Any tips on being more hardware savvy?

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Ian_Brooks
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I could have posted this in design/systems engineering but thought I'd reach more user's this way.

How could I get better with hardware? Should I be building kits, taking existing devices apart, living on www.sparkfun.com ? I wish I could be at the stage that I can take any idea and be able to design it/ or know how to design it by the end of my degree.

any advice?
 
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Yes, kits are a good way to start. Then, buy a microcontroller (uC) development board, like for a PIC or other entry-level uC, and start building IO boards for it that do fun things for projects, like a motor controller board, or a display board, etc. That way you'll get experience in building projects on your own, as well as uC and programming experience.
 
Application notes from data sheets of integrated circuits. Op-amps are good place to start for some analog circuits.