How to learn electronics
How I did it: 1. I started off doing circuit bending. This is an electronic artform that involves randomly connecting various spots on the circuitboard of battery-powered children's toys to make strange sounds. This video shows what circuit bending is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Pbyg_kcEk
2. I began wondering why the circuits were making the sounds they were making, so I procured a copy of "Getting Started in Electronics" by Forrest Mims. I built several of the projects in there.
3. I am interested in music, so I built small synthesizers and musical instruments that made bleeps and bloops. Here are some that I started off making:
the cracklebox:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI8XjXkWdkE
the atari punk console:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVzn53luugU
4. I became interested in computing, so I made a very simple homebrew computer that adds two binary numbers.
Lessons & tips: The way you learn this is basically the same as the way people have learned throughout human history: work very hard on a difficult problem that is important to you. Choose projects that are interesting, and just try to start making them.
Resources: "Getting Started in Electronics" by Forrest Mims
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