Circuit Boards??

[NobleGoldKnight]

Okay, so I like to learn new things. Anyways I was sitting around messing with my registry and then it dawned on me. I know little to nothing about circuit boards. So I went digging around and I stared really really hard at a motherboard for about half an hour and didn't figure anything out.

So this is my journey, my persuit to understand how circit boards really work, but I need your help. Any good materials to read, articles, how-to, maybe if you have somewhere on your system a picture that just points to a capacitor with a tid-bit of information would be greatly appreciated. Please reply with the understanding that my knowledge on this matter is absolutely zero, but I want to learn. My google searches produced little fruit so that is why I come to you guys.

 

[carnageX]

What exactly are you wanting to know? You realize there's entire degrees related to circuitry (e.g. Electrical Engineering, physics, etc.). Just saying you want to know how they work is a pretty broad spectrum.

Do you want to know what specific components are? Do you want to know about how electricity travels through the traces on the board and through the components? You'll need to be a bit more specific .

 

[NobleGoldKnight]

I didn't realize that circuit board was so broad, my apologies. I suppose since my knowledge is none right now I would need some sort of guide to identify the different components that are found on circuit boards and what their purpose is. What are those little capacitors that are soldered on the board and what is their purpose? Are there different variations that alter how it behaves? What I do know right now is that electricity runs through the board and that is it. Where should I start? Again I sincerely apologize for such a broad spectrum, which I realize my questions are.

I guess another issue is what really to ask? I am sure your knowledge on this subject is probably in the range of years (which btw I am jealous). So I guess what I am asking, what concepts do I need to understand before I take this endevor? What is a good foundation to start with in which I can build upon? Again, I apologize for being so vague. This is not my intention.

 

[carnageX]

I didn't realize that circuit board was so broad, my apologies. I suppose since my knowledge is none right now I would need some sort of guide to identify the different components that are found on circuit boards and what their purpose is. What are those little capacitors that are soldered on the board and what is their purpose? Are there different variations that alter how it behaves? What I do know right now is that electricity runs through the board and that is it. Where should I start? Again I sincerely apologize for such a broad spectrum, which I realize my questions are.

This may be a good place to start:
PCGuide - Intro - Fundamentals - Basic Electrical Components

Read over each component overview, and look at your own motherboard and try to identify each component (if its on there... some of those components just won't be on the board). You can look at other circuit boards, as well. Then, look into each component more if you're curious still.

I guess another issue is what really to ask? I am sure your knowledge on this subject is probably in the range of years (which btw I am jealous).

Not really actually lol. What I know from hardware is basic stuff; more compatibility-wise for PC components, rather than how the components themselves actually work. I'm not a hardware engineer; I'm going for my Computer Science degree, which only touches the surface of hardware (we have 1 class related to hardware stuff, which is also tied into low-level programming). Some of my friends are on the hardware side (electrical engineering, electrical engineering technology ["poor man's" EE]), and they would know more about this kind of stuff than I.

So I guess what I am asking, what concepts do I need to understand before I take this endevor? What is a good foundation to start with in which I can build upon? Again, I apologize for being so vague. This is not my intention.

Kinda depends; do you just wanna know how to identify components / what the components are generally used for? Or do you want to know the physics of it all (voltages / resistance / current / etc... all of which involves lots of math)?

And no need to apologize, we're here to try and help.

 

[NobleGoldKnight]

Kinda depends; do you just wanna know how to identify components / what the components are generally used for? Or do you want to know the physics of it all (voltages / resistance / current / etc... all of which involves lots of math)?

That is he ultimate goal. To understand the physics of it all. That is a lot of knowledge and work but I am sure that the end result will be worth it.

Also this is a great place to start and is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

If you really want to get into PCB/Electrical work, you should pick up a beginners book, learn how to tell different values of the same component type, and learn how they work together. What gets really fun is when you learn enough to make your own PCB, use a java chip, or VB chip, and write your own programming to tell the entire component how to operate.