Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

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Cdog
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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by Cdog »

Stick to goal-specific electronic resources. Electronics is a pretty vast topic. You could join pedal building or amp building forums, they often have beginner friendly content. Here is a short list of sites not already mentioned in the thread.

Pedal forums:
https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php
https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/

General resources:
http://geofex.com/
http://www.muzique.com/
http://beavisaudio.com/techpages/

Interesting amp project for beginners:
https://ax84.com/archive/ax84.com/index.html

A good book suitable for beginners... general electronic learnin:
Practical Elecronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz

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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by jeremyb »

WellyBlues wrote: Mon Jan 10, 2022 1:21 pm this outfit have complete kits and components, looks quite good. Depends on your budget I guess. https://aionfx.com/

Anyone got experience with them?
Candeevr4 has built a number of them, they're really nice kits!
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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by MikeC »

For practical purposes (soldering, reading component values, wiring/stripping wire), build pedals and other things using kits with detailed instructions.
For theory purposes start with Ohms Law which applies to DC (Direct Current). Also, know that AC (Alternating Current) e.g. audio signals, mains power have different behavior and laws to DC. And realise that in amplifiers, pedals and audio devices the AC (signal) is present simultaneously with the DC over the same components and that the DC & AC can usually be thought about as behaving separately.

Oh and here's a good one - pickups DON'T have gain! - valves and transistors do have gain (e.g. 1 volt in, 20 volts out = a gain of 20). But pickups do have a DC resistance (which is the specification usually stated about them) which increases with the more turns of wire they have on their bobbins and in general, more turns = more output. They also have AC (signal) measurements - e.g. inductance, capacitance and these values have an effect on the AC (signal) that they produce from the steel guitar string vibrating in the magnetic field surrounded by the copper coil.
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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by murky »

Goal 1: manage to solder something to completion without burning yourself.

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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by Slowy »

HackSaw wrote: Mon Jan 10, 2022 12:29 pm
quyet wrote: Mon Jan 10, 2022 12:17 pm I sucked at soldering until I got good flux.
What does this mean exactly? Because Despite watching countless videos on how to solder, I still suck!
The solder suck is a tool for removal of unwanted solder. Using it while attaching components really will suck.
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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by Snarblinge »

I have built from Aion, pedalpcb, madbean, musicpcb and tayda boards.

for starting out Aion or Madbean are maybe the easiest, madben has a nice dificulty level thing to show what you might be getting into.

agree with the forum links above, I started out with GeoFX some time ago.

get a good iron, I like my Weller, others recomend others.

Dont expect to save all that much cash, on building, at least not at the outset. The things that cost are jacks, switches and enclosures.

Measure twice drill once, My early enclosures are like swiss cheese.

buy two! the biggest cost in many cases is shipping, begin a collection of the basics, need 10 resistors for a build buy 20, you will need some form of storage (shoeboxes and paper bags have served me for years and years)

ask questions, find someone close to look some things over or read read read the forums and have a look at the way debugging happens. most issues are orientation of components or bad connections, so as has been said above, practice soldering.

It wouldnt be a bad idea to build a few LED projects to warm up. (Power-Switch-LED) I always thought these were a waste of time but actually its a really good way of honing the skills you need, if it doesnt light up, then you got something wrong (also every pedal needs an LED)

the forums are unbelieveably helpful, this one included. I have recently been teaching myself Arduino coding, and that forum is brutal, in contrast DIYstompboxes, freestompboxes and madbean everyone wants to help out.

Lastly, someone on here made a learning PCB which is a real basic fuzz, looked like the ideal 1st project, I even said id recomend it to new people, cant find the link anywhere now, so if anyone knows or remembers chime in. I started on Fuzz Faces and couldnt have been happier, the technology of the fuzzface page taught me a lot, similar pages on BigMuff etc will teach you a lot about component selection. and building will teach you about pedal design.
b.

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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by Snarblinge »

b.

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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by NippleWrestler »

Snarblinge wrote: Thu Jan 13, 2022 6:45 pm it was Monarch

https://www.monarchpedals.com/build-guide
Yeah that's just your regular bazz fuss circuit. It's a very minimal parts count effect where you can inspect each component and see how they change what's coming out.

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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by FuzzMonkey »

NippleWrestler wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:53 am Yeah that's just your regular bazz fuss circuit. It's a very minimal parts count effect where you can inspect each component and see how they change what's coming out.
My very first pedal build was a Bazz Fuss. Not one of Tez's; just a layout I found online and built on veroboard on veroboard. It is a great little circuit and it is still sitting on the shelf. Probably one of only a few DIY builds that is still in tact; most have been cannibalised for part for other projects.
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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by SixGunLover »

Thanks so much to everyone for all the amazing tips, pointers and resources, it's extremely helpful. I also did some searching for previous related threads and found some recommendations of great soldering kits.

Can anyone recommend a solid voltage meter? Thanks again.

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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by sizzlingbadger »

I really like Fluke, they are probably the industry standard. They do a Chinese range now which is more affordable, I have the Model 17B. You can get them from RS Components.
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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by FuzzMonkey »

SixGunLover wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:55 am Thanks so much to everyone for all the amazing tips, pointers and resources, it's extremely helpful. I also did some searching for previous related threads and found some recommendations of great soldering kits.

Can anyone recommend a solid voltage meter? Thanks again.
I've just something off AliExpress. This one to be exact:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003686728833.html

I don't think you need anything too fancy in terms of a multimeter for pedal building. Some may disagree. I myself would put my money into a decent oscilloscope over a super high-end multimeter. If it can accurately measure voltage, resistance, capacitance, diodes/continuity, and current you've got your bases covered. Maybe a built-in transistor testing i.e. hFE function for extra credit.
Last edited by FuzzMonkey on Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by NippleWrestler »

An in built hfe meter is a nice addition in DMMs.

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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by Bg »

FuzzMonkey wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 2:24 pm
SixGunLover wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:55 am Thanks so much to everyone for all the amazing tips, pointers and resources, it's extremely helpful. I also did some searching for previous related threads and found some recommendations of great soldering kits.

Can anyone recommend a solid voltage meter? Thanks again.
I've just something off AliExpress. This one to be exact:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003686728833.html

I don't think you need anything too fancy in terms of a multimeter for pedal building. Some may disagree. I myself would put my money into a decent oscilloscope over a super high-end multimeter. If it can accurately measure voltage, resistance, capacitance, diodes/continuity, and current you've got your bases covered. Maybe a built-in transistor testing i.e. hFE function for extra credit.
Personally I wouldn't recommend an oscilloscope to a beginner, a good dvm will help no end. I've lived my life by Fluke, the chinese ones won't kill a budget and piss way above their height.

Can I just, once again, mention that I have a valve oscilliscope for no other reason than its a guitar forum and guitarists like valves, and its inaccurate to fuck. I should bin it once and for all but sentimental I am.
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Re: Complete beginner to electronics - recommended resources

Post by sizzlingbadger »

I have an old Gould CRT transistorised oscilloscope which is pretty useful but its big.
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

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