We frequently receive inquiries from eager readers asking how they can best get started in electronics and computer projects. Countless great books have been written on these subjects, and of course now there’s our answers.hackaday.com site. But there’s a difference between being “book smart” and being “street smart.” What are the terms that you really need to know to get ahead in this field? We’ve collected a few of our favorites here.
Have any terms or definitions to add? Leave a note in the comments!
Antimony: n. A chemical element frequently used in electronics. Explodes on contact with money.
Bandwidth: n. A measurement inversely proportional to the cumulative physical fitness of a musical ensemble.
Butterworth filter: n. A kitchen utensil for removing the crystalized bits from maple syrup.
Duty cycle: n. A washing machine setting thats particularly effective for getting skid marks out of underwear.
ELF binary: n. A program that mysteriously appears on your computer while you’re asleep.
Ferret chloride: n. A foul-smelling chemical solution used for etching printed circuit boards really really quickly.
Flux: n. Expletive that usually follows soldering iron mishaps. See Hertz.
Hertz: v. What a soldering iron does when you touch the wrong end. See flux.
Hysteresis: n. The state of panic when one’s circuit does not work as planned.
N-type semiconductor: n. The “n-type” sticker adds 5 horsepower.
Negative feedback: n. Something one should attempt to minimize on eBay.
Noise: n. That so-called “music” you kids listen to these days. Get off my lawn!
Open source: n. Wounds that have not been properly cleaned and dressed.
Passive-aggressive component: n. A electronic part (e.g. resistor, capacitor, etc.) that suddenly decides to burn, stab or explode in your face.
PWMED! v. To have kicked someones ass with subtly-shaded LEDs.
Rectifier: n. A tool for lodging things into one’s backside. Two rectifiers back-to-back form a butt connector.
Resistance: n. Futile. You will be assimilated.
RMS: n. A feature of better quality voltmeters; makes them into raving proponents of open-source software.
Square wave: n. A secret greeting used by nerds.
1ED: n. Acronym for 1337-emitting diode (pronounced leet, not one-three-three-seven). Any light (but almost invariably a blue LED) on or within a computer that exists solely for posturing and conveys no diagnostic or status information.
Ohm: The amount of resistance someone gives you when you pwn them at something, and take there score.
Ardwieners: People who insist on using an Arduino in every project.
Ardwhiners: People who vehemently oppose any project based on an Arduino being highlighted on Hack-a-Day.
Hack: n. What ever the hell the HackADay editors feel like posting.
You guys actually had me for a second -.-
Gravity Boot: A last resort method of starting a machine. Usually a freefall from a distance of 5 to 6 feet, but may also be used as part of a walls lateral strength test.
Microcontroller: n. Derogatory term usually directed at IT managers.
Oh my god…
That doesn’t really so “Ferret Chloride” does it?
*facepalm*
“really say*:, sorry changed the sentence before I sent it and didn’t proof
1/4 wave: n. form of greeting used for those you don’t like well.
1/2 wave: n. form of greeting used for those you have to wave to, but don’t want to.
Full Wave: n. usually reserved for close friends or those we are trying to flag down.
Ultra High Frequency: adj. the rate at which a teenager texts or responds to messages on Facebook.
Low Frequency: adj. the rate at which a teenager will do what their parents tell them.
Transister – used to be your brother
LED matrix: Lo-fi prequel to The Matrix.
Monome: a metronome that only works on a single frequency.
Sine wave: Used by traffic officers to direct traffic.
Toy hack: The process of turning a child’s toy into an adult-child’s toy.
Bluetooth: The horrible result of intensely concentrating while sucking a pen.
coefficient – getting someone else to do your work
@charper: this is why some folks recommend buffing the surface of copper-clad board with a Scotch-Brite pad before applying the resist and etching. Ferrets have a natural affinity for shiny things, so this helps draw them out of the solution and to the surface being etched.
Diode – Conclusion of life for electronic parts.
Doping – Why kids are dropping out of school.
RGB – Fantasy video games kids play after doping.
LED poisoning – Meggy Jr.
Resister – Female sibling coming to visit for Christmas even though she was just there for Thanksgiving.
Resister-in-law – God have mercy.
And, may I point everyone to:
http://www.pcmedixwebs.com/redneck.htm
simplex : adj someone with a dull brain
half duplex : n apartment that you have to share with someone
full duplex : n full fledged owner of a home
bit : very small piece of something
byte : eight of them bits
kilobyte : eight heavy bits
alternative current : currency that changes a lot
direct current : act of speaking very frankly and fluently
coil : oil with copper additive
integrated circuit : very small race track
sobering iron : shackles to help a detox person
multimeter : more than one meter long
hp pc
gasoline powered computer!
Percussive Maintenance: The fine art of bludgeoning an electronic device in order to encourage it to work properly.
eg.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ykPsV2voYU
arduino: what you glue to your project, so it get’s posted
pic18: something like an arduino, but different.
arm: arduino’s stupid big brother, cheaper and less cool
ne555: preprogrammed arduino that can blink incredibly fast
led: blinky part. some take more than 20mA, which isn’t very useful, since you can’t drive them from an i/o-port
ft232: what you bye to hookup your arduino, so you don’t have to admit, that your computer still has serial and parallel ports.
openwrt-router: what poor people use, who can’t afford an ethershield and zigbee module.
…
“We frequently receive inquiries from eager readers asking how they can best get started in electronics and computer projects”
why don’t they ask you about ballet dancing…
Triangle wave n. A secret greeting used by nerds not directly facing each other. see square wave
rectifier: n. severe burning sensation that accompanies hemorrhoids and butt chewings by the boss.
line regulator: n. person officially in charge of country music dances.
flyback transformer: n. piece of exercise equipment that makes you look good from the rear.
trimmer resistor: n. a resistor that has been using a flyback transformer
I’m sure you meant to write ‘enquiries’, not ‘inquiries’.
Unless people really are sending you the results of their own investigations into the matter.
Arduino shields: Copy paste hardware
Not a hack!!1!!twelve!!!
OLED: Kinda like the 1ED but more like a ufo
logic analyzer- n. a student trying to understand an article.
source code- n. the speedial number for the gossip guy in the neighborhood.
build log- n. a piece of wood for building a cabin.
breakout board- n. a sheet of wood for martial arts masters to show their breaking skills.
MIDI- n. a size of a skirt
the only thing you can do with Windows is open and close your windows, and you can’t go through the windows because there is a screen in the way.
Watt: this measure is inversely proportional to your ear’s sensibility.
Power supply: makes the magic smoke o come out of your components.
Impedance: electrical ability for making the magic smoke to come out of the adjacent components.
Darlington: John Darlington’s last name (duh!)
Capacitor: (not to be confused with Fireworks) component used for creating hoge explosions. Older models are used for drinking electrolyte (similar to Gatorade).
RAM: Randomly Adquired Mammal
CRT: beige box used to give hedaches to users.
Voltage: directly proportional to the shock people receive when discharcing a capacitor with their hands.
AAA: battery designed for quick discharge, that way users have to replace them frequently.
SMD: technology designed for avoiding quick hacks, needing a magnifier glass and a $200 hot air station.
dipole: the corner post of the high voltage fence.
transformer: a piece of (usually) a power supply that can turn into a car or truck.
ham radio: a radio that one can eat.
Whetstone Bridge: a stone used to sharpen knives.
coaxial: having a second axle.
line driver: a car without a steering wheel.
token ring: guys sitting around a bong.
service manual: That’s a good one. I don’t know either.
Transistor: Cross dressing resistor.
Breadboard: Where you make your lunch.
Byte: How you eat your lunch.
Nibble: What you do when lunch wasn’t enough.
Firewire: What happens when you exceed the amps rating of wire by several magnitudes.
Accumulator: Hoarder.
LCD: Dyslexic LSD.
Full-wave bridge rectifier – friendly guy mooning you from an overpass
Pass band filter – Earplugs worn while attending a parade
I once heard someone refer to “Transformers” as some kind of robots that turn into vehicles or something? Seriously! How did they get that idea? Sheesh! :-)
Magnet: A tool used to fish pornos out from under the bed.
Solid state relay: A really well put-together state relay race. The Massachusetts’ State Relay is one such example.
OLED: One’s state after a Spaniard has said hello to them.
Transistor: A former brother who has changed sex.
Halogen lamp: A lamp that generates a halo-effect around one’s head.
test clip: a media clip that is subject to testing.
current driver: the driver that is currently trying to stay on the circuit.
low drop regulator: limits the movement of a falling object.
tweezer-attack: a method for destructing electronic devices.
ground bounce: the effect when a subwoofer is set too loud.
ground loop: the fundamental closing path in a circuit.
bipolar transistor: depressive transistor
mosfet: if you don’t like resistors
chips IC: usually made with silicon potato
T0-220: package designed to test the burn resistance of your fingers.
heatsink: used when most of your finger are burned
zener:the most peaceful diode.
modem: a southern expression used to indicate that an individual would like more of a particular item. usually a food stuff
ex:”I would like some modem green beans”
Relaxation Oscillator: n, A Hammock.
Stud diode: n, One with cohones.
Super-conductor: n, finishes the performance twenty minutes before the orchestra.
flux-capacitor: n, one that just arced, exploded and stabbed you in the eye.
Variable regulator: n, one open to kickbacks.
Ferrite beads; n pl, what pot-cores sweat.
Embedded CPU: One reason not to go bare-foot in the workshop. What was it doing on the floor anyway?
Bus-driver: n, Sam on route 723.
Algorithm: n, a lucky guess.
Surge-protection: n, the output stage of your $3000 amplifier.
Hardware interrupt: n, ***NO CARRIER***
im still looping between Flux and Hertz
I love it! Great work!
I swear, the first thing that confused the hell out of me was caps=capacitor.
Trouble Shooting- When the CUT(circuit under test) pisses u off, u bust out the handy handgun and shoot it until it acts right…