Basic electronics for beginners (Step by step guide 2024)

Electronics is a vast field; learning its basics is essential for building interesting circuits and understanding advanced concepts. 

Learning basic electronics starts with the definition of electronics, we learn about electricity, AC and DC, circuits, open and short circuits, and series and parallel circuits. We learn about fundamental electronics terms like voltage, current, power, and ohm law. Then we learn about basic components like resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, LEDs, and switches. The basics of electronics also cover, measurements and troubleshooting tools like breadboard, multimeter, and so much more.

By the end of this article, as a beginner to electronics, you’ll able to design your circuits

Sounds interesting? Then let’s get started.

Basic Electronics for Beginners

For someone interested in electronic circuits and devices, learning the basics of electronics will enable you to design your own circuits.

Let’s learn step-by-step about electronics. 

Definition of Electronics 

You must have heard that an atom has charged particles like protons and electrons. The proton is positively charged and resides inside the nucleus, on the other hand, electrons are negatively charged and revolve around the nucleus.

When these electrons get energy they become free and move freely in the material.

These free-moving electrons have opened the door to new engineering concepts called electronics.  

Now we have three types of materials: insulators, semiconductors, and conductors. Insulators do not conduct electricity and have high resistance. 

Conductors are the type of materials that have free electrons and conduct electricity. 

On the other hand, semiconductors lie between conductors and insulators. They partially conduct electricity. 

Now I can define what electronics is. 

Electronics is defined as “The branch of science in which the movement of electrons through semiconductor devices is studied and analyzed to build electronic circuits that solve specific problems.”

I think you have understood what is meant by electronics, basically, it is used to design different systems to make human life easier.

We have used the word electricity, Now you will be wondering what is electricity. Let’s talk about it.

What is electricity? 

Now for electronic devices to work, we need electricity. We can make a circuit but if there is no electricity, the circuit will not function. 

Electricity is the flow of charges in a complete circuit. It makes the circuit power up and works properly. There are two types of electricity: static and current electricity.

Have you ever tried to rub a balloon on the hair and when you take the balloon away it attracts hair? This is what we call static electricity, it is due to an imbalance of chargers. 

The current electricity, on the other hand, is due to the flow of free electrons from one point in an electronic circuit to another. 

The current electricity has two types: direct current (AC) and alternative current (AC). 

1. AC and DC

Direct current (DC) is a type of electricity in which the charges flow in only one direction like water flowing through a straight pipe. Batteries and solar cells typically provide DC power.

AC, on the other hand, is when the electric charge changes direction periodically, like water sloshing back and forth in a pipe. 

AC is used in household power supplies and is produced by power plants because it is easier to transmit over long distances.

Remember, the main difference between these two is how the charges flow in the circuit. DC has a steady flow and AC alternates back and forth. 

For the functionality of electronic circuits, electricity is necessary. 

What are electronic circuits? Your mind must be asking this question from you. 

Electronic circuits 

Have you ever opened an electronic device? If yes then you must have seen a green type board. This green board is an electronic circuit. 

The board will be made with different electronic components like resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, and LEDs. 

So, 

An electronic circuit is the logical connection of different electronic components to perform a specific task or function. The circuit should provide a complete path for the current to flow. 

The components on the circuit can be arranged in different combinations.  

Based on circuit combination the electronic circuits are divided into types: Parallel and series combination 

Combination of circuit 

The electronic components are arranged in different combinations. Let’s talk about them. 

1. Series combination 

In series combination, the components are connected end-to-end to form a single path for the current flow. I can say they are connected in line. 

The current across each component is the same but the voltage is different in series combination. 

2. Parallel combination 

In parallel combination, the components are connected in such a way that there are multiple pathways for current to flow. 

The components in a parallel circuit share two common nodes. The voltage is equal across each component connected in parallel is same but the current is not equal. That’s why a parallel circuit is also called a current divider. 

You must be thinking about how these complex electronic circuits are made, this is all possible due to the circuit diagram. 

For example, below is the circuit diagram of the flashing LED. We all have seen colorful flashing lights at weddings or during Christmas.

Well, below is the basic electronic circuit for those flashing lights.

It is a cool-looking thing I am calling a circuit diagram; another name for a circuit diagram is a circuit schematic. 

But what is a circuit diagram, you may ask?

Circuit diagram 

Do you know about sketching, it is like a drawing. You can make your own sketch or building sketch to give ideas to builders in this design I want my building. 

In the same way, a circuit diagram is the drawing of a circuit on paper that helps us make the actual circuit from it.

The circuit diagram can be simple and complex depending on the project.

Now, the other observation you may have is, what are these different things in the circuit diagram?

Well, they are the circuit elements.

Circuit elements

As a building is made of breaks. Similarly, circuits are made from circuit elements, also known as circuit components.

In a proper circuit diagram, we represent each circuit element with its unique circuit symbol.

You see, we have different types of elements. They are different in shape, size, and structure.

So a circuit is nothing but a proper and logical combination of various components connected together.

I believe that now you may feel to make a working circuit we need to understand these circuit elements.

And you are right.

But, back to our building analogy. A building is made of breaks but the core elements to hold these breaks are the cement and iron bars.

Cement and iron bars make the skeleton of the building. Similarly, cement and iron bars of any electronics project are the key electronics terms. Without these terms, it is impossible to build the building of electronics.

These terms are:

• Voltage
• Current
• Power 
• Ohm’s Law

Let’s just understand these first, and then we will be back to our flashing circuit.

Basic electronic terms 

Understanding and learning basic electronic terms is essential for a beginner to design and know how an electronic circuit works. 

See the following diagram.

Whenever you see a circuit, you will see terms like (V, and I) in every circuit. You must wonder what are these terms. 

Let’s understand these terms in detail.

1. Voltage

Just look at yourself. You need the energy to work properly. For energy, you use food.

Right?

Similarly, electronic circuits need energy as well. And voltage (V) is their energy source.

Basically, a voltage is the energy source that pushes the energy in the entire circuit.

The above is a physical voltage source called the battery. Following is the symbol of the voltage source for the circuit diagram.

As you can see, in the symbol 1 or the above battery. A voltage source has two terminals.

The terminal that pushes the energy is the positive (+). The other is the negative (-) terminal – here the remaining energy comes back to the voltage source.

As we eat food, its energy is divided among the different parts of our body. Each part gets energy depending on its requirements.

Energy travels from the positive terminal to every circuit element, where each element receives its energy and then returns to the negative terminal.

So the main voltage divides across different circuit elements in an electronics circuit like food energy division in different parts of our body.

The last important thing about voltage is, that we measure it in terms of Volts. In simple, the unit of voltage is Volt (V).

2. Current 

Current (I) is the amount of energy the voltage source pushes per unit of time.

To understand this in depth. Let’s use the following analogy which we call water analogy.

Consider the voltage source as a water pump, water as energy, and current as the flow of water.

The water pump will push the water. The water will flow all over the circuit through pipes (connecting wires).

The same happens with the voltage source. It pushes the energy. This energy flows throughout the circuit and we call this energy flow per unit time the current.

The unit of current is Ampere (A). This means we measure current in terms of Ampere.

The voltage and current are related to each other and this relationship is given by Georg Simon Ohm. This relationship is called Ohm’s Law.

4. Power 

The product of current and voltage is power. It provides a better understanding of how electronic circuits and components work. 

Power can be defined as how much energy a circuit component consumes or is supplied with time. 

For better understanding let’s again consider the water analogy, the water pump is a voltage source, water is energy, the flow of water is current and power is the rate at which water does work, like turning a water wheel or turning on the light. 

Power can be calculated by

P=V*I

Each electronic component can consume a specific amount of power without damaging itself, this is called power rating. The power rating factor should be considered when designing any circuits. 

4. Ohm’s Law

Ohm’s Law is a fundamental principle in electronic circuits that describes the relationship between voltage (V), and current (I).

When voltage is present in the circuit, the current will flow, so this means there is some relation between voltage and current, the presence of voltage makes the current flow. 

Think about the water analogy. The bigger the water pump (voltage source), the higher be water flow (current).

From the above statement, we can say that voltage is directly related to current. 

Following is a simple mathematical explanation of this law.

The “R” in Ohm’s law represents resistance, it’s the opposition to the flow of current. 

In water analogy, the resistance is the width of the pipe, narrow the width less water will flow, and vice versa. 

This resistance (R) is of great use. This value determines how much current should flow. The measuring unit of resistance is Ohm.

Every component we saw in the above circuit has its resistance. And that is why different amounts of current flow through them.

It means each component takes the energy according to its requirements in a circuit.

This also means that each component will have its voltage value across it according to the Ohm equation. We call this voltage value, a voltage drop of a component.

In quick summary, voltage (V) is an energy source, current (I) is the flow of energy in the circuit, and Ohm’s law is the relation (V=IR) of these two.

Alright!

Up until now, you have understood the basic terms or concepts of electronics, it’s time to learn about various basic electronic components.

Basic components 

Remember we were talking about circuit elements? And got the feeling that to build a useful circuit we need to understand circuit components.

Let’s explore the circuit elements in our flashing circuit one by one. I have chosen this circuit because it has almost all the fundamental components.

Starting with this zigzag element.

Can you guess what it is?

It is a resistor. 

1. Resistor

A resistor is a component that has two terminals and is used to limit the current flow in a circuit.

You can also define it as, a component that provides opposition or resistance to the current flow in a complete circuit.

To study a component we are interested in:

• Its circuit symbol
• What it looks like in physical
• Circuit functions – like what the component does in a circuit

Following is the circuit symbol for a resistor and examples of actual resistors.

Circuit functions:

• A resistor is treated as a safety component, as it limits the current flow to our desired values.
• Besides the current limiting, a resistor is also used as the voltage divider.

Moving on to our next component.

Can you guess the component with red question marks?

It is a capacitor.

2. Capacitor

A capacitor is a component that can store energy.

It is like an energy source that stores energy from the main voltage source and gives this energy back to the circuit when needed.

Following is the capacitor symbol:

A capacitor is measured in terms of capacitance (C), the ability to store charges.

The unit of capacitance is Farad (F).

Besides the unit, there are two types of capacitors

• Ceramic capacitor
• Electrolytic capacitor

An electrolytic is polarity dependent (it has + and – terminals) capacitor while the ceramic is independent of any polarity.

Circuit functions:

In the real world, we do not have any pure voltage to work with.

• To get close to the ideal pure voltages capacitors are used as a filter.
• If you open any electronic device, you may see some big capacitors close to the input power line.
• They are there to filter out the input impurities and noise before letting it to the rest of the device.

Moving on to our next component.

Can you tell the one with the red question marks?

It is called LED.

3. LED

LED stands for light-emitting diodes. These are the types of circuit components that upon application of voltage glow and emit light.

Most LEDs have two terminals, and they come in various shapes and colors.

One terminal is called the anode (+) and the other terminal is called the cathode (-).

Following is the circuit symbol of an LED.

Circuit functions of LEDs

• The main function of an LED is an indication
• The best example is your laptop which maybe you are using now. See the power indicator light. It is an LED.
• Decoration purposes

Personally, I used to include many colors of LEDs in my beginner projects. 

They are amazing. The best part is, they are very inexpensive.

The next component is the transistor.

If you see the above circuit, you will be happy we have almost covered the whole circuit. Well done.

4. Transistor

If this component was not invented in Bell Labs, we would have no modern world. This advanced technological era is only possible because of a transistor.

A transistor is a three-terminal device that does the following:

• Amplifies current
• Switching

Following is the circuit symbol of a transistor.

The three terminals are the base (B), collector (C), and emitter (E).

The question is why do we use it?

Let’s try to understand it by the following example (using the flashing LED circuit).

In the flashing circuit, the LED requires a 20mA current to glow. But the circuit at point A can give only 10mA.

If we connect the LED directly to point A, the LEDs will not glow.

In such a situation, the transistor comes into action.

It takes the weak current (i.e., 10mA in the above case) and amplifies it to our required values (i.e., 20mA in the above case.)

Above, we saw transistors as amplifiers.

But they also turn on the above LED for some time and then turn it off. 

Similarly, the transistor turns on the below LED for some time and then turns it off – thus making the flashing LEDs.

So, it is a switch as well.

I believe the journey of learning electronics for beginners is making some kind of sense to you now.

Moving to our last component in the flashing LED circuit.

The pointed red is called the IC short for an integrated circuit.

5. Integrated circuits (IC)

As the name suggests, it is a complete circuit integrated (made) on a Silicon chip. In simple words, it is a complete circuit that we make on a silicon chip.

IC can have various numbers of terminals. One IC may have 8 terminals (pins) while the other may have 18 pins. This number depends on the task of the IC.

Following is the circuit symbol of the 8-pin IC (the one used in our flashing circuit example).

Circuit functions:

• You can say that IC is actually the circuit inside some package. And you are right. That is what we want in electronics.
• We want small size, portable devices – and this is possible only by making ICs.

With this, we have covered all the components in the circuit. These are fundamental components I believe a beginner must master.

So, looking at our final circuit. We can now tell what it is, what it does, and what is the name and function of each component.

And by the way, the lines that are connecting all the components. These are the connecting wires.

Now the next thing is to convert this circuit diagram into an actual physical circuit.

Sounds interesting?

To make this conversion we need the following fundamental electronic tools.

Tools in electronics

In Basic Electronics for Beginners, we covered some electronics components, terms, and some basic circuits.

Let’s talk about some awesome tools that we use almost all the time for our projects.

• Breadboard
• Multimeter
• Component tester
• Component kit

1. Breadboard

A breadboard is a fundamental tool in electronics used to make circuits.

By making a circuit I mean putting together all the components according to the circuit schematic.

Following is the breadboard.

It has several rows and columns. Can you see the A, B, C … J? These are the rows. The dot in each row is not connected to the dot of the next row.

The number you see (0,5,10,15, …). These are columns. The dots in the same column are connected. The upper columns are not connected to the lower columns.

Breadboards are very easy to use. We can use the same breadboard for as many circuits as we want.

If we make a mistake, we can easily undo, correct, or change it.

Our breadboard version would be similar to the following for our flashing circuit.

It is clear that without a breadboard we cannot effectively put and connect components to make our circuits.

2. Multimeter

Upon looking at our flashing circuit diagram. You will find out that next to each component there is some numeric value.

This numeric value represents the unit of that particular circuit element.

In real situations, we need these values to be measured before we put them in our circuit. Because we can’t randomly put any component.

The circuit will not work.

So, to measure these values, we need a measuring tool called the multimeter.

A multimeter is a measuring device, used to measure the following quantities.

• Resistance (unit is Ohm) of a resistor
• Capacitance (unit is Farad, F) of a capacitor
• Voltages (unit is Volt, V)
• Currents (unit is Ampere, A)

In every multimeter, there is a dial or the nob, called the selector switch, using which you set the range.

For example, you want to measure the voltage. All you need is to set the dial to the symbol of V and get the results on the display.

3. Component tester

The next tool is the component tester. This tool determines if the component is bad or good.

For example, if you have a resistor. How would you one if it is a good or defective one? The answer is to use a component tester like the below m328 (Amazon link).

All you have to do is just put the resistor, capacitor, or transistor into m328. Press the test button. And see if your respective component is ok for use in the circuit.

4. Component kit

This is very obvious. By component kit I mean you need to have the actual set of components according to your circuit diagram.

Since every circuit project, you will work on will be different. So I believe a component kit covering a range of components would be an efficient way to go with it.

Important circuit cases

We have successfully made our circuit. It works fine. 

But what if you make a circuit, and it does not work the way it is supposed to be.

Then what?

Following are the possible cases that may go wrong. And when you fix them, chances are your work will work fine then.

1. Open

Now, let me ask a question. What will happen if I remove one of the connecting wires or any circuit component from the circuit?

The simple answer is, that the circuit is not complete anymore. And an incomplete circuit is called an open circuit.

Or more technically speaking any two points on a board or circuit that offer infinite resistance (R), we call it an open circuit.

Mathematically:

By applying Ohm’s law we can clearly see, that any circuit points that offer very large (infinite) resistance will be treated as open circuit points.

The interesting facts about open circuits are:

• There can be any voltage value across the points i.e. for example in the above picture point A and B have any value voltage.
• No current flows through the open circuit whatsoever.

So if your circuit is working fine. Check for open circuits. If any points are making any open circuits, fix them immediately.

2. Short

Opposite the open circuit, there is a short circuit.

Technically speaking, any two points on a board or circuit that offer zero resistance are referred to as a short circuit.

Like in the above circuit case, we plug out the connecting wire making an open circuit. In the short circuit, we will put the connecting wire back.

Mathematically:

When we apply Ohm’s law to the short circuit we end up with zero resistance.

The following are things you should keep in mind about a short circuit.

• The voltage difference across a short circuit is always zero
• Any amount of current can flow into a short circuit. And this is the reason we often hear a building catching fire because of an electrical short circuit.

Now we combine two components by shorting their terminal to one another, this is good and this is how we connect components.

But if we short the connection between the two terminals of the same device we might end up damaging that device.

Making your First Flashing Circuit (Step by Step)

I am so excited about this section because, for many of you, this is the design of your own first circuit.

So far we have seen the circuit diagram of a flashing circuit. Now, it is the time to make that circuit a breadboard.

Following are the devices and circuit components that we will use to make our circuit. 

Don’t worry I will guide you step by step.

On the right, we have circuit components and a breadboard. On the left, we have a multimeter and component tester.

Step 1: Separate the components

If we see our circuit diagram of the flashing circuit. We would see we need the following components. To verify the values of the component we would use a multimeter.

Starting with 1k Ohm Resistor:

For resistors, we will use a multimeter.

• First connect the multimeter problems like below: Black probe to COM and Red probe to the Ohm port.
• Then select the resistance mode on the multimeter and connect the resistor like below.

• Note down the results

Repeat the same process for 10k and 470 resistors:

See the following pictures for your reference.

Checking the electrolytic capacitor (1uF) and ceramic (0.01uF):

For this, we will use our All in one-component tester. This tester will help us measure the capacitance value as well as give us the right pins (cathode and anode) of the capacitor, which is very important.

• Take your capacitor and completely discharge it by shorting its legs
• Then put that capacitor into the component tester as shown below

• See the results and correct pin configuration of the capacitor
• Please note down the pins

The same steps go for the ceramic 0.01uF capacitor as well.

LED testing

For finding the anode and cathode of an LED we will use our component tester. The tester will also tell if the LED is fine or a bad one.

• Take your LED and put it in the component tester

• Press the test button and see the results on the screen
• Please note down the pins of the LED

Just in case you don’t want to use any device for pins, then remember the edge side of the LED is the negative terminal.

Transistor checking

In the case of a transistor, we need to find out which pin is the base, collector, and emitter. For this, we will again use our component tester.

• Take your transistor and put it in the component tester
• Press the test button and see the pin configuration of the transistor

• Please don’t forget to note down these readings

Finally, we have successfully measured our components. Following is the circuit diagram with their real-time circuit components.

The next task is to make this circuit on the breadboard.

Step 2: Making the circuit

For this step, please print out the circuit diagram or draw it by hand. I would recommend drawing it by hand, as it will help you remember the connection more effectively.

Take a breadboard, printout, connection wires, and all the components. 

let’s get started.

Firstly, start with the 555 IC.

• Take your 555 timer IC.
• Spot out the notch as shown below
• From the left to the notch start counting the number of pins
• Then put the IC on the breadboard as below.

• Don’t put IC anywhere else on the breadboard, this is a really important point to always remember

Start making the connections

After the IC placement, keep the circuit diagram on a side and start making the connection exactly according to the diagram.

Connect the one terminal of the 0.01uF ceramic capacitor to the IC pin one.

Connect the other terminal of the 0.01uF ceramic capacitor to the IC pin five.

Connect IC pins 2 to 6 (short pins 2 and 6 together).

Place the 10K and 1K resistors.

Connect IC pin 7 to the common connection of the 1K and 10K resistors.

Connect the other terminal of the 10K resistor to the IC pin 6.

Place the 1uF electrolytic capacitor. Connect its positive (anode) to the short terminal of 10K and IC pin 6. And then connect the negative (cathode) terminal of the capacitor to the negative terminal of the power supply.

Short the IC pins 4 and 8, I mean connect them using the connecting wire.

Connect the shorted pins 4 and 8 to the positive terminal of the power supply (9V battery).

Connect the 470 Ohm resistor to the IC pin 3, the output pin.

Now, coming toward the LED side of the circuit. Look carefully at the circuit diagram.

First, connect the 470 Ohm resistor to the positive terminal of the power supply (9V battery). Then to the other terminal of that resistor connect the positive anode of the LED as shown below.

Next is to place the transistor. Please don’t put a transistor in the same row. Always put it as shown below.

Connect the base (B) terminal of the transistor (BC547) to the terminal of the 470 Ohm resistor.

Connect the collector (C) terminal of the transistor to the cathode terminal of the LED.

Connect the emitter (E) terminal of the transistor to the negative terminal of the power supply.

Just to give you a little extra knowledge, any breadboard has the upper power rows disconnected after 5 slots (you can see the upper lines are disconnected).

In the following, I just shorted the upper row so that we can have a power supply on the entire upper row (the + one).

Next, connect the terminal of the 1K resistor to the positive terminal of the power supply. With this, we have finally made our entire circuit diagram.

Connect the power supply. We have a 9V battery as a power supply. Connect the positive (red wire) to the upper positive row of the breadboard.

Connect the negative of the 9V battery to the lower negative row of the breadboard as shown below.

Step 3: Completing the circuit

With that, we have finally completed our circuit. Following is the final version of our circuit. This is a replica of our circuit on paper.

Enjoy your hard work so far, you made it.

If you follow everything above, then you should be able to have a working flashing circuit.

Conclusion    

Learning basic electronics for beginners is like getting your first step into a huge ocean of the electronics world.

It needs dedication and a full focus to know and understand the concepts. Once you get the basic concepts, the rest will make sense to you.

In conclusion, it is all about getting to know the definition of electronics.

To fully understand the definition we need to first understand the concept of electricity, then based on electricity we differentiate among different materials like,

• Materials that allow electricity to flow through them are called conductors.
• Materials that don’t allow the flow of electricity, in any case, are called insulators
• Semiconductors: They are in the middle of both insulators and conductors. They partially allow the flow of electrons, the electricity, and partially block.

We define electronics as the study of the motion of electric charges (electronics) through semiconductor devices. Because of the semiconductor, today’s modern world is possible.

Once we get the idea of electronics, we then talk about some basic terms used in electronics all the time i.e. voltage (V), current (I), and electrical resistance (R). These terms are related to each other by a very famous law, called Ohm’s law.

Ohm’s law says that voltage across the two points in the circuit is directly proportional to the current flow through that device. We use this law all the time in circuit analysis and the design of various electronic systems.

Then we start talking about beginner electronics components and circuits, and then at the end, we try to use our learning and do a project, the LED flashing circuit design.

Along the way, we also get to know what is breadboards and multimeters, and how these guys help us in learning electronics.

I hope you enjoyed this article and that my little effort kinda helped you.

Thank you and have a great life.

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