Advice for learning electronics like how Dave@EEVBlog did. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Ankur Naidu
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 01:12:39 pm
content: Hey Dave@EEVBLog,My question is something specific to you and something that I have been dying to know for a long time,how you taught yourself practical electronics and did not just end up mugging up equations and numerical.How and what sources did you use to get an intuitive understanding of electronics as my current uni only teaches only equations and derivations which I just cannot wrap my head around.At the start of the Video of OpAmps, You immediately start off by saying that the "hard way" to learn electronics is to refer to those equations. And then you move to explain it in an "easy way"where it makes so much sense finally and now I can see the big picture and start to co-relate and understand the math behind it. And it was not only this video, any general Fundamental Friday'sYour explanation is so much better than what we learn at uni.So my question is, how do I learn and get to the knowledge of where you are currently(other than actually doing, I am currently looking at theory)? Other than the top-recommended book Floyd,Are there other books that explain electronics like you do and what other sources did you use to get to where you are? I could really use some advice?Thanks in advance,Ankur

author: BillyO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 02:19:58 pm
content: Not Dave here, but my guess would be a lot of it is in the saying "Don't turn it on, take it apart!"

author: Ankur Naidu
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 03:17:32 pm
content: Yeahh, I wish uni exams were more like that.

author: MrAl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 05:39:48 pm
content: Quote from: Ankur Naidu on December 15, 2022, 01:12:39 pmHi,For me in my experience it has been both.The math and the intuition can work together. It may not seem like it right now, but as you go you will gain more and more intuition. The fact is you need theory and practice to get a good grasp of circuits and applications. That's why Uni's have labs as well as math.I've learned a lot of things by hands on experience alone but i have learned many things with math theory that i could never ever learn in a million years from hands on work. If you have just one or the other you may miss something good, but if you have both, you get the best of both worlds.Go get both

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 06:56:30 pm
content: Every engineer coming out of school has the same background in terms of math vs practice. Some of them will have years of just 'building stuff' that helps with the practical aspects.So, pick a sizeable project and build it. Document the design decisions. Don't laugh but I think there is a lot of learning in the Arduino and Raspberry Pi Starter Kits at Amazon. The tutorials do a decent job of providing background. Pay serious attention to all of the numbers in the datasheet. The manufacturer paid a lot of money to get those numbers and I don't think they did it for giggles. Every number establishes a limit to something. Maybe it's important to a design, maybe not. But first the number needs to be read and understood.Buy component assortments from Amazon and see how badly the transistors vary from the datasheet. Watch w2aew transistor videos to see some actual circuit design. Same with EEVblog videos - search for the "Fundamentals Friday" series...https://www.eevblog.com/category/eevblog-official-releases/tutorials/fundementalsfriday/

author: Wallace Gasiewicz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 10:49:12 pm
content: You have to understand the basic math involved in electronics. Like Ohm's law and how to add and subtract resistance etc,,,,, You need to study this well. Whether you understand the calculus equations and higher functions is up to you, but you need to learn the basic stuff. You need to understand how basic components like capacitors and inductors and resistors work. You need to know how transistors, valves and MOSFets do what they do.A few basic lab experiments like making a small amplifier would help. If you make something, understand how it works.Start there.

author: BillyO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2022, 12:09:10 am
content: Valves as in tubes? No. He does not need to know how they work. Just like he does not need to remember the characteristics of selenium rectifier stacks, mercury wave delay-line memory or spark-gap transmitters. Unless of course he wants to get into very vintage stuff for fun and interest.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2022, 10:56:39 am
content: Quote from: Ankur Naidu on December 15, 2022, 01:12:39 pmBoth practical and theoretical are necessary; neither is sufficient.The career advice implicit in this story is as valid now as when it was written.https://www.inf.ufpr.br/renato/profession.html