Getting Started With Electronics Review

A review of "Getting Started In Electronics" by Oyvind Nydal Dahl

If you are a complete beginner then this book is for you. Oyvind Dahl, the author, has called upon his memories from the time that he was in your shoes to bring you a book that will propel you to a state where components are no longer a mystery and you are confident building circuits of your own.

The author gives you your first lesson in electronics showing you how to make a light flash all by itself. Then he teaches you how to build circuits on breadboards followed by a lesson in soldering so that you are able to make your circuits more permanent.

All the most common components are described so that you know what things are and what they do. Finaly you get some practice circuits to have fun with.

How to make a light blink

this is the story of how Oyvind first got interested in electronics. One day he became curious about the flashing light on the family TV and wanted to find out how he could do that himself.

Now Oyvind was lucky because his father was an engineer who was only too pleased to get him started on his career in electronics. You don't need to have an engineer for a parent because Oyvind has reproduced that first lesson for you in the book.

Building circuits on solderless breadboards

Breadboards are an ideal way to try out small circuits because you can connect it up fast and you don't need to do any soldering. Oyvind explains in detail exactly how to get started with breadboards then he gets you to build circuits with them.

I use breadboards like this a lot when I'm trying out new circuits and tweaking the designs.

How to solder

There is an excellent guide to soldering on this web site here but Oyvind takes a slightly different approach which is equally as good.

Basic components

This is where Oyvind introduces you to many of the more common electronic components that you might come across. He shows you what they look like and what they do and he does it without confusing you with too much theory.

All the main components are there so you will be able to use this a a reference when you are trying to figure out what something is.

Practice circuits

The book finishes up with some real practical examples of circuits that you can build for yourself. If you were a complete beginner when you started the book then I think that you will be impressed by what you are able to do when you have finished it.

Kick start your electronics hobby today with Getting Started With Electronics