Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Basic Electronics Tutorial





1.                  Resistor
         Resistor is the electronic component use to reduce the flow of current.
         Resistors are available at ¼, ½, 1, 2, 4 Watts and we need to select the appropriate one we need depending upon the voltage drop and current flowing through that.
         In our usual circuits working under 5 to 25 volts we use ¼ W resistors and its size will be small.
         The value of resistor is being calculated using the color codes given in that.







         Variable resistors are the resistors whose value could be changed
         They are of mainly two types: Preset type and Potentiometer Type
         They are being characterized by the maximum resistance it could offer.
        

It is mainly used for making potential divider arrangements.



 



Testing With A Multimeter
         Select the resistance range in the multimeter
         Check the resistor with that and get the resistence reading value from that.
         Compare that value with the one given in the color code. If both the vales remains same within the tolerance range, then it is working fine.

2.                  Capacitor
         Capacitor is the component which could store electric charge in it for a short time.
         The value of Capacitor is being measured in Farads, but as it is a large unit we mainly use micro Farads / nano Farads / pico Farads.
         They are of two types :
i.                    Electrolytic
Electrolytic capacitors have polarity and it has got higher capacitance compared to the other. We need to connect it with the correct polarity else Di-electric breakdown could happen. There is a working voltage given in the capacitor and it is the maximum voltage under which we could use that capacitor safely.

ii.                  Disk Type:
They have comparatively lower capacitance(in pF range). They usually don't have any polarity. Values are given in a number code somewhat similar to the resistor color codes.





  
         Variable Capacitors like Trimmers / Gang Condensers etc are used in circuits like radio tuning (for changing the Natural frequency of the LC circuit)





            Testing With A Multimeter(Works only with electrolytic capacitor with large capacitance and should be tested with an analogue multimeter)
         Select the resistance range in the multimeter
         First short circuit the two leads of the capacitor to avoid any charges residing in it.
         Connect the probes of the multimeter into the terminals and at that moment you could see a deflection and the pointer coming back. This is because at the instant when we connect the  probes to the terminal of capacitor there will be a difference in potential and a charging current will flow. Afterwords the capacitor gets into steady state and no current will be flowing.

3.                  Inductor
         An inductor (also choke, coil or reactor) is a passive two-terminal electrical component that stores energy in its magnetic field. For comparison, a capacitor stores energy in an electric field, and a resistor does not store energy but rather dissipates energy as heat.
         Any conductor has inductance. An inductor is typically made of a wire or other conductor wound into a coil, to increase the magnetic field.
         Unit of Inductance is Henry but we usually use milli Henry as unit.
         When an intuctor is connected to a circuit the moment when we switch on the circuit, the current will be zero and when we switch off the circuit, at that moment it will have the same current as before. It is the elctrical analouge of inertia in mechanical systems.




4.                  Transistor
         A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit.
         A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current flowing through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal.
         The transistor is the fundamental building block of modern electronic devices, and is ubiquitous in modern electronic systems.

  







Transistor Pin-Configuration



5.                  Diode
         In electronics, a diode is a two-terminal electronic component with asymmetric transfer characteristic, with low (ideally zero) resistance to current flow in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other. A semiconductor diode, the most common type today, is a crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a p-n junction connected to two electrical terminals

         The most common function of a diode is to allow an electric current to pass in one direction (called the diode's forward direction), while blocking current in the opposite direction (the reverse direction). Thus, the diode can be viewed as an electronic version of a check valve.
         In a diode the terminal near which a line is there will be catode and the other one will be anode.
        
Diode is commenly used for Rectification(Converting AC to DC)

Testing
        
Connect the diode terminals to a multimeter probe as given in the figure.
         When it is being forward biased, it should show very low resistance and in the other case, it should show high resistance.

Zener Diode:
         A zener diode is a special kind of diode which allows current to flow in the forward direction in the same manner as an ideal diode, but will also permit it to flow in the reverse direction when the voltage is above a certain value known as the breakdown voltage, "zener knee voltage" or "zener voltage."
         Common applications include providing a reference voltage for voltage regulators, or to protect other semiconductor devices from momentary voltage pulses.







LED – Light Emitting Diode





Photo Diode:
         A photodiode is a type of photodetector capable of converting light into either current or voltage, depending upon the mode of operation. The common, traditional solar cell used to generate electric solar power is a large area photodiode.
         Photodiodes are similar to regular semiconductor diodes except that they may be either exposed (to detect vacuum UV or X-rays) or packaged with a window or optical fiber connection to allow light to reach the sensitive part of the device.
         Many diodes designed for use specifically as a photodiode use a PIN junction rather than a p-n junction, to increase the speed of response. A photodiode is designed to operate in reverse bias.


6.                  IC

         IC or integrated circuit is a silicon chip in which millions of other components like resistor, capacitor, transistor were embedded into.
          The first integrated circuit was developed in the 1950s by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor.
         Integrated circuits are used for a variety of devices, including microprocessors, audio and video equipment, and automobiles.
         Integrated circuits are often classified by the number of transistors and other electronic components they contain as SSI, LSI, MSI, VLSI, ULSI.
         You should be very careful while using and soldering ICs and should recheck that you are providing the correct working voltage for the IC as there are much chances for the IC's to burn off. Even for small surface mount ICs the static charge residing in your body could destroy them.
         Usually people use extra base for soldering and then put the IC into that after soldering the base.
         Inductor is a component that cannot be integrated into an IC.
IC Pin-numbering
            The pins are numbered anti-clockwise around the IC (chip) starting near the notch or dot.








7.                  Transformer
         A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field through the secondary winding. This varying magnetic field induces a varying electromotive force (EMF), or "voltage", in the secondary winding. This effect is called inductive coupling.
         If a load is connected to the secondary, current will flow in the secondary winding, and electrical energy will be transferred from the primary circuit through the transformer to the load. In an ideal transformer, the induced voltage in the secondary winding (Vs) is in proportion to the primary voltage (Vp) and is given by the ratio of the number of turns in the secondary (Ns) to the number of turns in the primary (Np) as follows:

         By appropriate selection of the ratio of turns, a transformer thus enables an alternating current (AC) voltage to be "stepped up" by making Ns greater than Np, or "stepped down" by making Ns less than Np. The windings are coils wound around a ferromagnetic core, air-core transformers being a notable exception.
         We usally charecterise the transformer by the primary and secondary voltages and also the current flowing through the secondary.
         Usally there are two types of transformers: Single tapped and central tapped transformer.
         In power eliminators with multiple voltage outputs, we use multi-tapped transformers.



Rectifiers:





8.                  Voltage Regulators
         Regulators are used to give a particular voltage out put if we give a voltage input above that voltage, within a range.


NB: This is a 5V regulator.

9.                  LDR
         LDR or Light Dependent Resistor is a component whose resistance changes with the intensity of light falling into it. So this component is being used as light sensors / detectors.



10.     Soldering Basics
Soldering is a process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal (solder) into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the workpiece. Soldering differs from welding in that soldering does not involve melting the work pieces

         Soldering Iron
Soldering Iron is the main equipment required for soldering.It is characterised in Watts.Irons of the 15W to 30W range are good for most electronics/printed circuit board work.
         Solder and Flux
Solder is a metal or metallic alloy used, when melted, to join metallic surfaces together. The most common alloy is some combination of tin and lead.Flux cleans oxides of the surfaces to be soldered.
Steps:
         Before use, a new soldering tip, or one that is very dirty, must be tinned. "Tinning" is the process of coating a soldering tip with a thin coat of solder. This aids in heat transfer between the tip and the component you are soldering.
         Warm up the soldering iron or gun thoroughly. Make sure that it has fully come to temperature because you are about to melt a lot of solder on it. This is especially important if the iron is new because it may have been packed with some kind of coating to prevent corrosion.
         Thoroughly coat the soldering tip in solder. It is very important to cover the entire tip. You will use a considerable amount of solder during this process and it will drip, so be ready. If you leave any part of the tip uncovered it will tend to collect flux residue and will not conduct heat very well, so run the solder up and down the tip and completely around it to totally cover it in molten solder






11.                        Multimeter and Testing Components
         A multimeter or a multitester, also known as a VOM (Volt-Ohm meter), is an electronic measuring instrument that combines several measurement functions in one unit. A typical multimeter may include features such as the ability to measure voltage, current and resistance,continuity,capacitance and also for identifying teminals of transistor.
         Multimeters are of two types:digital and analog


         All digital meters contain a battery to power the display so they use virtually no power from the circuit under test. This means that on their DC voltage ranges they have a very high resistance and  they are very unlikely to affect the circuit under test.
         Analogue meters take a little power from the circuit under test to operate their pointer. They must have a high sensitivity of at least 20k/V or they may upset the circuit under test and give an incorrect reading.
         A digital multimeter is the best choice for your first multimeter, even the cheapest will be suitable for testing simple projects.

Testing Transistor With Multimeter:
         Set the meter to its ohms range - any range should do, but the middle ohms range if several are available is probably best.
         Connect the base terminal of the transistor to the terminal marked positive (usually coloured red) on the multimeter
         Connect the terminal marked negative or common (usually coloured black) to the collector and measure the resistance. It should read open circuit (there should be a deflection for a PNP transistor).
         With the terminal marked positive still connected to the base, repeat the measurement with the positive terminal connected to the emitter. The reading should again read open circuit (the multimeter should deflect for a PNP transistor).
         Now reverse the connection to the base of the transistor, this time connecting the negative or common (black) terminal of the analogue test meter to the base of the transistor.
         Connect the terminal marked positive, first to the collector and measure the resistance. Then take it to the emitter. In both cases the meter should deflect (indicate open circuit for a PNP transistor).
         It is next necessary to connect the meter negative or common to the collector and meter positive to the emitter. Check that the meter reads open circuit. (The meter should read open circuit for both NPN and PNP types.
         Now reverse the connections so that the meter negative or common is connected to the emitter and meter positive to the collector. Check again that the meter reads open circuit.
         If the transistor passes all the tests then it is basically functional and all the junctions are intact.


12. Relays
         Relays are switching components which could be turned on / off by giving a voltage across that.
         There are two types of relays:
i. Industrial Relay : Used to drive High current devices / circuits.
ii. Sugar Cube Relays: Small Circuit Relays which could be placed in circuits and used for switching low power devices / circuits.

  

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