Posted April 4, 2013 by Chris

Last week we introduced you to the Binary and Decimal number systems in our new course: An Introduction To Digital Electronics. This week, we’ll continue forward using binary with digital logic in Lesson 3: Logic Gates. Here is what this week’s lesson is all about:

The fundamental representation of digital hardware comes in a symbol form, called logic gates. These gates perform boolean algebra in a visual way that leads to what are called logic diagrams. In this lesson, we’ll learn the basic logic gates of digital electronics and experiment with them to make sure they do what they should.

Posted March 28, 2013 by Chris

Following last week’s release of the first lesson of PyroEDU’s new course, An Introduction To Digital Electronics, we are now ready to release Lesson 2: Number Systems. Again, this course is here thanks in large to our Kickstarter Backers, thanks to everyone who helped!

Posted March 21, 2013 by Chris

We are happy to announce: the first lesson of PyroEDU’s next course, An Introduction To Digital Electronics, has just gone live! The first lesson gives you an overview of what the complete course is about, what you should expect to learn and what exact parts are used throughout the course, so you can follow along building the experiments. Again, this course is here thanks in large to our Kickstarter Backers, thanks to everyone who helped!

Posted March 14, 2013 by Chris

Thanks to a strong showing of support at the Kickstarter Project that we hosted 3 months ago, we raised enough money to continue with PyroEDU’s second course: An Introduction To Digital Electronics. Just like the first PyroEDU course that we hosted, this course will be available on several open-access education sites (like uReddit) for you to follow along with, in addition to being hosted here at PyroElectro.com. So what are you waiting for? Go sign up and get ready to learn about digital electronics!

Posted December 27, 2012 by Chris

Last week, we learned more about The 555 Timer, the 9th lesson of the first PyroEDU course: An Introduction To Modern Electronics. This week we’re going back to more basic things, with documentation.

Beyond the electronics and fun experiments that we have performed in the previous lessons, we need to study how electrical schematics are drawn so that we can document our designs. This lesson gives an overview of how to draw schematics and takes a few looks at what datasheets are, how to use them and why we need them.

Posted December 20, 2012 by Chris

Last week, we learned more about The OpAmp, the 8th lesson of the first PyroEDU course: An Introduction To Modern Electronics. This week we’re introducing an even more complex integrated circuit: The 555 Timer.

If the op-amp was a great invention for analog electronics, the 555 timer was the invention of the decade for digital electronics. This lesson will show you why we needed a single device like the 555 timer and how we can use a 555 timer to create a predicatable oscillator using some theory and mathematical equations.

Posted December 13, 2012 by Chris

Last week, we learned more about The Transistor, the 7th lesson of the first PyroEDU course: An Introduction To Modern Electronics. This week we’re introducing a more complex integrated circuit: The OpAmp.

Moving beyond single device components we have the operational amplifier. This device is actually a combination of special transistors and other components all put inside an IC package. This lesson will perform a few experiments, look at some mathematical theory to introduce you to the many functions of the op-amp.

Posted December 6, 2012 by Chris

Last week, we learned more about The Diode, the 6th lesson of the first PyroEDU course: An Introduction To Modern Electronics. This week we’re introducing the most important electronics component: The Transistor.

Like diodes, most people have heard about transistors, however few people understand what they are and what they can do. This lesson takes a few steps deeper to explain and perform some experiments about how transistors are great electrical on/off switches. A little theory is also explored to introduce you to BJT transistor formulas.

Posted December 3, 2012 by Chris

Good news everyone!

We began a Kickstarter last week to fund new camera equipment, lighting equipment, editing software, and electronics parts for PyroEDU’s second online course: An Introduction To Digital Electronics. This equipment and software will improve the quality of videos and pictures on not only PyroEDU, but also on all future articles across the entire PyroElectro.com site.

We need your help to make this dream a reality! We have developed a strategy for achieving our goal: Each and every day, PyroElectro.com sees an average of 2,500 unique visitors. If each person gives $2, we’ll have completed our goal in just one day! Your contributions don’t need to be large if we can all work together. Please stop by our Kickstarter page and show your appreciation and support. If you simply cannot give any monetary amount, you can still contribute to our cause by telling your friends, co-workers, and peers to help contribute to something you’re passionate about.

Find out more at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pyroelectro/open-education-an-introduction-to-digital-electron

Posted November 29, 2012 by Chris

Everyone seems to already be familiar with LEDs, however you need to understand what basic diodes are and how they operate before you can make the leap to understanding LEDs. This lesson uses both standard diodes and LEDs to perform some experiments, explain what diodes are and to understand why we use them. So if you’re ready, start learning – Lesson 6: The Diode.

We’re still running our kickstarter campaign to secure funding for the next course: An Introduction To Digital Electronics, so if you haven’t already, take a look at our plan and help us out!