Introduction to Electronics  course   -  free or $50  -  Starts Aug 22 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 31, 2016, 11:49:01 pm
content: Free to take, $50 for certificateStarts Aug 22, 2016 ends Oct 16Registration ends Aug 27https://www.coursera.org/learn/electronics?recoOrder=23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=recommendations&utm_campaign=recommendationsEmail%7Erecs_email_2016_07_31_17%3A57Week 1Introduction and ReviewWeek 2Op Amps Part 1Week 3Op Amps Part 2Week 4Diodes Part 1Week 5Diodes Part 2Week 6MOSFET TransistorsWeek 7Bipolar Junction Transistors

author: Stuartambient
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 01, 2016, 05:16:14 pm
content: Interesting course but is it really an "introduction" diving into op-amps almost at the start of the course? I've been working on the All About Circuits material and am almost done with my first pass through book 1. Semiconductors are not until book 3. I realize everyone has their own teaching style so I just ask.Anyway, thanks for the link. I think I'll sign up for it. I've done some Coursera before and the quality is good and the work challenging.Edit: Ok, I got thrown by the word introduction. Found this under the pre-reqs -QuoteI got the resistive circuit methods from the AAC material. Not much of the rest, but stiill 3 weeks to catch up

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 01, 2016, 07:25:56 pm
content: Quote from: Stuartambient on August 01, 2016, 05:16:14 pmI was wondering how they pulled off OpAmps in the second week without a lengthy discussion of mesh and nodal analysis. You simply can't do op amps without Kirchoff's laws.There's a lot more motivation to learn to swim when the water is over your head! Go for it! Fill in the gaps by asking questions of the peer groups or around here.If you teach op amps in the abstract, they are just an amplifier whose output is related to the difference in the input voltages. A 'black box', so to speak.

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 01, 2016, 08:08:42 pm
content: Quote from: rstofer on August 01, 2016, 07:25:56 pmIt's meant to be the second course in a series of GIT electronics courses offered by Coursera. The first course "Linear Circuits" covered the usual stuff. It was offered a couple of times in the past but not currently.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 01, 2016, 08:30:04 pm
content: Quote from: Stuartambient on August 01, 2016, 05:16:14 pmI got the resistive circuit methods from the AAC material. Not much of the rest, but stiill 3 weeks to catch upI also thought it odd to start with OP amps because I also missed the prerequisites

author: Stuartambient
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 01, 2016, 09:51:48 pm
content: I'll see how it goes. I'm not doing the certificate option and whatever I can take away from the course will be fine. I had a look at the pdf's. The math looks intense but at least I've heard of Butterworth and Chebyshev. That has to be worth something.

author: RogerRowland
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2016, 04:56:07 am
content: I've done it, and the Linear Circuits one that was a pre-requisite.Overall ok, but not hugely impressed - a lot of variation in the different lecturers' styles.

author: JacquesBBB
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2016, 10:48:14 am
content: All the material is already online.The first week covers rapidly all the pre-requisite : Kirchhoff's law, impedance, transfer function, frequency response, bode plotQuote from: Stuartambient on August 01, 2016, 05:16:14 pmThis is frequently done in some lecture courses : op amp before diodes and transistors.If the op amp is ideal, its behavior is more easy to understand than real semi conductors.

author: RogerRowland
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2016, 11:04:29 am
content: Quote from: JacquesBBB on August 02, 2016, 10:48:14 amI agree. This was actually a good thing for me when I took the course - the op amp is such a useful building block and (if ideal) very easy to understand and model. It fired up my interest quickly with all of the possibilities and it was easy to try things out on a breadboard with very little problem. Diodes and transistors come later to focus more on non-linear aspects because up until then, everything has been RLC. Like I said above, I wasn't hugely impressed with the quality and consistency of content, but it may have been tweaked since I did it. Other students had felt the same as me and I had feedback from the tutors that some videos were planned to be re-recorded.