Need beginners guidance...

Archive SparkFun Site Questions/Comments
1

I am interested in learning about electronics… and I see several ‘beginners’ kits/guides on this site alone. I have always wanted to be able to make stuff do… stuff. I really have 0 experience of any kind when it comes to electronics on any level and quite literally need to start from the ground up.

I can, and have, taught myself (using the internet) a variety of things, but looking back on it, i learned many things out of order and downright skipped most fundamental understanding, and just got right into the ‘how’ and never the ‘why’.

I guess what I am saying is that I have an interest in this field, and want to learn what I want to learn the right way… im not sure if anyone will quite understand what I mean, but any guidance would be well appreciated!

Do I need a book? a kit? both? neither? Any input is welcome, just please don’t forget that I have a consumers knowledge on electronics and nothing more.

2

I understand what you mean; you want to learn electronics the right way from the ground up. But I think that it’s alright to tinker and learn about circuits on your own, as long as you are safe. If you are using a 9 volt battery, then your personal safety is not at risk. (Your electronic components may be a different story.) You can learn much about electronics using a 9 volt battery. But, if you open up your old TV set or tinker with line voltage, you can be killed.

I think that you have come to the right place. I love browsing SparkFun because the product descriptions give just enough information so that it’s not too intimidating with engineer-speak, yet it’s rarely watered down with basic information for total beginners. It often leaves me wondering just a little bit, which inspires me to research further and learn more about this stuff.

That was my experience with the Arduino microcontroller. I saw a really cool video on SparkFun showing what one guy did with a lawn sprinkler.

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/news.php?id=292

My first reaction was that it was cool, but probably required too much knowledge and investment. Plus, where I live, it rains ALL THE TIME.

But, after thinking about it for a while, I went back to the web site, studied up on the Arduino, and realized how really simple it is to program and get it to do cool things. Now I incorporate microcontrollers into my (very) basic community college course in electricity and electronics.

My advice is to read all the SparkFun tutorials. Go to

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … ts_id=9646

and download the “Web Quality Guide.” It’s a free manual called “Arduino Inventor’s Guide.” It has lots of information on basic electronics in it.

Then, get the Arduino Starter Kit.

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … ts_id=9284

Maybe buy a wall-wart, 9 volt battery adapter, and some extra LEDs. If you ever see a term that you might not understand like wall-wart, LED, PWM, UART……just Google it, search SparkFun, or shoot me (or other forum users) a PM.

I like the book “Getting Started with Arduino.”

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … ts_id=9301

It’s inexpensive and easy reading.

I hope this helps.