Electronic Design Software

where can i learn electronics?

what is the best book/website/whatever than can help me learn electronics? i know they have those electronic labs that kids can get that help them learn electronics a little bit but for me i really want to learn electronics and dont know if those labs are really going to help me. also, please dont just tell me to look up something that the past people have answered me with. im really lost and need specific help so if you need to tell me that, have something i can look up specifically. thanks im wanting to learn general electronics so i can wire things and repair stuff and also do electronics projects off the internet

Public Comments

1. If you can, apply for membership in the Electrician's Union. They have the finest training known to man. It takes about 4 years to finish the training, but it IS worth it. If you finish that you will be a journeyman electrician, and you will know your stuff. Go to school half a day while learning and work for an electrician half a day for pay. After that, electronics will be relatively easy for you to learn. The Air Force has great schools for electronics, and you can do college work while you"re in there too.
2. community college summer courses
3. Here's a good site to get started with: OpAmp Electronics http://www.opamp-electronics.com/ I recommend that you go to the library and gets some books on basic electronic theory; used book stores is also a good place to look. Get a book or two on arithmetic through algerba-2. You will need that in order to make sense out of the theory. Get the text: PRACTICAL ELECTRONICS FOR INVENTORS by Paul Scherz, ISBN: 0-07-058078-2 The author does an excellent job of explaining electronic theory is a very useful way. Purchase an electronic kit, the one from Radio Shack, Cat# 28-280, is a good one to start with. The kit comes with lots of electronic components and circuits to construct and test. Being the holidays, you will probably get a very good price on it at Radio Shack ( http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102913 ). It would be good to have a simple digital voltmeter (can get them for around $6.00) and maybe a low cost oscilloscope ($150 to $250, dual channel 20 MHz sweep, 5" screen) and some kind of simple power supply (adjustable +/- 30 volts, $100). However, the instruments are not absolutely necessary. You'd be ready to learn electronics. Many of the op-amps and IC's in these kits are what is called CMOS devices. CMOS transistors and IC's require handling them with care. Always read the instruction manual "before" handling the electronic components. It is a good idea to get what is called a "grounding strap" (about $6.00) for handling CMOS components. Ask the Radio Shack sales person for one and find out how to use it. It'll save you lots of trouble and cost in the long run. You have to see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGHjd88ASNM Look up indivdiual electronic components and types of circuits over the Internet and see what you can learn from that. The Internet is an excellent source for information and new ideas. Here are some additional references: If you need to brush up on you math: MathtutorDVD.com http://www.mathtutordvd.com/ The GREAT COURSES www.TEACH12.com 1-800-TEACH-12 Learning electronics will not happen over night. Sometimes it can be a life long adventuge. Good luck