A multimeter is the most useful tool when dealing with electricity. A cheap $15 multimeter will go a long way and is likely all that you’ll need. In general, anything fancier/more expensive just increase accuracy and adds very specific functionality that you are unlikely to ever use. How to Measure Voltage Voltage is probably the …
Basics of Electricity
This is meant to be a basic introduction to electricity / electrical concepts for those who have limited or no electrical background. V=IR Where: V = Voltage (measured in volts V) I = Current (measured in amps A) R = Resistance (measured in ohms Ω) The above equation is Ohm’s law and should get you …
How to Get Started with LED
Connect a LED with a battery and a resistor. The long leg of an LED is the positive, the anode. You could connect a LED directly to a battery without a resistor, but that probably wouldn’t last very long. The resistor acts as a load and limits the amount of current in the circuit. When …
How to Build a Basic USB Powered Amplifier
Buy a LM386, this chip has been around for ever, is cheap, plentiful and the recommended supply voltage is 4-12VDC. With the notch on the chip facing you and pointing up, the pinout from left to right, top to bottom is: LM386 Pinout Pin 1 : Gain Pin 8 : Gain Pin 2 : Input …
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How to Get Started with Arduino
Buy the Arduino UNO (R3 at the time of this writing). This is the “most standard” version of the Arduino that I’ve come across. The Arduino IDE works perfectly via USB and most shields that you come across will be physically and electronically (5V logic) compatible. I would start with the Arduino UNO R3 to …