Anyone can learn electronics with Electronic Makers

At a glance

What it is

A browser course in practical electronics. Lessons, checked tasks, points, and a streak.

Catalog

30 hands-on rooms, 6 guided paths, 13 rooms free.

Who it is for

Beginners start at Circuits or Embedded. Later paths assume the basics. A workshop can assign the same paths as a syllabus.

Price

Free: $0, 13 rooms, no card. Support: $9/month so we can create more content. No yearly plan.

Tools

Studio, included: circuit bench, 3D workbench, signal lab, PCB editor, and a virtual ESP32.

Language

English.

Paths and rooms

13 rooms are free. Circuits opens with three. Every other path opens with two. The rest are for supporters.

Circuits · beginner · 6 rooms · 3 free

Voltage, current, and the drawings that make a bench circuit make sense. Start with Ohm's law and leave able to read a sheet, compute a divider, and drive an LED without guessing.

• Ohm's law: predict, build, measure (free)
• Reading a schematic: follow nets, not the drawing (free)
• Series and parallel: reason from the nodes (free)
• Voltage dividers: design the ratio and the load
• Capacitors and RC: read time as a circuit measurement
• Driving an LED: control current, then control light

Embedded · beginner · 5 rooms

How a microcontroller pin becomes an input, an output, or a dead end. GPIO, PWM, ADC, and a serial line you can read. ESP32 examples; the same ideas apply on Arduino and STM32.

• GPIO: turn a program into a measurable signal (free)
• Digital inputs and outputs: make a button mean one action (free)
• PWM and dimming: read the waveform behind the brightness
• ADC and sensors: turn a voltage into a trustworthy decision
• UART debugging: connect logs to electrical evidence

Buses and wireless · intermediate · 5 rooms

Talk to sensors on a bus, react to edges, then put the data on a network. I2C, SPI, interrupts, Wi-Fi, MQTT.

• I2C: understand the conversation on two wires (free)
• SPI: select the device, then sample the correct edges (free)
• Interrupts and timers: respond without stopping the program
• Wi-Fi on ESP32: make success and failure observable
• MQTT: move readings and commands through a broker

Power · intermediate · 5 rooms

From a linear regulator to a protected rail you would leave plugged in overnight. Regulators, batteries, MOSFETs, and fault protection.

• Linear regulators: hold voltage without ignoring heat (free)
• Buck and boost: conserve power while changing voltage (free)
• Batteries and charging: budget energy over the whole cycle
• MOSFET switching: control a load without powering it from GPIO
• Protecting the rail: plan for faults at the connector

PCB with KiCad · intermediate · 5 rooms

Schematic, footprints, layout, ground, and the files you actually send. From a symbol to a gerber a fab house will not reject.

• Schematic capture: describe a circuit another person can verify (free)
• Footprints: connect the symbol to something you can solder (free)
• Layout and routing: make every connection physically credible
• Ground and decoupling: design the path current actually takes
• DFM and ordering: inspect what will actually be manufactured

Enclosures and finishing · advanced · 4 rooms

Measure, print, strain-relieve, and document so the electronics leave the bench.

• Measuring for an enclosure: turn a board into an assembly (free)
• Printing a housing: design for the process you will actually use (free)
• Connectors and strain relief: design the mechanical path too
• Documenting a build: let someone else reproduce the result

How a room works

Read the lesson, then answer numbered short questions. The server checks them. Finish a room that day to keep the streak. Circuits and Embedded assume no prior hardware course. There is no lab booking: open a room, submit the answer, see the result.

Topics the rooms return to: ESP32, C and C++, GPIO, PWM, ADC and DAC, UART, SPI, I2C, Wi-Fi, BLE, MQTT, MOSFETs, op-amps, buck and boost, eFuse, relays, KiCad, layout, ground planes, decoupling, and DFM.

Studio

Studio is free in the browser and uses the same tools as the lessons:

• Circuit bench: drop parts on a solderless breadboard. Volts, amps, and watts update as the DC solver runs.
• 3D workbench: orbit a lit bench, follow the current, and probe any hole with the multimeter.
• Signal lab: timebase, volts per division, trigger, and cursors for PWM, RC, UART, I2C, SPI, and ripple.
• PCB editor: place footprints, route on a 1 mm grid, and watch shorts and open nets.
• Firmware sandbox: an Arduino-style editor on a virtual ESP32, with LEDs, a button, an LCD, serial, Wi-Fi, and MQTT.

Membership

Free is $0: 13 rooms, including the opening rooms of every path, plus streak, points, a public profile, and the leaderboard. No credit card.

Support is $9 a month so we can create more content. There is no yearly plan. Cancel anytime. Details are on the membership page.

Questions

What is Electronic Makers?

Electronic Makers is hands-on electronics training in the browser. You read a short lesson, answer numbered tasks, and the server checks them. Points, levels, and a streak record the rooms you finish.

What will I learn?

Six paths and 30 rooms, from Ohm's law to a KiCad board. Circuits and Embedded start from scratch. Buses and wireless, Power, and PCB with KiCad come next. Enclosures and finishing is the advanced path. Topics include ESP32, GPIO, PWM, ADC, UART, I2C, SPI, Wi-Fi, MQTT, regulators, MOSFETs, and gerbers.

What is free, and what does support cost?

13 rooms are free, including the opening rooms of every path. Circuits opens three; the other paths open two. No credit card. Support is $9 a month so we can create more content. There is no yearly plan.

Do I need a lab or a kit?

No lab booking. Rooms open in the browser. Studio is included and has a circuit bench, a 3D workbench, a signal lab, a PCB editor, and a virtual ESP32. Some paths end with board or enclosure files you can order.

How does the streak work?

The streak moves only when you finish a room that day. A wrong answer stays wrong until you correct it. A right answer awards points. Levels run from Breadboard to Engineer.

Can a class use the same rooms?

Yes. The catalog is the syllabus. Assign a path, and everyone works the same rooms, tasks, and checks.