Crash Course Electronics

Parts

• Resistors
• Diodes / LEDs
• Capacitors
• Integrated Circuits (IC)
• Transistors
• Quartzes
• Coils & Electromagnets
• Actuators
• Switches
• Encoders
• Batteries / Solar Cells

Sensors

Sensors can be based on:

• Resistance
• Capacity
• Frequency
• Integrated Logic
  • Voltage (PWM, Analog-Out)
  • Serial
  • IIC or I2C
  • Digital Logic: TTL & CMOS compared

Circuits

• Voltage, Current & Resistance
• Powersources (+,-,GND,Vss,Vdd), moving direction
• Parallel & serial circuits
• Cryptic abbreviations: TTL, CMOS, I2C/IIC, RS232...
• Integrated Circuits:
  • DIP (Dual Inline Package)
  • SMD (Sub Miniature Devices)
  • Identifying Pin-Numbers
• Prototyping
  • Alligator-Clips
  • Breadboard
  • PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards)
• Working with the Multimeter
• Finding and reading datasheets

Links

All About Circuits: online electronics book
http://www.arduino-tutorial.de/ basic electronics + arduino programming
http://www.loullingen.lu/unterrichtsunterlagen.php electronics course from Claude Loullingen

It's not important to know everything, it's important to know where to find the answer:

• LED Resistor calculator here or there
• LED Array Wizard

• Software Prototyping

...and of course the suppliers page…