Basic

Electronic
Components
Used in
TRAINER: ARYAN NAVALES

Circuits
These are the most common components:
o Resistors
o Capacitors
o LEDs
o Transistors
o Inductors
o Integrated Circuits
Resistor
You use the resistor to control the
voltages and the currents in your circuit.
The principal job of a resistor within an electrical or electronic
circuit is to “resist” (hence the name Resistor), regulate or to set
the flow of electrons (current) through them by using the type of
conductive material from which they are composed. Resistors can
also be connected together in various series and parallel
combinations to form resistor networks which can act as voltage
droppers, voltage dividers or current limiters within a circuit.
Resistors can also be connected together in
various series and parallel combinations to
form resistor networks which can act as voltage
droppers, voltage dividers or current limiters
within a circuit.
Composition Types of Resistor
Carbon Resistors

Carbon Resistors are the most

common type of Composition
Resistors. Carbon resistors are a
cheap general purpose resistor used
in electrical and electronic circuits.
Their resistive element is manufactured from a mixture of finely
ground carbon dust or graphite (similar to pencil lead) and a
non-conducting ceramic (clay) powder to bind it all together.
Film Type Resistors
The generic term “Film Resistor”
consist of Metal Film, Carbon
Film and Metal Oxide Film resistor
types, which are generally made by
depositing pure metals, such as nickel, or an oxide film, such as tin-
oxide, onto an insulating ceramic rod or substrate.

This method of manufacture allows for much closer tolerance

resistors (1% or less) as compared to the simpler carbon
composition types.
The tolerance of a resistor is the difference between the
preferred value (i.e, 100 ohms) and its actual
manufactured value i.e, 103.6 ohms, and is expressed as a
percentage, for example 5%, 10% etc, and in our example
the actual tolerance is 3.6%. Film type resistors also
achieve a much higher maximum ohmic value compared
to other types and values in excess of 10MΩ (10
Million Ω´s) are available.
Wirewound Types of Resistor
Another type of resistor, called
a Wirewound Resistor, is made by winding a
thin metal alloy wire (Nichrome) or similar wire
onto an insulating ceramic former in the form of
a spiral helix similar to the film resistor above.
These types of resistor are generally only available in very low ohmic
high precision values (from 0.01 to 100kΩ) due to the gauge of the wire and
number of turns possible on the former making them ideal for use in measuring
circuits and Whetstone bridge type applications.
 Wirewound resistor types are prefixed with a “WH” or “W” notation
(eg WH10Ω) and are available in the WH aluminium clad package (±1%,
±2%, ±5% & ±10% tolerance) or the W vitreous enamelled package (±1%,
±2% & ±5% tolerance) with power ratings from 1W to 300W or more.
Two basic types of resistors
o Linear Resistors
o Non Linear Resistors
Linear Resistors
Those resistors, which values change with the applied
voltage and temperature, are called linear resistors. In
other words, a resistor, which current value is directly
proportional to the applied voltage is known as linear
resistors.
 Generally, there are two types of resistors which have
linear properties.
o Fixed Resistor

o Variable Resistors
Fixed Resistors
As the name tells everything, fixed resistor is a
resistor which has a specific value and we can’t change
the value of fixed resistors.

Types of Fixed resistors

o Carbon Composition Resistors
o Wire Wound Resistors
o Thin Film Resistors
o Thick Film Resistors
Variable Resistors

As the name indicates, those resistors which values

can be changed through a dial, knob, and screw or
manually by a proper method. In these types of resistors,
there is a sliding arm, which is connected to the shaft and
the value of resistance can be changed by rotating the
arm. They are used in the radio receiver for volume control
and tone control resistance.
The following are the types of Variable
Resistors
1. Potentiometer
2. Rheostat
3. Trimmers
Potentiometers

Potentiometer is a three terminal device which is

used for controlling the level of voltage in the circuit. The
resistance between two external terminals is constant
while the third terminal is connected with moving contact
(Wiper) which is variable. The value of resistance can be
changed by rotating the wiper which is connected to the
control shaft.
Rheostats

Rheostats are a two or three terminal device which

is used for the current limiting purpose by hand or
manual operation. Rheostats are also known as tapped
resistors or variable wire wound resistors.
Trimmers
There is an additional screw with Potentiometer or
variable resistors for better efficiency and operation
and they are known as Trimmers. The value of
resistance can be changed by changing the position of
screw to rotate by a small screwdriver.
Non Linear Resistors

We know that, nonlinear resistors are those

resistors, where the current flowing through it does not
change according to Ohm’s Law but, changes with
change in temperature or applied voltage.
Following are the additional types of Non
Linear Resistors.
1. Thermisters
2. Varisters (VDR)
3. Photo Resistor or Photo Conductive Cell or
LDR
 Self Check
Identify the value of resistance given the color code of
the following resistors.
1. Yellow Violet Brown Gold
2. Brown Black Orange Gold
3. Brown Green Red Gold
4. Brown Black Yellow Gold
5. Brown White Gold Gold
 Give the color combination code that match
the following values of resistance

1. 47K Ω
2. 1K Ω
3. 56 Ω
4. 8.2K Ω
5. 10 Ω
CAPACITORS
There are different types of
capacitors available in the market.
The key factor in distinguishing
different types of capacitors is the
Dielectric used in its construction.
Some of the common capacitor types are ceramic,
electrolytic (which include Aluminium capacitors, Tantalum
capacitors and Niobium capacitors), plastic film, paper and mica.
 You can think of a capacitor as a battery with very low
capacity. You can charge and discharge it just like a battery.
The capacitor is often used to introduce a time-delay in a
circuit. For example to blink a light. It’s commonly used for
removing noise, or making the supply voltage of a circuit
more stable. There are many capacitor types. Most
commonly, we divide them into polarized and non-polarized
capacitors.
 When choosing a capacitor, following few of
many factors must be considered.

Size: Both the physical dimension and the value of the

capacitance is important.

Working Voltage: It is an important characteristic of

the capacitor. It specifies the maximum voltage that
can be applied across the capacitor.
Leakage Current: A small amount of current will flow
through dielectric as they are not the perfect
insulators. This is called leakage current.

Equivalent series resistance: The terminals of the

capacitor have a small amount of resistance (usually
less than 0.1Ω). This resistance becomes a problem
when the capacitor used at high frequencies.
 Fixed capacitors are more common types of capacitors. It
is difficult to find an electronic circuit without a capacitor.
Most of the capacitors are named after the dielectric used in
the construction. Some of the common dielectrics used in the
construction of capacitors are:
o Ceramic o Glass
o Paper o Aluminium Oxide
o Plastic film o Tantalum Pentoxide
o Mica o Niobium Pentoxide
CAPACITOR VALUES
The basic unit of capacitance is the FARAD.
(C) This is the value used in all equations, but it is
a very large value. A one FARAD capacitor would
be the size of a car if made with plates and paper.
Most electronic circuits use capacitors with
smaller values such as 1p to 1,000u. 1p is about
equal to two parallel wires 2cm long. 1p is one
picofarad.
 The easiest way to understand capacitor
values is to start with a value of 1u. This is one
microfarad and is one-millionth of a Farad. A 1
microfarad capacitor is about 1cm long and the
diagram shows a 1u electrolytic.
Capacitance Value

The capacitance values for some capacitors are

printed directly on the component. This is true of larger
capacitors with values of 1 μF or higher, if for no other
reason that their larger physical size allows the
manufacturer to directly print the value on the
component.
 But for other capacitors things aren’t always so simple.
Smaller capacitors, such as 0.1 or 0.01 μF disc variety, use a
common three-digit marking system to denote capacitance
and tolerance.
The numbering system is easy to use, if you remember
it’s based on picofarads, not microfarads.
A number such as 104 means 10, followed by four
zeros, as in 100,000 or 100,000 picofarads. To make the
conversion, move the decimal point to the left six spaces:
100000 becomes .1.
 Like resistors, the tolerance of the capacitor indicates
how close the printed value meets reality. With smaller disc-
type capacitors tolerance is most often indicated by a single
letter code, which is sometimes placed by itself on the body
of the capacitor or after the three-digit mark, such as
104Z
The letter Z donates a tolerance of +80 percent and –
20 percent. That means the capacitor, which is rated at .1 μF,
might be as much as 80 percent higher or 20 percent
Convert the following

1) 0.05pF = _____mF
2) 380nF = ______pF
3) 0.1mf = ______pF
4) 0.0023pF =
______nF
5) 10nF = ______mF
 Self Check
Determine the capacitance in
microfarad.
1. 104
2. 221
3. 332
4. 223J
5. 151K
 Self Check
Give the combination code given the
capacitance value.
1. 0.001mF
2. 0.0082mF
3. 0.047mF
4. 1.8mF
5. 6.8nF
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
A Light Emitting Diode – or
LED for short – is a component
that can give light. We use LEDs
to give a visual feedback from
our circuit.
For example to show that the circuit has power.
But, you can also used them to make cool light-show
circuits.
Transistor
A simple way is to look at the
transistor as a switch controlled by
an electrical signal. If you put about
0.7 volts between the base and the
emitter, you turn it on.
But, instead of having just two states (ON or OFF), it can
also be “a bit on” by controlling the current that goes through
its base. A bit of current on the base produces a current of
maybe 100 times more (depending on the transistor) through
the Collector and Emitter. We can use this effect to build
amplifiers.
Inductor

It’s just a coil of wire – and

you can make one yourself by
making some loops out of a
wire.
Sometimes they’re wound around a metal core of
some sort.
Integrated Circuit
An Integrated Circuit
(IC) consists of many basic
electronic components.

It could be an amplifier, it could be a microprocessor,

it could be a USB to serial converter…
Thank you!