"
plus get a breadboard and a bunch of basic components, and a multimeter.
Horowitz and Hill "Art of Electronics"
Horowitz and Hayes "Learning the Art of Electronics"
plus get a breadboard and a bunch of basic components, and a multimeter.
Forrest Mims III books & mini-notebooks? I think these things raised a generation, were stocked at most Radio Shacks (defunct once-upon-a-time hobbyist-friendly store). Friendly illustrations, simple design, very nice walk throughs. He has some material with Make too now.
There might be way better options. This seemed to be pretty good though. Helped me a bunch. There were also a series of like 60-in-1 electronics projects at Radio Shack that demonstrated some projects, but it was kind of overwhelming. If i had an oscilliscope back then (easy to get now!) it wpuld have been neat. Make probably has better.
There might be way better options. This seemed to be pretty good though. Helped me a bunch. There were also a series of like 60-in-1 electronics projects at Radio Shack that demonstrated some projects, but it was kind of overwhelming. If i had an oscilliscope back then (easy to get now!) it wpuld have been neat. Make probably has better.
Yup, can concur - I have fond memories of pouring over "Getting Started in Electronics" and building the circuits he describes.
I think that building kits is about the equivalent to software tutorials. They might help with technique a bit but it’s a very passive way of learning and leads to the same kind of “tutorial hell” when you start your own projects.
For the more active form of learning, it’s the exact kind of just diving in that you’re worried about. Maybe, instead of worrying about breaking things though, order extra parts so you have spares to pop. That’s risk management but in the opposite direction you’re leaning towards.
For the more active form of learning, it’s the exact kind of just diving in that you’re worried about. Maybe, instead of worrying about breaking things though, order extra parts so you have spares to pop. That’s risk management but in the opposite direction you’re leaning towards.
I agree about tutorial hell, but I managed to avoid that when I learned coding.
From kits / lessons I’d like to just glean the basics / terminology enough to even google / try / test a few things ;)
From kits / lessons I’d like to just glean the basics / terminology enough to even google / try / test a few things ;)
I have called with electronics for years, and I never make any progress unless I have something I want to build or fix... and it is not easy in the world of 'its cheaper to just buy a new one' that we live in.
By far the biggest motivator I found was getting my amatuer radio license. In many countries this is a staged process with a very gentle introduction to electronics. Most off all there are meaningful things you can construct at home. I built a tiny radio, some baluns, morse practice oscillator, dummy load, lots of antennas from dipoles to Yagis and quite a lot more. Currently I am getting the bits together to build an interface between my radio and my pc so I can use digital communication modes like ft8.
I rarely actually talk to anyone, I just like building stuff!
To get started in US search the ARRL, in the UK the RSGB. Otherwise a web search should sort you out or look here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amateur_radio_organi.... Try and find a local club. There will be lots of interesting people there. I met a guy who built his own machine to reprogram 1990s commercial radios. Another who built a morse oscillator that always started and finished at 0v and went through complete cycles... just because. Another who is a specialist in surface mounted devices. Then there are people who work with satellites, bounce signals off the moon, send tv....
The only other major community of diyers I have found is the people who modify and build guitar effects pedals.
By far the biggest motivator I found was getting my amatuer radio license. In many countries this is a staged process with a very gentle introduction to electronics. Most off all there are meaningful things you can construct at home. I built a tiny radio, some baluns, morse practice oscillator, dummy load, lots of antennas from dipoles to Yagis and quite a lot more. Currently I am getting the bits together to build an interface between my radio and my pc so I can use digital communication modes like ft8.
I rarely actually talk to anyone, I just like building stuff!
To get started in US search the ARRL, in the UK the RSGB. Otherwise a web search should sort you out or look here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amateur_radio_organi.... Try and find a local club. There will be lots of interesting people there. I met a guy who built his own machine to reprogram 1990s commercial radios. Another who built a morse oscillator that always started and finished at 0v and went through complete cycles... just because. Another who is a specialist in surface mounted devices. Then there are people who work with satellites, bounce signals off the moon, send tv....
The only other major community of diyers I have found is the people who modify and build guitar effects pedals.
I've enjoyed salvaging through hole components from old/broken electronics. It won't nessecarily teach you any electronic theory, but you'll begin to pick up on certain patterns of circuit design, especially if you look up IC data sheets as you're doing it. Potentiometers, big electrolytic capacitors, inductor coils, switches, are all easily salvaged and reused. It's a low risk way to get more comfortable with a soldering iron too.
I got hooked on electronics by building things I needed. I was into headphones so started with a Altoid tin headphone amp called a cmoy, from there fm radio, desktop amplifier, DAC etc. Those project you don’t need to understand the whole circuit to start but you will get a ton of hands on experience especially in sourcing components and troubleshooting with a cheap DMM and will have a much better base to learn the theory from.
If you want to start from a slightly different angle-- practical use with a side of theory instead of the other way around, I'd highly recommend "How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic" by Michael Geier
I leaf through this one on the regular just for fun still, and have repaired all manner of things, from CRTs to the brushes of vacuum motors with it:
How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic, Second Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071848290/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_...
I leaf through this one on the regular just for fun still, and have repaired all manner of things, from CRTs to the brushes of vacuum motors with it:
How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic, Second Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071848290/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_...
The Black Art of Video Game Console Design
The book is super accessible and has more practical value than bachelor in computer engineering while you build and code a game console
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Video-Game-Console-Design/dp/06...
The book is super accessible and has more practical value than bachelor in computer engineering while you build and code a game console
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Video-Game-Console-Design/dp/06...
There is currently a HumbleBundle for this:
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/arduino-circuits-electron...
It covers a range of topics, from the fundamentals of electronics to how to use an Arduino, to how one might program ARM-based microcontrollers. I personally find that learning from reference books where I can practice the examples and see what they do in a real circuit is a good way to reinforce the knowledge.
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/arduino-circuits-electron...
It covers a range of topics, from the fundamentals of electronics to how to use an Arduino, to how one might program ARM-based microcontrollers. I personally find that learning from reference books where I can practice the examples and see what they do in a real circuit is a good way to reinforce the knowledge.
I recommend Andre LaMothe's Crash Course Electronics and PCB design, available on Udemy.
This guy teaches right, he goes along with natural experimentation and makes sure you actually understand what's going on. Alongside come a book, materials list for practicing, and other yummy materials.
https://www.udemy.com/course/crash-course-electronics-and-pc...
This guy teaches right, he goes along with natural experimentation and makes sure you actually understand what's going on. Alongside come a book, materials list for practicing, and other yummy materials.
https://www.udemy.com/course/crash-course-electronics-and-pc...
Make: Electronics by Charles Platt is excellent. It’ll walk you from basics through essentials via experiments. It intentionally has you do some things wrong to teach you why something happens.
It doesn’t (as I recall) have microcontroller stuff, as that’s higher level, but completing the course/book will Put you in the position to run electronics projects off a Raspberry Pi.
It doesn’t (as I recall) have microcontroller stuff, as that’s higher level, but completing the course/book will Put you in the position to run electronics projects off a Raspberry Pi.
For the first heureka moment came when reading Charles Petzold’s “Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software” it really bridges the gap between the first simple circuitry and modern electronics. For very basic concepts of resistance current etc and the building blocks there is tons of tutorials on youtube.
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I got my first serious start with hackerboxes. A monthly challenge to make something did much more to open my eyes to the small electronics world than many hours of blandly staring at the guts of old disassembled devices.
I'm a largely self taught PCB design/escape game/controls/etc designer.
Arduino is a wonderful place to start, better is the ESP32 based wifi stuff.
You will want to learn some analog too, but I would stay away from multivibrators and 555s and other low level stuff unless you're really serious about deeply practicing fundamentals. They're easy and kinda fun and cheap enough to do if you see something interesting, but I don't think you need to work your way through a book of them.
Software is free. It can be changed. It doesn't usually wear out. I don't do usually do anything in hardware if I could do it in software.
The biggest challenge on almost any project will usually be power management. You will probably need to learn about inductive and capacitive loads, backfeeding regulators, switching regulators, battery protection, inrush transients, smart driver ICs, relays, etc.
You'll also want to learn all about op amps and RC filters.
I would strongly advise being careful with ANY "big ideas". Not big projects. Those are fine.
I mean big ideas like "I'm gonna do all my future stuff with this connector, better but a ton of them!". It. Is. Very. Very. Hard.
Instead, use standards. Your idea is probably 100% better than USB for this application. Your next idea will be even better. If you want to do anything but fuss with low level stuff... Just power your thing with the USB C trigger and be done with it.
Don't invent a new serial protocol if you don't have to, etc. The people who would be most interested are too busy with their next big thing. Focus on the specific things you most want to innovate on and don't try to reinvent all of embedded tech.
Do NOT buy any really specific parts that you don't have a full design and plan for unless you want to accumulate crap.
The only exception I've found is premade modules. They are so easy and trivial you find yourself using them nkwhile your fancy design gathers dust.
You do NOT need 500 kinds of resistor and capacitor especially if you are going the digital route.
You really have to figure out your goals. If you want to do art installations and home automation or something and are just using tech as a tool, modules are probably going to be your friend.
The best absolute immediate way to get started instantly is going over to falstad's simulator online and playing around there. I would highly suggest it maybe even more than any physical educational tool. At the basic level, the sim is accurate enough, but much easier and faster, and you can't burn out a part that doesn't exist.
After that, look into things like the Wemos D1 Mini and the absolute hoards of USB-C
Keep things simple and modular and aim to use as many off the shelf unmodified parts as possible.
Want to run on 12v? Maybe don't put a 7805 on your board.
Find a nice 12v to USB converter, base your thing on a USB-C ESP32 type board, and now it's all modular and swappable and the parts are reusable.
Want to build something from scratch for fun? Cool!
Just make sure you know what parts you will enjoy doing from scratch, and that there's a real risk of getting tired of any long term project, thinking of a better way, etc. Staying with off the shelf methods for the big stuff gives you a framework, a starting point for research, keeps you from getting bogged down in arbitrary choices, etc.
From there, you are free to do each individual thing from scratch as much or as little as you want.
Oh, and check out the Pinecil, a clone T12, or a similar iron. Don't let anyone try to make you spend $100 on an some random analog iron with expensive tips just because it sounds like a pro brand!!
Also, solid state and low power is your friend. If it moves or handles power it might wear out. If it moves and it's cheap it probably will wear out. If you want it to move, but high quality even if you have to make the digital stuff lower quality to stay on budget.
This stuff is really... not actually as hard as various books and how tos make it sound, at least at the hobby level.
Arduino is a wonderful place to start, better is the ESP32 based wifi stuff.
You will want to learn some analog too, but I would stay away from multivibrators and 555s and other low level stuff unless you're really serious about deeply practicing fundamentals. They're easy and kinda fun and cheap enough to do if you see something interesting, but I don't think you need to work your way through a book of them.
Software is free. It can be changed. It doesn't usually wear out. I don't do usually do anything in hardware if I could do it in software.
The biggest challenge on almost any project will usually be power management. You will probably need to learn about inductive and capacitive loads, backfeeding regulators, switching regulators, battery protection, inrush transients, smart driver ICs, relays, etc.
You'll also want to learn all about op amps and RC filters.
I would strongly advise being careful with ANY "big ideas". Not big projects. Those are fine.
I mean big ideas like "I'm gonna do all my future stuff with this connector, better but a ton of them!". It. Is. Very. Very. Hard.
Instead, use standards. Your idea is probably 100% better than USB for this application. Your next idea will be even better. If you want to do anything but fuss with low level stuff... Just power your thing with the USB C trigger and be done with it.
Don't invent a new serial protocol if you don't have to, etc. The people who would be most interested are too busy with their next big thing. Focus on the specific things you most want to innovate on and don't try to reinvent all of embedded tech.
Do NOT buy any really specific parts that you don't have a full design and plan for unless you want to accumulate crap.
The only exception I've found is premade modules. They are so easy and trivial you find yourself using them nkwhile your fancy design gathers dust.
You do NOT need 500 kinds of resistor and capacitor especially if you are going the digital route.
You really have to figure out your goals. If you want to do art installations and home automation or something and are just using tech as a tool, modules are probably going to be your friend.
The best absolute immediate way to get started instantly is going over to falstad's simulator online and playing around there. I would highly suggest it maybe even more than any physical educational tool. At the basic level, the sim is accurate enough, but much easier and faster, and you can't burn out a part that doesn't exist.
After that, look into things like the Wemos D1 Mini and the absolute hoards of USB-C
Keep things simple and modular and aim to use as many off the shelf unmodified parts as possible.
Want to run on 12v? Maybe don't put a 7805 on your board.
Find a nice 12v to USB converter, base your thing on a USB-C ESP32 type board, and now it's all modular and swappable and the parts are reusable.
Want to build something from scratch for fun? Cool!
Just make sure you know what parts you will enjoy doing from scratch, and that there's a real risk of getting tired of any long term project, thinking of a better way, etc. Staying with off the shelf methods for the big stuff gives you a framework, a starting point for research, keeps you from getting bogged down in arbitrary choices, etc.
From there, you are free to do each individual thing from scratch as much or as little as you want.
Oh, and check out the Pinecil, a clone T12, or a similar iron. Don't let anyone try to make you spend $100 on an some random analog iron with expensive tips just because it sounds like a pro brand!!
Also, solid state and low power is your friend. If it moves or handles power it might wear out. If it moves and it's cheap it probably will wear out. If you want it to move, but high quality even if you have to make the digital stuff lower quality to stay on budget.
This stuff is really... not actually as hard as various books and how tos make it sound, at least at the hobby level.
thanks for the useful pointers.
personally i had started with an electronic beginner kit with 555 ics, analog components, breadboard. worked through a few projects but eventually i kept it to the side due to other commitments.
planning to get back into it, I wanted to make stuff like radios, basic music synthesizer, retro gaming console etc. any good resources/ kits you reccommend to start with? i think to start with getting the right components when you don't have anything is a hurdle.
personally i had started with an electronic beginner kit with 555 ics, analog components, breadboard. worked through a few projects but eventually i kept it to the side due to other commitments.
planning to get back into it, I wanted to make stuff like radios, basic music synthesizer, retro gaming console etc. any good resources/ kits you reccommend to start with? i think to start with getting the right components when you don't have anything is a hurdle.
I recommend you to start from base, start with learning how transistor, resistor, coil/inductors, capacitor works, then jump to logical side of circuit And, Or, Not, Xor gates etc.
Lastly you should learn about mosfets, relays, basic non-programmable circuit component s etc.
Once you have known how underlying things works, there are many youtubers who regularly posts about arduino, Raspberry pi, robotics and what not.
I started interest in 2019, as I already knew basics and covid lockdown gave me enough time to learn about it.
Lastly you should learn about mosfets, relays, basic non-programmable circuit component s etc.
Once you have known how underlying things works, there are many youtubers who regularly posts about arduino, Raspberry pi, robotics and what not.
I started interest in 2019, as I already knew basics and covid lockdown gave me enough time to learn about it.
Are there any youtube sessions on this topic? I too am looking for similar resources.
If you’re an absolute beginner to hardware and electronics, I can wholeheartedly recommend Paul McWhorter’s series on YouTube. It’s built for someone that’s a complete newbie to both hardware and software, but I was able to pretty quickly and easily skip past the basic software stuff.
EEVblog is a great YouTube channel for EE information
The EEVBlog.com forums are a great resource as well.
Adafruit
I couldn’t tell you the difference between wires or what was happening beyond randomly stripping wires and connecting them to see what happens.
My method worked for what I figured was a low voltage / risk project , but I would like to know more and eventually be able wire a raspberry pi for hobby projects / be able to manage more complex work.
Is there a good place to start / has anyone started from nearly 0 and found some good resources?