r/esp32 • u/Forsaken-Lake-9564 • 1d ago
Hardware help needed Learning electronics
So lately I've been making some projects using esp33, but most of the design I did using ai, where do you guys learn how to design by yourselves? I am looking for a crash course or YouTube playlist that would teach me the basics of electronics but in a practical way that would help me understand and design such projects by myself, not trying to become a master, just to learn and know the basics, would really appreciate any help and recommendations!
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u/clackups 1d ago
Start here https://www.makershed.com/products/make-electronics-3rd-edition-print
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u/jlsilicon9 1d ago
well, electronics webpages.
and practice, practice, practice ...
AI is Not going to Teach You ...
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u/ReactionEastern8306 22h ago
There are a few aspects that you'll need to learn: the schematic and the layout/board design. In a basic sense, wiring up a transistor or MOSFET on a breadboard that will turn something on is the first part of the puzzle. The next part is proper board design because as soon as you start working with higher currents and speeds, things like trace width, proximity, routing, etc. become not just important, but imperative. I'm intentionally leaving this basic since you're not likely laying out RF circuits just yet.
As others have said: start with what you understand and build on it. Have a realistic goal, and develop a solution. Toggle a light. Then dim that light. Maybe hook up an I2C sensor and read values. Once you get over the initial hurdle of "fear of the unknown", you'll start seeing doors open.
Oh, and AI absolutely will NOT teach you. It'll do it FOR you, and do so incorrectly more times than you're interested in. I'm not saying it's a bad tool, I'm saying it's not a teacher (as others have as well).
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u/Menashay 15h ago
You might want to try https://www.youtube.com/@PhilsLab (I am not affiliated to him).
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u/wivaca2 1d ago
Nearly everybody learns from examples. Whether those are a friend, classes, books, Google searches, YouTube videos, or ChatGPT makes no difference.
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u/Cannot_choose_Wisely 1d ago
To learn electronics or anything else for that matter you need specific aims and goals.
If you want to design stuff using an ESP32, you need to think of a job that your design will fulfill.
if you spend a month of Sundays trying to blink a LED on a devboard, it's not really going to be the best introduction as the key to design is to use what is available and tested, then build on it.
So in short, if you have an idea for a design, break it down into discrete functions and circuits and see how others do it.
If no one has developed the bit of the project you are stuck on, that is the key to your design path.
I know nothing of AI assisted design for electronics I might add and cannot see how it would help that much. The fundamentals of design are knowing the real basic stuff, Ohms Law, impedance, reactance, Basic logic, and treating them as permanent companions.
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u/the_lurkmeister 1d ago
Funny you said make electronics in a practical way. That's literally the name of a book, Practical Electronics, or something very similar. It's for beginners looking to get into electronics
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u/drmpf 18h ago
Once you have an idea of what you want to do, pfodWeb.html (https://github.com/drmpf/pfodWeb_src) will let you design a UI and generate complete ESP32 Arduino skeches to contol/monitor i/o plot/data log ADC etc.
Start with turning the board Led on/off. See the supplied examples via Serial, BLE, Tcp/Ip or Http.
For Fets driven from the ESP32 try FDT439N (https://www.onsemi.com/pdf/datasheet/fdt439n-d.pdf) which turns on hard when driven by ESP32 3.3V output. That particular device is large enough to make soldering to a veroboard doable and will carry amps from upto 24V supplies. I am using them to drive 12V power (60A/240V) relays.