Thread: Circuit building and general electronics books

Any 30watt soldering iron will work for almost anything you decide to do. You can get them at Radio shack fro under $10.

Acutally soldering, takes practice, and a steady hand. AaronCake has one of the best sites for basic electronic information.
http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/index.html

Also check out his Scematic reference, it's very helpfull when trying to figure out how things work.

Good luck,
-Miles

...And as Aaron will attest, go to Radio Shack. Yes, yes.. I know... "You've got questions? We've got blank stares...". But seriously, go there and pick up some books by Forrest M. Mimms III. They're great little learning, project and reference books.
I took Electronics Engineering at B.C.I.T., and I still highly reccomend his books to anyone starting out in electronics.
Hope this helps :}
~m

Yep, the Forrest Mims books are cheap and great. You should also go to the library and pick up every book you can about electronics. Everything from "A Boy's First Battery" to "Designing Linear HF Amplifiers For Integration in RF Multiplexors". That last one's thrilling read . But perhaps the best source of info in a subscription to Poptronix. This is formerly "Popular Electronics", a very old and very popular electronics (hehehe) magazine.

Other than that, I can't think of anything. Pick up a good electronics toolkit that includes a soldering iron, multimeter, small screwdrivers, etc. You will need a breadboard, and a universal DC power supply. A great first project is to build the power supply, as it is a simple and useful device.

One tip though. Don't shop at Radio Shack for parts. Way overpriced, and no selection. Find a real electronics store in your area.

Well put, Aaron...
~m

Yeah well there are no "real" stores I know of around here, although I did recently hear a commercial on the radio about a new store (and I don't listen to the radio often) so I will have to again for that commercial.

Thanks for the tips and keep em coming! I am especially interested in any online communites or reference sites since im usually broke and most sites are free!

Perhaps the best online communities can be found in the newsgroups:

sci.electronics.design
sci.electronics.repair
sci.electronics.misc

As far as websites, there are tonnes of them...very easily searched for. My electronics stuff at http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics will keep you amused for a few hours.