Basic electronics for Arduino Makers
Are you an Arduino maker, able to make things by following how-to guides and are confident with writing or modifying sketches, yet you are not so confident about things like calculating transistor currents, voltage drops and using capacitors as filters?
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Are you an Arduino maker, able to make things by following how-to guides and are confident with writing or modifying sketches, yet you are not so confident about things like calculating transistor currents, voltage drops and using capacitors as filters?
Are you an Arduino maker, able to make things by following how-to guides and are confident with writing or modifying sketches, yet you are not so confident about things like calculating transistor currents, voltage drops and using capacitors as filters?
You are not alone. I have been teaching Arduino and Raspberry Pi topics for years. During this time I have realized that while these platforms are great for helping you to start tinkering with electronics, you will not be able to truly enjoy their power until you have understood basic electronics.
This is what this course is about. It is about helping you achieve a better level of understanding of the basic electronics principles and components that are commonly used in making on platforms like the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi.
I have designed this course for anyone with a basic understanding of electronics, who has already spent time tinkering with Arduinos.
By the end of this course, you will have learned how to use commonly used components found in Arduino projects. You will also have learned how to do the relevant measurements and calculations to help you select appropriate components for your projects.
To complete this course, you will need a few cheap and common components and tools: resistors, capacitors, transistors, LED, diodes, and batteries. You will also need a multimeter, a small breadboard and jumper wires. All of these are probably things that you already have.
What's inside
Learning objectives
- Understand the concepts of voltage, resistance and current
- Use ohm's law to calculate voltage, current and resistance
- Use kirchhoff's laws to calculate voltage and current
- Understand the meaning of and calculate energy and power
- Use resistors in various configurations, like in voltage dividers and voltage ladders
- Read the value of a resistor from its package
- Use pull-up and pull-down resistors
- Understand the use of capacitors
- Use capacitors as energy stores and filters
- Calculate the rc time constant of a capacitor
- Understand diodes
- Measure the voltage drop of a diode
- Understand how to use rectifier and zener diodes
- Protect a circuit from reverse polarity
- Understand how to use a transistor to control low and high power loads
- Calculate the currents and base resistor for a bipolar transistor
- Use the correct voltage regulator for any circuit
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- Understand the concepts of voltage, resistance and current
- Use ohm's law to calculate voltage, current and resistance
- Use kirchhoff's laws to calculate voltage and current
- Understand the meaning of and calculate energy and power
- Use resistors in various configurations, like in voltage dividers and voltage ladders
- Read the value of a resistor from its package
- Use pull-up and pull-down resistors
- Understand the use of capacitors
- Use capacitors as energy stores and filters
- Calculate the rc time constant of a capacitor
- Understand diodes
- Measure the voltage drop of a diode
- Understand how to use rectifier and zener diodes
- Protect a circuit from reverse polarity
- Understand how to use a transistor to control low and high power loads
- Calculate the currents and base resistor for a bipolar transistor
- Use the correct voltage regulator for any circuit
- Show more
- Show less
Syllabus
An introduction to this course
Study guide
For a list of parts and tools that I use in this course please see https://techexplorations.com/parts/befam-parts/
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Syllabus
For a list of parts and tools that I use in this course please see https://techexplorations.com/parts/befam-parts/
The questions in this quiz will test your understanding of Ohm's Law
These questions will test your understanding of power and energy.
These questions will help you practice your resistor value reading skills.
Can you determine if a given resistor can be safely used under the specified current requirements in the following questions?
These questions will exercise you in calculating voltage divider outputs.
Using the 10% rule, calculate the appropriate resistors in the voltage divider for the following problem.
The questions in this quiz will help you practice solving current divider problems.
These questions will help you practice your basic capacitor skills.
These questions are about capacitors connected in parallel.
These questions will help you practice your knowledge of the RC time constant.
These questions will help you practice your understanding of the diode voltage drop concept.
This problem will help you consolidate your working knowledge of the Zener diode.
These questions will help you practice calculating the correct resistor for an LED.
Practice simple transistor circuits with these problems.
These problems will help you practice using the LM317 in your circuits.
Good to know
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Reviews summary
Electronics for tinkerers
Activities
Ohm's Law Refresher
Show steps
Review the basics of Ohm's Law, which is essential for understanding electrical circuits.
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Ohm's Law
Show steps
-
Recall the formula for Ohm's Law: V = IR
-
Understand the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance.
-
Practice solving simple Ohm's Law problems.
Organize Course Materials
Show steps
Consolidate and organize notes, assignments, quizzes, and exams to enhance your understanding of the course material.
Show steps
-
Gather all course materials, including notes, assignments, quizzes, and exams.
-
Create a system for organizing the materials, such as using folders or a notebook.
-
Review the materials regularly to reinforce your knowledge.
Study Group Discussion
Show steps
Engage in peer discussions to clarify concepts, solve problems, and deepen your understanding of the course material.
Show steps
-
Form a study group with other students taking the course.
-
Meet regularly to discuss course topics, work through problems together, and quiz each other.
Three other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all six activities
Voltage Divider Practice
Show steps
Solve practice problems on voltage dividers to reinforce your understanding of voltage and resistance calculations.
Browse courses on
Resistors
Show steps
-
Set up a simple voltage divider circuit with resistors of known values.
-
Measure the voltage across the resistors and calculate the output voltage.
-
Compare your measured values to the theoretical values calculated using Ohm's Law.
-
Repeat the experiment with different resistor values to further solidify your understanding.
Transistor Circuit Tutorial
Show steps
Follow online tutorials that demonstrate how to build and analyze simple transistor circuits, such as amplifiers and switches.
Browse courses on
Transistors
Show steps
-
Find a beginner-friendly tutorial on transistor circuits.
-
Gather the necessary components and build the circuit according to the instructions.
-
Test the circuit and observe its behavior.
-
Analyze the circuit using the concepts learned in the tutorial, such as transistor biasing and gain.
Arduino Project
Show steps
Design and build an Arduino project that utilizes the concepts learned in the course, such as a simple temperature sensor or LED display.
Browse courses on
Arduino
Show steps
-
Brainstorm project ideas that align with your interests and the course material.
-
Design the circuit and write the Arduino code.
-
Build and test the project, making necessary adjustments along the way.
-
Document your project, including a description, schematic, and code.
Ohm's Law Refresher
Show steps
Review the basics of Ohm's Law, which is essential for understanding electrical circuits.
Browse courses on
Ohm's Law
Show steps
- Recall the formula for Ohm's Law: V = IR
- Understand the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance.
- Practice solving simple Ohm's Law problems.
Organize Course Materials
Show steps
Consolidate and organize notes, assignments, quizzes, and exams to enhance your understanding of the course material.
Show steps
- Gather all course materials, including notes, assignments, quizzes, and exams.
- Create a system for organizing the materials, such as using folders or a notebook.
- Review the materials regularly to reinforce your knowledge.
Study Group Discussion
Show steps
Engage in peer discussions to clarify concepts, solve problems, and deepen your understanding of the course material.
Show steps
- Form a study group with other students taking the course.
- Meet regularly to discuss course topics, work through problems together, and quiz each other.
Voltage Divider Practice
Show steps
Solve practice problems on voltage dividers to reinforce your understanding of voltage and resistance calculations.
Browse courses on
Resistors
Show steps
- Set up a simple voltage divider circuit with resistors of known values.
- Measure the voltage across the resistors and calculate the output voltage.
- Compare your measured values to the theoretical values calculated using Ohm's Law.
- Repeat the experiment with different resistor values to further solidify your understanding.
Transistor Circuit Tutorial
Show steps
Follow online tutorials that demonstrate how to build and analyze simple transistor circuits, such as amplifiers and switches.
Browse courses on
Transistors
Show steps
- Find a beginner-friendly tutorial on transistor circuits.
- Gather the necessary components and build the circuit according to the instructions.
- Test the circuit and observe its behavior.
- Analyze the circuit using the concepts learned in the tutorial, such as transistor biasing and gain.
Arduino Project
Show steps
Design and build an Arduino project that utilizes the concepts learned in the course, such as a simple temperature sensor or LED display.
Browse courses on
Arduino
Show steps
- Brainstorm project ideas that align with your interests and the course material.
- Design the circuit and write the Arduino code.
- Build and test the project, making necessary adjustments along the way.
- Document your project, including a description, schematic, and code.
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