Electronics 101

Common Terms

5v -This most often refers to the voltage put out by a USB plug

12v -This is the voltage used by most car accessories

AC -Alternating Current. The electricity that comes from a wall plug.

Arduino A type of programmable circuit board that is essentially a mini computer.

Amperage An easy analogy is that amperage would be like the volume of water flowing through a pipe.

Capacitor -This is an electronic component that temporary holds a charge and can release the charge quickly. Careful as they can zap you.

Circuit Breaker You're likely familiar with these in wall panels, but they can be in power strips and electronics.

Continuity Different from prop continuity, this means if two points are connected to eachother.

DC -Direct Current. This would be the type of electricity that comes from a battery or some power adapters

Flux This is a type of fluid that helps direct the flow of melted solder

Fuse A fuse is something designed to break and protect a device if too much amperage is passed through it

Gauge This is the diameter of a wire. The smaller the number, the thicker the wire.

Heat Shrink This is a type of tubing used to insulate wires. It can be shrunk around a wire with a heat gun.

RC -Stands for Radio Controlled. You may note that some remotes are listed as RC vs Infrared which means you don't need a line of sight to operate.

Switch A switch can come in many forms but is designed to interrupt the flow of electricity in a circuit. A switch can be normally open or normally closed.

Multimeter -A multimeter is a tool that, among other uses, is most handy for testing voltage and continuity.

Potentiometer -This is a fancy name for a knob to turn something up or down.

Polarity -This reffers to the positive and negative electricity in DC voltage.

Relay -A relay is a type of switch that turns on or off when electricity is supplied to it

Servo -A Servo is a type of motor, often used in RC applications. It is capable of fine control and usually operates back and forth instead of constant rotation.

Solder -Solder can be the verb of heating metal to join two wires, or the noun of the actual product that it melted to join the two wires

Transformer -AKA Adapter AKA Wall Wart

Voltage -If the volume of water anaolgy works for amperage, you can think of voltage as water pressure.

Trouble Shooting

Start simple and then get complicated. Follow the flow of electricity. Check out this guide.

Is there power to the outlet you're plugging in to?

Is the power adapter you're using the right power adapter? Check the voltage and polarity.

Are your batteries charged and in correctly?

Is it turned on?

Are you sure about all of the stuff above?

Are there any fuses that need to be replaced?

Are there wires that have come off or broken?

Soldering Basics

YouTube video: Soldering Crash Course