
Ask HN: Good resources for learning electronic curcuits and PCB design - ancient_art
I feel lost. I watched videos &amp; read tutorials but it&#x27;s all pretty advanced stuff and I really need some curcuit basics. They just assume I know WHY to put a resistor here and a capacitor there.<p>I know some symbol basics but how do I know where to put what and why?<p>Do you know some tutorials&#x2F;courses?<p>My goal is to create my own PCBs for multiple pet projects and being able to repair old ones.
======
ChrisGammell
It's tough at the beginning, there are so many paths to go down, especially on
the theoretical side of things.

My suggestion for beginners is to grab an Arduino and make a blinky project.
Try to program some LEDs lighting up. This will help introduce you to the
concept of current and resistance, and will have some direct feedback.
Normally the biggest source of frustration is how long it takes to get from
start to finish on a small project in electronics. I think Arduinos do well to
shortcut this. Check out some of the adafruit tutorials and boards to start on
the right foot.

After that if you're interested in PCBs, I do short courses on YouTube under
my brand called Contextual Electronics. Search for things like "Shine on you
crazy KiCad" and "Getting to blinky" on YouTube, or check out the link below.
The former is the simplest version of a PCB plugged into a Raspberry Pi
(controlled via Python), and the latter is using a 555 timer to do the same
without any programming elements. These are both primarily LED focused again
but only because it takes some time to get used to electronic components
before moving on to more complicated things like inductors and op amps. If you
end up being interested in that, I have entire courses on my site about how to
use those in your designs, in increasing complexity. The most recent course
shows how to design a board with bluetooth and cellular capabilities.

Good luck! Electronics to something I've been doing for 20 years and I still
get excited about working on it every day.

[https://contextualelectronics.com/courses/shine-on-you-
crazy...](https://contextualelectronics.com/courses/shine-on-you-crazy-kicad/)

[https://contextualelectronics.com/GTB](https://contextualelectronics.com/GTB)

~~~
Roybot
Woah this looks seriously invaluable for a beginner. I studied CompE and ended
up going the software route. I am now just coming back to electronics with the
hopes of combining my software knowledge with hardware to build useful
consumer electronics.

It's people like you, Dave Jones, bunnie, and folks at adafruit that make this
stuff accessible and feel approachable . YouTube University is real. Thanks
man.

~~~
ancient_art
For me it's more about creating something that I can touch and projects that
have an end. Electronics and PCBs in particular just happen to be really
interesting to me.

But other than that I can only agree with your comment.

------
ecesena
Like in software it pays to learn from open source, so in hardware. I
understand it might be a bit early, but here are a couple resources to find
open hardware projects that you can learn from:

\- CrowdSupply: [https://www.crowdsupply.com](https://www.crowdsupply.com),
most project are open

\- OSWHA directory:
[https://certification.oshwa.org/list.html](https://certification.oshwa.org/list.html)

(and -spoiler- in my profile you can find one more :)

------
CloudBuddy
[https://www.udemy.com/course/crash-course-electronics-and-
pc...](https://www.udemy.com/course/crash-course-electronics-and-pcb-
design/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=udemyads&utm_campaign=LongTail_la.EN_cc.US&utm_content=deal4584&utm_term=_._ag_81829991947_._ad_436603485109_._kw__._de_c_._dm__._pl__._ti_dsa-1007766171592_._li_9019556_._pd__._&matchtype=b&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpdf74e-A6wIVjobACh0QWgpTEAAYASAAEgL2nvD_BwE)

~~~
ancient_art
That looks interesting, thank you! Didn't even think about looking on Udemy.

------
OnACoffeeBreak
Take a look at
[https://ultimateelectronicsbook.com/](https://ultimateelectronicsbook.com/)

It starts with fundamentals and includes in-browser circuit simulator to
experiment with.

Once you have the fundamentals, something like "The Art of Electronics" by
Horowitz and Hill is useful for rules of thumb and do's and don'ts of circuit
design. Warning: this book by itself will not teach you enough fundamentals to
be useful.

~~~
ancient_art
I'm going to take a look at the link. Thanks. I already found "The Art of
Electronics" but it's too advanced for me right now.

------
rotterdamdev
Get an electronics 101 book that is intended for highschool students. It will
explain 85% of what you will need.

~~~
ancient_art
That would be a good start since most books I found are not targeted at
beginners.

------
Jugurtha
_Meta_ :

You can open an account at:

[https://www.electro-tech-online.com/](https://www.electro-tech-online.com/)

[https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/](https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/)

[https://www.edaboard.com/](https://www.edaboard.com/)

These are forums with _extremely_ helpful members. The format is different
than Stack Overflow's "Question/Answer". It is built on the "Post/Thread". You
can have threads that go on for 40 pages and span a year, when someone is
doing a project, and these magnificent creatures will accompany the users with
feedback.

One thing I've done when starting to do PCB is submitting the design to
electro-tech-online.com asking for feedback and how I could improve it. You'll
have people there with decades of experience go through it, make actionable
suggestions on the design stinks and why they're not good.

You can also share a project you're doing as you are doing it, and they can
help with the brainstorming/ideation and implementation, they would ask
questions and question assumptions.

If you write firmware for microcontrollers, they can also chime in and help
you refine the code. If you get into that community, you'll be on a fast track
because you'll have people who can do that in their sleep help you in the
nicest way.

 _PCB Design_ :

You can get yourself CadSoft EAGLE or KiCad, print the tiny documentation in a
booklet format, then read the whole documentation, page by page, annotating
it, trying every functionality. Making routes, ground pour, layers, with
commands and with the mouse.

Dave Jones' "PCB Design Tutorial"[0], will also be very helpful.

 _Soldering_ :

Check out Dave Jones' multi-part videos on soldering[1][2][3]. Part 3 is for
surface mount, don't bother with that just yet.

 _Electronics_

Depending on where you're starting from.

Absolute beginner? Take a look at Tony Kuphaldt's " _Lessons in Electric
Circuits_ "[4]. It is split into multiple volumes (DC, AC, Semiconductors,
etc...)

Somehwat beginner? Take a look at " _The Art of Electronics_ " by Paul
Horowitz and Winfield Hill. It's one of the books one has to have just in case
civilization is destroyed.

Fun trivia: The chapter on transistors explains them by introducing a figure
called "Transistor Man". That figure was drawn by Edward Purcell, which you
may have heard of from CPMG (Carr-Purcell-Meyboom-Gill). He also won the Nobel
Prize for the discovery of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonnance.

You can get an electronics test board like [5] on which you can experiment
circuits without soldering them, and with fewer flying wires. The ones that
have the screws that hold power input are nice. Then you can buy a bunch of
operational amplifiers, LED, logic cates integrated circuits,
resistors/capacitors/inductors and play with that.

A bit more advanced or not:

\- Texas Instruments' "Op Amps For Everyone"[6]

\- "Op-Amp Concepts" by Greg Kovacs

\- "Op-Amp Applications Seminar"

In depth:

\- "Troubleshooting Analog Circuits", by Robert Pease.

More in depth:

Application notes from manufacturers to get ideas for designs.

But to sum it up:

\- Getting on dedicated forums

\- Getting the test board and components (to tinker)

\- Getting software for PCB design (just for the design)

\- Share the design on forums to improve _fast_

\- Print the board at a PCB shop

\- Solder the components following the tutorial

\- Learn more and more and go deeper at every phase after every win

So you may first start by getting components and assembling them on the board
to make a circuit work, then designing a PCB for them and soldering them to
make a working "prototype", but you will also learn more reading the books,
exchanging with others, reading application notes or resources from
manufacturers.

All the best,

[0]:
[http://www.alternatezone.com/electronics/files/PCBDesignTuto...](http://www.alternatezone.com/electronics/files/PCBDesignTutorialRevA.pdf)

[1]:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Sb21qbpEQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Sb21qbpEQ)

[2]:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYz5nIHH0iY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYz5nIHH0iY)

[3]:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9FC9fAlfQE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9FC9fAlfQE)

[4]:
[https://www.ibiblio.org/kuphaldt/electricCircuits/](https://www.ibiblio.org/kuphaldt/electricCircuits/)

[5]: [https://static-
resources.imageservice.cloud/4858576/breadboa...](https://static-
resources.imageservice.cloud/4858576/breadboard-is-also-called-universal-
circuit-board-or-integrated.jpg)

[6]: [https://e2echina.ti.com/cfs-file/__key/telligent-
evolution-c...](https://e2echina.ti.com/cfs-file/__key/telligent-evolution-
components-attachments/00-52-01-00-00-04-59-46/OP-amp-for-everyone.pdf)

~~~
Roybot
Wow thanks for the resources - I like the recommendation of getting feedback
on your design via the forum. Going to check it out now. And also reading the
software documentation for pcb.

Any considerations you'd recommend before deciding on kicad versus the other
software available for pcb design?

~~~
Jugurtha
I have worked much more with CadSoft EAGLE, not much with KiCad. I mentioned
its name for more choice, but at this point it doesn't matter. The only thing
that matters is to avoid analysis paralysis and searching for the optimal path
to learning. Which means avoid any debate on the right soldering iron, the
right software, the right board, etc. and just pick any single one and get
started.

You can go down the rabbit hole and consume hours upon hours on YouTube videos
delving into details on whether this soldering station is best, or this
multimeter is best. Pick one that doesn't suck because at some threshold of
quality/brand, the differences only matter to those who are advanced enough
that a particular capability matters most. It's like optimizing to shave off a
millisecond by reducing drag: sure it matters to Formula I drivers, but not to
me at my level.

Jump both feet in, experiment, get a bunch of components, and build stuff.
When you get into these forums, you'll hear about things and read
conversations that recommend designs, or other resources such as
books/blogs/courses, and you'll absorb a bit by osmosis. Then you make
something with these resources to consolidate knowledge.

You can also follow a couple of channels or Twitter accounts. Even if you
don't always understand, familiarizing yourself so you can act on things later
is useful:

\-
[https://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog](https://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog)

\-
[https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAmpHour](https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAmpHour)

\-
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcs0ZkP_as4PpHDhFcmCHyA](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcs0ZkP_as4PpHDhFcmCHyA)

\-
[https://www.youtube.com/user/BTCInstrumentation/videos](https://www.youtube.com/user/BTCInstrumentation/videos)
(more instrumentation, from Tony Kuphaldt)

\-
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCivA7_KLKWo43tFcCkFvydw](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCivA7_KLKWo43tFcCkFvydw)
(Ben Krasnow)

~~~
Roybot
Thank you.

------
Roybot
I'm on the exact same boat so I don't think there is much advice I can offer
as I'm in the midst of working through similar challenges. But designing pcb
layouts for my projects is also one of my goals. Take a look at the book
Hacking the Xbox by andrew bunnie huang - read Appendix C "Getting into PCB
Layout". It's good and informational - it won't give you a solid understanding
but it will expose you to the terminology, tips and tricks, and the software
you'll need. Read it. Right now. Then you can work backwards on what you need
to know. Design a simple circuit and see it all the way through to pcb
fabrication. Doesn't matter if it's dead simple or that designing and
fabricating it on pcb is overkill. It will expose you to the entire process.
Invaluable.

The feeling lost bit is probably common but when that's the case focus on your
end goal. Here's my general approach so far.

\- I got a personal project that I have no choice but to see through to the
end. Having this as an end goal helps direct my focus.

\- I avoid most rabbit holes - especially when it comes to learning theory.
The rabbit holes are endless. I focus only on the rabbit holes that help me
meet my end goal even if that means skipping fundamental stuff. This is really
hard sometimes but if it's fundamental it'll come up again and again until
ignoring it is not an option or maybe you just become curious enough to
explore. My curiosity is dangerous here so I try to curb it the best I can.
(maybe I should block time off specifically for exploring my curiosities and
go deeper on concepts that may not be immediately relevant)

\- I work on some aside prototypes to build an understanding of fundamental
circuit components/concepts e.g. LEDs, resistors, voltage, current,
resistance. Once I put something together I read a little bit of theory behind
the components. Or sometimes it's the other way around - I read the theory
then I put a simple circuit together using a breadboard and some wires.

\- I bought tools based on advice I found in Books, YouTube, HN, and Reddit.
For me this meant buying passive components, a breadboard, pre-cut wires,
22-gauge wire spools, soldering station (and various soldering equipment),
hand-held tools (e.g. wire cutters, multimeter, tape measure), a power supply,
safety equipment, and a 3d printer. I went on a spree. With that said I bought
tools aligned with my goals.

\- It also helps when I recognize that it takes time. Picking up and mastering
a skill or at least becoming competent is a multi-year process. More
importantly - I have that time. I have today, tomorrow, next week, next year
to keep getting better. So there's no pressure. Man what a gift.

\- I look to people that have the expertise and listen to what they have to
say. That either means watching youtube lectures by people like bunnie, dave
jones, authors of books. And just reading books like the Art of Electronics,
Hacking the Xbox. Or finding material online and reading some more.

What an awesome time to be alive. Resource are endless - it's just a matter of
paring stuff down based on your goal. Good luck on the projects.

~~~
ancient_art
That's pretty good advice. At least for me. Thank you for commenting.

There's already a PCB with a simple curcuit from a tutorial on it's way. I
hope it works out.

