Hardware Designing Tutorial

Thread Starter

Lyncheese

Joined Jun 28, 2014
22
Hello,

I'm a electronics fan just like all of you..
I like to make things with my own hands, and I'm really addicted to Schematics, hopefully I could make one by my own design and produce it. My dream !

But I need some help. I want to know how they can decide what IC (not component) to use and how to connect it to other IC/MCU. What I mean here is not a common one like regulator, 555 timer or something like that.
For example, in RF communication why they use a specific IC and how they could easily connect it to other IC pin like MCU and knew what pin goes to what pin.... What should I need to know to get the skill so when somebody say " Hey make a MP3 for me! ", I could design the schematic directly with features that I decided beforehand too....

I need some resources or any references that maybe tell me about the basic about this.... Of course there will be no specific exaplanation just like what I want, but there must be something that can tell me the basic of the basics.

I hope my question isn't confusing...

Thank you before
 

Alec_t

Joined Sep 17, 2013
14,280
Before you even think of using ICs you need a good working knowledge of more basic things such as voltage, current, resistance, capacitance, inductance, Ohms Law etc. There are plenty of online tutorials to help you there.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,706
Welcome to All About Circuits!

Stick around long enough and you are bound to learn something.
It is not black magic. You learn by observing, doing and trying various things.
How do you know what ingredients and spices to use when preparing a dish,
or what size lumber and nails to use when constructing a garden shed?

Take one step at a time. Learn basic Math and Electronics theory.
Then build something simple such as a power supply, a crystal radio, an LED flasher or a Joules Thief.

Everything else will fall into place in due course.
 

sirch2

Joined Jan 21, 2013
1,037
Why not make an MP3 player, no better way to answer your own question.

Three popular MCU variants are Microchip PIC, Atmel ATMega and Texas MSP430. Googling "PIC MP3 Player", "ATMega MP3 Player" and "MSP430 MP3 Player" all gives results of example projects.

To address your question of how do you know which chip to choose? The answer is some combination of: specification (speed, power consumption. available interfaces, etc), cost, available resources (documentation, IDE/Compilers, programmers, on-line help, etc) and to some extent personal preference.
 

Chalma

Joined May 19, 2013
54
Great advice Mr Chips ..... although on certain days and instances I'd have to disagree with your black magic statement! LOL
 

Thread Starter

Lyncheese

Joined Jun 28, 2014
22
Thank you for all of you who cares to answer my question.

I do know and understand some basics to certain limits.
And yes, I already made several projects by my own.
I just want to take it up to another level.... I thought there maybe some good resources/references I could use that explained these kind of things (designing hardware board).

From all of your questions, the only way I can do is "observing" and keep "reading"....
It's a brain heater...

Once again, thank you very much for the answers. I really appreciated it.
 

Lestraveled

Joined May 19, 2014
1,946
Start small. Get an electronics experimenters kit. Learn simple basic stuff like ohm law. Learn it by connecting a volt meter to a resistor in a circuit. Discover it yourself, don't just accept what you read. To be competent in electronics is like learning a new language, it takes years of practice.

Mark
 

Thread Starter

Lyncheese

Joined Jun 28, 2014
22
Start small. Get an electronics experimenters kit. Learn simple basic stuff like ohm law. Learn it by connecting a volt meter to a resistor in a circuit. Discover it yourself, don't just accept what you read. To be competent in electronics is like learning a new language, it takes years of practice.

Mark
Yes sir, I did some expriments and learnt some simple stuffs. Even now, I'm still surprise to find out there are many new facts I found each time I read different books with the same topic. Depend on one book is really not good enough for me.
I do want to try it myself. My only obstacle is, it's hard to find IC's here in my country.... But, I'll keep trying find a way.

I think the best way to learn is to be involved in a project with some experienced engineer. Unfortunately, I never get that chance.

By the way, Thank you very much for your reply sir. I'll keep trying...
 
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