Electronic topics index

There’s a lot of electronics based topics. But, most people are only concerned with a few topics to study at any given time. This list is meant to be scrolled through for ideas of what can be studied next. Over time, more of these topics will have one or more links to a related page added next to them.

Generalized parts of a circuit:

Electr(on)ic principles

  • Voltage: (electrical pressure)
    • Unit = Volts.
    • Symbol = V
    • Many
  • Current: (electric flow)
    • Unit = Ampere (amp)
    • Symbol = I
    • Direct versus alternating:
  • Resistance: (opposition to electrical flow)
  • Wattage/power: (work done)
  • Capacitance:
    1. Energy storage.
    2. Voltage = current and time.
  • Inductance:
    1. Current takes time to change.
  • Semiconductor:
    • Conductivity changes with polarity and/or some other influence specific to that component.
    • Diode:
    • Transistor:
    • Voltage drop: (diode)
    • Gain: (BJT transistor)
  • High side:
  • Low side:

Basic prototyping/learning items:

You generally don’t build/buy permanent circuits while learning electronics. You want basic items that help you quickly build and take apart circuits many times without causing any damage.

  • Battery or adapter: (power source)
  • Breadboard: (Connecter board that small wires/pins/leads can be plugged into and removed many times) 
  • Indicator LEDs: (Load that lights up, so you can easily see when it is being powered)
  • Switches: (Push buttons tend to work the best on breadboards).
  • Multimeter:

Common electrical/electronic goals.

  • Lighting.
  • Sound.
  • Motor.
  • Sensor.
  • Video.
  • Gathering solar power.
  • Gathering wind power.
  • Send/receive radio.
  • Information storage.

Control:

  • Mechanical Switch:
  • Transistor:
  • Integrated Circuit:
  • Sensors: (Voltage/current changes based on outside forces)
  • Voltage divider.
  • Current Source.

Power:

  • Waste heat/wasted power.
  • LED brightness.
  • Battery charge.

5 volt power source:

The most common voltage for powering circuits is five volts. You should primarily get familiar with using 5V to power circuits unless you know for sure you will be working with a different voltage.

  • Power supply set to 5V.
  • USB power bank.
  • 5V module/5V or 3.3V breadboard power supply powered by a (usually 9 volt) adapter plugged into the wall outlet.

Prototype Breadboard for temporarily connecting test circuits.

Most circuits you build while learning electronics will be temporary. You can easily insert and remove through hole components in an electronics prototype breadboard.

Common Components in circuits:

  • Resistor: Resistor component
    • Series: (divides voltage)
    • Parallel: (divides current)
    • Limit current:
    • Voltage Divider:
    • Timing: Charge/Discharge capacitor:
    • Pull up/down voltage:
  • Diode/LED:
    • Rectifier diode:
    • LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes):
    • Zener diode:
    • Schottky diode:
  • Capacitor:
    • Polarized and nonpolarized:
    • RC Timing:
    • Smoothing:
    • Coupling:
  • Inductor:
  • Transistor:
    • BJT:
    • MOSFET:
    • JFET:
  • Integrated circuits:
    • 555/timer:
    • Op amp:
    • Logic gates:
    • 7400 series:
    • 4000 series:
  • Relay:

Example circuits/fragments:

  • Resistor: Ohms law:  Current through a resistor basic schematic
    • In circuits powered with 5V, 9V, 14.8V, other voltages.
    • 100Ω current. 0.01A (10mA) of current through it per volt across it.
    • 220Ω current. A little more current than 250Ω if estimating is OK.
    • 250Ω current.
    • 470Ω current. A little more current than 500Ω if estimating is OK.
    • 500Ω current.
    • 1,000Ω (1k) current. 0.001A (1mA) of current per volt across it.
  • Resistor protecting an indicator LED: Calculating resistor value to protect LED
    • Different LEDs drop different voltages.
    • Parallel LEDs with their own resistor.
    • Series LEDs to drop more voltage and share current.
  • Multimeter measuring voltage: Voltage Measurements with a Multimeter
  • Multimeter measuring current: Current Measurements with a Multimeter
  • Multimeter measuring resistance:
  • 1/4 watt rated resistors, recommended to stay below 1/8W:
  • Switch controlled LED: Pushbutton Switch Controlled LED On or Off Circuit
  • Series resistors: Resistors connected in series
    • Get a desired value:
    • divide power:
  • Parallel resistors:
    • Get a desired value:
    • Divide power:
  • Series LED circuit drops more voltage: More light at a given current.
  • Parallel LEDs with resistors circuit:
  • Series resistors with 1 LED to handle higher voltages:
  • Multimeter measurement to estimate diode/LED forward voltage:
  • Polarity indicator: (forward and reverse biased LED):
    • Voltage measurement across LEDs:
  • Parallel switch and resistor in series with another resistor:
    • Multiple parallel switches and resistors that are in series with another resistor:
  • Switch and series resistor parallel to resistor for 2 variable resistances:
  • RC Time Constant:
  • Voltage ramp:
  • Trimpot:
    • Variable resistor:
    • Voltage divider:
  • Fixed resistor voltage divider:
    • Equal value:
    • Non equal value and formulas.
  • Capacitor basics: Charge/Discharge a capacitor:
  • Zener diode. Simple Reference voltage. Basic regulated voltage (very inefficient).
  • BJT switch: (current controlled):
  • BJT (voltage) follower:
    • Steady current through LED with protective resistor as supply voltage changes.
  • BJT current source: Constant Current.
    • Provides steady LED current as supply voltage changes.
    • Zener diode voltage stabilized.
    • Prevent inrush of current when circuit briefly act as a short circuit.
      1. Prevent large spark/possible damage when trying to charge/discharge a capacitor.
        1. Hooking up an inverter to a battery.
  • BJT inverted (voltage) follower:
  • Parallel BJTs to handle more current.
  • Pull up resistor:
  • Pull down resistor:
  • Test BJT gain under a certain condition (current level):
  • MOSFET switch: (voltage controlled):
  • 555 timer: 1 LED or alternating LED, plus other output options:
    • Bistable:
    • Monostable:
    • Astable:
    • Schmitt Trigger Inverter (bonus):
  • Relay switch:
  • Logic Gates:
    • NOT:
    • AND:
    • OR:
    • NAND:
    • NOR:
    • XOR:
  • Soft latching switch:

Power source options:

  • Bench power supply:
    • Voltage Source: Constant voltage:
    • Current Source. Constant Current:
  • Battery: Many options. Some battery options follow
    • Alkaline:
      • 1.5V (one cell)
      • 6V (4 series cells)
      • 9V (6 series cells)
    • Li ion:
    • LiFePO4:
    • Lead acid:
  • Adapter:
  • Regulator: 5V or other.
  • Solar: Usually for charging battery bank.
  • Generator:

More integrated circuits.

Always consult the datasheet of the part # you are interested in while designing your own circuits.

  • 7400 series:

4000 series integrated circuits:

Always consult the datasheet of the part # you are interested in while designing your own circuits.

  • 4000 series: (Name given below could be taken from the kit above, or some other source).
    • CD4001 – Quad 2 in NOR Gate.
    • CD4011 – Quad 2 in NAND Gate.
    • CD4013 – Dual D Flip Flop Set/Res.
    • CD4015 – Dual 4-STG Shift Register.
    • CD4016 – Qual Bilateral Switch.
    • CD4017 – Decade Counter/Divider.
    • C4021 – 8 Stage Static Shift Register.
    • CD4022 – TTL Logic Octal Counter.
    • CD4023 – Triple 3 In NAND Gate.
    • CD4024 – 7 Bit Binary Counter.
    • CD4025 – Triple 3 In NOR Gate.
    • CD4026 – Decade Counter/Divider.
    • CD4027 – Dual J-K Master-Slave Flip Flop.
    • CD4028 – BCD To Decimal Decoder.
    • CD4029 – Presettable Up/Down Counter.
    • CD4033 – Decade Counter/Decoder.
    • CD4042 – Quad Clocked D Latch.
    • CD4043 – Quad 3 State NOR R/S Latch.
    • CD4046 – Micropower Phase-Locked Loop.
    • CD4047 – MONOST/ADST Multivibrator.
    • CD4049UBE – Hex Inverter Buffer Converter.
    • CD4050 – Hex Non Inverter Buffer Converter.
    • CD4051 – Multiplexer/Demultiplexer 8-CH.
    • CD4052 – Multiplexer/Demultiplexer 4-CH.
      • (Note to self) Make sure to look at truth table.
    • CD4053 – (TI listing) 20V 2:1 (SPDT) 3 channel analog multiplexer with logic level conversion – (Component kit description) Multiplexer/Demultiplexer 2-CH.
      • (Note to self) Probably better to learn before 4-CH and 8-CH
      • Lots of CD405x example circuits on TI datasheet.
    • CD4060 – 14-Bit Binary Counter.
    • CD4063 – 4 Bit Magnitude Comparator.
    • CD4066 – Quad Bilateral Switch.
    • CD4069 – Hex Inverter.
    • CD4070 – Quad X-OR Gate.
    • CD4071 – Quad 4-In OR Gate.
    • CD4072 – Dual 4-In OR Gate.
    • CD4073 – Triple 3-In AND Gate.
    • CD4075 – Triple 3-In OR Gate.
    • CD4077 – Quad 2-In X-NOR Gate.
    • CD4081 – Quad 2-In AND Gate.
    • CD4082 – Dual 4-In AND Gate.
    • CD4093 – Quand NAND Gate/Schmitt Trigger.
    • CD4094 – 8-Bit Shift Register/Latch.
    • CD4503 – Hex Non-Inv 3 State Buffer.
    • CD4511 – BCD 7 Seg. Latch/Decoder/Driver.
    • CD4518 – Dual BCD Up Counter.
    • CD4520 – 4 Bit Binary Dual Up Counter.
    • CD4541 – Programmable OSC. Timer.
    • CD4543 – BCD 7 Seg. Latch/Decoder/Driver.
    • CD4553 – 3-Digit BCD Counter.

Connectors:

  • Barrel plug:
  • Spade:
  • Ring:
  • Bullet:
  • Butt:
  • Fork:
  • T tap:
  • MC4:
  • Lever:
  • Dupont:
  • Heat Shrink:

Random Topics:

  • Fuse.
      • Protect wire from short circuit.
      • Distribution block should include individual fuses for each smaller sized wire.
    • 6 types.
      • Blade.
        • Micro.
        • Mini.
        • Regular.
        • Maxi.
      • Bolt Down.
      • Cartridge.
      • Glass Tube.
      • Fast Blow Glass.
        • Time Delay Glass.
      • Bosch/Lucas.
  • Inline fuse holder
    • ATC/ATO
  • Solar energy technician.
  • Low voltage electrician.
  • Residential electrician.
  • Building automation systems.
  • Security and fire alarm.
  • Commercial electrician.
  • Industrial electrician.
  • Marine electrician.
  • Automotive Electrician.
  • Can use a grid tie system to charge batteries for power outage.
  • Morse code (videos seem to be popular)
  •  PLC
    • I/O (Inputs and Outputs)
  • SCADA
  • Isolation transformer:

Time for solar panel to pay for itself:

  • Cost of solar panel
  • Average daily production of electricity after losses.
  • Price per kWh that the power company charges

Drop down menus:

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  • Navigation menus

Test examples:


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