Programme  for learning electronics in a systematic way - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2022, 08:41:42 pm
content: Hi, i'm a mechanical engineer with a Bachelor college degree. I want to have an in depth knowledge of electronics, but i prefer to do self study, I want to learn electronics in a systematic way. I have have some basic knowledge about resistors capacitors, transistors, AC DC voltage. I have a home lab with oscilloscope, power supplies, signal generator etc. i can work with LT spice. I have books from Floyd, Electronic devices 9th edition, John Bird, Electrical and electronic Principles and technology 3th edition etc. I want to study analog circuits for now and later digital. I want to control electric motors etc. I don't want to tinker. I'm serious about it. What i need is a program. If there are college teachers who teach electronics and reading this, please help me with a course program and recommend online free downloadable books so i can systematically learn. For example, see chapter 2 of this book and chapter 5 of that book. Many thanks

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2022, 10:29:44 pm
content: The best way to learn is actually to have a real project to work on, and design something, and go through it all the way.Also, i always recomend doing a representative LTspice sim of everything you design...just as a check.Here is my free course in SMPS...with loads of ltspice simsSMPS course_Big foldershttps://drive.google.com/file/d/17ij_pQLkAzzYeL_TRNci86sXHMirKHmD/view?usp=sharingSMPS course_little foldershttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1WvElhDNfHI0EBei4rouSNEdWWTO1oCtJ/view?usp=sharingsimulate everything...but know the limitations of simulation.I hope if you get given a project from work you can write back here for help with it...but beware as in most companies, there are senior engineers who regularly hawk watch the forums, to check to see if their juniors are using the forums........its an unfortunate fact that senior engineers in many co's, cant abide the thought of a junior getting knowledge in electronics that they have themselves....and they will report you to head office for forum use, and say that you are giving away company secrets...so as to get you off the forum....and keep them as the main company tech experts, and you and other juniors , as "those who do not know"

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2022, 10:37:53 pm
content: Electronics is an enormous field and I suspect your are going to have to narrow the range. RF engineering is wildly different than microcontroller programming but it's all EE.There are some primers listed in the sticky thread above. You basically start with DC circuit and migrate to AC circuits then active circuits and then control systems, etc.You might try the EE program at Khan Academy. You should already have the math covered so it's just a matter of application. Like ME, EE is all math.

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2022, 11:15:05 pm
content: Thank you

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2022, 11:20:10 pm
content: Many thanks FaringdonNice to know help is available. Not nice of those senior engineers. Why do they have to do that with someone? Not nice. Many thanks again

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2022, 11:26:12 pm
content: Get Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill. I prefer the 2nd. ed as it's basic and cheaper than the 3rd. edition. There is a student manual to accompany the 2nd ed (haven't checked for the third). That's not necessary unless you can't think of things to try. Each chapter in the textbook has a good ideas and bad ideas section. Try to make the "good ideas" work for you. That might suffice for the student manual, which was geared to a specific university course.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2022, 06:17:54 am
content: Checkout the ARRL handbook as well.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2022, 11:19:46 am
content: Maybe something like below is suited for you:https://html.duckduckgo.com/html?q=open+universitySuch institutes are usually geared towards (inter/) nationally recognized diploma's, but quite often you can just pick out the parts you are interested in without even having the intention to go for a full course.

author: tepalia02
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2022, 12:40:58 pm
content: You did not mention whether you have studied transistors yet. If you have not, you can study diodes first and then transistors. If you have already studied transistors, then you can move to OPAMP since you want to study analog electronics first.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2022, 03:23:35 pm
content: You might take the curriculum for your ME program and compare classes with an equivalent EE program. I haven't done this but I'll bet that the math classes align and it's only about 8 directed courses difference. Further, you might find courses like Thermodynamics and/or Heat Transfer to be identical.Any chance of just going back to school and picking up a dual major? This seems more doable now that universities have found a cash cow in remote learning.MIT Open Courseware is another possibility but I don't know that it leads to a diploma. I don't know that it doesn't, either.https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/6-002-circuits-and-electronics-spring-2007/In terms of just covering the material and no diploma, Digilent Real Analog seems pretty complete. Besides the texts there are homework problems and quizzes.https://digilent.com/reference/learn/courses/real-analog/startI'll throw out my favorite resources although you probably have others:Graphing:www.desmos.comSolving:www.symbolab.comTools: GNU Octave or MATLAB. MATLAB is certainly more expansive but Octave is free. wxMaxima is also very useful and I would include some programming language familiarity. Python would be a good choice but my favorite will always be Fortran.LTspice is the simulator of choice for most. There is a lot of support on the web and here at eevBlog.One thing I know about remote learning programs, they only save on room and board (maybe), they do not discount the tuition.You might Google for 'usc ee' and have a look around. I think the program is available for remote learning but you would need to look into that. For certain, the tuition is top tier.

author: wizard69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2022, 06:45:57 pm
content: Note knowing what you already know, I;d suggest starting right at the beginning with DC and then AC circuits, move into semiconductors and then take Faringdon advice and start building circuits you are interested in. Let face it, keeping focus is easy on stuff you have a personal interest in! Beyond that you should already have most of the math and physics to help you understand concepts in electronics. You might think it is too early to start designing anything and I woould say yes if you take anything literally, however you should have little trouble with transistor and opamp circuits at least at the introductory level.Be aware that there are different levels or depths to what is available on line, some of which is more suitable to preparing technicians as opposed to engineers. Usually there is a massive difference in the math required. However don't dismiss one or another, as sometimes that ability to learn something depends greatly upon how the matter is delivered and you are already conversant in higher level math. I.E. some teachers are better than others.Learn to program. This might not be important for the creation of analog systems but it is critical for digital systems. Frankly this is where good formal training is likely to be more worthwhile to you because it is so easy to become a bad programmer. Here I'm specifically saying that you need better programming skills than you might have received in your mechanical engineering course. Beyond that well developed programming skills can even help in the analog world for data collection and automated test.When you say systematic to me that implies college level courses that follow a rigorous step by step process. So look for programs that emulate the progression that college level courses follow. While not a replacement for engineering the Navy's NEETS course on line is probably one of the better FREE sources of technical education for technician level electronics, so a good free resource for everybody. One big problem is the rapid change in the world of electronics, which brings up probably the most important element, the ability to read datasheets and tech notes from the manufactures. You can come across technology that isn't really covered well in the first year or two of college level education, so you need to reference the data sheets.Learn to use spreadsheet software and database management software if you haven't already. To a deeper level learn the ins and outs of the so called "power user" software supplied/available with your OS of choice. This includes things like terminal / command line access to the OS, Python (hopefully supplied with the OS or installed yourself), terminal emulators / communications software, and other goodies. Install a good text editor. You might think that this is going overboard but there is a lot of stuff that is supplied by manufactures in spreadsheet form, or compressed in various forms that you will want access to. A good text editor can allow looking at those files without messing them up. Further I've notice that many engineers graduate from school not really having a good grasp on spreadsheets which are pervasive in industry, it doesn't hurt to take a deep dive with a good book here. I know I'm really going off topic here but spreadsheet forms are used for just about everything in some organizations.In any event dig in and have some fun. Your background should easily let you step into simple transistor and opamp circuits with in weeks of starting a program. Start designing early into your educational process (whatever you choose) even if you need to leverage existing designs as a guide.

author: Old Printer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2022, 08:32:10 pm
content: The internet puts a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips, but if looking for a organized approach that takes a little more effort. Everything looks interesting and it’s easy to go bouncing from one topic to the next. The Art of Electronics and it’s accompanying lab manual is a great approach, and looking for the second edition (silver cover) will save you a lot of money. I am sure there are a dozen ways to get what you are looking for, but those books will get you on the right track.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2022, 09:15:36 pm
content: https://www.alibris.com/booksearch?mtype=B&keyword=the+art+of+electronicsIf you chase around down toward the bottom of the page, you can find the 2d edition.It seems I have found a pdf file for Version 3https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-art-of-electronics-d166959094.html