Good First Project?

fmtransmitter, Mosquito Ringtone, programming to a microcontroller

So, you want to learn to swim by jumping off the deep end eh?

You don't give a hint about how much you already know about electronics but your first sentence "I would like to get into circuitry and all of this stuff" made me think that this would be your first time.

When I was starting out, I built a simple transistor-based multi-vibrator (a kind of frequency generator). It did nothing but produce a single tone but it did teach me the finer points of inserting components and soldering.

In school, we learned to assemble a simple AM radio. There were lots of kits around for those so we didn't have to make our own boards. Ever curious, I experimented with bridging traces with a capacitor just to see what would happen. Motor boat sounds, complete silence, high-pitched squeels ensued from the speaker and, wonder of wonders, a change in the quality of sound that made my radio sound much, much better than the others. Later, I learned that I had probably just added a low-pass filter that eliminated the high-frequency noise and made the sound clearer. Again, this project did more to teach me the finer points of assembling circuits.

My next project was a coin-toss or heads-or-tails generator. It was just a box with two LEDs (one for heads and one for tails), a toggle switch and a momentary push button. All it had was a 555 timer, and a JK flip-flop plus a few resistors and capacitors.

Getting more adventurous, I next built a dice generator. It had two 3x3 LED sets that generated the patterns for a dice throw.

Not wanting to learn how to gamble, I changed to building circuits from electronics magazines like Radio Electronics and Popular Electronics. One memorable one was an ultrasonic pest repeller.

Not sure if it would really repel pests, I decided to build it and experiment. On the night I finished it, I switched it on and wondered, how am I going to be able to tell if it's working?

While trying to think of a test method, I suddenly heard a scream! My three sisters had spotted a flying cockroach and were dodging this way and that to try an avoid it. Within seconds, a total of three cockroaches were flying about and the level of the screams were really making my ears ring. With a slipper in hand, I came to my sisters' rescue and smashed the little critters to oblivion.

When it was over, my sisters wondered why three of the yucky (their terminology) things suddenly appeared. I said, "well it's probably my new pest repeller!" My sisters are all older than me and their glares and demands that I throw it away meant that my new project was never to be proven. I haven't built another one yet. I might do it again one of these days.

I probably didn't answer your question but I did get a trip down memory lane!

Well I have read A LOT on this kind of stuff and I don't like starting really tiny, kind of confuses me because it doesn't teach me all that much. A project that is pretty confusing for me usually teaches me a lot more than a littler project. Thats why in programming my first ever program was a multi-functional calculator able to even solve equations with variables and such. It was very confusing but very rewarding in the end.

Jumping in and build things is a good way to learn on one level and keep you interested, I did a lot of that when I first started. But if you want to get down to the nitty gritty and really understand transistors, other discrete components and how to come up with your own circuit ideas you will need to spend time on the small building blocks. Discrete current mirrors, diff amps etc... Build them, experiment with them in very cold and very hot temperature extremes to see the changes in performance.

Their a lot beginner circuit books out there, if you want to learn the building blocks and the nitty gritty some of that stuff takes a bit more research and time.

Good Luck!

You could start with an electronic hobbyist kit at your local toy store or a DIY circuit book and loose components that can be found at any electronic hobbyist store.

I would recommend that you look at the issue a little differently. What types of projects would keep you interested and be exciting to do. Electronics are a lot like programming. You just keep breaking it down and breaking it down until you have a manageable chunk you can do. The process of learning hobby electronics can be frustrating at times. Especially when your only debugging tool is a multimeter. This is where having a project that really interests you comes into play. Instead of throwing in the towel you will have the motivation to go on.

BEAM robotics can be a lot of fun, especially since they do something when you are finished the project. They will also teach you a lot about basic circuitry, assembly and interfacing the real world with your electronics.

I am building a hobby CNC Mill. It is a combination of machine design, electronics and programming. Since I live on a small island in the Bahamas it is also some heavy duty logistics getting the parts here. The project is fascinating to me and has kept me going despite tons of different challenges. It also keeps me sane on this little island of 1000 people. (Possibly insane, not sure)

If you want to dive into microcontrollers I would recommend the PICAXE series. They are cheap, have some great prototype boards, have a free programmer and electronically are bulletproof. It may feel a little demeaning as a programmer to use a dumbed down version of basic as a language but for a $2 chip it is pretty powerful.

Have fun with this and if you have any questions I would be happy to toss in my 2 cents.

-Doug

Building something that will be used regularly is also a good idea. There are gobs of kits out there that should teach you plenty but often fail to be instructional as little of the theory is discussed in detail. Ramsey Electronics is one outfit who's instructions careful detail the theory and operation of each aspect of the project. Their site (catalogue) is filled with useful gadgets you'll use every day.

If you like electronics you'll need tools. Many kits take the form of inexpensive but useful hobbyist tools. You could build a multimeter or if you'd like to dive right in and pick a project you have to sweat over... try building your first Oscilloscope.

More important than anything you build though is some kind of book learning. Without it, you will never understand what you are doing. Anyone can build a kit, they are designed like model airplanes (follow along and all will go well). But, few are very good at troubleshooting when something doesn't go as expected.

Do yourself the biggest favor and follow your practical experiments with hard study! This thread might be helpful:

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/18302#newcomments

Ramsey: http://www.ramseyelectronics.com

Why not combine your existing programing talents into the project? Can you fabricate a circuit board that will react to sensors? What about a light sensor that will turn on a light? Add a proximity sensor that will turn on an electro magnet. Then put the project board on a remote control car chassis, and add mobility to it. Add sound to it with a horn, or siren. What about a robotic arm?........Forget you, I think I'll do it myself.

Hello Guest.

I am by no means an electronics expert. However, I have done a few projects. My first project was a zener diode based voltage regulator for an old triumph motorcycle. I built the regulator using the wiring diagram for the engine electrics.

Next I built a voltage regulator for an 83 yamaha motorcycle. I figured if I could build one for the triumph I could save $130 and build one for the yamaha. I found the diagram on the web.

My current project is a timer based on a 555. The circuit is an oscillator, I can't remember if it is astable or what. The idea is to use it to control a mister for some plants. Right now it only makes some led's flash. This project was really fun and I learned a lot about applying RC time constants. We studied them in physics, but I never really made the connection to application until I built this little circuit.

My neighbor built a binary clock. It's a common first project and the results are really cool.

I've been looking into analog computing, but haven't found anything really simple to start out with.

Check out these links:

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/index.htm

http://www.discovercircuits.com/

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/

http://www.national.com/

I would suggest that you build something you will need for later projects. A variable power supply. There are many designs available for free on the internet. Think about what projects you would like to build and then make a power supply with enough current capacity to run those projects. There is a lot that can be learned in building a power supply that can help you with later projects.

I went to Radio Shack and picked up some small paper back books on beginning electronics. One was on transistors. One was on Op Amps. One was on 555 timers. I used a powered bread board to build test circuits so I would not have to solder and unsolder all the time to experiment with my circuits. I had some TTL course books available and built a lot of instructional circuits that were in those books. I played around with transformers, bridge rectifiers and capacitors to come up with power supplies for various projects. Also, some formal education in the electrician field was very helpful. Understanding the building blocks and how they fit together is imperative in any undertaking.

There are some good experimental kits on the market that allow you to build literally dozens of simple (and some not so simple) projects. If you need somewhere look here for example.

Given your interest in producing sound from a digitized source, I suggest you consider building an active filter using op amps. The Butterworth filter is a good starting point. A second order Butterworth filter will do a remarkable job of smoothing out out the jagged edges produced by your PIC. Since programming seems old hat to you, it should be easy to program the speaker on a PC to provide a 16 kHz digital sound source. You can use the filter to smooth the digital source into a nice sine wave.

Ken