Electronic ignorance

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

Andrew, indeed. Part of the problem with practical analogue filters for amateur purposes is finding or creating a design which could be built with easily available components, esp. capacitors. As you say, digital filters are, by contrast, extremely good and unbelievably effective.

Ian, Yep, the very same! Twice as old now and twice as ugly, but no wiser (See current Club News)

Geoff

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

Andrew, indeed. Part of the problem with practical analogue filters for amateur purposes is finding or creating a design which could be built with easily available components, esp. capacitors. As you say, digital filters are, by contrast, extremely good and unbelievably effective.

Ian, Yep, the very same! Twice as old now and twice as ugly, but no wiser (See current Club News)

Geoff

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I'm a sucker for second-hand books. Last night I dipped into a recent purchase ("Morton's Advanced Electrical Engineering", to find this comforting start in the Preface:

Lewis Carroll, the genius of gentle humour, writes in The Three Voices,

Or, stretched beside some babbling brook,
To con, with inexpressive look,
An unintelligible book.

While it is not anticipated that this present volume will be read in such pastoral surroundings, it is hoped that it will not prove unintelligible to those for whom it is intended.

Unfortunately after luring me into a false sense of confidence, the first paragraph of Chapter One assumes that I already know what a linear circuit and a passive element is, the difference between current and potential difference, the meaning of impedance and admittance, and that I understand that a source of electrical energy might be constant-voltage or constant-current. Good mathematical skills are needed too – Chapter One then plunges straight into "simple" Matrix Algebra.

This is not a good book for a beginner, and it reminded me of Rod's original question "Seems I need an idiots guide to basic electronics. – Is there such a thing? Could anyone offer constructive advice as to how I might move forward"

Most of the "good" books I used in my youth are out-of-date. They all spend a lot of time on thermionic valves and are blissfully ignorant of the 40 years worth of rapid development since they were written.

If I were starting today, I would buy a copy of "The Art of Electronics" by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill" as recommended by Andy Ash in his first reply. The book is up-to-date, it doesn't assume much too much of the reader, it summarises most of modern electronics and, in the opinion of many, it's well written.

I wouldn't rely only on the book though. As others have pointed out H&H isn't aimed at complete beginners. I'd use the web to supplement and clarify the book. Steve Withnell provided this excellent **LINK** to a simulator containing animated examples of many circuits. I wish such a thing had been available when I were a lad. The simulator also allows you to enter and test your own circuit diagrams, so you can use it to double-check your understanding. If that's not enough, Google is your friend, as is this forum.

Be aware though that learning electronics takes effort – it's not something you can do over a weekend. It's a bit like learning to ride a bike: you have to get your head round some new concepts and language before it starts to make sense.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 05/08/2016 11:47:42

[Mark CParticipant @markc]

Dave,

"Be aware though that learning electronics takes effort – it's not something you can do over a weekend. It's a bit like learning to ride a bike" or beating a set of drums (learning percussion) – which I thought would be easy for someone used to hitting stuff…..

Mark

[MWParticipant @mw27036]

Hi Dave,

If i may, I think some people have good ideas but aren't very good at getting them across to other people. I'm probably more the other way and don't have good ideas often, but am very good at making things seem as plain as day and can spot a book a mile off if it's going on a tangent.

i actually don't like reading books in general, and authors' who wrongly assume you know what they know.

I'm not a book seller and definitely not the most informed on whats out there, but i wanted some help on getting some background reading on electronics and my tutor recommended this;**LINK**. Success in Electronics by Tom Duncan, theres a plethora of good reviews on amazon for evidence but i shan't go into that.

It basically assumes you only have ever just used electronics and don't understand them, consumer products for example, it starts right at the beginning, explaining what a linear circuit is and basic electricity in part one.

I implore you to consider my opinion as it seems to be quite popular with alot of other beginners too.

Michael W

[Anonymous]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 05/08/2016 11:47:24:

Unfortunately after luring me into a false sense of confidence, the first paragraph of Chapter One assumes that I already know what a linear circuit and a passive element is, the difference between current and potential difference, the meaning of impedance and admittance, and that I understand that a source of electrical energy might be constant-voltage or constant-current.

Be aware though that learning electronics takes effort – it's not something you can do over a weekend. It's a bit like learning to ride a bike: you have to get your head round some new concepts and language before it starts to make sense.

The older books sometimes use rather outdated language, but the fundamentals don't change. A modern current source (I've just designed one using the LT3902) is fundamentally the same as it was 40 years ago. It's just the implementation that has changed. One needs to distinguish between understanding the fundamentals and knowledge of current electronics. They're not the same thing. In my experience really good engineers understand both.

I've been faffing around with electronics for 40+ years and I'm still learning.

Andrew

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