Electronics for Beginners

Jump start your journey with electronics! If you’ve thought about getting into electronics, but don’t know where to start, this book gives you the information you need. Starting with the basics of electricity and circuits, you’ll be introduced to digital electronics and microcontrollers, capacitors and inductors, and amplification circuits – all while gaining the basic tools and information you need to start working with low-power electronics.

Electronics for Beginners walks the fine line of focusing on projects-based learning, while still keeping electronics front and center. You’ll learn the mathematics of circuits in an uncomplicated fashion and see how schematics map on to actual breadboards. Written for the absolute beginner, this book steers clear of being too math heavy, giving readers the key information they need to get started on their electronics journey.

What You’ll Learn

• Review the basic “patterns” of resistor usage―pull up, pull down, voltage divider, and current limiter
• Understand the requirements for circuits and how they are put together
• Read and differentiate what various parts of the schematics do
• Decide what considerations to take when choosing components
• Use all battery-powered circuits, so projects are safe

Who This Book Is For

Makers, students, and beginners of any age interested in getting started with electronics.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Dealing with Units

Part I: Basic Concepts

Chapter 3: What Is Electricity?

Chapter 4: Voltage and Resistance

Chapter 5: Your First Circuit

Chapter 6: Constructing and Testing Circuits

Chapter 7: Analyzing Series and Parallel Circuits

Chapter 8: Diodes and How to Use Them

Chapter 9: Basic Resistor Circuit Patterns

Chapter 10: Understanding Power

Chapter 11: Integrated Circuits and Resistive Sensors

Part II: Digital Electronics and Microcontrollers

Chapter 12: Using Logic ICs

Chapter 13: Introduction to Microcontrollers

Chapter 14: Building Projects with Arduino

Chapter 15: Analog Input and Output on an Arduino

Part Ill: Capacitors and Inductors

Chapter 16: Capacitors

Chapter 17: Capacitors as Timers

Chapter 18: Introduction to Oscillator Circuits

Chapter 19: Producing Sound with Oscillations

Chapter 20: Inductors

Chapter 21: Inductors and Capacitors in Circuits

Chapter 22: Reactance and Impedance

Chapter 23: DC Motors

Part IV: Amplification Circuits

Chapter 24: Amplifying Power with Transistors

Chapter 25: Transistor Voltage Amplifiers

Chapter 26: Examining Partial Circuits

Chapter 27: Using Field Effect Transistors for Switching and Logic Applications

Chapter 28: Going Further

Appendix A: Glossary

Appendix B: Electronics Symbols

Appendix C: Integrated Circuit Naming Conventions

Appendix D: More Math Than You Wanted to Know

Appendix E: Simplified Datasheets for Common Devices

About the Author

Jonathan Bartlett is a software developer, researcher, and writer. His first book, Programming from the Ground Up, has been required reading in computer science programs from DeVry to Princeton. He has been the sole or lead author for eight books on topics ranging from computer programming to calculus. He is a technical lead for ITX, where his specialty is getting stuck projects unstuck. Jonathan regularly writes for the blog MindMatters.ai.