A Young Person's Introduction to Electronics

I aim to promote electronics as a hobby - maybe leading to a career. I wish to introduce students to the subject (for the younger group members), and assist the older members with school projects - or of course their own personal projects, if this is requested. I remember my own 'craft, design and technology' lessons when I was in the younger part of the target range (11 to 12 years), which is the first two years of secondary school here in the United Kingdom. I later went on to pass my radio amateurs' exam in the days when there were no 'foundation' or 'intermediate' licences in the UK as there are today - you had to take the full exam in one go - and I passed both sections on the first attempt and have held my full UK callsign (G7VDI)  since July 1995. After an unpromising time in my teens, the radio amateurs' exam was a key step on the way to get me into university via a foundation course (in leu of A-Levels) - and after graduation, I was then was offered the option to 'stay and go for masters' - I duly accepted and graduated with a masters degree in computer science as well. I hope I can provide similar inspiration for others! Indeed I have documented my own story online elsewhere.

I intend the sessions (after the first few introductory sessions) to be learner directed - suggest circuit ideas or, feel free to ask questions! Please note that these will be restricted to low voltage circuits for safety reasons.

In the introduction sessions, I will talk about why you might want to embark on a career in the electronics industry. Later, I will talk about basic concepts. What is the difference between electricity and electronics? What do the terms analogue and digital really mean? In the next session I introduce the different 'types' of electricity - what are AC and DC, and how are they different? 
After this, an outline of component types and their basic functions, and how they are used in a circuit.

The next logical step from here is the sensing/logic/actuation cycle. And then how these relate to the world around us.
From here, we move on to some basic design considerations -and diversify.

For the older learners wanting assistance with a school project (for example), or need to decide whether electronic design is a potential future career, I am happy to provide assistance with a school project, for example. My intention is to provide the kind of inspiration which got me started in the early days.

Although a little mathematics is included (such as basic ohms law and a few basic circuit calculations), I aim to keep this to the minimum required (I also plan to provide basic mathematics lessons separately - which will be introduced in the new year).

I do have a number of software packages available to assist with more complex calculations  - I can advise here.

Although circuit theory is, of course, vital, I would like to put the emphasis into practice in Proteus simulations in class, and provide guidance  to encourage students to build the circuits as much as feasible - this is what the materials description is for.

I would encourage the learners in the group to do a little background reading, and later, to have a go at building some circuits in practice. This class is an introduction - I plan to introduce more advanced lessons later for the older learners which may include an element of programming, but most of the circuits will not require any - although occasionally I may be introducing the occasional circuit including a micro-controller - but I am not requiring the students to build these. 

Any  'do it yourself' experimentation would involve analogue circuits such as simple amplifiers, light controllers, and measurement circuits - which do not require programming. Although I am more than happy to assist in such projects if the student is undertaking them - for example as a school project.

Electronics is not in itself 'harder' than any other discipline - but we all have to start somewhere!

This is a weekly outline of the class schedule:

Tuesday   January  24th 2023 <24/01/2023>: Why study Electronics? 
Wednesday January  25th 2023 <25/01/2023>: Electricity and Electronics: The difference
Tuesday   January  31st 2023 <31/01/2023>: Analogue versus Digital
Wednesday February 1st  2023 <01/02/2023>: Direct and Alternating Current 
Tuesday   February 7th  2023 <07/02/2023>: Analogue Electronics Introduction
Wednesday February 8th  2023 <08/02/2023>: Basic Circuit Calculations (Ohms Law)
Tuesday   February 14th 2023 <14/01/2023>: Introduction to Digital Electronics
Wednesday February 15th 2023 <15/02/2023>: Gates and logic: Truth tables
Tuesday   February 21st 2023 <21/02/2023>: Simplifying digital circuits
Wednesday February 22nd 2023 <22/02/2023>: Electronic components - characteristics part 1
Tuesday   February 28th 2023 <28/02/2023>: Electronic components - characteristics part 2
Wednesday March    1st  2023 <01/03/2023>: Electronic components - characteristics part 3
Tuesday   March    7th  2023 <07/03/2023>: Electronic components - characteristics part 4
Wednesday March    8th  2023 <08/03/2023>: A project - learner directed!

The classes will consist of a taught introduction to each sub-topic, followed my a questions and answers session, including questions relating to a previous session or a session a student has missed.