T&L Publications

Hello Everyone,
I am new to all this electronic hobbying. It has sparked my interest though, so I need to learn about it. I picked up my Uncle's Nuts and volts magazine but it was written for people who know what they are doing. Can anyone here tell me a good website or book that can teach me the basics of circuit boards. I do know alot about computers including the hardware on the inside, but soldering chips and such on to circuit boards is new and I can't wait to learn. Thanks ~ me
PLEASE e-mail me at : [email protected]

There is a book store online. At the bottom of this page click on Nuts and Volts magazine.
Then choose the Online Store.

As a person new to electronics, my advice is to step back look at what others are doing (and how they are doing it), pick something of interest and create a project based on that interest.<p>There are a lot of good introductory and or general information books to get you started but depending on your exact interests, you probably won't find a "one stop shop". Read N&V or similar even if you don't understand everything it is a good model of how to approach a project. Once you climb the learning curve a ways, it will make more sense.<p>The internet itself is a great resource (and it is free). Include words like kit, Project, schematic or plans in your search terms. For example if you are interested in television, try searching for "Television Schematic" or "TV theory of operation" etc. After a while you will find a few highly concentrated websites with lots of answers like www.repairfaq.org or www.web-ee.com etc.<p>Follow the action on this Forum and newsgroups like sci.electronics.design to see how people communicate and to what extent the hobby is applied by various persons. When you have a specific question, post it here, I'm sure many of us here will be able to help.<p>For some hands on practice, buy a cheap soldering iron and practice desoldering junk boards (obsolete boards from your PC). Perhaps you could hook up with some junk blank boards and scrap components and practice assebmly as well.<p>What city are you in? Perhaps a local member can point you at a local store or hook you up with some spare parts.

Another suggestion for soldering practice - old radios and tape players from yard sales.<p>I can usually find such things for under $1 if they don't work. Frequently they are free.<p>Then, start trying to take the components off. Once you get the hang of that, and can do it without damaging the circuit board, start putting them back.<p>Michael Fagan

Thank you evryone for helping me out with your suggestions