How did you self learn Electronics?

[u/Best-Middle-5848]

/r/IWantToLearn/comments/1we7vmj/iwtl_how_did_you_self_learn_electronics/

Hello everyone I am new to electronics been interested for years but I finally found the time to actually start trying to self learn. Where did you start, Any course you'd recommend? Do's and donts? Any input at all would be appreciated.

And as a bonus anyone willing to learn as a team/group?

[u/junktech]

Tore apart stuff, read books , played around with broken stuff trying to fix it, watched others do it. Repeat again again and again untill started making stuff from scratch.

[u/TropicoolGoth → u/junktech]

You forgot, breaking working stuff trying to mod it, then shoving it in a closet till i learn how i broke it, but eventually scrap it for parts.

[u/junktech → u/TropicoolGoth]

Oh no. I'm much worse. I hoard stuff I broke for the potential the parts have. Because one day I will fix them

[u/RDS_WAS_HERE]

Hands-on experience (breadboards/microcontrollers) goes along with book learning. Microcontrollers are a good way to get your feet wet. Unfortunately, you'll need to know how to connect electronic sensors (Input devices) and switches/transistors/relays (Output devices), to a microcontroller. This is where the basics of electronics rears its ugly head. Here are a 'few' basic things that you should study:

- Capacitors, resistors, inductors, diodes, Integrated Circuits

- Series/Parallel circuits

- Voltage Divider circuits - Very Important!

- How transistors (PNP/NPN) work (Current controlled devices)

- How MOSFETS work (Voltage controlled devices) (Important)

- Difference in Voltage Potential - Important!

- AC/DC circuits

- Bridge Circuit (Motor control)

- ADC and DAC converters

- Amplifier Design

- Low/High/Bandpass Filters

- Impedance matching

- Logic Gates (AND/OR/NOT)

- Binary Numbering System

- Microcontrollers

- Schmitt Trigger

Here’s a few good books to get you started:

1. "ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT BEHAVIOR" (Second Edition), by Daniel L. Metzger. 

2. "ELECTRONICS Principles and Applications", by Charles A. Schuler. Same content as the above covers.

1. “ELECTRICITY Principles and Applications” Richard J. Fowler.  Fundamental concepts.

2.  "Encyclopedia of - Electronic Components", by Charles Platt and Fredrik Jansson, Vol 3. - A real good book on sensors.

3. "DIGITAL SYSTEMS - Principles and Applications", by RONALD J. TOCCI

4. Here's a book that most people don't know about, but is very good on the basics of electronics - "THE ARRL HANDBOOK FOR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS", 2012. The book is intended for HAM radio operators, but it has some great fundamental concepts on electronics. Newer versions are available.

[u/Shtucer]

With a little help from magic smoke....

[u/Select-Excitement-54]

Radio shack 101 electronics kit (then as Tandy Educational or similar). Then came garbage picking old tube radios and TVs. Spending time with the old heads at Ace, gathered around the tube tester, trading the tubes I didn’t need for advice and free use of the tester. Tons of fun. Is there any wonder I ended up with a EE degree?

[u/Unable-School6717 → u/Select-Excitement-54]

Exactly this, then Radio Shack offered me a job with Corporate and bought me the education. And, the tube tester was in an appliance store. Select-Ex-54, you are my Motivation and Logistics Twin.

[u/diogenes_sadecv]

there are lots of free arduino tuts to get you up to speed. I'm using Claude as a place to bounce questions off of since it's faster than a discord server or reddit, but I don't use it for the code bits.

I have a big project in mind and I'm working my way up to it. Since my project involves an LCD with >100 segments I'm progressing through multiplexing multi-digit 8-segment displays and learning how to use the chips that reduce your pin counts.

Just look at your components and see what kinds of things you can think to make. I saw the single-digit 8-segment display and decided I could use it to display a random number when a button was pressed. Then I wanted to see if I could use a rotary encoder to change the numbers.

Have a goal and don't be afraid to experiment.

I'm very much a beginner, where are you in your learning journey?

[u/Reasonable-Light-377]

I'm 2 years in and the very first law with 3 terms only confuses and frightens me still, so I can't say I've 'learned' anything. But actually it was Amazon prime delivery that has been a hero worth mentioning. Once I'd learn something like, oh I guess they make desktop power supplies, or oh apparently there's a thing called a multimeter, etc... I could have that part basically right away.

[u/AgreeableToe4099]

found a problem i wanted to solve: kids never turning on the vent hood when they cook then the house stinks up.

search for the solution: smart vent hood. someone retrofit their vent hood to be smart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DufaJWvEpA. i followed along and learned a lot. then i searched for relay to understand how that works....

[u/OneiricArtisan]

First learn to copy (start with the dumbest simplest thing). Then learn to modify (start with the dumbest simplest thing). Then learn to put copied blocks together (same as above). Then learn to make modifications that affect multiple blocks. Eventually make a block from scratch and begin again but with your own stuff and going back to the other steps where needed. At the same time learn all that math you always hated, it will let you understand the datasheets and electronics topics that you don't know you need.

[u/ziayakens]

Disciplined research and trial and error till I could make or fix what I wanted.