Category: Electronics

So far we have covered devices that have only two legs: resistors, capacitors, batteries, LED’s and switches. With the transistor we introduce the first 3 legged device. Transistors come in many varieties, shapes and sizes. For the most part, they all operate the same, with some subtle differences. Some of the many types of transistors include Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT) […]

This guide will present a very simplistic view of what a capacitor is and how it can be used in electronics. Capacitors have lots of different uses in electronics not presented here, but this guide should be enough to get you using them. In general, a capacitor can be thought of as a tiny battery. They can provide power to […]

This guide builds on our Resistors in Series guide. If you have not read that guide already, we suggest that you take a moment and look at it first. You can view our Resistors in Series guide here. Resistors in Parallel When you have two resistors in a circuit and they are tied together so that they receive the same […]

When you have two resistors in a circuit and they are tied together so that current flows through one of them and then the other, they are said to be in series. The resistors R1 and R2 are in series. The current I flows through both of them. Notice in the schematic above that the resistors are in line, one […]

The most important component to understand in electronics is the resistor. This is because we use the resistor to model much more complex systems. If you understand how to do "resistor math" then solving complex systems becomes much easier. Lets review the basics. They come in various values that are expressed in Ohms. You can determine their value by using […]

Circuit analysis is the process of looking at a circuit and figuring out what it does. For simple circuits this is pretty easy. For complex circuits it can be amazingly hard, even for pros. This guide will get you started with circuit analysis. Lets start with a simple circuit and figure out what it does. If you have been reading […]

A very common term in electronics is the word circuit. In general, you will hear the word used to describe what a schematic shows. Most projects are a circuit and most schematics are a circuit. The literal definition of a circuit comes from "circle", and is used to refer to the path that electricity flows in a project. Lets look […]