How Can I Start Learning About Electronics?

Ray Wilson authored this content while he was actively running MFOS as the founder and resident genius.
We retain the content because it reflects a valuable point of view representing that time and place.

Article by Ray Wilson

NEW! - Make: Analog Synthesizers is Here!
The "Make: Analog Synthesizers" Book Story
 
A former editor (and published Author) at the O'Reilly Publishing Company who was working with O'Reilly's Maker wing, prior to the reorganization that saw Maker Media become its own entity, called me one day. He introduced himself and mentioned that he frequented the MFOS site and enjoyed his time there. He asked if I would be interested in writing a book about Synth-DIY for O'Reilly/Make. I was totally flabbergasted (I believe that's still a word). He made no promises but told me to write up a proposal and send it to him, indicating he would present it at an upcoming meeting. Three or four months after sending the proposal I emailed to ask if the proposal got shot down and thank him for his consideration. To my amazement he said: "we just talked about it today and it looks like a go."... I was floored.
 
It took two more nail biting months to hear that I had gotten the contract. After a private but thorough victory dance of excitement I started writing. The chance to document in actual book form many of the things I'd been learning over the years came as an incredible opportunity! It was a pleasure working with the top shelf editors, project managers and artistic directors at O'Reilly Media and Maker Media.
 
This book was a full year in the writing, editing, and reviewing process. I believe it will take your synth-diy passion further and higher. It will answer a lot of your questions about analog synths, synth-diy, tools for your shop, soldering tips. The book contains trouble shooting advice, and assorted information about using ICs I consider to be essential to synth-diy. The explanations about op-amps, negative feedback and integrators may finally clear up a few things about those black boxes.
 
I decided to make the NOISE TOASTER (a relatively simple project) the project synth of the book in order to allow more new people to be able to access synth-diy. There are two chapters on the NOISE TOASTER (making one and how it works). However there is also plenty of good information for the hardened DIYer. The appendices contain info on CMOS, Op-Amps and Feedback Theory, the LM13700 Dual Transconductance Op Amp and more. When all is said and done you can move on to electronic music creativity exercises using your NOISE TOASTER and Audacity (or your favorite DAW).
 
No one can put everything into one book but I poured my heart and tons of what I've learned over the years into this one. May it be a useful tool for your current and future synth-diy work. Make: Analog Synthesizers is available at these fine book sellers:
Buy 'Make: Analog Synthesizers'
at SynthCube

Obtain Fundamental Electronics Knowledge

Learning about electronics is something that takes a bit of time, study, and committment. It is a rewarding hobby and can also be a rewarding and well-paying career. However it is not like fast food. You can't get it in two minutes no matter how much you may crave it. You need to read, study, and experiment (translation... spend time and effort) to get good at it.

If you Google "electronic tutorials" you will find a wealth of on-line information, some free and some for a fee. There are people who sell CDs and DVDs with excellent computer training and there are books in your local library that can be rich resources to learn from. Start out with the basics, you'll be glad you did. If you use the library or on-line resources you only have to invest your time and if you find its not your cup of tea... well then nothing lost financially. If you purchase parts or books and then discover its not your cup of tea... sell the stuff on eBay (where, I am convinced, you could sell moldy personal athletic wear if you wanted to).

Great books to help you get started

Here are some books I can heartily recommend. I've learned a lot from Forrest Mims and so will you. You get a lot of knowledge "bang for your buck" from a Forrest M. Mims III book!

Already read the Forrest Mims books and looking for more?

There is nothing dumb about the "FOR DUMMIES" book series. When I want to learn something from scratch I go straight to the "FOR DUMMIES" book aisle. They don't assume you already know the subject so they teach you the basics and are always a pleasant read.

Some great books for advanced electronics enthusiasts and/or engineers

Do you want an electronics engineer to sit down with you and share their deepest knowledge? Then these books are for you. WARNING! This is not your basic light reading and you will need a good deal of math background (trig, calc, etc.) to get the most from these books.

If these links are still alive you will find them useful and informative.

Just as in sports fundamentals are essential (dribbling, passing, making baskets) so in electronics. Fundamental skills include Ohm's law Google something like "ohms law", recognizing components and understanding what they do. A key fundamental skill you definitely need is how to read schematics the "Lingua franca" (or universal language) of electronics. There are thousands of books to help you learn this basic skill. Google something like "how do i read a schematic" to find links to great on-line resources. Find books in the library about it.

Learn From Electronics Lab Kits

You need to understand on a basic level; batteries, resistors, capacitors, transistors and ICs. A great way to do that is to get an electronics learning lab. These are reasonably priced specially designed kits that come with components and spring mounting clips that let you build and tear down electronic circuits quickly. They come with clear "step by step" directions for building several circuits and explain the electronic principles behind them. I highly recommend them if you are just starting out and want a jump start on learning about electronics.

These kits are differentiated by how many components they have and how many experiments they support. There are some example photos below. Yep, they look a little cheesy but EVERYONE starts here believe me. I would be willing to bet real money that Robert Moog himself had several of these when he was just starting out. You learn about circuits by following step by step instructions that lead you through connecting the components together by means of wires (included in the kit) that attach to spring clips which correspond to the component's leads. You learn about basic schematic symbols and schematic reading. You make sirens, radios, transmitters, LED blinkers... tons of stuff. The box will usually tell you which experiments it supports on the outside.

As you can see these labs range from the simple (CD only) and inexpensive to the advanced and more expensive...

Electronic Test Equipment... The Tools Of The Trade

Building electronic projects is fun and interesting but you should know what you are getting into before you buy a bunch of parts and get disappointed. Building something and knowing absolutely nothing about why or how it works can be a most frustrating experience when everything doesn't go just right (which is the usual case by the way). Armed with knowledge you simply walk through a logical series of troubleshooting steps and eventually find the problem and solve it. Radio Shack sells a lot of beginner project kits. You should try some of them and learn to solder before taking on an advanced project that requires you to build and troubleshoot a complex circuit. You would never go skiing on a black run without learning to ski first and you would certainly never try it without the proper equipment (skis for instance). So before you get into an advanced project be sure you have what you need to succeed. As you progress you will need to start buying (or getting access to at school) electronic instruments for testing and trouble shooting.

Don't forget to Google for "PC oscilloscopes" or "Sound Card Oscilloscope" since these can be very low cost alternatives that still give you the ability to "look" at a circuit's operation. I can't stress enough what a valuable tool an oscilloscope is if you plan to pursue electronics as a vocation or as a hobby.

To build the circuits you see on my synth-diy pages you need to have the following which can all be obtained at Small Bear Electronics and SynthCube.

Basic Tools

This is what I consider the basic tool kit needed to learn about electronics. An oscilloscope may be considered a nice-to-have but without it you are very limited in really getting down to some serious trouble shooting.

Oscilloscope not in the budget yet? Check out these low cost alternatives. Remember that with PC sound card based scopes you cannot observe DC signals, really slowly changing signals or frequencies above 20KHz because their inputs are capacitively coupled and their bandwidth is limited. You will be able to observe the output of a VCO, VCF, or VCA when the frequency is in the range 20 to 20KHz. When it comes to very fast logic signals or very slowly changing signals (ADSR, LFO, etc) you will need a "real" oscilloscope capable of DC coupled input.

  • Soundcard Oscilloscope by Christian Zeitnitz
  • Front End Turns PC Sound Card into High-Speed Sampling Oscilloscope by Doug Mercer
  • Poor Man's Oscilloscope: Using A Computer With Sound Card As An Oscilloscope by Rob Crockett
  • Google Search for "sound card oscilloscope"

    • A soldering iron is essential unless you have precision heat vision like a super hero. Don't forget to buy solder too.
    • The step past the learning labs shown above is called breadboarding and for that you need a solderless breadboard and breadboard wire.
    • You can use batteries instead of a power supply but eventually you will have spent enough on batteries to have bought a bench power supply.
    • A Digital Multimeter is very useful and far more accurate than an inexpensive meter with an analog dial type mechanism.
    • A function generator is used to inject signals with various waveforms into circuits that you build that require an input signal to evaluate and test.
    • An oscilloscope becomes necessary as soon as you start to need to observe signals within the circuit for calibration or verification of waveform or signal characteristics.
    • A frequency counter is for when you get to the point that the scope is not giving you a close enough frequency measurement and you need more precision.
    • And don't forget hand tools such as as pliers, diagonal cutters, small screw drivers, etc.

    Last but not least you will need...

    • A bench or table to work at that you don't mind getting burn marks on... soldering irons get VERY HOT!
    • A great deal of patience.
    • An inquisitive nature.
    • Stick-to-it-iveness (is that even a word?)

    I wish you success. Electronics is very cool once you get the hang of it. Cheers and good learning.