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Good place to Start?

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tony3d:
Hi, I'm pretty new here, and was just wondering where a good place to start learning electronics would be. Really just a hobbyist. In the past I have built a few kits including a Heath Hero one robot, but that was many years ago. I took two years in High School, and now that I'm 59, and have more time on my hands, I have this urge to jump back in. I am an audio enthusiast, and love tinkering around. I don't have the knowledge o build something from scratch, but would love to get there. I did buy a new Klein MM1000 multimeter, and I plan to buy a Velleman HPS 140i pocket scope. So now all I need is a good book, or maybe a breadboard education kit to get me going again. Any suggestions?

Rigby:
The Art of Electronics is a really good book, but it can scare off newbies with its detailed explanations.  Once you get to a point where you want to understand how things work in detail, this is a pretty great book, based on what I've read so far.  3rd edition is supposed to be coming out later this year.  2nd edition isn't in print anymore, but you can find it online in PDF form pretty easily.

There are some pretty decent books at a local Barnes & Noble when I visited one yesterday.  I was surprised that there were so many to pick from.

Why a pocket scope?  Good old analog CRT scopes can be had on eBay for great prices.  I recently got a Tek 7633 for $80 and it works great.  (100MHz, 4-channel.)  If you have the budget, though, get what you think you'll need, but research first.  Same for power supplies, and you'll need a few of those.  More than one multimeter, too. 

Get a soldering station, not a standalone iron; you'll want to be able to control the temperature.

Anyway, I've found that so far the best way for me to learn is to just start building simple stuff up.  555 timer circuits, and so on, then playing with component values to get a feel for how things work together.  The best way you learn should heavily influence how you proceed with experimentation.  If you learn by reading, find some books.  If you learn best by tutorial, we can probably help a bit there.  If you learn best by doing, then start doing.

tony3d:
This seems to be a nice soldering station for $100.00.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=372-145
 The reason I want a small pocket scope are two fold. Room on my bench will be very limited, and two I have several audio systems throughout my home that I would love to check the clipping point on. I looked at several pocket scopes, and I think I have settled on this one.
http://www.hps140.com

For one it is AC/DC coupled some actually are not if you can believe that. It gets pretty good reviews, and with the latest firmware upgrade, they seem to have knocked out all the bugs. What do you think for about $130.00? I know it's on;y single channel, but for my use I think that should be fine.

Hydrawerk:
Most hobbyists begin with this LED blinker.

FJV:
A good place to start would be to have a bit of fun.

A cheap multimeter :-DMM, a breadboard, and a few components.

Start making a few of these circuits and messing around with them and you
automatically pick up some knowledge while doing so.

http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/200TrCcts/200TrCcts.html
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/200TrCcts/101-200TrCcts.html

After a while you'll find out the next steps more easily.

For instance combining several circuits:

Could you make a touch sensitive control, by using several of the "world's simplest circuit" in a row? (like swiping with finger)

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