A lot of the time we see how to analyze electrical circuits, but how does that help us create circuits or use that knowledge we build up. Let’s chat about what we can make and how we can use what we know to do it.

Creation

Creation comes down to first figuring out what you want to make, then learning what you know and need to learn to create the project. It is very easy to convince yourself that you don’t have enough knowledge to make something, when in fact most times you make things to learn how things work. Don’t let knowledge scare you; instead, let it drive you.

What to make

When deciding on what to make, you should look at what you know. You should pick a project where you know roughly 50%-80% of what is going on. A basic project, if you know DC circuit analysis, is a digital clock with 7-segment displays. This incorporates a lot of the principles you already know while learning about different components.

Where to learn

You may be asking yourself, Where do I learn? A great place is to look for a guide to the project and break down what they teach you. They will give you the components that you need, but here we want to understand what we are doing, so the next step is to research each component and process that is going on. If we go back to the clock example, then depending on your knowledge you come with, you might want to ask how we get each number, how the signal gets processed for each number, or how the timing works. There are so many questions you can ask, and the more you ask, the more you learn.

It is very simple to find this information online, as there are articles everywhere you look. For example, again, you can look and find information about 7-segment displays all over and pictures of them like above.

Creating

I encourage you to start building as soon as you have the foundation of your project. It is great to understand as much as you can before you build, but sometimes you have to learn as you go. Just follow a guide and use your intuition, and when all else fails, find another guide.

The process

When you create, it is important to go back to your goals and know what you know so you can learn what you want to learn to make what you want to make. This may sound redundant, but the overall to creation is simple: the work you put in makes it unique and worth your time.

Stick around to create with us and learn how to be an engineer.

You know Circuits, Now What?