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All About Electronics Would you like to learn about electronics? Here are lots and lots of resources to help you find information about whatever area of electronics interests you. Start with basic skills, such as soldering, and work your way up to designing complicated circuitry. Pretty soon, you will be creating your own robots to help you with the household chores. And when people say, "Wow, how did you ever learn how to make something like that?" you can answer, "I learned it on the Net." Web:
Consumer Repair Documents Do you think you might like to fix that toaster yourself rather than throw it out? Or how about taking a whack at the microwave before calling the repair service? Here is some handy and practical information about fixing electronic appliances. And if you really get stuck, you can always ask your Usenet friends for help. Maybe you can save enough money to pay for your monthly Internet bill. Web:
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EDN Magazine EDN is a well-established magazine that follows the electronics industry, especially in areas related to design engineering and embedded systems. I like the articles because they are researched well, written well, and comprehensive without being bogged down in too much detail. This is a good site to visit every couple of weeks if you are an electronics professional interested in integrated circuits, microprocessors and computers, embedded systems, electronic design automation, testing and measurement. Web:
Electronic Chip Directory There are a lot of electronic chips in the world, with more being manufactured all the time. To help you find the information you need when you need it, here is a great resource with data about specific chips and manufacturers. Web:
Electronic Equipment Repair Tips If you like to repair electronic equipment, you'll find this site useful. People from all over the world contribute tips and hints on how to solve specific problems with electronic devices such as computer monitors, game machines, audio equipment, laser printers, microwave ovens, satellite systems, TVs, telephones, video recorders, and more. If you are a repair buff, take a look at the list of problems for which people need help. Maybe you can suggest a solution. If you have a repair problem of your own, send it in and see if someone can help you. Web: Usenet:
Electronic Prototyping Tips Only those who are really lucky can aspire to this level of electronic excellence. Get your fill of electronic prototyping and construction methods. Learn how to do cool things like despike chips, make changes to circuitry, and more. There is a huge amount of great troubleshooting information at these sites. Web:
Electronics Talk and General Discussion Electronics is a fascinating field that can be a lot of fun. However, it is a complex detailed area of technology, and there are times when it can help a lot to have someone to talk with. The Net has a number of resources devoted to electronics discussion, places where the P=IV type of people hang out. Web:
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Great Microprocessors Past and Present Within your computer are a variety of small electrical components known as "chips". These chips perform a number of different functions, but the one that people talk about the most is the processor. The processor performs many of the principal activities of the computer. You may have heard the processor metaphorically being referred to as the "brain" of the computer. Actually, there are a bunch of chips that are "brains", the processor being the main one. These Web sites contain information about a great many processors that have been developed through the years. I find this type of information interesting because I marvel at the enormous progress in processor design that has been made in such a short time. (The very first "microprocessor" -- the old name for processor -- was the 4004, announced by Intel in 1971.) Web:
Museum of HP Calculators When I was a senior in high school, the chemistry teacher had a contraption about the size of an old fashioned adding machine: a brand new electronic calculator. It cost $450 (which was a lot of money in those days) and could add, subtract, multiply and divide. The machine was considered so valuable, the teacher kept it locked in his office. Nowadays, you can pick up a credit card-sized solar-powered calculator for a couple of bucks at the corner drugstore. Much of the evolution from the first rudimentary calculators to today's sophisticated hand-held computers is a result of the work done by Hewlett-Packard. Throughout the years, HP has produced a family of calculators that, even now, are near and dear to the hearts of nerds everywhere. This Web site celebrates the history of such calculators. And if you happen to have one, you can find information about the calculator and how to maintain it. Web: Semiconductors A semiconductor is a substance whose electrical properties lie between that of a conductor and an insulator. Within the substance, there is limited movement of electrons, the exact characteristics depending on the crystalline structure of the material. Materials commonly used as semiconductors include germanium, silicon, indium antimonide, gallium arsenide and aluminum phosphide. What makes semiconductors so useful is the fact that, by adding small impurities to the material, the flow of electrons can be modified. Thus, it is possible to design a component that contains semiconductor material with specific impurities to create an electrical component designed to perform specific functions. As you can imagine, the world of semiconductors is complex. To help you understand what you read, I have found some resources with basic information about semiconductors and semiconductor terminology. Web:
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Speaker Building Information Would you like to build your own audio speakers? There are a lot of subtle details that create the difference between a good speaker and a great speaker. Here is some useful information for people who like to design and build their own speakers. You will find various technical articles, tips and techniques. Web:
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