Hello Fellow Members of the Bit-Tech Forum. I would really like to learn Electronics at school and learn how to design my own working circuit boards. Sadly that is not the case. I was wondering whether any of you guys had any advice for somone in my position. Any useful guides and what equipment or software i will need?
Welcome to the magical world of electronics (sorry couldn't help using this opening quote from a publication!) Uesfull address - www.google.com http://www.electronics-lab.com Tools - Variable temp soldering iron, Grounding strap, Good quality meter (fluke or equiv), Set of hand tools (side cutters, screw drivers, pliers, wire strippers), Breadbaord ( ive putting it here because its used to prototype circuits). Publications? Absolutly loads, visit liberary, book shops, EPEETI - Everyday Practical Electronics (ETI = Electronics Today International and was taken over buy EPE)
From what Ive been told, the GCSE electronics is pretty poor anyway. I have just done the Alevel electronics and I wasnt disadvantaged at all by not having done the GCSE so if you end up wanting to do the Alevel it shouldnt be a problem (sorry if i guessed wrong about which point your at in school) There are some very good books by a guy called R.A.Penfold including some introductory ones and alot of project books, they always explain the operation of the circuits and the difficulty ranges from very easy to fairly complex. To be honest, working with your own circuit boards will be quite a way in the future, you have to get to quite high frequency signals before the convenience of a breadboard is outweighed by it messing up the operation of your circuit and its either expensive to have PCBs made (if you have done professionaly) or messy (if you make them yourself) Moriquendi
TBH he heams to be of majour importance so any book hes written is a worth while perchase. You may also want to try out the sloderless projet set then try the many kits made by valleman which are IMHO often worthwhile perchase. some hting like this is a good start for teaching your self. 500 in one electronic project lab
I learn't after i finished school, started reading books and mags then went on from there. Software? hmn would have to be ye olde pencil and paper!
Are they any populaur software out there that are used to replace the old fashioed pencil and paper. Would like to here others views aswell. Thanks AJB2K3
A bit OTT for a beginner. An Antex 18W iron (under £15) and a £10 multimeter will get anybody started.
www.ltscotland.org If you search for Technological Studies and then click for resources you will be able to find the course notes for Standard Grade, Higher and Advanced Higher technology which includes a couple of units on Electronics.
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=134110 The Maplin/Rapid Velleman kits are a good idea for starting, they start at under £5, contain all the bits you need without building up a big stock, and are guaranteed to work (if put together properly). Once made, use books and the net to work out what each component is doing. Borrow some books from the library before spending money.
With the varatable different types of solder and varitemp going for £30 its worthwhile investment even if you only do the odd bit. Straps i always recomend because im one of thoses ESD sensitive types. software = Eagle layout editor http://www.hobby-electronics.info/links/freeware.php Also the only PLC i have ATM is the olde rear schools stamp which is programmed using basic and uses non SMD hardware so its easy to fix. In fact a visit to your local maplins (or what ever you mainstreme eletronics shop is) can sort you out with everything you will need including tools, part, books, software !
what tools and equipment is vital in electronics. i will probbaly be purchasing from Maplin. I saw some good illustrations of circuits on the USB LCD.
I've started with electronics before I had access to the internet. So what I did.... I just bought some books (I was 10 years old at that time, and my goal was to start using microcontrollers). The first book teached me how to read circuit shematics and what the parts are (like Transistors, Resistors, Capacitors, etc.). The second book teached me the basics about digital circuits in general. The rest of the electronics book collection was all about microcontrollers. Today you might want to find that information online, to save some money that you can spend on your equipment. Well, from there on it was all about reading datasheets to find reference designs for the microcontrollers I intended to use. And someday I just started soldering right away with my own circuit diagrams in my head, some lead, a breadboard and wires. I never used any kind of software to design my circuits. And as breadbord circuits tend to work as good as PCBs would, I never tried to make my own PCBs either. The biggest circuit I've designed on breadboards was a Z80 computer with 32k RAM/ROM over three breadboards connected with a standard IDE cable. It had two serial and one parallel ports. What I want to say is, you don't a computer or any kind of software to get into electronics. Just learn the basics and start somewhere.
@electrojunky - lead is not used anymore because its banned substance (I still use lead based solder when i can find it) Silver is the commen material. Pop into WHSmiths and pick up the latest Electronics suppliment and its got a very good beginners guide to getting started (currently reading it) with some trial software on a cd. ITS a bargin @£6.99 My maplins sudjestion. GT66W GCSE component pack £21.26( good first start set) FD32K Sliver plated plugblock pack (breadboard) £10.67 RR50E decision maker kit £4.99 or RP03D Running microbug kit £9.99 (cool little robot that doesn't use microchips) Modded PC PSU (nice cheep multi output tester supply)Easy to use as bench PSU. FY69A 25 watt soldering set £21.26 Keep an eye out for N78AR ls20 Soldering station because these often go in the sales very cheep although they only cost £31.14 As you can see i havent mentioned a multimeter because im now a beleiver in getting what you pay for a chepp meters are often not worth that much IMHO The above should get you started and don't forget to pay a visit to the electronics site i put up a link to.
When you say software do you mean software to help you design the function of a circuit or software to help you lay it out on a PCB? For the first one, until you start getting to really complex stuff like multi-order filters or switch mode regulators there isnt really much to help you, it basicaly has to come out of the grey stuff between your ears with judicious use of a pencil, rubber and calculator (the rubber is normaly the most important of the three) For laying out schematics and PCBs there are programs to help you do that but its no use unless you can first design the circuit to do what you want, (see the first point ^^). For the moment stick with a breadboard. I started with a BEAM robotics (Biological something something something) two motor walker, it was great making something walk around using less than ten components . Personaly i would say that a multimeter is an absolute must, the accuracy dosnt matter very much at this level but it is very useful for checking voltages at different points to see whether they match up broadly with what you expected. If you dont have a multimeter its like trying to use windows without a monitor, it can be done but its not fun. Moriquendi
when i purchase my items from Maplin shall i just order some tools like a soldering iron and a kit build the kit and then study the circuit using guides to find out what is going on in my circuit. is that the best way to learn basic electronics. when ik said software i meant software to lay my PCB out.
Yes it's a quiet good start to learn soldering. Get a soldering station (solder iron with adjustable temperature) and some electronic kits to learn how to solder. By the way, lead is only banned for industrial use. But hobbyists soldering equipment are just a very very small percentage of what's being produced. So they stopped producing lead products for hobbyists. At least that's what happened here. So in one point you're right, we are all supposed to switch to silver.
Because an ordinary soldering iron will just get hotter and hotter... You need temperature control to ensure the safety of your electronic components.
