KineticWorld

.:: Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Learning Electronics

Several times a week I get asked by someone what I recommend as the best/easiest/quickest/least expensive way to learn about electronics. Some people learn best in a classroom environment, but a lot of people don't have the time, or the money to do that. My standard recommendation for self study has been, for quite a while now, a 300-in-1 Electronics Learning Lab (so called because they contain parts and instruction for 300 different circuit lessons), and a good book. Both can be had for a total of less than $100.

The book I recommend is Paul Scherz' "Practical Electronics For Inventors" a wonderfully complete tome that is of use from the very beginnings into experthood. The link above is to the second edition. Note that used copies of the first edition are available at very good prices, and it is still a very fine book.

As far as my recommendation for the kit goes, there are two on the market - I call them the black one and the white one. The black one comes from Radio Shack, and I can highly recommend it as I have owned one for years. The two part manual (a good basic electronics reference in its own right) was written by Forrest Mims. The kit can be purchased online, or in most Radio Shack stores for around $70. More info at RadioShack.com

The other unit on the market is available all over the place...but be careful. In my recent searches I found it priced anywhere from $80 to $130 - yes, a $50 swing on the exact same item. The average price is somewhere around $100. I know a lot of this particular kit gets sold, and I know that there are happy customers out there, but I have no personal experience with it. From looking at the list of 300 projects the two kits look very, very similar. Here's the best deal I found on the white kit.

One last thing - neither of these kits contain nor discuss microcontrollers. They are for learning basic analog and digital electronics. The stuff they'll teach you will come in very handy, though, if and when you decide to try your hand at microcontrollers.

Posted at 11:47 AM by CTP |

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