How To Learn Electronics Without Hardware
By: Aidan Wilson
Tags: Learning, Engineering, Software, Electronics, Tools

How To Learn Electronics Without Hardware

The price of buying hardware can be avoided at the beginning of your learning journey so long as you have the right tools Aidan Wilson Aug 25, 2020·5 min read

Photo by Spencer on Unsplash

Learning hardware electronics can seem trapped behind a paywall. It can seem impossible to learn electronics without spending a fortune on hardware. But with a little creativity and some extra effort, it’s possible to learn electronics without hardware.

Having completed a degree in Mechatronic Engineering, I’ve been fortunate enough to learn using hardware electronics purchased by a university. However, this actually made me realise that learning how to use electronics and their functions can be done effectively without necessarily purchasing hardware.

While individual components can be cheap individually, you may have to spend a substantial amount to have enough pieces to make a functioning circuit. This is not always possible — especially on a student budget.

In this article I will show you some viable ways to learn more about the field of electronics using open source software such as LTSpice, Fritzing and Target3001!. I will also suggest some very knowledgeable YouTubers whose expertise will teach you a lot.

Best of all, you won’t have to spend a cent.

The learning process

Whenever I start learning a new programming language, I don’t usually read or watch anything first. Instead, I jump in headfirst to solve some well-known challenges. A perfect example would be using code to print “Hello World” or count prime numbers. This helps me learn and take action at the same time — and also to make mistakes.

But when it comes to electronics, you don’t have the same ability to make mistakes. That’s because mistakes can end in explosions or gnarly scars. As impressive as these may be, the scars should be avoided.

Learning the theory of electronics, and how to use components safely, can be very beneficial before using hardware.

Software

LTSpice

When I was working on electronics projects during my degree, I used LTspice to simulate and construct circuits. The main advantage of this software is that it’s free. The downside is that it is definitely not pretty.

LTspice is a program provided by Analog Devices, a manufacturer of semiconductor components and many other types too.

This means that the library of components you can use is quite verbose, and you can also add in your own components. In the figure below, an operational amplifier is increasing the incoming signal. The operational amplifier is a generic type and can be switched out with a different one and should provide the same effect, though it may be more or less accurate.

Fritzing

Fritzing is a great program for visualising your circuits on breadboards. Before I continue, I should note that Fritzing does cost €8, but this is a one-time payment for the software. I still recommend it despite the cost because it’s excellent for laying out your components. You can use it to teach students, as well as building and presenting circuits in reports.

This program has a wide range of parts in its catalogues, and you can also create your own pieces. It can also layout PCBs, circuit diagrams and parts lists. In the image below, I created the same circuit as before, this time using components and breadboard.

Target3001!

Finally, I recommend Target3001! or KiCAD. Although this software will be more useful to those with a lot more experience in the field of electronics, you should still be aware of these programs. Target3001! and KiCad is a circuit layout and PCB layout software. It allows you to build circuits that you wish to be printed so that you can create a long term circuit board.

I used this software to create communication circuit boards for a project and found it to be quite powerful. While the software does require a bit of time to learn, you could learn everything that is required in an hour or two. Akin to other free software, the software is free but has the restriction of 200 pins per project for a free user license.

Resources

Using the three programs above, we now have the tools to create the simulation, design and final circuit layout. We could even send the created PCB off to be printed. The next step is locating the resources and libraries of information. I’ve spent a long time “researching” YouTubers who spend a lot of time creating using electronics or speaking about electronics.

I learned a ton about electronics through watching their various tutorials, solutions and projects. Below are three channels that have been the most informative. That’s not to say they are the best overall — they’re just the best for my taste.

EEblog

EEblog has an incredibly large amount of videos about electronics where he goes through product tear downs, tutorials, PCB manufacture and many many more topics. He speaks freely and does not hold back which is quite refreshing and necessary while learning.

GreatScott!

GreatScott! is the best example of learning by doing. He has a ton of projects ranging in topics and also has some very polished tutorial videos. I would recommend this channel as your first visit in order to learn as he creates really pretty figures and schematics. I’m not jealous at all.

Afrotechmods

This creator’s videos are really fast-paced and cover just about everything you need to know about a certain component. He’s also one of the funniest creators I watch.

Finally, one of the biggest resources I’ve used is All About Circuits. This is a very similar service to Medium, where creators make articles and projects and viewers can study them. I would not recommend referencing these articles, but I would look into the references of the articles, which tend to be books and white papers.

Review

Learning and enjoying the experience of understanding electronics is important, do not become discouraged with the complex mathematics or scientific explanation as to a components exact function. Whilst they are important, it takes time for concepts to sink in. Maintaining interest though is crucial for long term learning. Finally, I wish you the best of luck with creating electronics.

Remember that safety comes first when working with electricity.