Sup people
I've been browsing around this fourm and the blog for quite some time now and I've been absolutly amazed at the feats some people have accomplished, like that guy who put a NES into a NES cartirdge. Looking at all these amazing projects made by these people, (especially that PS3 laptop) I've been inspired to try my hand at some of this fine craftmanship. The only problem is, I'm a absolute noob at electronics.

Hell I've never even touched a soldering iron before. Last time i touched a circuit board i ended up stabbing myself with the solder on the PCB.

What I'm asking is for some help. I would love to make stuff on the kind of level you people make stuff and turn it into amazing creations but i have no knowledge on electronics. I've checked your reference sections (they suck btw ) and i found no help there.

So i was wondering if anyone had any guides on the basics of electronics for me to read up on like ground switchs and something called heatsinks and anything related to the stuff you people do.

Cheers

Buy Ben's book. Itll teach you allot... Trust me

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Awesome thanks, I'll watch that video later

Also i was wondering if anyone had any guides or articles about the different components of a circuit board and how they work cos i keep hearing things about ground switches and other circuitry stuff that i don't understand from watching the Ben Heck show

EDIT: Watched the video, its very helpful! I never knew what flux was But whats a joint? The video didn't explain it very well

That video is indeed gold.

Also zeromaxe, you are not a noob, you are officially a newb. Difference being: you don't know a lot, but you admit that and want to learn to improve your skills. Welcome.

I would recommend starting off simple, possibly with some easy kits. Ramsey Electronics has a great selection of kits. They're awesome for beginners because they explain the basics (like soldering and what parts are what) but then you actually get to make something, which improves your skills and gives you a sense of accomplishment for making something neat. Plus, any of the kits they offer is going to be simpler than starting off headfirst on a portable.

Just after browsing for a bit, I came across this animated santa kit thing, which is simple but will give you a bunch of soldering practice (with over 100 LEDs!). It's appropriately holiday-themed and pretty inexpensive. Search for MK116.

I started by building kits, and I recommend it. It really allows you to slowly absorb all of the details about electronics hobbying without it getting overwhelming.

Thanks for that video, it helped to explain a lot about soldering:D

I'm thinking of buying some toolkits so i have the proper tools to tinker with.
Also i was wondering if anyone had any aritcles or guides about the different componets of a circuit board and how they worked cos thats mostly what I'm confused by.

EDIT: I just bought Ben's book so i think I'll be busy this week reading up on the 500+ pages of hacking goodness Thanks for the tip on the book !

Multimeters are important too!

Wow thanks for that video! I use to have one of those multimeter things except i didn't know what they were called and it was a analog one too All i knew was if i touched the 2 pen like things to something metal the arrow would move

I started out by reading Ben's book. The beginning sections on just electronics and soldering are almost enough information to be a book all by itself.

If the circuit board is messed up, NO BEEPS FOR YOU!

Well I've been reading Ben's book (up to page 74) and I've got to say that its really informative. I've learned a lot about electronics and what different componants are.

On another fourm i frequent, someone asked how to build a N64 Portable and i redirected him to this fourm because its been so helpful to me. I also reffered him to Ben's book which he is now comtemplating on buying.


Well what I'm trying to say is thanks for all the help that you guys have given me
You guys have really put me on the path to building portables and electronics on the kind of level you guys have.

More advice is appreciated

Time to get into a heavy reading session

PS: I was thinking of buying a Arduino Duemilanove off Ebay to i could learn soldering and actually have something interesting to tinker with as a first ever electronic circuit board project thing

There's a newer arduino, check out http://www.adafruit.com - it's got a few kits, I'd suggest getting the 'budget beginner's arduino' or something like that. Roughly $35 for all you need.

Beside arduino, I'd suggest some practice soldering. The mintyboost is an excellent device, but make sure you've got a fine tipped soldering iron - practice on something else first, you don't want to mess up a kit!

Ah cheers! I might grab a Adruino for my birthday or chirstmas so i have somehting to practice on

Hey guys i've got another question!

I'm trying to make a IR pen for a proect of mine but how do i know which battery to use?

Lets say my IR LED takes 1.5 volts, how do i know what battery to use? and whats this resister bussiness?

You could probably just use two AAs or AAAs, depending on the size of the pen.
Go here to calculate the resistor you need.

As-non-technical-as-I-can-get description of why you need a resistor:
Basically, an LED isn't concerned about the voltage across it (so long as you're within the specs of that particular LED, you need to be more than the forward voltage but don't go nuts), the brightness is controlled with the current. Hence the resistor: the resistor controls the current going across the LED, and therefore the brightness. Larger resistor = smaller current = less brightness. Without the resistor, an LED presents nearly a dead short, which will result in a fried LED pretty quick.