Source for practical labs and explanations on using basic semiconductor devices? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: jakk
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 08, 2014, 10:42:32 pm
content: Hey. I am looking for some good online (ideally free) labs and explanations that will teach practical use of semiconductor devices and design. In the past, I have taken basic AC/DC,transient,etc analysis classes at school, and now I am going through MIT 6.002x on edX in order to refresh some of that knowledge. However, I have the same problem I did in school, which is that I really have very, very little exposure to using basic semiconductor devices (transistors, mosfets, op amps, etc) and basic circuit design techniques. Most of my schooling was based around digital logic and microcontroller programming, and when it comes to actually interfacing devices with micro controllers or any sort of analog design I am almost clueless.I am wondering if there are any good online classes/resources which teach practical electronics applications and include labs. I recently picked up an older 4 ch 100mhz analog scope, frequency counter, and multimeter. I would love to be able to use these things with experiments and learning. I found an example of a class like I am talking about at MIT, but of course the full course is not available online.http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-091-hands-on-introduction-to-electrical-engineering-lab-skills-january-iap-2008/I would really like to get some practical skills and knowledge to give me ideas about how to do some simple analog design and interfacing things with microcontrollers that have higher voltage/current requirements.For example, I have an idea for a project that involves ringing an old telephone bell (40-90 VAC), and ideally I would like to have a low-voltage power source for the project and somehow approximate the ring signal as it is very low current. I am thinking there has to be a way to do this because something like a taser operates on a 9v and creates 10k+ volts.Thanks for your help

author: nowlan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2014, 03:08:02 am
content: Dont know any video classes off hand. You might have a look at the "analog discovery" videos on youtube. It might be a bit below the level you are after. Also afrotech mods for basic devices.I think you probably want to start with books containing "microcontroller interfacing" in the title. Have a look at books.google.com and the previews. A lot of controllers cant drive/interface directly to real world, and these books will show how to connect sensors, relays, transistors to drive loads etc.

author: Wytnucls
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2014, 03:22:58 am
content: Check Alan's videos, if you haven't yet. Some will cover what you're after:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiqd3GLTluk2s_IBt7p_LjAThis is also a good source to understand the behavior of most components in basic circuits:http://www.falstad.com/circuit/e-index.html#gyrator

author: jakk
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 09, 2014, 10:22:52 pm
content: Thanks for the links. I am into amateur radio as well, so that youtube link is of great interest to me. I am also trying to find a book that explains in simple terms how radios/transceivers work and takes a view of things from sort of a "block level" view and then goes into more detail. That's how I'd like to be able to view electronics as well-to be able to view for example a transistor as a sort of "black box" to apply to solve a problem without getting too deep into the theory of operation.