I'm working on stocking my home workshop with frequently used parts so I can spend more time tinkering and less time watching my mailbox.
What are the differences between different kinds of diodes? I've seen schottky, zenner, signal, and rectifier all used to describe diodes, but I don't know what the differences are and when you would use a particular one.
What are the most frequently used diodes that you would keep around to be able to build most common circuits? And how do you know what makes a suitable substitute when a circuit calls for a particular diode?