January 2014
I'm new to electronics, recently retired, and in need of some direction. Should I spend my time learning about resistors, capacitors, and transistors, or start with an Arduino or other microcontroller?
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In answer to your question — Yes you should learn about electronics fundamentals along with learning about microprocessors.
You need to have an understanding of the basics, however you do not need to get a degree in electrical engineering.
Your best bet is to check out your local library and see if they have any books dealing with electronics fundamentals. You may want to see if they have a copy of the ARRL Amateur Radio Handbook, they also have a book titled Understanding Basic Electronics which will help you get started. I don't know whether or not you have your ham license but you may want to see if there is an amateur radio club in your area and get your self an "Elmer," which is ham radio talk for a mentor, as most hams that I know of are willing to pass on the knowledge they have acquired.
There are also several groups on Yahoo devoted to beginners which are worth joining.
Good luck in your endeavors.
Starting learning electronics with discrete components (resistors, capacitors, diodes, etc) or microcontrollers is a good question. Fortunately you can choose to start with either and be successful due to modern kits and the Internet. If you are "into" programming in C language, microcontrollers would be a good place to start.
To start in the microcontroller field, I would start with the BasicStamp. Parallax (www.parallax.com) has some good starter kits which supply the microcontroller, breadboard and other components to perform the experiments they have well documented in the enclosed manual. After gaining proficiency with the BasicStamp, you can move up to the Arduino (http://makerzone.mathworks.com/arduino) or Propeller (www.parallax.com). Nuts and Volts has projects every month on microcontroller type systems which can also be used to further your self-training.
If you don't feel comfortable with programming, learning the basics of electronics may be the place to start. Googling "electronics tutorials" will show you a number of FREE websites which offer electronics training for beginners. Also The Nuts and Volts Webstore sells books and kits to help you learn electronics.
Electronics is a neat field to study. It is not easy. It is not for everyone. But anyone who is looking for a challenge, electronics is the place to be. Whether you start with basic components or microcontrollers, you will eventually see the need to learn about the other field. Microcontrollers use basic electronic components to function as a system and often it is advantageous to replace a "kludge" of electronic components with a microcontroller app.
