Where Do I start-Total Noob Here - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: EnduringEagle
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 12:28:40 am
content: Hello everyone: I am a complete and total noob in electronics engineering. I saw Dave Jones on YouTube and got hooked. I own a cheap soldering iron, have some experience putting computers together on a component level (mother boards, hard drives, etc..) and that is about it (Zero EE experience). Where should I start? All suggestions are welcome. Many thanks!E

author: w2aew
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 12:45:38 am
content: It really depends on where your interests lie - analog, digital, RF, homebrew building, kit building, microcontrollers, hobby, vocation, etc., etc. There are a lot of tutorial resources available online and other places. If you can narrow down a couple of topics of what got you "hooked", then we can probably start pointing you in the right direction.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 12:56:33 am
content: You would probably like to start with the most basic things. Batteries lamps and pieces of wire is all you need.A good place to take a look at ishttp://www.opamp-electronics.com/tutorials/experiments_ch_002.htmAnd keep away from the mains. Stick to the batteries.

author: EnduringEagle
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 01:42:40 am
content: Quote from: w2aew on July 19, 2011, 12:45:38 amI am interested as a hobby. Would some kits and remedial reading be in order? Would like to get hands on while I learn if that makes sense.

author: Jimmy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 02:12:50 am
content: Go buy an arduino kitlikehttp://www.sparkfun.com/products/10173arduino homepagehttp://www.arduino.cc/Some engineers hate arduino with a passion probably because they didn't have it as a resource when they were learning. For a Beginner it all runs off a usb so you are not running off mains and you can use it as a platform to learn heaps of stuff.

author: johnboxall
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 02:23:44 am
content: Have fun with your journey, with time and focus there are no limits :-)If you choose to experiment with Arduino, please check out my tutorials athttp://tronixstuff.com/tutorials

author: EnduringEagle
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 02:38:25 am
content: Thanks. I would like to start "doing" so I can get immersed. I will give these a good looking over. I was actually thinking about building an led Cree flashlight. Is that difficult?

author: A-sic Enginerd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 06:17:04 am
content: From the sounds of where you're currently at (knowledge wise) something to look at may be......don't laugh.....one of those kits like the Radio Shack 100 in 1 projects. I had one as a kid and messed with it a bit. Recently got a modern version of it for my own kids. It takes you from not knowing what a volt is, up to building some basic yet informative projects to give you some basics on all the fundamental building blocks of electronics. I'm sure after you get a ways into the instruction manual and projects you'll find yourself soon eyeballing The Big Grey Book, which is when things start getting really interesting.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 01:16:37 am
content: Quote from: A-sic Enginerd on July 19, 2011, 06:17:04 amI have a Radio SHack Electronics Learning Lab. I first bough it as a tool, but I had fun putting together the circuits.

author: w2aew
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 04:13:03 pm
content: I agree about the 150-in-one kits - they are a great tool for experimenting and learning - I had one as a kid and learned a LOT from it. Starting off building a couple of simple kits is a lot of fun too. There are a lot of good books for the beginner (see Forrest Mims III books as a good start).

author: Morten I. Larsen
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 06:50:56 pm
content: Quote from: EnduringEagle on July 19, 2011, 12:28:40 amMake: Electronics (Learning by Discovery)I really liked this book, it has easy to follow the experiments and starts off with really simple circuits.http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=9780596153748You can also get it from Amazon.