Hey guys I am learning Java right now but I also want to learn some stuff about some circuitry like bread boarding, transistors, 555 timers. I have taken a digital logic course a long time ago so I know the basics but I don’t know where to go with it. Software the end goal is to produce something that makes a computer more useful. I am not sure what to build with digital logic stuff that you couldn’t program. I am looking to see what people in the Tek Syndicate forum have done with digital logic stuff, a source of documentation, ect.
I know you can combine software and digital logic stuff on like an Arduino and a Raspberry Pi but I am looking for ideas.
You would be wasting your time with a raspberry pi or things like it then.
these pre done circuits are meant to be a near catch all solution for someone who already has a known problem they are trying to solve.
So for instance, I would like to get a raspberry pi and a cheap monitor so that I can have a 24/7 machine that watches the stock markets for me and give me alerts when something big happens.
And that is pretty much all the raspberry pi is good for. It allows you to solve your own problems in a unique way, but that is about it.
If you are really interested in electronics and want to get more experience with discrete circuits, then I suggest you start actually building stuff.
Build a little cmoy headphone amplifier. It is cheap, and you can get an idea of how transistor based amplification works. You really have to dedicate yourself on learning what each little part is doing and how it contributes to the circuit as a whole,
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If you are serious about electronics, get a copy of Art of Electronics, 3rd edition. It is no cheap book trough (about 100$), totally worth it trough.
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I was interested in learning circuitry at one point because I wanted to build (3D print) my own controller but totally lost motivation after some things came up (life....what can ya do). This was where I started learning from: http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-current/
Not sure how it compares to the book lucysan recommended, but for a beginner it seemed like it was a crap-ton of useful information.
My advice is to find a problem you want to solve (start with a simple problem) then break it down into simple elements, with each part you can then look for specific components and the publicly available data sheets for those parts will often show a basic circuit for that chip, you then addthose circuits together and customise for your specific use.
For example: if you decide you want a simple alarm system for a cookie jar for example.
You could decide then you need 1. A trigger (for this example, a switch which is triggered by opening the jar) 2. The alarm (a buzzer and LED) then a chip or chips to control it (an astable to flash the LED and buzzer, plus a finger to turn it off after it was triggered for a while)
you can then look for components, the 556 chip (or two 555) would work as the controller, then Google a data sheet and then you know how to set up each chip.
Sorry that was a bit long, hope it isn't just saying things you already know.
Ed
Art of Electronics is the holly bible of EE ;), it is for EE what Dragon book is for compilers.
@Eddie00773 I would replace "problem" with "project" ;)
I'm not quite sure what you are meaning by this statement.
I'd take the recommendation of getting the Art of Electronics book mentioned above, but if you don't want to spend the money right away, have a look at MIT's open courses to get a feel if this is something that you want to pursue.
Both will help with understanding transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes etc. Building projects using these will be the way you learn, google is your friend with this.
As for the digital side, are you looking at purely digital or combining a microcontroller with digital/analogue?