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Sometimes, component placement doesn't matter -- often the circuit is laid out much like the schematic looks, within reason. Layout becomes an issue when high frequencies, high impedance or crosstalk are involved. You'll find out more about that stuff later. Meanwhile, see if you can find anything by Forrest Mims. Many Radio Shack stores carry some of his books and he has smaller projects that you can build to get started without spending a ton of money or getting overwhelmed with something that's overly complex. Small oscillators (signal sources, waveform generators, audio generators) can be fun, especially when you have a guitar amp to connect it to so you can experiment with audio levels and component selection. Check out your local public library for copies of "The Radio Amateur's Handbook" by the American Radio Relay League. Although there're not a lot of projects in there that you can build, there is a lot of circuit theory and other fun stuff to just browse through. Dean