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YouTube University. Seriously: watch 30, 50, or a 100 videos. You will develop an intuition for what is happening. THEN read books (some good ones already su
by coreyp_1 9y ago
YouTube University. Seriously: watch 30, 50, or a 100 videos. You will develop an intuition for what is happening. THEN read books (some good ones already suggested in other comments) and you will learn the concrete theory.
I want to emphasize the importance of developing the intuition behind the theory. It's vital, and the lack of intuition is why so many people find a complex, theoretical topic difficult. If they had spent time developing their intuition, then they would not struggle so much to understand and remember the theory.
Last, you have to build stuff (this also helps with the intuition). Decide that you are going to spend $300, and start buying parts. Don't go to Radio Shack, because you will (in my experience) pay an order of magnitude more for the same part. Shop on Aliexpress (or sometimes Amazon or Ebay). Who cares if you have to wait 6 weeks for the part to come in... do it today and it will be here about the time that you are ready for it. Never buy just one of anything. You can usually buy 10 or 20 for the same price that you can buy 2 or 3.
Most importantly: DO SOMETHING! Anything. Watch videos. Buy parts. Put things together, and then try to figure out why it's not working! Whatever you do, just don't stop. You will learn if you keep at it. At this stage for you, though, the most important thing is that you actually start.
- coreyp_1 9y agoGood video series (in no particular order): Electricity videos. Audio can be annoying, but the visualizations (although corny at times) are outstanding for developing intuition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiHVe8U5PhU&list=PLkyBCj4JhHt9dIWsO7GaTU149BkIFbo5y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiHVe8U5PhU&list=PLkyBCj4JhH... GreatScott! - building projects https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6mIxFTvXkWQVEHPsEdflzQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6mIxFTvXkWQVEHPsEdflzQ bigclivedotcom - does A LOT of teardowns, and you learn A LOT by seeing what designers have done wrong. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtM5z2gkrGRuWd0JQMx76qA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtM5z2gkrGRuWd0JQMx76qA EEVblog - Dave talks (sometimes a bit long-winded, but I like him anyway) about various electronics topics. His explanations are outstanding. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2DjFE7Xf11URZqWBigcVOQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2DjFE7Xf11URZqWBigcVOQ Afrotechmods - Both good for explanations as well as building stuff https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosnWgi3eorc1klEQ8pIgJQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosnWgi3eorc1klEQ8pIgJQ
- mbesto 9y agoThank you so much for this - SUPER helpful!
- malthuswaswrong 9y agoAlso AvE. Not sure you learn a lot, but he's a knowledgeable guy having fun ripping shit apart in his garage with an adorable Canadian accent. https://www.youtube.com/user/arduinoversusevil https://www.youtube.com/user/arduinoversusevil
- the_cat_kittles 9y agoAvE is so great! completely changed how i see tools! plus his gift of gab is amazing
- ninjakeyboard 9y agoWe have accents up here??? Why did my mother never tell me this?!? I thought you guys had accents!
- agumonkey 9y agoI love his tone and personality, he's also a neverending stream of stupid puns, at that level, it's gold. I like his channel because it involves scales that don't play in. Like testing very high torque motors (over bolts bigger than my thumbs). vice: check
- vvanders 9y ago+1 for EEVBlog, he's an ex-EE who brings a ton of experience to a bunch of interesting areas. As someone who's self-taught I found that the Art of Electronics was fantastic once I had enough basics. It may require a couple reads as it's quite dense but everything in there is solid gold.
- agumonkey 9y agoI don't like most of his device review videos, too whiney. That said, his talk on op amps was very very good.
- carelesswhisper 9y agoThis way of learning resonates a lot with how I learnt to properly cook. I could cook some simple enough dishes fine, but then I got really into watching a few cooking channels on YouTube and (with a bit of practice) noticeably improved. It’s actually mad the amount of stuff you pick up through watching someone who’s good at what they do doing it and explaining it well, prodding at your understanding while they do it.
- efigle2501 9y agoCan you recommend some channels? I can cook, but I'd like to learn more.
- iopuy 9y agoCooking Alone has some good content. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxnR4FnZUGyUogykxh_AlgA?app=desktop https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxnR4FnZUGyUogykxh_AlgA?app...
- carelesswhisper 9y agoMy go-to ones have been: Binging with Babish/Basics with Babish This guys shtick is that he recreates dishes from film/tv. He used to be a video editor iirc so the production quality is great and it’s very focused on the food itself (as you can tell by you very rarely seeing his face). As he got more popular he made the Basics series. Can’t recommend them both enough Binging: https://youtu.be/bJUiWdM__Qw https://youtu.be/bJUiWdM__Qw Basics: https://youtu.be/Upqp21Dm5vg https://youtu.be/Upqp21Dm5vg Food Wishes This is done by a guy called Chef John. Similarly to Babish he’s very focused on the food/process, and is very good at explaining some principles and encouraging you to think for yourself (he’ll often not give precise amounts and encourage you to add some, taste, add more if needed). His voice/inflections can be grating when you first watch his videos but you grow to love it. He’s got an endless supply of all sorts of dishes so he’s a great resource https://youtu.be/ifWWRZSWS18 https://youtu.be/ifWWRZSWS18 It’s Alive with Brad/Bon Appetit This is a series from a channel about making pickled/fermented food. A lot more specific but it’s hilarious and I’ve made some of the stuff from the series and really enjoyed it. Even if you’re not gonna make any of this stuff I’d still recommend these for pure entertainment value. There’s also a bunch of content on Bon Appetit (the channel), some of Claire’s vids are very good, mostly baking-related. Brad: https://youtu.be/UGjCeAbWKPo https://youtu.be/UGjCeAbWKPo Claire: https://youtu.be/yxGczEE3NSw https://youtu.be/yxGczEE3NSw Other channels I’ll look at include Alex French Guy Cooking and J Kenji Lopez Alt. Alex does a lot of cool stuff on Ramen, and is quite experimental, exploring different techniques for doing things etc. Kenji is very scientific with how he cooks things and explains the reasoning behind, say, why you should shake your boiled potatoes before you put them in the oven to roast them. Alex: https://youtu.be/HzIdk8UHHUU https://youtu.be/HzIdk8UHHUU Kenji: https://youtu.be/argKpeiKFfo https://youtu.be/argKpeiKFfo If I think of any others I’ll comment again!
- matthewwiese 9y agoTo add to this: Ben Eater [1]! His YouTube videos are incredibly accessible despite their technical depth. Once you get your feet wet with the basics, I highly recommend his videos. They are a treasure trove of information while simultaneously being easy to understand & follow. I wish my professors could teach like him. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/user/eaterbc https://www.youtube.com/user/eaterbc
- godelski 9y agoHe also does a podcast with 3Blue1Brown. Though 3B1B isn't electronics, but great for math.
- fhood 9y agoParts are KEY!!! Crucial Items. - A real soldering station. - Solder - ALL THE RESISTORS - ALL THE WIRES (Solid core is really handy for mocking with breadboards - A good multimeter - A good power supply - Breadboards - Shrink tube I think that covers the main things. Also nice to have are - Heat gun - fume hood (this is overkill for a hobbyist probably) - Oscilloscope (I hear they are getting nearly affordable) - Crimps (molex) - A real crimping tool (Not pliers. One of the ratcheting ones.) - All the other stuff I forgot about.
- spookthesunset 9y agoI can't emphasize the following enough: > A real soldering station > Solder Get a good, name brand soldering station. Yes it will cost a few hundred dollars, but it will make a huge difference in your work. The cheap-o $15 soldering irons all produce horrible results and will shatter your confidence... Get good, very thin solder. It will be expensive ($40) but will last forever and if paired with a legit soldering iron, will make a huge impact in your abilities.
- fhood 9y agoI don't think you even need to spend a few hundred. ~100 will pretty much do the trick.
- silasb 9y agoI've looked around for a good soldering station and the best thing that I could find for the price/performance is the TS100. All the other budget (sub $100) didn't have a direct heating element. In total, I probably spent about $100 to get a stand and other things needed for soldering.
- jeff_vader 9y agoI'd second the TS100. It's ~$40 (given you can find a power supply for free, laptop bricks work fine. I'm using mini photo printer power supply which I found on the street + $1 plug + $3 worth of heat resistant silicone cable). Warms up in seconds, open source and customizable firmware, takes very little space (kind of important to me since I don't have a dedicated shed/garage for the hobby). What's not to love about it for a beginner?
- adamnemecek 9y agoI wish people understood this progression and like learning happened on this curve.
- Obi_Juan_Kenobi 9y agoI essentially started electronics because of Big Clive. I found him entertaining, and his curiosity rubbed off. It's nice to have a simple, practical context for learning the basics, and his channel provides that in spades. As for gearing up, I think $300 is way on the high end. A cheap $10 temp-controlled soldering iron, solder, flux, and flush-cut snips are most of what you need. I'd add in some assorted parts bags; you can get like 20 each of dozens of different resistors in a big sack for $15 on eBay. Do that for common stuff like LEDs, capacitors, transistors, and some arduinos and such, and you're good to go. Could be well under $100 for a good start.
- steamer25 9y agoEugene Khutoryansky has lots of good animated visualizations. E.g., this one on Maxwell's equations: https://youtu.be/9Tm2c6NJH4Y https://youtu.be/9Tm2c6NJH4Y Circuit Jam helps a bit for practice: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.circuitjam https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.circuitjam Also, stack exchange: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions?sort=votes https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions?sort=votes
- amenghra 9y agoIf you are on a shoestring budget, you can get many things for free/cheap. Eg ask component manufacturers to send you samples, recycle electronics from things you or others throw away, etc.
- minhaz23 9y agoDo you think the same intuition can be developed watching videos for things like woodworking? What about home improvement/construction? Thoughts/opinions anyone?
- Aengeuad 9y ago>Do you think the same intuition can be developed watching videos for things like woodworking? Absolutely, whether it's electronics, woodworking, cooking, mechanics, or whatever skill you choose, you can develop an intuition for a particular craft by watching others perform it. Even if it's not something inherently educational you'll still pick up bits and pieces of information, and things like technique and methods to approach a problem become evident the more you watch. If you're looking for some suggestions on woodworking channels, I wholeheartedly recommend Matthias Wandel[0], as well as John Heisz[1], as these channels are both very approachable and are often presented in a 'how to' fashion, providing plans for their work in the descriptions. There's no shortage to channels dedicated to teaching woodworking or home improvement if you just look for them, although some are less approachable than others, an example of this would be mtmwood[2] which is presented in Russian although knowing Russian is not necessary to understand the videos. He tends to make some pretty neat and complicated cutting boards[3]. Although I must stress, don't skip the book learning with something like woodworking or home improvement, knowing how to operate power tools safely as well as taking personal protection seriously is absolutely essential. [0] https://www.youtube.com/user/Matthiaswandel https://www.youtube.com/user/Matthiaswandel [1] https://www.youtube.com/user/jpheisz https://www.youtube.com/user/jpheisz [2] https://www.youtube.com/user/mtmwood https://www.youtube.com/user/mtmwood [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVB5zjTraLk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVB5zjTraLk
- minhaz23 9y agoThank you I appreciate it a lot. Thanks for the suggestions. The thing I like about youtube is unlike other things like books, articles, that I always bookmark to look at later, I can immediately immerse myself into youtube. Any recommendations for home improvement? Or maybe other hobbies you find interesting like watch making? Thanks again!
- simonebrunozzi 9y agoNo, no and no. If I watch even 10 Youtube videos without building anything, I give up. I'd love to learn electronics. You know what I need? ONE Youtube video, and a single kit I can buy on Amazon.com to build what's shown on the video. Then a second video, and an exercise (either with the same kit, or something else). That's how I would stick to it. Too often, people like you think that the issue of learning is about finding information. It's not! In the age of internet and being one or two click away from everything, the issue is simply to keep the motivation high.
- p1esk 9y agoThis is true. I think the key is to find something that you really want to build. This is easier to do as a kid, because a lot more of simple things are exciting.
- tunap 9y ago"Shop on Aliexpress (or sometimes Amazon or Ebay)." Buying from potential(probability:good on listed sites) 2nd & rejected lots will torpedo any initial enthusiasm. Go to mouser.com. Not an advert, nor affiliated, just happy with their products & service.
- qume 9y agoSorry to not add anything here but I feel its important to emphasise this post. This post is so spot on.
- ElijahLynn 9y agoThank you for your comment on the "How to Self-Learn Electronics?" Hacker News thread. "YouTube University. Seriously: watch 30, 50, or a 100 videos. You will develop an intuition for what is happening. THEN read books (some good ones already suggested in other comments) and you will learn the concrete theory." I have been thinking a lot about it in the past few days, and it makes a lot of sense, and may be very helpful in helping me increase my learning speed. I am not referring to electronics just yet but learning in general. Whenever I want to learn how to make a new dish in the kitchen such as fried tofu, kettle corn, carmel corn, etc. I will simply watch 5-10 YouTube videos and just absorb what makes sense, and I think this may be called intuition and it is nice to realize what is happening. In regards to learning software engineering though, I don't do that as often, although I did with HTTP/2 and it was fantastic. I do watch a lot of videos but I also slog through a lot of technical books at a slow-reading style pace. It is very helpful BUT I see that I will be limited in my learning throughout my life to just a few subjects at this rate. I am going to now follow your advice and watch 5-10 hours of videos on new topics before doing the deep dives into the books and still deep dive, but now I will have that intuition. Thanks for sharing that, it has had an effect on my future!