Electronics Newbie with a few questions.

[blewisjr]

Hello I am new to the forums.  First and foremost I would like to thank Dave for the awesome videos.  I was looking for a new hobby to focus on and I always wanted to tinker with microcontrollers and in my research I found his video on PIC vs AVR and I became hooked.  Such a great host keep up the good work.

So as I stated I want to get into using microcontrollers, programming, and learning about building circuits etc... with them.  To get started I ended up getting the PICkit 3 Starter kit.  It comes with the programmer, a demo board, and 2 MCU's a PIC16 and PIC18.

Now I have been a software developer for a long time but I do understand super basic electronics and architectures.  I understand what a transitor, capacitor, resistor and what a few other components are for.  I can also understand the superbasics of the schematics.  I don't feel however that the super basics are good enough so on with a few questions.

1. Can anyone point me to a good basic electronic resource;  book or otherwise that can move me to basic knowledge?  IE understanding schematics better.

2. What would I need for a basic beginner workbench.  I have about a $250 budget.  IE Soldering iron, multimeter etc...

3. Does anyone know of any good PIC learning tutorials that cover the assembler?  I already know C from a PC perspective but one of the main purposes of my new hobby is to learn the bare metal architecture of the chips.  The kit gave me 13 tutorials so I do have something to start with in the interum.  These tutorials cover the specific PIC16 and PIC18 chips that my board came with.

That is all I can really think of right now other than I think this will be a very fun hobby and I look forward to getting to know you guys.  Dave keep up the good work too I really like the taredowns.

[IanB]

Hi.

For basic electronics resources I would start with online materials. I have never owned a single electronics textbook.

A multimeter or two is probably the first and most useful thing to own. You don't need to spend a lot on expensive ones like Fluke or Agilent; avoid $5 cheapies and you will be OK to start with. Just keep in mind that the cheaper models have limited safety protections so confine them to low voltage electronics use and don't use them on mains circuits. Something like $30 should get you a reasonable basic meter.

After that you may find a wireless breadboard and a kit of jumper wires and common parts like a range of resistors, capacitors and transistors is a useful thing to have.

For PIC assembler reference materials there is probably nothing better than the manufacturer data sheets. They will cover every detail of the chip and the instruction set very thoroughly.

[robrenz]

Buy "Practical Electronics for Inventors" 3rd edition only.  Hands down the most usefull single book on general electronics and basic electrical.  You will thank me after just browsing thru it

[blewisjr]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I picked a a tool and soldering kit from RadioShack.  I will take a look around to find the other basic things you listed as well as try to find a multimeter.  I will have to see what I can find so it is reasonable to purchase 2.  Any suggestions here on a brand would be great.

Thanks for the book info as well I will take a browse at it when I get a chance.

[psycho0815]

The TekPower TP4000ZC seems reasonable for the price. mjlorton has a review up on youtube. Also the Extech EX330 which won dave's shootout.
And if you're into microcontrollers you might also want to consider a logicanalyzer. I have the Saleae Logic 8bit one and it's a really nice piece of kit. you can get one for about 100$, but you might also be able to get along without one, for quite a while.

As for assembler, i personally think it's a waste of time, but YMMV.

I second the Bookrecommendation. I'm not through yet, but it seems really nice and comprehensible.

[IanB]

Your RadioShack iron will be OK for basic joining of wires. If you actually start to solder up circuit boards you will find a higher quality temperature controlled iron to transform your experience. The Hakko FX-888 is good and inexpensive (find it in Fry's if you have one nearby).

[notsob]

PIC ASM tutorials try pcbheaven.com or gooligum.com.au

Cheers

[Parker20]

You may find this resource useful: http://startingelectronics.com/
There is no PIC stuff there, but there is a beginner section with some circuits to build on breadboard, info on using stripboard and some information on AVR.
It helped me get started in electronics and I have enjoyed following the tutorials there.

[FenderBender]

Well I actually learn much better from printed texts than online texts for some reason. I guess I concentrate better.

You know yourself better than I can so you will know what learning method suits you best. I personally think books are better, but if think not, then there is plenty of content on the internet and elsewhere.

[blewisjr]

Thanks again for all the input guys much appreciated.  I think I am going to try and grab a pair of EX330's as Dave seemed to really like it.  I would however much prefur something that can light a LED.  Not sure if I can get a $50 multimeter that can do it.

I just got started programming my PIC and just hello world taught me so much this is really really fun.

I am going to be also setting up a blog to track my progress I think but for now I am using my Journal on GDNet.

Not sure if I can link to other sites but here is the link if you want to scope out my perspective on PIC development so far.

http://www.gamedev.net/blog/468/entry-2256114-the-beginnings-of-pic-hello-world/

[robrenz]

Here is the table of contents of Practical Electronics for Inventors (using the look inside feature on amazon)  Just scroll down to see the table of contents.

[blewisjr]

That is actually a really interesting book lots of stuff in there that could be helpful.  The stuff on arduino is a bit usless for me but the other stuff is cool.  Thanks for the link I will keep this book in mind.

[Chopsticks]

In terms of books, i have just two that serve me quite well (just a beginner myself), firstly as robrenz said "Practical Electronics for Inventors" is a must have and make sure its the third edition because the first two eds had heaps of errors/typos etc throughout it.
i recently picked up this book for around $50AUS and after having a quick look i was very impressed, its seems to cover just about everything.
the second book i'd recommend it the Art of Electronics, its a lot older (late 1980's?? IIRC) and cost a bit more then the other but its full of still relevant information. Think of this book like a supplement to the first one, more used as a reference when you need more details etc where as the first book i mentioned is more i guess like a text book to learn from, much alike in school.

in terms of soldering irons get a station if you can afford one, Hakko, weller etc make good stuff, you can even get a 936 clone relatively cheaply. i use a weller WD1 and its way over-the-top for my needs, probs would have got a hakko FX888 if i hadnt scored my weller for like $250AUS....
Best advice i can give with soldering is the get some good flux-core stuff, i use the brand 'Multicore' IIRC and my soldering has improved 10-fold plus some, because it REALLY does help.
I think dave has a video that mentions solder types?

[amyk]

in terms of soldering irons get a station if you can afford one, Hakko, weller etc make good stuff, you can even get a 936 clone relatively cheaply.

A temperature-controlled soldering station is definitely recommended for electronics. A 936 clone is cheap and already better than the cheapest "mains-powered heater on a stick" irons (although calibration is sometimes off. Many of the newer components are now SMD only so if you plan on working with those you will eventually find a hot air station useful too.

[KWuensch]

I would recommend the Hakko FX-888D soldering iron. It has great thermal recovery, temperature control and is easy to use with a small footprint. It was also very reasonably priced.

http://www.gotopac.com/Hakko_FX888D_23BY_p/fx888d-23by-hak.htm

[Nickk2057]

could always try YouTube XD 

[smashedProton]

That's where I learned.  YouTube does make you really lazy though...

[Nickk2057]

yea i know... but thats where Google comes into play too..... which is good for figuring out what type of things to get too.....

[TimNJ]

I'm all for books. You've probably heard this over and over, but The Art of Electronics is fantastic if you want to learn. Its going to be a bit tricky if you're an absolute beginner, but if you've taken a physics class or two and know what ohm's law means, you'll really appreciate it.

[Nickk2057]

I'm all for books. You've probably heard this over and over, but The Art of Electronics is fantastic if you want to learn. Its going to be a bit tricky if you're an absolute beginner, but if you've taken a physics class or two and know what ohm's law means, you'll really appreciate it.

oh gawd ohm's lay! XDDDDD that always gets me! DX

[Grobalo]

I would recommend the Hakko FX-888D soldering iron. It has great thermal recovery, temperature control and is easy to use with a small footprint. It was also very reasonably priced.

http://www.gotopac.com/Hakko_FX888D_23BY_p/fx888d-23by-hak.htm

You can get the hakko FX888-D at bdent.com at a good price. You get a -15% coupon for your first order and it seems they have a used soldering station for $80. The price for a new one is $91.

USED: http://www.bdent.com/hakko-fx888d-23by-soldering-station-used.html
NEW http://www.bdent.com/hakko-fx888d-23by-digital-soldering-station.html