With so few high schools providing industrial arts/shop classes, limited/distant access to technical/trade schools, it can be challenging to find resources to get basic electrical, electronic and skills education.
Getting involved with an amateur radio club or Maker event can provide some exposure but covering a broad range of topics and skills may not be practical or consistent.
To help address this we have and will continue to identify online resources - be it study guides, books, video lessons, or classes - to help you discover and acquire more technology awareness and capability.
Free Online Resources
Soldering and Connection Essentials
Many electrical/electronic problems are simply bad connections - be it connectors/pins, terminals, splices, circuit boards - or even this failures of the internals of components. Master soldering and crimping and you'll have fewer problems overall.
- Excellent good soldering videos...recommended for new and old!
- Sometimes it *is* rocket science. Learn to solder like NASA and never doubt another connection...
To crimp, solder, or crimp and solder? In no case should ANY electrical connection be mis-used or mechanically stressed. Use strain relief to ensure electrical connections are not under stress. IF you have the right tools and pins/lugs, a proper crimp connection forms a gas-tight electrical and a mechanical bond between conductor and connector without the need for soldering. Soldering, though a gas-tight electrical bond by itself, is a low-stress mechanical bond - do not depend on it for significant mechanical strength/stress. Many of us will solder crimped/lug connections to compensate for mechanical errors because we may not have exact tool for the exact lug/pin we are using.
Online Schools/Course (not free)
