Hi guys
I have quite heavy Aspergers and recently have developed depression.

As a child, I used to play with bulbs and batteries and I think electronics will be a great hobby to get me off the computer but also do something creative and maybe even useful.

I would really like to get started but the nature of my character poses a few problems:
1. I get overwhelmed and anxious by realising just how much there is to learn there
2. I often stumble on some inaccuracy or something unclearly described. That makes me angry and want to drop everything
3. I need to understand things to a fundamental level or else I don't feel confident that I know them and my memory makes an effort to forget
4. Sometimes, depression gets the best of me and I don't remember to pursue things that are interesting and make me feel well

I want to learn electronics to a level where I can actually build interesting and somewhat useful projects. I am especially interested in batteries and radio.

I imagined there could be a book "Become an electro-maker from scratch" (if you know such, please recommend) or something but even if there is, I am not sure it's the best solution for me.

Ideally, maybe someone who knows how to teach can tutor me (give me directions on what to study, find sources for me, prepare and check exercises, help with projects).

As for remuneration, my parents will provide a certain amount of funding
There are also a few things that I can do that may be of value:
- I speak/write perfect Hebrew and Bulgarian
- I intend to document the entire learning process to help other people in my situation, maybe even write that book
- Once I know stuff, it would be my greatest pleasure to share and teach others. In other words, give back to this forum

 

Welcome to AAC!

I understand your situation quite well. One of my sons has a diagnosis on the spectrum with problems a lot like yours, so it is a familiar thing.

I can suggest a strategy that might help, see what you think.

The history of the development of electronics is an iterative one. It started out with observations of the behavior of materials and empirical refinement of "useful" ones. Then people began to theorize about underlying connections.

This is a common pattern for all of technology, alternating and blending practice and theory.

It might be useful to you to pick different areas which, eventually, will fit together into a consistent, integrated whole but treat them initially as separate investigations alternating between observation and theory.

For example, a foundational tool for you will be understanding Ohm's Law. It describes the behavior of the flow in circuits, and very precisely accounts for the behavior of voltage, current, and the resulting wattage involved.

With a circuit simulator tool, you can create and test many circuits to answer your own questions as they arise and to present them to people here for help in resolving conflicts. You can also, very easily, build real world circuits of simple components and test them using inexpensive test gear to see that theory works in practice.

From there, you can learn something like how semiconductors work, and use the same method, observing and theorizing, and so on through many basic topics. You needn't worry that things don't hang together initially because in the end everything dovetails.

Yes, there is a lot to learn, and impatience is understandable, but the path is rich, and you can throw in building kits to learn soldering and see the results of practical circuits to get a sense of large accomplishment.

And, you can always ask for, and almost always get help here!

Again, welcome, and good luck!

 

well, what I think is that if I had parents as encouraging as you, I'd probably be well ahead
Mine just stuck to aspects of my savantism. They thought that because I show some extreme intelligence at the age of 4, then I am all set to life and any failure on my behalf is:
A. Laziness on my part
B. Disrespect towards them

Back to electronics: I've found the online books in the Education section here. I think they provide a decent run through the building blocks.
I also like your idea of a virtual circuit creation / analysis tool - could you provide a link, please?

About soldering and breadboard stuff, are there resources online to show basic usage of these real-world tools? I mean, I know the answer is yes, but it makes a huge difference if someone could recommend.

 

Welcome to AAC!

I understand your situation quite well. One of my sons has a diagnosis on the spectrum with problems a lot like yours, so it is a familiar thing.

Yes, it's a familiar thing. I also have a grown son with a diagnosis on the spectrum. With a lot of hard work he's now a very good mechanical helper. For me the key was understanding how he assimilated information and then using that process to teach him to work on bikes.

 

I don't wish to take a talk down approach, but from what you say I get the idea that one of the Electronics Construction kits available for the younger generation might help due to the physical nature visual display nature of the circuit might help conceptualize what is happening.
I know they can be a little pricey so these may be out of your range.
Max.

 

well, what I think is that if I had parents as encouraging as you, I'd probably be well ahead
Mine just stuck to aspects of my savantism. They thought that because I show some extreme intelligence at the age of 4, then I am all set to life and any failure on my behalf is:
A. Laziness on my part
B. Disrespect towards them

Back to electronics: I've found the online books in the Education section here. I think they provide a decent run through the building blocks.
I also like your idea of a virtual circuit creation / analysis tool - could you provide a link, please?

About soldering and breadboard stuff, are there resources online to show basic usage of these real-world tools? I mean, I know the answer is yes, but it makes a huge difference if someone could recommend.

Online resources are great, as are virtual circuit creation / analysis tools but there is no substitute for real tactile physical manipulation of parts and tools while learning the basic theory of electricity and one of the applied technologies called electronics. Get a basic set of electronic hand tools and a inexpensive soldering gun. Go to your nearest 'Thrift' store and buy older cheap electronic junk. Take it apart, bit by bit while looking at how things are interconnected. For anything you don't recognize, ask here or elsewhere about it if a net search can't find information about it.

 

I think electronics will be a great hobby to get me off the computer but also do something creative and maybe even useful.

Kudos for taking the initiative to bootstrap yourself to a better place. There's no other way to get there!

1. I get overwhelmed and anxious by realising just how much there is to learn there

There's not much to say except, "deal with it". Have you heard of the Dunning Krueger effect? It basically says that if you think you understand a field, you probably haven't yet learned enough about it to realize just how ignorant you really are. You'll spend a long time in the valley of ignorance before coming out the other side, if ever. All of us are forever doomed to profound ignorance. Embrace it. Learning the depth of our own ignorance is the first step to insight.

2. I often stumble on some inaccuracy or something unclearly described. That makes me angry and want to drop everything

We're lucky to live in a time when you can find in seconds more references on a topic than you could read in a lifetime. That means you don't need to waste time on poorly written items although they do tend to get in the way.

3. I need to understand things to a fundamental level or else I don't feel confident that I know them and my memory makes an effort to forget

I can relate. My memorization skills are poor but when I can learn the underlying concepts, the details fall into place nicely. Just be aware that what is "fundamental" is in the eye of the beholder. You might want to know how electrons drift in a conductor as part of understanding how your bulb lights up. Another might not see that as useful to understanding, and might be more interested in Ohm's law math or how heat can become light, or many other nuances.

4. Sometimes, depression gets the best of me and I don't remember to pursue things that are interesting and make me feel well

That's a tough situation, no doubt. The fact that you are aware of it and can talk about it is a very good sign. About all I can suggest is "Wayne's S.E.E. your way to health", sleep, eat, exercise. If you pay attention to doing those 3 things as best you can, you prepare a foundation for health. It may not be sufficient for full mental health, but I believe it is necessary. One cannot hope to be fully healthy if one of those 3 things is being overlooked.

I want to learn electronics to a level where I can actually build interesting and somewhat useful projects. I am especially interested in batteries and radio.

That's doable! Radio is a little tougher than some other topics and I suggest you start with simpler projects, maybe in parallel with introductory radio projects. I mean, an awful lot of people learn by playing with a breadboard and some LEDs. The first time you use a transistor to control an LED is quite a thrill. You can find a lot of advice on getting started here in these forums.

 

I also like your idea of a virtual circuit creation / analysis tool

Several of us use the LTspice analog simulator from Analog Devices which is one of the best free simulators available.
It does have a somewhat steep learning curve and can be frustrating to start, but the available tutorials and many YouTube videos help, and it comes with many simulation examples to get you started.
And of course we are here to help with any questions you have.

 

well, what I think is that if I had parents as encouraging as you, I'd probably be well ahead
Mine just stuck to aspects of my savantism. They thought that because I show some extreme intelligence at the age of 4, then I am all set to life and any failure on my behalf is:
A. Laziness on my part
B. Disrespect towards them

Back to electronics: I've found the online books in the Education section here. I think they provide a decent run through the building blocks.
I also like your idea of a virtual circuit creation / analysis tool - could you provide a link, please?

About soldering and breadboard stuff, are there resources online to show basic usage of these real-world tools? I mean, I know the answer is yes, but it makes a huge difference if someone could recommend.

I would like to try to summon @ericgibbs to help you with LTSpice, I really think he is the best resource for you. I expect he'll pop up now that I've tagged him. He's a really competent and patient explainer.

If you have a few dollars, I think an Arduino starter kit would be a great opener. It involves both circuits and microprocessors, and is designed to have a very shallow learning curve to start. There are so many resources, completely free, and so much hardware very cheap.

I have to call on help from others (@djsfantasi ?) for the best options on Arduino starter kits since I haven't purchased any lately. I used to buy the Sparkfun kits but they are pricey and there might be better options. You will end up with components, some kind of power supply, and a breadboard among other things so you can use those for other circuits as well.

I think building kits is a really great way to get practical experience soldering, and learn about the circuits involved. There are very simple kits that do things like blink LEDs or respond to light, etc., that are easy to complete and do have circuits to analyze.

When I get the chance, I will try to get you more specific selections.

 

Here @Yaakov!

May I recommend the Sparkfun site? www.Sparkfun.com. They are an electronics retailer with an extensive Arduino line.

In addition, Sparkfun includes extensive tutorials on all of their products.

Along the same lines, the official Arduino site, arduino.cc, also includes reference material and an active users forum.

BTW, I understand. I mildly experience the same issues. You can’t control it nor cure yourself, but it can be managed.

 

The way I read it, the OP doesn't really seem to be ready for micro-processing yet?
Max.

 

May I recommend the Sparkfun site? www.Sparkfun.com. They are an electronics retailer with an extensive Arduino line.

I'd add Adafruit to the list. Lots of fun stuff over there.

 

The way I read it, the OP doesn't really seem to be ready for micro-processing yet?
Max.

I think the well defined projects and the combination of circuit basics and MCUs will work quite well for him(?). The bang for your buck in practical success with Arduino makes it a great nexus to branch away from into areas that attract natural interest.

 

Here’s a beginners starter kit for an Arduino.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15254

Note there are many types of Arduinos. It doesn’t matter which you start with.

 

Hello,

When you are a starter in electronics, you could have a look at the textbook on this site:
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/
There are also some experiments in book VI.

You might also want to have a look at the links of this thread:
Library of old books, magazines and textbooks

Bertus

 

I can relate. My memorization skills are poor but when I can learn the underlying concepts, the details fall into place nicely. Just be aware that what is "fundamental" is in the eye of the beholder. You might want to know how electrons drift in a conductor as part of understanding how your bulb lights up. Another might not see that as useful to understanding, and might be more interested in Ohm's law math or how heat can become light, or many other nuances.

Yep, memorization/learning is either visual, verbal or Kinestetic (learn by doing or learn by repetition), Memorization is tough for me. using on index cards as Flash cards I graduated with a 4.0 GPA in Electronics Technology. I also have a 4 year engineering degree.

My suggestion is to learn how you learn first, and go from there. To memorize 100 definitions and use the word in your own sentence I used audio when going to bed. It said the word with enough time for me to think to myself what the def was and then I repeated the definition etc.
Ironicly, i had a 4.0 GPA and College Reading and Study skill where this occurred was my last class.

My doc said he could visualize a whole page of a textbook in his mind. We are not all the same.

Another problem I had was I knew too much. I argued that teach's correct answer was wrong and he gave just me credit for that. He said I wasn't supposed to know that yet.

 

Amazon always a good choice for me as a start. Then after I find what I want I can price it out everywhere. Elegoo products are good. https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-EL-KI...87&s=gateway&sprefix=arduino+,aps,161&sr=8-15

And includes a CD of projects/lessons/etc.

 

I'd add Adafruit to the list. Lots of fun stuff over there.

Both Adafruit and SparkFun are reliable, premium sources. If there is a strong price sensitivity, almost anything Adafruit sells can be had for a greatly reduced price because they open source their designs. I would be very happy if people would buy from them to keep the good stuff coming, but sometimes the premium is pretty steep.

That said, it is also accompanied by much higher quality.

For this TS, strongly specific answers about what to get and do will probably be more helpful than general advice. But the choice of which vendor ecosystem to buy into is almost arbitrary. So he just needs to start somewhere.

 

So a search for Software Defined Radio. it might be too much to grasp though.

 

One thing that helped me understand the physical world of electronics, from an early age, was to take things apart. And I still do. As technologies changed, so did construction. Dead equipment is always available if you ask. These can teach you materials, layout, component identification...and a cheap source of parts for your projects.

Ken