Best way to study EE? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: XDroidie626
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2015, 08:53:20 pm
content: I'm looking to do some quick research before I start my EE course at uni, but what would be the best way to learn.I plan to use the EEV youtube channel for some stuff but books for others, I'm looking at maybe Practical Electronics for inventors, I hear its good, and I plan to use a notepad over a laptop.What do you think?

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 24, 2015, 08:58:21 pm
content: What do you mean a notepad over a laptop. Paper notes are fine but you seem to be looking for non existent rules to follow.If your doing a degree I'd expect your university to supply or recommend the resources you need for you to study to the level you expect.Are you looking to learn more for your own purposes ?

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2015, 09:05:38 pm
content: Quote from: XDroidie626 on July 24, 2015, 08:53:20 pmLikewise, can you explain what you mean by notepad?A computer is going to be essential for any kind of study these days. What have you been using at school so far?Quote from: XDroidie626 on July 24, 2015, 08:53:20 pmOn reflection, I'm not sure what to think about this. If you are starting uni later this year, the most important things to research and prepare for now are about living, finances, budgeting, cooking, and everything else to do with life away from home and managing by yourself (assuming you are going away to study).There's nothing to be gained by trying to get a head start on the academic program. If you don't already know anything about electronics at a hobby/practical level then you will gain nothing of value in three months by starting now. Just wait until you arrive, learn the lie of the land, and then take it from there.

author: Hideki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2015, 09:07:52 pm
content: There is no "best way" that applies to everyone, and there will never be. There is only "your way" that's best for you. This applies to everything, not just learning electronics.What works is to always choose what excites you the most out of whatever options you have available at the moment.Just get started with something, and if it doesn't feel right, make a change.

author: XDroidie626
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2015, 10:14:14 pm
content: The reason I say notepad over laptop is cause I can actually write and draw anything easily, I can type faster than write but drawing is a no go, and I can annotate it as I go along with any notes.Also I am learning it for a hobby level but I plan to take any knowledge with me of course, but its mostly to better understand diagrams for projects with my breadboard and Arduino, I expect to learn a lot at uni more than I have from my own experience.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2015, 10:33:48 pm
content: By all means take lecture notes with pen and paper. Students have been doing that for ever. But a computer will be essential for writing reports and essays, not to mention for running essential software for calculation and analysis. If you go to university without a laptop it will be the first thing you need to buy in week 1. Don't do that. Get one ahead of time, get it set up, and get comfortable with it (contact your EE department for advice on recommended software to install if you don't already have that information).

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2015, 10:37:04 pm
content: Also, if your EE course is any good you are not going to be playing with breadboards and Arduinos. That's not what engineering is all about. You are going to be learning theory, maths, more theory and more maths. You will be doing lab work in the engineering laboratory that involves doing experiments on apparatus provided, recording data, doing calculations with that data, comparing to predictions from theory, and writing up a lab report on the results and conclusions.

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2015, 11:09:36 pm
content: I think maybe he means an iPad/tablet, not a paper notepad... which seems like a bad idea.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2015, 11:21:01 pm
content: Quote from: edavid on July 24, 2015, 11:09:36 pmYes, that would be a bad idea. I've tried using an iPad in place of a laptop (light, long battery life, easy to pack, what's not to like?), but it's very limited. One thing you learn very quickly is that tablets suck for content creation or data entry. Tablets are output devices, not input devices. They are great for reading, viewing, listening, browsing. They are hopeless for writing, editing, or producing.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2015, 11:42:26 pm
content: Learn enough theoretical so that you can understand what might work/fail in practice - minimising trial and error.Learn enough practical stuff so that you can understand which theories are really useful, and why.

author: pattyrice
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 25, 2015, 12:21:14 am
content: Convertible laptop? I really like using the Lenovo X series convertible laptops for notes because they convert from laptop to tablet. I have it upload my notes to google drive automatically and then download them on my home desktop. I started off with a X60t then went for a X200t.Speaking of YouTube, patrickJMT and Khan Academy are nice tutorial channels.MIT OpenCourseWare is good too for extra material.Discussing complex problems in groups can help.

author: Stephen Durr
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2015, 01:06:13 am
content: Paper and pencil are still great for quick ad-hoc notes and diagrams, check out some of w2aew's videos:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiqd3GLTluk2s_IBt7p_LjAand of course there is also the occasional use of DaveCAD in eevblog videos

author: JackP
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2015, 09:26:45 am
content: If you get something like an ultra book (very thin, not much power) that will be perfect for taking notes. I have a Bamboo USB 'tablet' with a stylus for drawings if that helps.

author: XDroidie626
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2015, 10:16:59 am
content: For the laptop/tablet things I have a chromebook, its light, fast, good on battery and brilliant for notes, for drawing the chromebook does not really do well, to be honest I don't think any device like this works well for drawing, maybe the Nvidia Shield but I would prefer notepad just for the diagram reasoning.For the learning its self though, at the moment its for my own learning, which includes the breadboard, at uni I expect to do maths and electronics, including soldering and schematics. although I have to say I don't think ill enjoy the theory math than the actual blowing things up side, but ah well

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2015, 10:38:32 am
content: When you get to school if you have a spare 10 minutes per week (which might or might not be the case) post a few thoughts here on what you are learning and/or what you might have prepared for differently had you known earlier what is coming in the life of an EE student. There are probably some future EEers here who would like a preview of what is ahead.

author: thejoggingmat
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 27, 2015, 02:19:02 pm
content: Personally, I use a surface pro 3 to replace all the xeroxed lecture notes we are forced to purchase (makes my wallet S$100 lighter every 6 months). The screen size closely matches the feel of an a4 paper, and its pen/stylus enables me to write directly into softcopy notes/worksheets. Saved me lots of money from lecture pads on top of the xeroxed notes to feed my electronics hobby. Back when I was still using a lecture pad, I burned through 1 of them every fortnight.I'm not sure how the life of an EE student is as I study chemical engineering, though I'd assume the pen&paper usage should be quite similar.When I'm not filling out tutorial worksheets or taking down notes, my daily driver is a MBP (as I do a lot of lightroom, premiere pro/after effects and xcode/android studio on a daily basis). Admittedly, the keyboard accessory of the SP3 is overpriced and absolute crap.

author: Docholiday
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2015, 01:26:42 pm
content: Yep! You are going to need a laptop as everyone recommends here. Your first yearI assume? There is going to be a lot of theory and math and some more theory and math. The lab portion will focus on the concept of understanding the theory and the math you will use in the lab to prove the theory. Loads of fun and at times frustration. These concepts - theory and math are extremely important, so study very hard and I guarantee you will be so glad you did in your second semester. While everyone else is struggling in second semester you will breeze right through it.At times you will go into information overload, take a step back and walk away and then come back. Get a digital tape recorder and record your lectures and at the same time take notes. This will reinforce your learning. I also in the begining got a compact camera to take a picture of my breadboard circuit once I mastered the theory. That with the recordings, and lecture notes helped me a lot. Dont get lazy prove those theory's in lab. Even if you understant the theory or at least you think you do.Remember practice makes permanent...

author: Mephitus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2015, 02:39:54 pm
content: Do yourself a favor and get a google Chromebook. (Credentials: 9 years in IT) Got one for my sister-in-law going to school to be an RN and she loves it. Perfect laptops for school use. Fantastic battery life, light, cheap, reliable, and very easy to use. You also get a ton of free storage with google drive for chromebook users. That way you never have to worry about losing any data due to drive failure/corruption.

author: jlake
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2015, 12:04:40 pm
content: I study on an IET accredited engineering course in the UK. I've actually been lucky enough to study at two different institutions here in the UK.I'd be happy to answer any questions.As far as course content goes, it is really university specific. Generally, don't expect too much practical work. As others have said, and I reiterate, it's maths, field theory and more physics. Often, you'll have a programming module chucked at you too and along with that, some kind of career related module to help you 'develop' into a professional engineer.All of my lecture notes are free to attain online and some lecturers even print them and leave stacks of them lying around the school office. These notes form the basis of your test content. Yes, there will be book references and yes, it is worth reading up on the material you're going over in lecture, but actually, if you just go to every lecture and remember/revise all of the notes ensuring you understand them there's nothing stopping you getting a first class grade in your first year.Having a laptop powerful enough to run things like MATLAB and Multisim can be useful, or their free equivalents.Most decent academic institutions will have online recordings of lectures - meaning you don't have to record them yourself.Just go to every lecture. If you wake up hungover, having only had three hours sleep, go to lecture - you'll be surprised how much you remember.You'll soon find that missing a lecture puts a lot of pressure on you. You're suddenly juggling nine or so different modules, all with coursework, all with problem sets, all with studying required and you're catching up on last week's work, whilst simultaneously doing this week's work and then you need to do laundry and then you need to eat and then you need to shower and then you need to sleep. Guess which one takes the hit? Sleeping and eating... This is part of becoming an adult, learn to juggle your deliverables or you'll do yourself some damage...

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2015, 02:58:11 pm
content: Quote from: jlake on August 07, 2015, 12:04:40 pmWe didn't have the luxury of that - we had to listen and take notes. For those with some foresight, it was extremely effective. For those without foresight, they had late unpleasant surprises. What do I mean by that?...I scribbled notes during the lecture and then, on the same day, I transcribed them into something readable. That had several benefits: I thought I understood it while scribbling/listening, but it was only whe transcribing them that I was able to realise what Ihadn'tactually understood - and to put inextranotes reminding me of what I had found difficult. That really paid of when it came to revision!Those that relied on scribbles found they couldn't read them and couldn't remember them when they came to revise.Moral: don't assume that having the printed lecture notes is sufficient: you still have to understand them and apply them!

author: tron9000
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2015, 03:24:58 pm
content: Quote from: XDroidie626 on July 24, 2015, 08:53:20 pmFor a start, congrats and good luck!Don't just rely on your laptop to make notes. Sure its useful, it can get lost, stolen, broken or if your in our lab, denied use cos the power supply is not PAT tested (insurance purposes)So get it PAT tested. Your department or faculty stores or Tech Support Staff should oblige you with a free test,but check first, else go to a qualified electrician - usually a few quid an item.Get it insured would be a good bet - theft is common in student digs, as is accidental damage, sods law dictates that either of these events will happen just before a big hand-in or an exam!And its not just the cost of replacement but all you notes will need recovering, or may not be recoverable at all if some scrote has pinched it, so invest in a large capacity external drive and look into a backup system -- I just implemented the laptop back-up system this video describes using a 1TB external drive and works really well! I'd back up twice-weekly.But your note book will be invaluable! No booting times, risk of damage from dropping, nobody is likely to steal it and they are cheap (if your dept./faculty has a stores they may sell them for 1/2 the price from your local stationery supplier!)We still issue students with lab books here and session 1 is leaning how to keep a lab book! Still doesn't sink in by week 10!Something to quickly scribble down findings, important bullet points, list, do to's, etcBooks: Horowitz & Hill 3rd edition - sure its dear but when you need it, and you think the library will have it - it won't. So get your own copy and lend it TO NO ONE!Do use the interwebs! But also take note of the course material, some of the stuff you may find is not cover as much on the internet, so take notes, ask questions, cos there's no point in wish you understood something at the time when you in the middle of an exam!