Electronics For Beginners Websites??

[Scott Cadwell]

Hello All,

Besides "Googling it", does anyone know of any good electronics websites for
green newbies, like myself?

Thank you.

 

[Michael Black]

Hello All,

Besides "Googling it", does anyone know of any good electronics websites for
green newbies, like myself?

Thank you.

They are called libraries. I can't imagine any that won't have some books
for beginners in electronics.

Radio Shack used to carry some books for beginners, but I have no idea
whether they still do.

Traditionally, magazines were a good way to ease into electronics, but
they've pretty much disappeared. Nuts & Volts is the only US magazine
for the electronic hobbyist these days.

Michael

 

[Dmitri]

Hello All,

Besides "Googling it", does anyone know of any good
electronics websites for
green newbies, like myself?

Thank you.

I'd say there is nothing wrong with googling for any electronics-related
stuff. It basically provides instant gratification by giving you the best
resource, and a single site may not contain all the information you are
looking for. For a desktop use a book may be sometimes more convenient
than a PC, so I personally like to keep quite a few around. Practical
Electronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz (ISBN 0-07-058078-2) is one of my
favorites.

--
Dmitri Abaimov, RCDD
http://www.cabling-design.com
Cabling Forum, color codes, pinouts and other useful resources for
premises cabling users and pros
http://www.cabling-design.com/homecabling
Residential Cabling Guide
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[Mike]

I would also recommend the NEETS modules (Navy Electrical Engineering
Training Series) to educate yourself on electronics. Also, the "Basic
Electronics" book from the Navy is great, which I'm currently reading.

Mike

 

[Mike]

Nuts and Volts is a great magazine,but most of it is not beginner's
material. They usually have a section every month for novices, but other
sections tend to be intermediate. I would learn the basics of semiconductors
(e.g. transistors, diodes, etc.) before divining into the mag.

Mike

 

[CFoley1064]

Subject: Electronics For Beginners Websites??

From: "Scott Cadwell" [email protected]
Date: 11/8/2004 11:11 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id: <[email protected]>

Hello All,

Besides "Googling it", does anyone know of any good electronics websites for
green newbies, like myself?

Thank you.

For starting in electronics as an absolute beginner, try going to your library
or Amazon.com and reading

Getting Started in Electronics -- by Forrest M. Mims III

For a green newbie who has an interest in electronics, it's the best way to
start out. When you return the book, look in the stacks for intro to
electronics books written after 1975. There are dozens of good ones.

Another way to get started is to look at electronics hobbyist magazines.
Currently in America we're down to "Nuts & Volts", which is great but isn't
exactly for newbies. It's definitely worth reading, though, and their website
has a good bulletin board which is _very_ newbie friendly:

http://www.nutsvolts.com/
http://206.131.241.58/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi

The library can help you here, too. Look for back issues of "Electronics Now",
formerly "Radio-Electronics", reading everything you can by Don Lancaster. The
other good hobbyist magazine was Modern Electronics, formerly known as Popular
Electronics. Forrest Mims wrote a column every month in those, and they're all
worth reading. All of these magazines are now defunct, but libraries will keep
back issues.

On the other side of the pond is Everyday Practical Electronics (EPE), which is
still publishing in England. They have some good newbie stuff, and if you can
get a hold of it, is definitely worthwhile. You can also check out their
website

http://www.epemag.com/

as well as their chatzone:

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/wwwboard/chatzone.html

The web is a good way to fill in gaps in knowledge, but not always so great at
starting from scratch.

Good luck. Electronics can be a fun and rewarding hobby.

Chris

 

[Roger Johansson]

For starting in electronics as an absolute beginner, try going to your
library

Public libraries all over the world often have one or more versions of
ARRL:s handbook for radio amateurs.
(maybe on the shelf for very big books)

In its last version it is called "The Handbook for Radio Communications".

It looks like this: http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=no-hb2005

Here from another seller:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/books/4623.html

Note that they use the old title, despite the text on the Book

Anyway, this is a bible of beginner electronics and the best value for
money you can find. It is a very big book, and every page have been
checked for errors and revised year after year by millions of Radio
Amateurs, so it is a lot more reliable and accurate than most books about
electronics.

I have borrowed it many times from my local library, and I have bought it
in paperback and used a knife to cut it up though the spine, so I get
12-14 thinner books, a lot easier to handle.

There are chapters about elementary electronics, semiconductors, DIY
measuring instruments, power supplies, etc..

It changes a little every year, but any version of it, even one 10-15
years old, is very good as an introduction, study book, workshop manual,
and reference book in electronics.

It is not only theoretical but also very practical, there are chapters
about tools and how to use them, how to etch pcb boards, how to build
boxes for your projects, etc..

It covers everything you need to know to understand, design and build
electronics, and it starts from a real beginner level.

There are special sections about radio transmitters and receivers. After
all, it is a book for radio amateurs, but if you are not interested in
radio you can just ignore those chapters.

There are not many books which have the effect on the reader that you
borrow it 100 times from the library, and then you go and buy your own
copy. For its size and massive content it is actually very cheap.

 

[Rusty Wright]

After clicking on each chapter scroll down a bit and there's a pdf
file. The diagrams and images are much better in the pdf files than
what you get in the online web version.

http://www.ibiblio.org/obp/electricCircuits/

 

[Joel Kolstad]

Public libraries all over the world often have one or more versions of
ARRL:s handbook for radio amateurs.
(maybe on the shelf for very big books)

Maybe it's me, but I really wouldn't recommend the ARRL handbook for someone
wanting to learn electronics without any formal background. Although it has
plenty on beginning electronics, the organization is more 'topical' than
'tutorial' in nature, and early chapters talk about things like current
distributions on antennas, which are far beyond someone who doesn't yet know
anything about resonant circuits, standing waves, etc. (...covered in later
chapters!) There's also a lack of worked example problems (not to mention
'homework' problems), which makes it difficult to go from a discussion of
concepts to actually applying them.

I think the Forrest Mims books are much better starting material.

The ARRL handbook _is_ kinda cool, for a beginner, to see just what you
_can_ build yourself once you do have some theory under your belt! And I
_do_ think everyone interested in electronics should eventually end up with
a copy.

I have borrowed it many times from my local library, and I have bought it
in paperback and used a knife to cut it up though the spine, so I get
12-14 thinner books, a lot easier to handle.

It would be nice if there were an electronic version, but I imagine they
figure that it would immediately be pirated and thereby cut into sales of
the printed version.

---Joel

 

[Roger Johansson]

Maybe it's me, but I really wouldn't recommend the ARRL handbook for
someone wanting to learn electronics without any formal background.
Although it has plenty on beginning electronics, the organization is
more 'topical' than 'tutorial' in nature, and early chapters talk about
things like current distributions on antennas, which are far beyond

Nobody expects anybody to read this book from page one to the last page.
It is much better to search the index or browse through the book and find
the chapters you are interested in, or need at the moment.

I think the Forrest Mims books are much better starting material.

I have not read his book, but I hope it is a lot better than the hundreds
of his articles in Popular Electronics I read many years ago. His
articles were superficial and full of errors, as I remember them.

The ARRL handbook _is_ kinda cool, for a beginner, to see just what you
_can_ build yourself once you do have some theory under your belt! And
I _do_ think everyone interested in electronics should eventually end
up with a copy.

I think it has good chapters on elementary electronics, treated in a very
practical manner. And the book also has lots of data on components,
formulas and reference stuff you need.

It would be nice if there were an electronic version, but I imagine
they figure that it would immediately be pirated and thereby cut into
sales of the printed version.

Quoting from http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=no-hb2005

"The most complete update in a decade! This edition is by far the most
extensively revised version of this work in ten years. Entire sections of
this book were updated to reflect the most current state-of-the-art:
analog and digital signals and components; working with surface-mount
components; High-Speed Multimedia (HSMM); new and previously unpublished
antennas, and advice on baluns; satellites and EME, now with new Phase 3E
details; oscillators, DSP and software radio design; a new chapter with
Internet tips for hams, Wireless Fidelity or Wi-Fi, and other wireless
and PC technology.

CD-ROM now included. For the first time, this edition is bundled with The
ARRL Handbook CD (version 9.0)--the fully searchable and complete book on
CD-ROM (including many color images)."

 

[TW]

Check out the Electronics Hobbyist at
<http://www.amasci.com/amateur/elehob.html>

 

[[email protected]]

Hello All,

Besides "Googling it", does anyone know of any good electronics websites for
green newbies, like myself?

Thank you.




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You might start with

http://www.ScienceOxygen.com/electrical.html

It might not help directly -- it just a collection of links.
But those topics are arranged like the courses being studied
in school so that you might be able to pick up the stuff
easily...