Although you are looking at more general electronics, there are amateur radio clubs around the country filled with people who have the skills to teach you what you want to know who often run courses to teach you. OK aimed at passing radio exams, but think it would be worth a visit to your local club.
As with all hobbies you will need supplies, the loss of Tandy and Maplin has may this harder, the hams still have rallies where you can buy the parts you need, OK not as big as they use to be, when computers first arrived the rallies were flooded with computer parts and became massive, and many hams were annoyed that the computer element were taking over the rallies, but now the computer side has dropped off, and radio based part has returned.
I remember in the Falklands there was no one else other than the electricians to repair items with electronics, and it was interesting to look back to the electronics used years ago as a lad and try to use my small knowledge to repair stuff, I remember that was first time I came across a field effect transistor, they were invented before the bi-polar, but not really used in early days, and I had to use my knowledge of the thermionic valve to understand the FET.
Today hard to find bi-polar it is all FET's, my son also licensed, when at school was asked there are two types of transistor, can you name them, he answered as expected for a radio ham field effect and bi-polar sir, and was told no we have PNP and NPN as which my son burst out laughing. I had to explain to the teacher what the teachers error was, and that has been a problem with electronics, so many items raise and fall in popularly and use, and we get phases and names which often take some understanding, specially when called by the initials.
It took some time for me to understand what a switched mode power supply was and I still don't know where it is different from pulse width modulated. This is were the radio clubs really help, some one will take the time to explain. OK there are those in the clubs who are only interested in how to use the equipment and paper their walls with QSL cards, but you will also find those who still build their own stuff, it may only be a power supply not the whole radio, or an interface, but they still play with electronics.
