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Dec. 21st, 2005 12:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ewtI'd really like to see this trilogy of films. I've heard about it from various people, watched a small amount during a class last year, want to see more. I wonder if the DVDs are available from the Trinity library.
What Gaelan said about generators from old box fans.
I would like to learn more electronics. I know very, very little and what I do know was learned in grade school and I forget it easily. I can just about keep voltage, wattage and amperage clear in my head. I know what an electromagnet is. I know a circuit has to be closed to work. I can wire a plug, just. I know, in a very rough way, how fuses and circuit breakers work, but had to have an RCD explained (and can't remember what the acronym stands for now) to me last night. Every time I want to do anything like the project above, though, I have to get someone else to help, or look everything up from scratch. I can't read a circuit diagram. I don't even have a soldering iron, and when I do use one it is messy. I always forget what transistors, capacitors, resistors, diodes do (um, diodes make the electricity only go one direction _I think_). I had an electronics kit when I was a child but all I did was make flashlights.
Who will teach me? Where should I start learning? I do not have much money to spend on this, so loan or donation of tools/books/materials would be great.
Are you self-employed? Discuss your experiences.
What work can you do from home/remotely? Brainstorm/discuss.
What Gaelan said about generators from old box fans.
I would like to learn more electronics. I know very, very little and what I do know was learned in grade school and I forget it easily. I can just about keep voltage, wattage and amperage clear in my head. I know what an electromagnet is. I know a circuit has to be closed to work. I can wire a plug, just. I know, in a very rough way, how fuses and circuit breakers work, but had to have an RCD explained (and can't remember what the acronym stands for now) to me last night. Every time I want to do anything like the project above, though, I have to get someone else to help, or look everything up from scratch. I can't read a circuit diagram. I don't even have a soldering iron, and when I do use one it is messy. I always forget what transistors, capacitors, resistors, diodes do (um, diodes make the electricity only go one direction _I think_). I had an electronics kit when I was a child but all I did was make flashlights.
Who will teach me? Where should I start learning? I do not have much money to spend on this, so loan or donation of tools/books/materials would be great.
Are you self-employed? Discuss your experiences.
What work can you do from home/remotely? Brainstorm/discuss.
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-21 08:54 pm (UTC)I will teach you the bits and pieces I know, and I have a soldering iron and various other things you can borrow.
Maplin are a reasonable source for electronic parts and gizmos. They have an annoying habit of never quite holding enough stock, but IIRC they will order in anything they don't have in stock so you can pick it up later.
A few words of advice: you can get el-cheapo soldering irons for a few quid on market stalls and at most electronics shops. However, I find they have a tendency to stop working after a while. It's probably better to spend a few quid extra to get a decent-quality one that won't break so easily. You will also be able to get useful things like replacement tips for the decent-quality brands. The 'Antex' branded ones are worth buying, and I think they even sell a basic beginner's soldering kit with things like an iron, a stand, and a desoldering tool.