electronics

[adyParticipant @ady]

[adyParticipant @ady]

I’m getting interested in the basics, and being taught by someone who knows how to teach, which we all know is critical.

 

Previous learning knowledge in some disciplines as examples.

DOS Assembly language, the numero uno teacher

ketman interpreter

http://www.btinternet.com/~btketman/

(link goes weird in here)

 

Model Diesels

The model aero engine encyclopedia

 

Seamanship

The theory and practice of seamanship. Danton

 

BASIC programming

BBC basic

 

The amateurs lathe

sparey

 

I’m looking for something along the same lines for electronics pls.

 

ta

 

ady

Edited By ady on 17/09/2011 23:31:07

[adyParticipant @ady]

…wot the heck is going on…

 

I was going to put one of my old books up…

 

principles and practice of navigation. frost.

 

it’s going for 3 grand in canada…

[Gone AwayParticipant @goneaway]

More realistic prices here: ABE Books

 

Still a pricey tome though.

[Steve GarnettParticipant @stevegarnett62550]

I’m presuming that you don’t want a really Mickey Mouse guide… so I’d suggest:

 

The Art of Electronics

But just as importantly, get the Student Manual for it.

 

This is generally regarded as pretty much the best combination of books you can buy at a basic, but intelligent level. It’s not overly mathematical, and explains concepts very well. The Student Manual has some good basic experiments you can try, and additional explanations too. Everybody I’ve ever recommended this to has thoroughly approved of it. But don’t take my word for that – read the Amazon reviews!

Edited By Steve Garnett on 18/09/2011 11:54:39

[Anonymous]

I’ll second the ‘Art of Electronics’; good practical design notes and plenty of example circuits. I haven’t seen the ‘Student Manual’, so I can’t comment.

 

For trouble-shooting advice ‘Troubleshooting Analog Circuits’ by Bob Pease (ISBN 0-7506-9184-0) is excellent.

 

There are also a lot of very good apps notes and design guides available on the web from the semiconductor manufacturers. There are good analog design guides available from Analog Devices, plenty from Bob Pease at National Semiconductor and anything written by Jim Williams (late of Linear Technology) is excellent.

 

Regards,

 

Andrew

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

A couple of older books which should be available via the library system:

 

“Electronic Designer’s Handbook” and the companion “Circuit Designer’s Casebook”, both by T.K. Hemingway.

 

A minimum of mathematics, and a detailed study of how to design certain basic elements along with detailed analysis of how and why things don’t work as expected along with ideas on meeting unusual configurations.

 

I should point out that there is little or no information on integrated circuits.

 

I have to say that using the design principles in these books I was able to successfully design and build electronic equipment, and to be able get other designs working, including sorting out a few design problems.

Regards,

 

Peter G. Shaw

 

 

[Steve WithnellParticipant @stevewithnell34426]

Any books good on the design of the input stages to power / mos FET type devices?

 

I’m at the stage where I can almost grasp the device characteristics charts in the datasheets, but not well enough to do the input design…

 

 

 

Regards

 

Steve

 

 

[Anonymous]

Posted by Steve Withnell on 18/09/2011 13:39:51:

Any books good on the design of the input stages to power / mos FET type devices?

 

 

For linear amplifiers or for use as switches? And what sort of power levels?

 

Regards,

 

Andrew

[DerryUKParticipant @derryuk]

I did a course on electronics and we used this

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Introduction-Electronic-Circuits/dp/0521478790

 

as the course book.

It’s been on my shelf since and I still refer to it. It’s stuffed full of practical circuits to illustrate a point and includes component values so you can build the circuit to try out for yourself.

 

Derry.

 

[Steve WithnellParticipant @stevewithnell34426]

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 18/09/2011 14:05:45:

Posted by Steve Withnell on 18/09/2011 13:39:51:

Any books good on the design of the input stages to power / mos FET type devices?

 

 

For linear amplifiers or for use as switches? And what sort of power levels?

 

Regards,

 

Andrew

Say 10 amps Drain/Source, but I’m interested in the turn on characteristics of switching type devices, what’s happening at the gate as the device is being turned on.

Also interested in FETs as small signal amplifiers – how do you get them to operate in the linear portion of the curve (ie how do you design the FET equivalent to a bias network in a bipolar device?)

 

Steve

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

Steve,

 

If you know about valve, or tube for our American cousins, theory, then FET’s can be used in much the same way. Basically set a resistor in the source circuit of a N-channel junction FET to introduce voltage drop between source and ground/earth. Then connect a high value resistor (1M or above say) between gate and ground/earth. This makes the gate negative with respect to the source thus driving the FET towards the pinch-off region. It then becomes self-balancing.

 

If you can still find it, “abc’s of FET’s” by Rufus P. Turner is a good basic, perhaps very basic, book on FET’s. As usual, try the library first.

 

Unlike bi-polar devices which are current operated, FET’s are voltage operated just like valves/tubes. Which means the biasing is simpler since there is no current going into or out of the gate.

 

Regards,

 

Peter G. Shaw

 

Edit no.1

I’ve used the N-channel FET above since this is the nearest equivalent to valve/tube technology. P-channel & MOSFETS are similar but different if you understand me, ie the P-channel would use reversed voltages but the action would be identical. MOSFETS are different again.

 

Edited By Peter G. Shaw on 18/09/2011 21:04:27

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

I’ve been referring to my 1st ed. Art of Electronics today! 1’m planning a ‘deluxe bat detector’

 

I’d suggest the Maplin Electronics Handbook by Michael Tooley as pretty good for the beginner.

 

Books like the latter are good becuse they give you examples and the simple formulae to adjust them to fit your needs. Horovitz and Hill goes a step further and gives you what you need to design stuff more or less from scratch. That’s why I was using it as I need a single transistor preamp to a pretty tight spec.

 

The other source is datasheets an app notes. Just google part numbers + application note or datasheet. The Farnell Website is also a good source of datasheets and for comparing parts for spec/price.

 

Do you think the moderators would let us have an electronics topic where we could discuss such things in more detail – electronics is the flip side of my model engineering hobby.

 

Neil

 

[Anonymous]

Steve,

 

As a starter have a look at the notes in my photos area, under ‘Semiconductor Devices’. It summarises the pros and cons of various power semiconductor devices up to moderate power levels, say a few hundred kilowatts. Above that thyristors rule OK!

 

If you’re interested in further details PM me and we can continue, without me boring the masses.

 

Regards,

 

Andrew

 

PS: I’d vote in favour of an electronics sub-forum

[adyParticipant @ady]

I got the “Electronic Designer’s Handbook” cheep and it looks good but chucked me straight into the maths stuff with various acronyms.

 

I’ve found a rather extensive site to give me a better basic grounding, they’ve got a lot of tutorials on electrical stuff for muppets here.

 

http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/

 

 

[adyParticipant @ady]

A kiddie type experimental electrical design kit software setup for “hands on” simulation

 

I’ve only used V4 so far

 

http://www.designsoft.biz/home/demos/demo_edison

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

I’m similarly interested in an area which has always left me a bit ‘mind-boggled’ – pretty easy to bring about!! Most electronics treatises leave me wondering whether we’re using a common language, although I’ve managed to do the basic practical things like wiring up workshops etc.

I would like to ‘fiddle’ with simple circuitry and integrated circuits etc., to which end I’ve got a couple of beginner’s breadboard kits plus a more interesting device shown in the photo. Purchased secondhand, it came with no instructions and ‘Net’ searches have produced nothing. Does anyone, a) recognise it or b) have any thoughts as to where I might find any useful info, about it, please?

Rgds

Bill

[john swift 1Participant @johnswift1]

 

 

have a look at Flite Electronics MPF-1B

 

 

http://www.flite.co.uk/microprofessor-mpf-1b-z80-training-system.htm

 

 

John

 

 

 

Edited By john swift 1 on 26/09/2011 14:50:06

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

John – thank you so much! Looks like the very thing and some interesting potential other bits as well. Much appreciated.

Rgds

Bill

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

Wow! That looks like an updated UK101! Great fun to be had I imagine.

 

For those interested in microprocessors I suggest looking at Arduino – an easy way into the world of Atmel AVR microprocessors which are a LOT more friendly fexible and cheaper than the old Z80.

 

Neil

[adyParticipant @ady]

I had a look at the Edison site and they wanted $150 for the program, it’s up to V5 at the minit but V4 is the one I’ve been playing with.

 

Outrageous! I said to myself, then started playing with it.

 

Anyway, so I’m sitting there with a goofy circuit for weird stuff and I’ve got my power supply connected up with multiple resistors and switches, plus a multimeter and two ammeters and I’m blowing stuff up all over the place and it suddenly occurred to my lonely braincell that I’m saving a darned fortune in electrical bits and bobs…

 

So it might actually be well worth the munney.

Lots of fun and very interesting so far anyway.

[Author]

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