Need a productive past time and electronics seem cool, where do I start?
Did a bit during my undergrad but may need to refresh it all.
Probably a stupid question but do mechanical engineers come across electronics much in industry? And is it useful with regards to seeking work related to computer hardware design/manufacture, that is to say if mechanical engineers are even involved in that line of work?
Electronics are cool! Legos for adults - or like minecraft in real life (sorta) because you can build nearly anything you want!
As for where to start. That is sort of a tricky one so I’ll just tell you how I started and how I keep practicing.
So for me it started in college when my team used an Arduino to try to make a camera-pointing system for a high-altitude balloon payload. My HS didn’t offer any computer / electronics courses so that was my first real introduction to programming and electronics and BOY WAS I HOOKED. So I wanted to learn more - I browsed Instructables a lot and ended up trying to make an 8x8x8 LED cube - this project was actually a great combination of hardware electronics and also some programming. I learned a lot and it even sort of worked eventually. I also was into RC hobbies at the time so I tried to make an autopilot using a Razor IMU and an Uno. Again, I learned a lot - but that project sorta just died. Anyway I kept just finding little projects that I wanted to work on and learning what I needed to learn to make it happen. How to design a simple power supply and how to use dynamic memory in microcontrollers for example.
That same attitude of learning what is needed to get a project done has snowballed in a big way. I now have a huge number of little electronics/programming tidbits tucked away in my mental toolbox. In fact I don’t have a institutional electronics or software education but they are both a huge part of my job now. (Speaking to your question of whether a Mech E would fit well into electronics)
So just try to keep yourself supplied with problems/projects that you can solve by building something - a robot, a web app, a cool blinky light thing. Whatever it is just make it your and be willing to learn/try something new. I was lucky because I had one project that I was really passionate about and I just kept trying to make it bigger, better, cheaper, more capable etc. I liked that format so if you can think of something like that it can maybe motivate you to keep going and learning more.
Sorry to ramble on but learning electronics has changed my life and I want others to have the same resources!
P.S.
There are a lot of sub-specialties you can get into within the realm of electronics as well (I include software) - analog circuits, digital logic (and FPGAs), microcontroller programming, writing drivers for sensors, IoT, machine learning. Oh boy you have many engaging hours of learning + creating ahead of you. Oh the places you’ll go!
Ps.s.
This is the LED cube instructable I followed. I failed a couple of times and needed to re-learn some of the electronics to get it working but I still have the final product as a reminder of getting started.
Yes, Mechanical Engineers do get to interact with Electronics and other hardware.
I am a Mechanical Engineer myself.
No, I don’t know much about Electronics. I just know the basic stuff.
You need to try the Electronics branch as a hobby.
You can begin with Raspberry Pi or Arduino.
I hope this helps!
Cheers.
There are generally two approaches:
Start by learning the theory, then let your knowledge of the theory drive your selection of projects. Advance and repeat.
Pick a project to build, then figure out what you need to learn in order to build it.
I generally recommend #1 coupled with long-term project goals. Far too often I see people choose #2, pick an advanced project without realizing it’s complexity, and then spin wheels and encounter frustration.
If you want, you could start out with the SparkFun SIK which is a learning tool that is used in collages courses. It comes with a bunch of hardware and 5 major circuits, the last which creates an autonomous robot out of your kit:
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/sp … mous-robot
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15267
You can do a lot with what this kit comes with. I highly recommend it as a fantastic introduction to hobby electronics. We also have countless tutorials on beginning with embedded electronics. Here is one of a series of tutorials that the founder of SFE Nate had written back in 2008:
https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/57
I hope this helped and I hope you have fun learning about all the stuff!
So for me it started in college when my team used an Arduino to try to make a camera-pointing system for a high-altitude balloon payload. My HS didn’t offer any computer / electronics courses so that was my first real introduction to programming and electronics and BOY WAS I HOOKED. So I wanted to learn more - I browsed Instructables a lot and ended up trying to make an 8x8x8 LED cube - this project was actually a great combination of hardware electronics and also some programming. I learned a lot and it even sort of worked eventually.
Hi! Have you ever posted your project somewhere? What about creating a new thread dedicated to creation of 8x8x8 LED cube?
[do my homework for me[/size]](https://www.domyhomework4me.onl/)
I think that would be a fantastic idea! I did not document that project very well - I was in college and so it got taken care of in short fits and spurts between all the other work I had to do. If you want to start a thread chronicling the effort to build one I think that would be a very valuable experience for you and the people who follow along. When I did my project I used several tutorials on Intructables
Here is the one that I used most: https://www.instructables.com/id/Led-Cube-8x8x8/
Once upon a time in my youth, there were subscriptions available for publication such as Popular Electronics. Projects were simple, rarely involving more than a half dozen transistors. I would read each project’s theory of operation and look aside at the accompanying circuit schematic until I understood what was going on.
Once in a while I would actually build something, but that was unusual because my nearest parts source was in the next state and I had no money anyway.
I self-taught the underlying math, which also was fun.
When I arrived at engineering school, I was surprised to find that I already knew the basics. This freed me to attend to the tougher stuff (for me, anyway) such as electromagnetic and non-linear systems.
I never engineered for pay, just for personal satisfaction and home improvement. (I have monkeyed around with the HVAC controls in every home I’ve ever inhabited.) I made my $$$ communicating (advertising, copy writing, customer support etc.) on behalf of computing-related companies. What fun to work around so many brilliant people!
Now I’m 67 and retired. At last I have time to pick up my teenage electronics interest. Thanks to the integrated circuit revolution, both components and test instruments are incredibly cheap and competent. This is my golden age.
However, I feel that things like SoC (system on a chip) micro controllers, software-defined radio and the flood of already-done-for-you Chinese gadgets are squeezing the challenge and fun out of electronics. Gone are the days when a [Richard Feynman could get his start tearing down and repairing five-tube superheterodyne table radios.
O tempores, o mores. Oh progress.](Richard Feynman - Wikipedia)