Beginners’ electronics class wanted (Auckland)

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Beginners’ electronics class wanted (Auckland)

Eurochild

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#243231 2-Dec-2018 11:24

Hi all

Subject says it all really. I keep thinking that I should learn some electronics (by which I mean circuit boards, with a view to integrations with Pi, basic robotics etc) and would like to find something along the lines of a night class or short (in person) course I could do.

Struggling to find any around town with Mr Google. (Which I find a bit surprising! All the instructors are too busy running Minecraft courses?)

I realise that people may think that it’s easy enough to learn yourself, that there are online courses, and posssibly groups that meet and discuss such things but I think ideally a course would work best to get me going. However suggestions of next best alternatives would be considered.

Cheers
Craig

Aredwood

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#2138086 2-Dec-2018 12:21

How much electronics knowledge do you have at the moment? Are you wanting a course that is tilted more to programming and robotics in paticular? Or are you wanting a course that covers low level electrical theory? Things like how transistors work, ohms law, logic gates, lots of other mathematics in relation to electricity. And a 3rd option, an electrical course that covers the theory that electricians and linesmen need to know.

Try contacting your local university or polytech, and see if you can enrol in a part time course. As for making actual circuit boards, you can do that at home. Jaycar sell everything you need for that. Hardest part is designing the artwork for the board.

Eurochild

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#2138190 2-Dec-2018 17:10

Programming I can find my way around but haven’t done hardware interface stuff.
Electronics is my vague memory of secondary school physics.

Really I’m after whatever will get me off my backside and get me some rudimentary experience in building hobby circuits.

I was thinking along the lines of the polytechnic etc though I wouldn’t want to go a full on course. It still seems strange to me that there doesn’t seem much in the way of night classes etc. Perhaps everyone else interested has the motivation and the spare time to self start. Cheers.

Gordy7

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#2138207 2-Dec-2018 18:37

Have look here.... all level of instructions and basic to complex projects...

https://www.instructables.com/technology/electronics/

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

Jase2985

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#2138208 2-Dec-2018 18:39

could try an arduino starter pack, and build some of the projects for that.

they are quiet versatile

neb

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#2138256 2-Dec-2018 21:30

I was just about to throw out a stack of electronics correspondence course texts which you can have if you want to pick them up. They're from around 1980, but the theory stuff hasn't changed.

Also a Matchbox plastic models catalogue from 1979, and a bunch of computer brochures from the early 1980s, C64, Apple IIe, early PC clones, etc. I was going to list those in the offers and wanted forum at some point...

MurrayM

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#2138341 3-Dec-2018 09:12

Eurochild: It still seems strange to me that there doesn’t seem much in the way of night classes etc.

Several years ago most colleges ran night classes for all sorts of things. This was called Community Education and partly funded by the government and the rest through course fees. This ran really well for many years until the government pulled all their funding about 10 years ago and that made the courses too expensive to run so most colleges closed down their Community Education classes. There are still some colleges running courses but nowhere near as many as there used to be. I used to run courses for Intro to Computing, DOS and Windows, Wordprocessing (Word Perfect and Word).

Eurochild

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#2138390 3-Dec-2018 10:32

I don't doubt you're right about that, think I've heard similar before. But there's still quite a lot of stuff around, e.g.

http://www.selwyncomed.school.nz/courses/

https://ohs.arlo.co/course-catalogue

In related news, since last time I was looking about for this sort of thing, the very useful xtend.co.nz (a continuing education aggregator / search site) seems to have shut down. Which might be for the reason you suggest.

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MurrayM

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#2138546 3-Dec-2018 12:58

Eurochild: I don't doubt you're right about that, think I've heard similar before. But there's still quite a lot of stuff around, e.g. http://www.selwyncomed.school.nz/courses/ https://ohs.arlo.co/course-catalogue In related news, since last time I was looking about for this sort of thing, the very useful xtend.co.nz (a continuing education aggregator / search site) seems to have shut down. Which might be for the reason you suggest.

Yup, like I said, many colleges shut down their Com Ed courses but some kept them running (usually only the more popular courses). On Auckland's North Shore (where I live) Glenfield College is still offering courses but Northcote College, Birkenhead College and Westlake Boys, all who previously ran a large number of courses, have totally given up.