 |
Search Sci.Electronics.Basics |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Sci.Electronics.Basics -> Good Beginner Electronics Book
There are 14 messages in this thread.
You are currently looking at messages 1 to 14.
|
|
|
I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
that much.
I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
another book that has circuits you can play with?
Thanks in advanced!
|
|
|
|
Author: Freelance Embedded Systems EngineerDate: 15:42 02-06-08
|
|
danikar@gmail.com wrote:
> I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
> looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
> that much.
>
> I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
> going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
> a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
> on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
> suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
>
> What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
> like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
> just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
> generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
> another book that has circuits you can play with?
>
> Thanks in advanced!
Forest Mims III wrote a number of booklets "Engineer's Mini-Notebook" that
Radio Shack has stocked for years. These booklets are pretty basic, but focused and on
target and a decent starting point. I doubt Radio Shack still carries these but you can
find them elsewhere.
http://www.forrestmims.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_Mims
http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/analogsynth/whatyouneed.html
|
|
|
|
Author: Kris KriegerDate: 15:48 02-06-08
|
|
danikar@gmail.com wrote in news:217a24f3-3235-4c06-a004-
bc7b6d847b1b@q27g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
> I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
> looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
> that much.
>
> I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
> going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
> a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
> on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
> suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
>
> What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
> like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
> just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
> generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
> another book that has circuits you can play with?
>
> Thanks in advanced!
>
I'm just beginning also, although I did take 2 semesters of physics,
albeit about 30 yrs ago ;)
I also bought the "Electronics for Dummies" book, but the "introductory
explanations" left out a lot of important info, which I had to scribble
in from another reference.
I'm still at he stage of figuring out how to trace current flow, and how
to translate schematic into actual assemled components. SO I
unfortunatley can't help you a whole lot. But, since i empathize with a
fellow beginner ;) , just in case these might be of some help to you,
here are some things I was either referred to, or found, on-line (the
brief descriptions are my own, intended to help you decide whther the
link might useful for your needs):
- This page describes itself as "Really Basic Electronics" - but it does
not show the relationship to the circuit schmeatics, and actual
assemblies:
http://www.seattlerobotics.org/guide/electronics.html
- This site shows a simple circuit WITH it's assembled end-product! It
is the *only* such side-by-side tutorial I've found so far:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-Battery-Charging/
But it makes a lot more sense if you get more information ergarding
what the itmes are, so the following is a really good site:
- which seems to be a whole electronics text/course, but in on-line
format - it loads fast and is easy to navigate (no cumbersome Flash or
other annoying plugins required to access it, no dancing baloney or
flashy doodads - just good, solid information) - it has a lot of great
explanations of how things work - but again, from what i've seen so far,
no side-by-side comparison/explanation of circuit schematics and finished
assemblies:
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/l_sitemap.html
- this page explains what those colored bands on resistors mean:
http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/Resistor_Codes
- Related to the above, two different types of capacitor codes:
http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/Capacitor_Color_Codes
http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/Capacitor_codes
HTH and Good luck - if you find any side-by-side schematics:assemblies
references, either on-line or in print, it'd be great if you could post
the links (or references); I'm stuill looking, but I'll do teh same, post
and references I come across.
- K.
|
|
|
|
Author: Rich WebbDate: 16:32 02-06-08
|
|
On Mon, 2 Jun 2008 11:31:19 -0700 (PDT), danikar@gmail.com wrote:
>I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
>looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
>that much.
>
>I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
>going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
>a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
>on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
>suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
>
>What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
>like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
>just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
>generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
>another book that has circuits you can play with?
The NEETS modules start from the basics and work up. They're probably
not all relevant (you may not need info on radars right away) and
somewhat dated but good info.
http://www.hnsa.org/index.htm has copies of these and other manuals;
drill down from the "Documents" link.
--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
|
|
|
|
|
|
On Mon, 2 Jun 2008, Kris Krieger wrote:
> danikar@gmail.com wrote in news:217a24f3-3235-4c06-a004-
> bc7b6d847b1b@q27g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
>
>> I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
>> looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
>> that much.
>>
>> I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
>> going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
>> a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
>> on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
>> suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
>>
>> What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
>> like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
>> just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
>> generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
>> another book that has circuits you can play with?
>>
>> Thanks in advanced!
>>
>
> I'm just beginning also, although I did take 2 semesters of physics,
> albeit about 30 yrs ago ;)
>
> I also bought the "Electronics for Dummies" book, but the
"introductory
> explanations" left out a lot of important info, which I had to scribble
> in from another reference.
>
I started by reading all the books in the children's library even remotely
connected (ie at the time there were a lot of books that were more
electrical than electronic) and then started reading the hobby magazines.
None of it made sense at first, but I kept buying the magazines, and
partly osmosis and who knows what else and it started to make sense.
IN some ways the early reading was thrown away, yet it was crucial
to what I built on it later. It's the same with the projects I tried
to build, the first few never worked yet if I'd not done them "until I
knew things" I might still be waiting.
In effect, I submerged myself in it, and then used books to explain
things as I needed them. Reference books that you can look things up,
rather than sit at page one and read through it, may be as important
as trying to learn by reading a book and then doing things.
The problem with that is the hobby magazines have mostly disappeared,
and at the very least no longer cost the fifty cents per issue that I paid
almost forty years ago, so the raw material isn't there to learn from.
Try multiple books rather than a single "One Big Suurce". Buy used or
go to the library so the cost isn't a big factor if you get a dud. Read
a book through, not stopping if you stall just rush through the parts you
don't grasp at first, and then work on another book. The other book may
fill in the gaps the first one had. Or once you get to the end, things
may be more obvious than earlier in the book, so you can go back and
fill in.
And learning suffers when things are abstract. If you're not ready
for a bit of information, it will be harder than if you have a practical
use for it. For that matter, for the hobbyist, there may be more need
for practical informatin, how to solder and where to buy parts, than
things like how a capacitor works. It may depend on whether you "want
to learn electronics" or "want to build things". The experience of
building will help to put the theory in context.
I once bought a dictionary of electronic terms, and while I've never used
it that much (when I bought it I was already loaded with books), it is
still useful every so often to look up a term. I don't know if that
sort of thing is still available.
Michael
|
|
|
|
Author: Richard SerianiDate: 17:04 02-06-08
|
|
> danikar@gmail.com wrote:
>> I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
>> looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
>> that much.
>>
>> I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
>> going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
>> a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
>> on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
>> suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
>>
>> What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
>> like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
>> just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
>> generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
>> another book that has circuits you can play with?
>>
>> Thanks in advanced!
Here is another link you may want to look at:
http://www.ibiblio.org/kuphaldt/electricCircuits/
|
|
|
|
Author: JamieDate: 17:20 02-06-08
|
|
danikar@gmail.com wrote:
> I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
> looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
> that much.
>
> I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
> going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
> a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
> on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
> suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
>
> What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
> like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
> just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
> generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
> another book that has circuits you can play with?
>
> Thanks in advanced!
Go to radio shaft, and get one of those 101 Kits. it has all the
components with in, that are reusable.. it's a great tool for
getting started..
http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5";
|
|
|
|
Author: Joel KoltnerDate: 17:41 02-06-08
|
|
"Jamie" <jamie_ka1lpa_not_valid_after_ka1lpa_@charter.net> wrote in
message
news:lrZ0k.1227$E22.719@newsfe02.lga...
> Go to radio shaft, and get one of those 101 Kits. it has all the components
> with in, that are reusable.. it's a great tool for
> getting started..
The main drawback of those kits is that they generally don't teach design
techniques, and even the explanations of how the circuits work often lack
details that, to a beginner, are quite significant. Additionally, since the
older kits usually only had, e.g., 3 transistors, some of the circuits had to
be rather clever in making use of a single transistor to simultaneously be,
say, an RF oscillator as well as an audio amplifier. Describing how a circuit
like that works is not at all trivial -- I suspect that even most college
professors who teach electronics would be stumped. The schematics also suffer
from the usual problem that often they've been "compressed" to fit into a
particular frame within the page, and thus things like, say, differential
pairs don't *look* like differential pairs unless you re-draw the schematic
(or do so mentally), something that many a beginner won't know to do.
Still, they're a lot of fun to play with, and usually cheap.
|
|
|
|
Author: Sjouke BurryDate: 18:01 02-06-08
|
|
danikar@gmail.com wrote:
> I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
> looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
> that much.
>
> I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
> going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
> a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
> on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
> suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
>
> What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
> like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
> just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
> generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
> another book that has circuits you can play with?
>
> Thanks in advanced!
Why not download a very solid Navy electronics course??
Very good and very cheap, zero cents.
http://www.tech-systems-labs.com/navy.htm
|
|
|
|
Author: Kris KriegerDate: 19:13 02-06-08
|
|
Rich Webb <bbew.ar@mapson.nozirev.ten> wrote in
news:8cl844pqg0fndlk0464dr4fij3cd9cosfm@4ax.com:
> On Mon, 2 Jun 2008 11:31:19 -0700 (PDT), danikar@gmail.com wrote:
>
>>I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
>>looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
>>that much.
>>
>>I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
>>going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
>>a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
>>on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
>>suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
>>
>>What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
>>like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
>>just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
>>generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
>>another book that has circuits you can play with?
>
> The NEETS modules start from the basics and work up. They're probably
> not all relevant (you may not need info on radars right away) and
> somewhat dated but good info.
>
> http://www.hnsa.org/index.htm has copies of these and other manuals;
> drill down from the "Documents" link.
>
Cool website, thanks ;)
|
|
|
|
Author: David L. JonesDate: 22:28 02-06-08
|
|
On Jun 3, 4:31 am, dani...@gmail.com wrote:
> I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
> looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
> that much.
>
> I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
> going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
> a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
> on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
> suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
>
> What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
> like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
> just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
> generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
> another book that has circuits you can play with?
>
> Thanks in advanced!
You'll almost certainly find that no one book will be right for you,
and recommendations won't mean much. You have to read a whole bunch of
them, and some of them will "click" for you and others won't.
The Talking Electronics books are quite eclectic but do a pretty good
job for the beginner:
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/AllKitsWithPics/Books.html
Dave.
|
|
|
|
Author: ClaudeDate: 11:27 03-06-08
|
|
Here is what I am using, it doesn't get any simpler. It is a course book of
57 lessons and you buy the component kit that comes with it in a nice little
tool box complete with breadboard and jumpers. The book and kit are 100%
compatible. The kit is exclusively sold by www.abra-electronics.com The kit
is loaded with all of the required components and cost approximately 35%
less than if bought separately. The book covers some theory then immediately
has you breadboarding the lesson. They start with the schematic and pictures
of the breadboard then wane you off of the breadboard pictures. The book has
a few errors but the author maintains the required corrections on his site.
The course takes about a 100 hours to get through if you are passionate.
There was an error in the NOR and NAND gates lesson that threw me out for 2
days until I checked the site ( schematics where reversed)
Check out the author's site for more questions, answers and examples.
www.elxevilgenius.com
There is an Abra in Montreal Canada and one in the state of New-York, same
owner and they do most of their business on-line. Very reputable and cater
mostly to educational institutions.
The way the Navy course suggested in the other posts is outstanding!!!!! If
there is one thing where the military excel in it is course design. It is
thousands of pages so when I get confused on a concept in my Evil Genius
course I check out the Navy course. It is a theory course, no practical
experiments at all.
Are you lazy? I know I am so there is a 40 hour electronics course on
Youtube given by a university in India. The teacher Mr Natarajan has a bit
of an accent but the course is awesome. He power points the theory then
breadboards everything in front of you. Those 40 hours are worth 2 years of
school!!!!! The reason they did this very professional course is to be able
to train people in remote areas of India who can't get to a proper
institution. I would have paid good coin if they had charged for this
course.
If nothing above helps consider knitting :o)
Claude
Montreal
<danikar@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:217a24f3-3235-4c06-a004-bc7b6d847b1b@q27g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
> looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
> that much.
>
> I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
> going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
> a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
> on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
> suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
>
> What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
> like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
> just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
> generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
> another book that has circuits you can play with?
>
> Thanks in advanced!
|
|
|
|
Author: Ken FowlerDate: 21:45 03-06-08
|
|
On 2-Jun-2008, Freelance Embedded Systems Engineer <g9u5dd43@yahoo.com>
wrote:
> danikar@gmail.com wrote:
> > I am looking to learn more about electronics and what not. I have
> > looked at a few books and purchased one. However, I didn't like it
> > that much.
> >
> > I got Electronic Projects for Dummies. The book started off like I was
> > going to understand it, then I got to chapter 5 and it asked me to buy
> > a bunch of components to put together this project. Some of the items
> > on the list I couldn't find even in the online stores that they
> > suggested in the book. The project was a little above me anyway.
> >
> > What I am looking for is a book that will explain a concept to me,
> > like capacitors. Then give a few circuits that demonstrate what they
> > just explained to me. Is there anything like that? Or, do you
> > generally have to read through a book that is all explanation then get
> > another book that has circuits you can play with?
> >
> > Thanks in advanced!
I reccomend reading several editions of "The ARRL Handbook for Radio
Amateurs". A new edition appears every year and has for about 75 years.
Most big libraries have a collection of issues and old issues show up at
swap meets and garage sales. It's oriented towards equipment for Amateur
Radio stations but has a good basic electronics section and lots of
construction projects. As someone else pointed out, the US Navy NEETS
manuals are very comprehensive and written at a level appropriate for
beginning Electronics Technicians. You can buy the NEETS set on a CD Rom.
Ken Fowler, KO6NO
|
|
|
|
Author: Joel KoltnerDate: 13:32 04-06-08
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
Contact | Electronic Portal
|
|
|
