Recommendations for educational materials - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Addicted2AnalogTek
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2018, 10:48:33 pm
content: Hey everyone, I'm Brian and I might as well say that I'm in need of starting from square one again.I spent a few months a few years back learning the basics, but I've pretty much failed to retain a good bit of the information in my absence and also hastily jumped into complex repairs with the aid of service manuals instead of taking the time to REALLY learn the fundamentals. Back then, I was instructed to buy the book "Practical Electronics for Inventors" and made it to page 183 mostly just reading through to familiarize myself. I am DEFINITELY going to start reading it again, today! I'm also interested in finding some learning aids best suited to my style of learning, which is mainly hands-on. I'd like to build some small, simple circuits and scope them so I can get a visualization of the signals and gain a good understanding of the real world functions of individual devices and their functions in various circuits.I'll be going through Dave's videos (among others) in the process. I don't typically retain the information unless I can immediately apply it to something in front of me, so what I'm seeking is something along the lines of a list of projects I can jump into as an educational aid. Anyone have any ideas?I know that having equipment can become a hindrance to the process of learning fundamentals, but I've got a nice little stash. Among those things are analog scopes and a digital scope, power supply, signal generators, breadboards, arduinos, and a mountain of parts! As I said I'm a hands on/visual learner, so I intend to scope all of the circuits I build to get an understanding of what is happening within the circuit... then maybe inject some signals into it and see which component releases the magic smoke first (and why!)!!So whose got some pointers for which direction I should head??Thanks in advance!-Brian

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2018, 12:52:29 am
content: There is a sticky at the top of the forum..."The Art Of Electronics" for the theory"Learning The Art Of Electronics" for matching labsThis site has an entire list of electronics tutorials taught for university studentshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdhGKS28LbzxebigAlA2rDgMIT and Yale have published their courses as video series.Khan Academy has an entire EE curriculum.Digilent has a "Real Analog" curriculum which goes into the theory quite nicely:https://learn.digilentinc.com/classroom/realanalog/Note that most electronics tutorials will be discussing theory. There are other project related videos.You said you wanted to learn the theory so the references above will help. Electronics is all math and Khan Academy can help with that. At a minimum, you need to be able to handle matrix arithmetic:https://www.khanacademy.org/math/precalculus/precalc-matricesAll of Dave's Fundamental Friday's videos are worth watching. I especially like the op amp editions.I also enjoy w2aew's videoshttps://www.youtube.com/user/w2aewHe has some excellent transistor circuit analysis videos. Real circuits with real applications without a ton of math. Well worth the time!

author: danadak
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2018, 01:28:27 am
content: Bob Pease and Jim Williams videos on analog, you tube, quite informative.Regards, Dana.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2018, 04:35:10 am
content: Start with something like this circuit:http://www.learningaboutelectronics.com/Articles/Sine-wave-generator-circuit-with-a-555-timer.phpOrder the parts if you don't have them (get multiples in case you kill a few and for building)Save or download a datasheets (especially the 555) in a folder for the projectBreadboard itUse your multimeter to confirm voltages and continuity.Follow the datasheet see the pins you are using and look at the examplesRedraw the schematic from left to right.Add suitably sized fuse protectionAdd a power source like a voltage regulator to power from 9VAdd an AC supply to power from mains.(can be as simple as a small AC wall wart, you don't need to expose yourself to mains transformer voltages).Include a system to switch from DC to AC when it's connected and to power it off.Look into making a simple modification so you can easily adjust the output frequency.Layout on a prototype pcb.Build it.For the next project you could look at making a small amplifier that allows you to amplify or attenuate the signal, or monitor it through a speaker. Or improve on the power supply design efficiency, add a rechargeable battery and charging circuit.

author: Addicted2AnalogTek
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2018, 08:49:15 pm
content: Awesome feedback everyone!! Thank you so much!!It's just not like me to overlook things like the stickeys at the top of the forum...I could be looking everywhere for my phone while it's sitting in my lap...I've always been a big fan of W2AEW's videos. His teaching methods are phenomenal!!RIP and my thanks to the gurus who are no longer with us... I've seen some Jim Williams repair videos, but haven't fully explored his videos. I had never heard of Bob Pease, but his bio is very impressive and I'll be looking more into both of these legends!!I actually have everything needed for the 555 sine wave generator, so that's perfect! Thank you!

author: Wimberleytech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2018, 09:28:34 pm
content: Quote from: danadak on February 22, 2018, 01:28:27 amBob Pease (God rest his soul) said: "my favorite circuit to use a 555, is: a blank piece of paper. Never touch the things."I like a lot of what Bob wrote and recommend his work but disagree with his 555 comment. The 555 is the most popular IC ever developed. Sure, it is not accurate like a quartz crystal...5% resistors are not so accurate either, but somehow we find a way to use them.

author: Addicted2AnalogTek
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2018, 12:07:48 am
content: I'm really enjoying the way Bob Pease explains things with his analogies!!I'm just playing videos in the background while I do paperwork so I can get a feel for the material, and wow!!