understanding electronics - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: superk
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 12:50:43 am
content: Hi there I'm new and have trouble understanding electronics. Here's an example : I can read a circuit diagram but don't understand why you would need a resistor here or a capacitor there. Can anyone recommend anything to help?

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 12:57:20 am
content: Start with learning basic calculus and the beginnings of differential calculus, then start reading the electronics primers mentioned in the sticky in this forum.

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 12:59:14 am
content: Not in that particular order. I recommend understanding calculus concepts and terminology, but most of this stuff doesn'treallyrequire it. Maybe to solve equations, but not to understand circuit function.Build stuff. You'll find out what that resistor does when you try to build a similar circuit and realize that it doesn't work without it.

author: hedgewallace
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 01:15:27 am
content: The best way to get into electronics is to buy a breadboard and a basic kit of components (switches, LED's, resistors, etc).You can find heaps of basic electronic experiments on the internet.I learned a lot from just basic components (Wiring up LED's, resistors, relays, etc)Once you have learned the basics, you could also buy an arduino. There is heap of arduino tutorials on YouTube.Using the arduino, you can build advanced circuits from very little components.

author: Sigmoid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 02:56:37 am
content: Yea I guess one can get away without calculus, but sooner or later you'll start to miss it.So yea it's a good idea to read up on it....and besides, there's nothing quite like Laplace transforming stuff. (In two hour bouts, with an episode of some inane Japanese cartoon to provide some neural regeneration inbetween, at night, approximately 12 hours before the deadline of handing the stuff over to the prof, in a weird flow-spot between a debiliating headache and a caffeine-induced fugue state...)

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 03:07:54 am
content: I myself do not understand calculus... and so far have been going along fairly well on algebra alone,most of the time it comes down to what the function of the module is, say you have a resistor followed by a capacitor, then this is likely to be a time constant of some form, an inductor followed by a capacitor would be a filter, or possible resonance circuit,another use of resistors you might see is with transistors, not just to limit the base current, but to bias it just start conducting, so that a small signal will slam it open or shut, this is something you see in amplifiers, equally using capacitors to AC couple a signalyou also have gain and frequency compensation networks surrounding op amps, more uses of resistors and capacitors,for reference throw up an image of one of the schematics your puzzled about and I'll try and help,and yes building and troubleshooting things really is one of the best ways to learn all these little tid bits, so at the very least have enough knowledge on the basics to get in and work the rest out as you come to it,

author: w2aew
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 03:22:43 am
content: I agree, the math for most electronics doesn't go beyond algebra.There's no substitute for learning the basics. Ohms law. Function and operation of basic passive and active components. How to calculate basic component values to setup appropriate bias voltage/currents. Books like The Art Of Electronics are pretty good for laying down the basics.Build stuff. Measure stuff. Experiment. And remember, you learn a lot more from your mistakes than the successes.

author: Randall W. Lott
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 12:57:11 am
content: You don't need to understand any Calculus to design most electronics. To truly understand how they work; you do.Watch some YouTube videos or go to your library and get a beginners book (not a hobby book).

author: TerminalJack505
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 01:09:18 am
content: Don't forget that there are some pretty decent free simulators out there. These can help a lot when it comes to understanding how a circuit functions. This is especially true if you don't have equipment such as an oscilloscope and signal generator.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 09:22:42 am
content: And for goodness' sake don't buy an Arduino or anything like one until you want to build things that can't be accomplished without one. I see plenty of project threads on that forum that could be done quite well with a 555 timer and a few op-amps, or discrete logic ICs. You will learn a lot more if, for the time being, you forget microcontrollers etc even exist.Besides, you're not going to shed any tears if you magic-smoke a logic chip or op amp. Stock up on cheap simple components that you can run to destruction while you learn.

author: KJDS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 10:38:18 am
content: Calculus? Bollox.It's been twentyfive years since I actually used any calculus in design. and that ended up needing Green's diadic functions to solve, which I'd wager the majority of professional engineers would rather avoid.I once interviewed a graduate who used Laplace to solve a simple question with one resistor and one capacitor. I didn't give him the job on principle.