WITH where to start studying radio electronics? How to build your first electronic circuit? Is it possible to quickly learn to solder? It is for those who ask such questions that this section was created. "Start" .

N and pages This section publishes articles about what any beginner in radio electronics should know first. For many radio amateurs, electronics, which was once just a hobby, over time has grown into a professional environment and has helped in finding a job and choosing a profession. Taking the first steps in studying radioelements and circuits, it seems that all this is terribly complicated. But gradually, as knowledge accumulates, the mysterious world of electronics becomes more understandable.

E if If you have always been interested in what is hidden under the cover of an electronic device, then you have come to the right place. Perhaps a long and exciting journey in the world of radio electronics will begin for you from this site!

To go to the article you are interested in, click the link or thumbnail image located next to the brief description of the material.

Measurements and instrumentation

Any radio amateur needs a device that can be used to test radio components. In most cases, electronics enthusiasts use a digital multimeter for these purposes. But not all elements can be tested with it, for example, MOSFET transistors. We present to your attention an overview of the universal ESR L/C/R tester, which can also be used to test most semiconductor radio elements.

An ammeter is one of the most important instruments in the laboratory of a beginning radio amateur. Using it, you can measure the current consumed by the circuit, configure the operating mode of a specific node in an electronic device, and much more. The article shows how in practice you can use an ammeter, which is necessarily present in any modern multimeter.

A voltmeter is a device for measuring voltage. How to use this device? How is it indicated on the diagram? You will learn more about this in this article.

From this article you will learn how to determine the main characteristics of a pointer voltmeter by the symbols on its scale. Learn to read readings from a dial voltmeter. A practical example awaits you, and you will also learn about an interesting feature of a pointer voltmeter that you can use in your homemade products.

How to test a transistor? This question is asked by all beginning radio amateurs. Here you will learn how to test a bipolar transistor with a digital multimeter. The transistor testing technique is shown using specific examples with a large number of photographs and explanations.

How to check a diode with a multimeter? Here we talk in detail about how you can determine the health of a diode with a digital multimeter. A detailed description of the testing methodology and some “tricks” for using the diode testing function of a digital multimeter.

From time to time I get asked the question: “How to check a diode bridge?” And, it seems, I have already talked about the method of testing all kinds of diodes in sufficient detail, but I have not considered the method of testing a diode bridge in a monolithic assembly. Let's fill this gap.

If you don’t yet know what a decibel is, then we recommend that you slowly and carefully read the article about this interesting unit of measurement for levels. After all, if you are involved in radio electronics, then sooner or later life will make you understand what a decibel is.

Often in practice it is necessary to convert microfarads to picofarads, millihenries to microhenries, milliamps to amperes, etc. How not to get confused when recalculating the values ​​of electrical quantities? A table of factors and prefixes for the formation of decimal multiples and submultiples will help with this.

During the repair process and when designing electronic devices, there is a need to check capacitors. Often seemingly serviceable capacitors have defects such as electrical breakdown, breakage or loss of capacity. You can check capacitors using widely used multimeters.

Equivalent series resistance (or ESR) is a very important parameter of a capacitor. This is especially true for electrolytic capacitors operating in high-frequency pulse circuits. Why is EPS dangerous and why is it necessary to take its value into account when repairing and assembling electronic equipment? You will find answers to these questions in this article.

The power dissipation of a resistor is an important parameter of the resistor that directly affects the reliability of the operation of this element in an electronic circuit. This article discusses how to evaluate and calculate the power of a resistor for use in an electronic circuit.

Beginner radio amateur workshop

How to read circuit diagrams? All novice electronics enthusiasts face this question. Here you will learn how to learn to distinguish the designations of radio components on circuit diagrams and take the first step in understanding the structure of electronic circuits.

DIY power supply. The power supply is an indispensable attribute in the amateur radio workshop. Here you will learn how to independently assemble an adjustable power supply with a switching stabilizer.

The most popular device in the laboratory of a novice radio amateur is an adjustable power supply. Here you will learn how to assemble an adjustable 1.2...32V power supply based on a ready-made DC-DC converter module with a minimum of effort and time.

You can make simple electronic circuits for home use with your own hands, even without deep knowledge of electronics. In fact, at the everyday level, radio is very simple. Knowledge of the elementary laws of electrical engineering (Ohm, Kirchhoff), the general principles of operation of semiconductor devices, skills in reading circuits, and the ability to work with an electric soldering iron is quite enough to assemble a simple circuit.

Radio amateur workshop

No matter how complex the scheme may have to be completed, you must have a minimum set of materials and tools in your home workshop:

• Side cutters;
• Tweezers;
• Solder;
• Flux;
• Circuit boards;
• Tester or multimeter;
• Materials and tools for making the device body.

You should not purchase expensive professional tools and devices to begin with. An expensive soldering station or digital oscilloscope will be of little help to a novice radio amateur. At the beginning of your creative journey, the simplest instruments are sufficient, on which you need to hone your experience and skills.

Where to start

Do-it-yourself radio circuits for the home should not exceed the level of complexity that you have, otherwise it will only mean wasted time and materials. If you lack experience, it is better to limit yourself to the simplest schemes, and as you gain skills, improve them, replacing them with more complex ones.

Usually, most literature in the field of electronics for beginning radio amateurs gives a classic example of making the simplest receivers. This especially applies to classical old literature, which does not contain so many fundamental errors compared to modern literature.

Note! These schemes were designed for the enormous power of transmitting radio stations in the past. Today, transmitting centers use less power to transmit and try to move to shorter wavelengths. Don't waste time trying to make a working radio using a simple circuit.

Radio circuits for beginners should contain a maximum of two or three active elements - transistors. This will make it easier to understand the operation of the circuit and increase the level of knowledge.

What can be done

What can be done so that it is not difficult and can be used in practice at home? There can be many options:

• Apartment call;
• Christmas tree garland switch;
• Backlight for modding the computer system unit.

Important! You should not design devices that operate on household AC power until you have sufficient experience. This is dangerous both for life and for others.

Quite simple circuits have amplifiers for computer speakers, made on specialized integrated circuits. Devices assembled on their basis contain a minimum number of elements and require virtually no adjustment.

You can often find circuits that need basic modifications and improvements that simplify manufacturing and configuration. But this should be done by an experienced master so that the final version is more accessible to a beginner.

What to use for the design

Most literature recommends constructing simple circuits on circuit boards. Nowadays this is quite simple. There are a wide variety of circuit boards available with different hole and trace configurations.

The installation principle is that the parts are installed on the board in free spaces, and then the necessary pins are connected to each other by jumpers, as indicated on the circuit diagram.

With due care, such a board can serve as the basis for many circuits. The power of the soldering iron for soldering should not exceed 25 W, then the risk of overheating radio elements and printed conductors will be minimized.

The solder should be low-melting, like POS-60, and as a flux it is best to use pure pine rosin or its solution in ethyl alcohol.

Highly qualified radio amateurs can themselves develop a printed circuit board design and make it on foil material, on which they can then solder radio elements. The design developed in this way will have optimal dimensions.

Design of the finished structure

Looking at the creations of beginners and experienced craftsmen, one can come to the conclusion that assembling and adjusting the device is not always the most difficult part of the design process. Sometimes a properly functioning device remains a set of parts with soldered wires, not covered by any housing. Nowadays, you no longer have to worry about making a case, because on sale you can find all kinds of sets of cases of any configuration and size.

Before you start manufacturing the design you like, you should fully think through all the stages of the work: from the availability of tools and all radio elements to the design of the housing. It will be completely uninteresting if during the work it turns out that one of the resistors is missing, and there are no replacement options. It is better to carry out the work under the guidance of an experienced radio amateur, and, as a last resort, periodically monitor the manufacturing process at each stage.

Video

Those who do radio electronics at home are usually very inquisitive. Amateur radio circuits and homemade products will help you find a new direction in your creativity. Perhaps someone will find an original solution to this or that problem. Some homemade products use ready-made devices, connecting them in different ways. For others, you need to completely create the circuit yourself and make the necessary adjustments.

One of the simplest homemade products. More suitable for those who are just starting to craft. If you have an old but working cell phone with a button to turn on the player, you can use it, for example, to make a doorbell for your room. The advantages of such a call:

First you need to make sure that the selected phone is capable of producing a sufficiently loud melody, after which it must be completely disassembled. Basically, the parts are secured with screws or staples, which are carefully folded back. When disassembling, you will need to remember what goes with what, so that later you can put everything back together.

The player's power button is unsoldered on the board, and two short wires are soldered in its place. These wires are then glued to the board so the solder doesn't come off. The phone is going. All that remains is to connect the phone to the call button via a two-wire wire.

Homemade products for cars

Modern cars are equipped with everything you need. However, there are times when homemade devices are simply necessary. For example, something broke, they gave it to a friend, and the like. That’s when the ability to create electronics with your own hands at home will be very useful.

The first thing you can tamper with without fear of damaging your car is the battery. If you don’t have a battery charger at hand at the right time, you can quickly assemble it yourself. To do this you will need:

A transformer from a tube TV is ideal. Therefore, those who are interested in homemade electronics never throw away electrical appliances in the hope that they will be needed someday. Unfortunately, two types of transformers were used: with one and with two coils. To charge a battery at 6 volts, any will do, but for 12 volts only two.

The wrapping paper of such a transformer shows the winding terminals, the voltage for each winding and the operating current. To power the filaments of electronic lamps, a voltage of 6.3 V with a high current is used. The transformer can be remade by removing the extra secondary windings, or you can leave everything as is. In this case, the primary and secondary windings are connected in series. Each primary is rated at 127 V, so combining them produces 220 V. The secondary are connected in series to produce an output of 12.6 V.

Diodes must withstand a current of at least 10 A. Each diode requires a radiator with an area of ​​at least 25 square centimeters. They are connected into a diode bridge. Any electrical insulating plate is suitable for fastening. A 0.5 A fuse is included in the primary circuit, and a 10 A fuse in the secondary circuit. The device does not tolerate short circuits, so the polarity should not be confused when connecting the battery.

Simple heaters

During the cold season, it may be necessary to warm up the engine. If the car is parked where there is electrical current, this problem can be solved using a heat gun. To make it you will need:

• asbestos pipe;
• nichrome wire;
• fan;
• switch.

The diameter of the asbestos pipe is selected according to the size of the fan that will be used. The performance of the heater will depend on its power. The length of the pipe is everyone's preference. You can assemble a heating element and a fan in it, or just a heater. When choosing the latter option, you will have to think about how to allow air flow to the heating element. This can be done, for example, by placing all components in a sealed housing.

Nichrome wire is also selected according to the fan. The more powerful the latter, the larger diameter nichrome can be used. The wire is twisted into a spiral and placed inside the pipe. For fastening, bolts are used that are inserted into pre-drilled holes in the pipe. The length of the spiral and their number are selected experimentally. It is advisable that the coil does not become red hot when the fan is running.

The choice of fan will determine what voltage needs to be supplied to the heater. When using a 220 V electric fan, you will not need to use an additional power source.

The entire heater is connected to the network via a cord with a plug, but it itself must have its own switch. It can be either just a toggle switch or an automatic machine. The second option is more preferable; it allows you to protect the general network. To do this, the operation current of the machine must be less than the operation current of the room machine. A switch is also needed to quickly turn off the heater in case of problems, for example, if the fan does not work. This heater has its disadvantages:

• harmful to the body from asbestos pipes;
• noise from a running fan;
• smell from dust falling on the heated coil;
• fire hazard.

Some problems can be solved by using another homemade product. Instead of an asbestos pipe, you can use a coffee can. To prevent the spiral from closing on the jar, it is attached to a textolite frame, which is fixed with glue. A cooler is used as a fan. To power it, you will need to assemble another electronic device - a small rectifier.

Homemade products bring those who do them not only satisfaction, but also benefits. With their help, you can save energy, for example, by turning off electrical appliances that you forgot to turn off. A time relay can be used for this purpose.

The simplest way to create a time-setting element is to use the charging or discharging time of a capacitor through a resistor. Such a chain is included in the base of the transistor. The circuit will require the following parts:

• high-capacity electrolytic capacitor;
• pnp type transistor;
• electromagnetic relay;
• diode;
• variable resistor;
• fixed resistors;
• DC source.

First you need to determine what current will be switched through the relay. If the load is very powerful, you will need a magnetic starter to connect it. The starter coil can be connected via a relay. It is important that the relay contacts can operate freely without sticking. Based on the selected relay, a transistor is selected and it is determined what current and voltage it can operate with. You can focus on KT973A.

The base of the transistor is connected through a limiting resistor to a capacitor, which, in turn, is connected through a bipolar switch. The free contact of the switch is connected through a resistor to the power supply negative. This is necessary to discharge the capacitor. The resistor acts as a current limiter.

The capacitor itself is connected to the positive bus of the power source through a variable resistor with high resistance. By selecting the capacitance of the capacitor and the resistance of the resistor, you can change the delay time interval. The relay coil is shunted by a diode, which turns on in the opposite direction. This circuit uses KD 105 B. It closes the circuit when the relay is de-energized, protecting the transistor from breakdown.

The scheme works as follows. In the initial state, the base of the transistor is disconnected from the capacitor, and the transistor is closed. When the switch is turned on, the base is connected to the discharged capacitor, the transistor opens and supplies voltage to the relay. The relay operates, closes its contacts and supplies voltage to the load.

The capacitor begins to charge through a resistor connected to the positive terminal of the power source. As the capacitor charges, the base voltage begins to rise. At a certain voltage value, the transistor closes, de-energizing the relay. The relay switches off the load. In order for the circuit to work again, you need to discharge the capacitor; to do this, switch the switch.

Recently, having learned that I am a radio amateur, on the forum of our city, in the Radio thread, two people turned to me for help. Both for different reasons, and both of different ages, already adults, as it turned out when they met, one was 45 years old, the other 27. Which proves that you can start studying electronics at any age. They had one thing in common: both were somehow familiar with technology, and would like to independently master the radio business, but did not know where to start. We continued our conversation in In contact with, to my answer that there is a sea of ​​information on this topic on the Internet, study it - I don’t want to, I heard about the same thing from both - that both do not know where to start. One of the first questions was: what is included in the required minimum knowledge of a radio amateur. Listing the necessary skills for them took quite a lot of time, and I decided to write a review on this topic. I think it will be useful to beginners like my friends, to everyone who cannot decide where to start their training.

I’ll say right away that when learning, you need to evenly combine theory with practice. No matter how much you would like to quickly start soldering and assembling specific devices, you need to remember that without the necessary theoretical basis in your head, at best, you will be able to accurately copy other people’s devices. Whereas if you know the theory, at least to a minimum extent, you will be able to change the scheme and adapt it to your needs. There is a phrase that I think is known to every radio amateur: “There is nothing more practical than a good theory.”

First of all, you need to learn how to read circuit diagrams. Without the ability to read schematics, it is impossible to assemble even the simplest electronic device. Also, subsequently, it will not be superfluous to master the independent drawing up of circuit diagrams in a special one.

Soldering parts

You must be able to identify any radio component by appearance, and know how it is indicated on the diagram. Of course, in order to assemble and solder any circuit, you need to have a soldering iron, preferably with a power no higher than 25 watts, and be able to use it well. All semiconductor parts do not like overheating, if you are soldering, for example, a transistor onto a board, and you were unable to solder the output in 5 - 7 seconds, pause for 10 seconds, or solder another part at this time, otherwise there is a high probability of burning the radio component from overheating.

It is also important to solder carefully, especially the terminals of radio components located closely, and not create “snot” or accidental short circuits. Always, if in doubt, ring the suspicious location with a multimeter in sound testing mode.

It is equally important to remove flux residues from the board, especially if you are soldering a digital circuit, or with flux containing active additives. You need to wash it off with a special liquid or 97% ethyl alcohol.

Beginners often assemble circuits by surface mounting, directly on the terminals of the parts. I agree, if the leads are securely twisted together and then soldered, such a device will last a long time. But in this way it is no longer worth assembling devices containing more than 5 - 8 parts. In this case, you need to assemble the device on a printed circuit board. The device assembled on the board is characterized by increased reliability; the connection diagram can be easily traced along the tracks, and if necessary, all connections can be checked with a multimeter.

The disadvantage of printed wiring is the difficulty of changing the circuit of the finished device. Therefore, before laying out and etching a printed circuit board, you always first need to assemble the device on a breadboard. You can make devices on printed circuit boards in different ways, the main thing here is to follow one important rule: the copper foil tracks on the PCB should not have contact with other tracks, where this is not provided for in the diagram.

In general, there are different ways to make a printed circuit board, for example, by separating sections of foil - tracks, with a groove cut through a cutter in the foil made from a hacksaw blade. Or by applying a protective pattern to protect the foil underneath (future tracks) from etching using a permanent marker.

Or using LUT technology (laser ironing technology), where the tracks are protected from bleeding by baked-on toner. In any case, no matter how we make a printed circuit board, we first need to lay it out in the tracer program. I recommend it for beginners; it is a manual tracer with great capabilities.

Also, when laying out printed circuit boards yourself, or if you have printed a finished board, you need the ability to work with the documentation for the radio component, with the so-called Datasheets ( Datasheet), pages in PDF format. There are datasheets on the Internet for almost all imported radio components, with the exception of some Chinese ones.

On domestic radio components, you can find information in scanned reference books, specialized sites that post pages with the characteristics of radio components, and information pages of various online stores such as Chip & Dip. The ability to determine the pinout of a radio component is required; the name pinout is also used, because many, even two-terminal parts, have polarity. Practical skills in using a multimeter are also required.

A multimeter is a universal device, with the help of just one, you can carry out diagnostics, determine the pins of a part, their performance, the presence or absence of a short circuit on the board. I think it would not be amiss to remind, especially young beginner radio amateurs, about observing electrical safety measures when debugging the operation of the device.

After assembling the device, you need to arrange it in a beautiful case so that you won’t be ashamed to show it to your friends, which means you need metalworking skills if the case is made of metal or plastic, or carpentry skills if the case is made of wood. Sooner or later, any radio amateur comes to the point that he has to do minor repairs to equipment, first his own, and then, as he gains experience, from friends. This means that it is necessary to be able to diagnose a malfunction, determine the cause of the breakdown, and its subsequent elimination.

Often, even experienced radio amateurs, without tools, find it difficult to unsolder multi-pin parts from the board. It’s good if the parts need to be replaced, then we bite off the leads from the body itself and solder the legs one at a time. It is worse and more difficult when this part is needed to assemble some other device, or repairs are being made, and the part may need to be soldered back later, for example, when searching for a short circuit on the board. In this case, you need tools for dismantling, and the ability to use them is a braid and a desoldering pump.

I do not mention the use of a soldering gun, due to the frequent lack of access to it for beginners.

Conclusion

All of the above is only part of the required minimum that a novice radio amateur should know when designing devices, but having these skills, you can already assemble, with a little experience, almost any device. Especially for the site - AKV.

Discuss the article WHERE TO START FOR A RADIO AMATEUR

Since you have decided to become a self-taught electrician, then probably after a short period of time you will want to make some useful electrical appliance for your home, car or cottage with your own hands. At the same time, homemade products can be useful not only in everyday life, but also made for sale, for example. In fact, the process of assembling simple devices at home is not difficult at all. You just need to be able to read diagrams and use the ham radio tool.

As for the first point, before you start making electronic homemade products with your own hands, you need to learn how to read electrical circuits. In this case, ours will be a good helper.

Among the tools for novice electricians, you will need a soldering iron, a set of screwdrivers, pliers and a multimeter. To assemble some popular electrical appliances, you may even need a welding machine, but this is a rare case. By the way, in this section of the site we even described the same welding machine.

Special attention should be paid to available materials, from which every novice electrician can make basic electronic homemade products with their own hands. Most often, old domestic parts are used in the manufacture of simple and useful electrical appliances: transformers, amplifiers, wires, etc. In most cases, novice radio amateurs and electricians just need to look for all the necessary tools in a garage or shed in the country.

When everything is ready - the tools have been collected, spare parts have been found and minimal knowledge has been obtained, you can proceed to assembling amateur electronic homemade products at home. This is where our small guide will help you. Each instruction provided includes not only a detailed description of each stage of creating electrical appliances, but is also accompanied by photo examples, diagrams, as well as video lessons that clearly show the entire manufacturing process. If you do not understand some point, you can clarify it under the entry in the comments. Our specialists will try to advise you in a timely manner!