Where Do I start-Total Noob Here

[EnduringEagle]

Hello everyone:  I am a complete and total noob in electronics engineering.  I saw Dave Jones on YouTube and got hooked. I own a cheap soldering iron, have some experience putting computers together on a component level (mother boards, hard drives, etc..)  and that is about it (Zero EE experience).  Where should I start?  All suggestions are welcome.  Many thanks!
E

[w2aew]

It really depends on where your interests lie - analog, digital, RF, homebrew building, kit building, microcontrollers, hobby, vocation, etc., etc.  There are a lot of tutorial resources available online and other places.  If you can narrow down a couple of topics of what got you "hooked", then we can probably start pointing you in the right direction.

[HLA-27b]

You would probably like to start with the most basic things. Batteries lamps and pieces of wire is all you need.

A good place to take a look at is
http://www.opamp-electronics.com/tutorials/experiments_ch_002.htm

And keep away from  the mains. Stick to the batteries.

[EnduringEagle]

It really depends on where your interests lie - analog, digital, RF, homebrew building, kit building, microcontrollers, hobby, vocation, etc., etc.  There are a lot of tutorial resources available online and other places.  If you can narrow down a couple of topics of what got you "hooked", then we can probably start pointing you in the right direction.

I am interested as a hobby.  Would some kits and remedial reading be in order?  Would like to get hands on while I learn if that makes sense.

[Jimmy]

Go buy an arduino kit

like http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10173

arduino homepage http://www.arduino.cc/

Some engineers hate arduino with a passion probably because they didn't have it as a resource when they were learning. For a Beginner it all runs off a usb so you are not running off mains and you can use it as a platform to learn heaps of stuff.

[johnboxall]

Have fun with your journey, with time and focus there are no limits :-)

If you choose to experiment with Arduino, please check out my tutorials at http://tronixstuff.com/tutorials

[EnduringEagle]

Thanks.  I would like to start "doing" so I can get immersed.  I will give these a good looking over.  I was actually thinking about building an led Cree flashlight.  Is that difficult?

[A-sic Enginerd]

From the sounds of where you're currently at (knowledge wise) something to look at may be......don't laugh.....one of those kits like the Radio Shack 100 in 1 projects. I had one as a kid and messed with it a bit. Recently got a modern version of it for my own kids. It takes you from not knowing what a volt is, up to building some basic yet informative projects to give you some basics on all the fundamental building blocks of electronics.  I'm sure after you get a ways into the instruction manual and projects you'll find yourself soon eyeballing The Big Grey Book, which is when things start getting really interesting.

[ivan747]

From the sounds of where you're currently at (knowledge wise) something to look at may be......don't laugh.....one of those kits like the Radio Shack 100 in 1 projects. I had one as a kid and messed with it a bit. Recently got a modern version of it for my own kids. It takes you from not knowing what a volt is, up to building some basic yet informative projects to give you some basics on all the fundamental building blocks of electronics.  I'm sure after you get a ways into the instruction manual and projects you'll find yourself soon eyeballing The Big Grey Book, which is when things start getting really interesting.

I have a Radio SHack Electronics Learning Lab. I first bough it as a tool, but I had fun putting together the circuits.

[w2aew]

I agree about the 150-in-one kits - they are a great tool for experimenting and learning - I had one as a kid and learned a LOT from it.  Starting off building a couple of simple kits is a lot of fun too.  There are a lot of good books for the beginner (see Forrest Mims III books as a good start). 

[Morten I. Larsen]

Where should I start?  All suggestions are welcome.  Many thanks!
E

Make: Electronics (Learning by Discovery)
I really liked this book, it has  easy to follow the experiments and starts off with really simple circuits.

http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=9780596153748
You can also get it from Amazon.