Josh -

What I've found (I started this thread and I'm a rank amateur) is that for
the most part, digital components just "hook up" and you don't need to worry
about much except that they can handle the same supply voltage (typically 5V
or 3.3V).   So you can just hook your PIC's output pins to other digital
components like flip-flops, shift registers, EEPROMs, etc without really
thinking much about it.  Most of the time it's pretty easy to find examples
online or in the part manufacturer's datasheets and application notes.

A few years ago I bought my nephew that Radio Shack 500-in-1 (or whatever)
digital and analog project thingy.  I thought it was so cool I got myself
one too ;-)  It has two good books by Forrest Mims (who I gather is
something of a legend) that introduce digital and analog electronics.  I
think it was about $50-60.

 RV9

On Dec 14, 2007 3:00 PM, Joshua Shriver <jshriver@gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm in the same boat. I'm just starting out. The little EE I know is from
> my
> ham guide that explains transistors, resistors, and a hand full of things.
> I
> just bought a PICkit 2, and looking forward to writing code for it. But
> it's
> hard to learn what, how, where to get info on attaching things to the pic.
>
> Agree it seems like there is a lot of material online, but haven't found a
> good "intro to digital logic" or a book describing how to actually use and
> combine components to do things.  Also I know  you have to take into
> account
> amps and voltage so you don't fry components.
>
> Any tips?
> -Josh
>
>
> > There's never been a better time to learn electronics, everything is
> > online!  But as you've found you have to know what to look for in
> > order to find it.  A maddening catch-22...
> >
>  --
> http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
> View/change your membership options at
> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
>
-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist