Learning electronics - Books?

[tb-boi]

Hi everyone! (first post - YAY)

This hasn't really got anything to do with picaxe but i was wondering if you guys could recommend some good books and websites on understanding electronics. I'm a long time tinkerer but have grown tired of always following someone elses instructions/diagrams. I feel i should take the dive, and learn the theory end of things. Things like transistor/FET values and understanding datasheets, doing the calculations so i actually undertand whats going on.

A book or two would be ideal.
I hope you guys know what i'm getting at, thanks

 

[Rickharris]

Horrowitz and Hill The art of Electronics is generally considered the electronic bible but is a bit pricy, you may find it in your local library

There are LOTs of web sites out ther for learning electronics as well.


http://www.doctronics.co.uk/beastie_zone.htm#CMOS
http://people.clarkson.edu/~svoboda/eta/Circuit_Design_Lab/circuit_design_lab.html
http://kn.theiet.org/electronics/
http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/tran.htm
http://www.circuit-magic.com/laws.htm


Should get you started.

As my electronics instructor in the RAF proclaimed at the first lesson, "Electronics is easy - "You only have 4 things to worry about, Resistors, Capacitors, Inductors and some kind of active device (transistor etc) the rest is just about how you connect them together"

Bless him, 40 years on and I am still trying to get my head around connecting them together!

 

[womai]

I second the recommendation for Horowitz & Hill "The art of electronics". It's getting a bit dated but is still highly usable - the basics don't change. It's also amazingly readable with a very fresh writing style.

 

[manuka]

Agreed on H&H- I've used this for tertiary level first year classes to good effect- BUT the best approach really relates to your learning style (& time...). Forrest M. Mims III notebooks from ~30 years back are still considered THE most lucid & enthusiastic guides around. PC circuit simulator packages are now VERY friendly & powerful as well. Do you know these?

Things like transistor/FET values and understanding datasheets

These really only begin to make sense when you actually roll up your sleeves & build suitable circuits,as datasheets can be exceedingly dry until you actually experience device limitations! It's only when you experience overheating (or magic smoke...) & take working measurements that theory begins to "speak to you". It's much the same in any field of course- a builder can look at house plans & ponder all the constructional issues, while the owner may consider them just a mess of lines- initially at least! Company balance sheets may make bed time reading to accountants, but to nurses they may be a sea of numbers.

Footnote: Aside from the trend to micro's instead of dumb ICs, it's worth relating that half of what most of us know will become redundant within 10 years, & half of what we then need to know hasn't yet been invented. I've been spouting this for ~45 years (& recall training courses that I then did that were totally thermionic), but the insight amazingly continues to hold true. Call it Dippy's Law maybe.

Where in NZ are you tb-boi? Stan.

 

[Rickharris]

As a start thoroughly understand what electricity is - how electrons move, (Ok a convenient analogy for the quantum mechanics amongst you!), understanding ohms law, voltage and current is then much more intuative.

Once you can mentally visualise electrons galloping about capacitors are easy to see and the concept of resistance gains a reality as electron que up to get through the resistor.

Most of the basic laws are obvious to anyone who can grasp electron movement from negative to positive. But then again most things are obvious when they are pointed out to you.

AC theory takes a bit longer to grasp (Or I did) and power electricity is still a mystery (and I hope it remains so).

For many a little practical knowledge is all that is required as most electronic situations now can be solved digitally so active devices tend to be switched (on or off) rather than complex amplifiers. Most operations can be solved in the main by a microprocessor which by definition can only have a limited number of interface options available.

Little to learn but so much to do with it. The nice thing (or not) is the world shortage of people clever enough to cope with all this stuff, resulting in excessivly high wages being paid to those who can understand (???). At least there are likely to be jobs out there as long as you don't ecpect to be repairing anything - as you can't get the case open in many cases these days to perform a repair, and when you can everything is encapsulated in a black epoxy blob with Chinese finger prints on it.

Oh well I am sure that Faraday andGeorg Simon Ohm et al would see it as progress.

 

[BeanieBots]

Some fairly good stuff here:-
http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/

As the others have mentioned, a full undertanding of ohm's law is almost all there is to it. It really helps to have good maths skills too, especially with agebra and if you want to get a better picture, some good old calculus comes in very handy. To work with capcitors and inductors, knowing how calculate vectors and use imaginary numbers will be essential.

 

[Rickharris]

Some fairly good stuff here:-
http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/

As the others have mentioned, a full undertanding of ohm's law is almost all there is to it. It really helps to have good maths skills too, especially with agebra and if you want to get a better picture, some good old calculus comes in very handy. To work with capcitors and inductors, knowing how calculate vectors and use imaginary numbers will be essential.

Oh no you said it - "imaginary numbers" I shall have nightmares for a week now

 

[eclectic]

Oh no you said it - "imaginary numbers" I shall have nightmares for a week now

Nothing to worry about Rick.

They're just my Lottery winnings. :-(

e

 

[benryves]

I'm rather fond of what was my A Level textbook, Electronics Explained by M.W. Brimicombe. Being a textbook it's rather expensive, but you can preview some of its pages on Google Books.

 

[tb-boi]

Thanks guys for the torrent if great info. Both thoses books look great and it will take me days to get through those websites
I guess the best way to learn is to experiment with diffennt circuits and components but learn what exactly is happening with each component.

 

[Rickharris]

As a teacher I always like the term understand raather than learn. There is a well known thought that says education is what is left after you forget what you learned.

 

[boriz]

I started with a 200-in-1 “Electronic Projects Lab”. Like this:

By following the simple instructions in the included book, you can build a variety of circuits very quickly. The details of how it all works will take longer to understand, but the ‘dive in and get your hands dirty’ ethos of this type of kit makes it easy to pick up the basics. It certainly worked for me.

Next I got a solderless breadboard, a copy of The Art Of Electronics and a bunch of cheap components. Never looked back.

@RickHarris.

Like that saying

 

[Rickharris]

Like many of my generation I started with the Phillips EE kit.

 

[boriz]

Actually I suppose I started before that. My granddad was a tinkerer and had boxes of old clocks/watches/valves/radio-bits. I can remember, (I can’t of been more than 6 or 8), opening a transistor radio and by process of elimination, pointing to the variable tuning capacitor ‘box’ and asking about very small musicians 

I was also into Meccano and through that, electrical circuitry as it applies to batteries, motors and bulbs.

In fact, come to think of it, one of the earliest books I can remember having was a ladybird book called ‘Batteries, bulbs and magnets’ (I think).

 

[boriz]

AHA! Found it!

What a classic.

 

[D n T]

Electrons in the wires, viualise

Sorry, Electrons in the wires, visualise.

Have a look for the water anaolgy, it is used a lot to explain EMF, resistance and amps.
It should help you get your head around Ohms law and others.
Just don't mix electricity and water unless you are using a kettle.
You will come to understand and appreciate "magic smoke" and its role in electronics.
Most important, stick with it.
This forum is a good source of help but be very clear about what you are doing and what you want to know

Remember "if you never make a mistake you have never made anything", (my dad).

 

[manuka]

Remember "if you never make a mistake you have never made anything", (my dad).

Given the father-son situation, no doubt (even as a nipper) you saw the irony in this!

 

[BeanieBots]

The Ladybird book "Batteires Bulbs and Magnets" as pointed out by Boriz was ineed an absolute classic.

Others have pointed out various analogies and these can be a very good way of understanding electronics but only if you already have a good apreciation of the alternative analogy in the first place.

When speaking with with well established mechanical engineers who want to know more about electronics I find it helps to provide a way of conversion into their world. Remember, before digital computers, many mechanical systems were 'processed' using analogue computers and still are in some instances.

In mechanics, everything can be resolved down to Mass Length and Time (MLT).
Electronics is similar but a little more obscure.
This is only of use if your mechanics is VERY solid.

Inductance is the equivalent of mass.
Resistance is the equivalent of friction.
Capacitance is the equivalent of a spring.

From those equivalents, you can equate any electonics into the fundamental MLT components but only if you are already very happy with mechanics. Otherwise forget that for now, or it might confuse even further.

The 'water' analogy is a good compromise.
Height (of water) equates to voltage.
Flow of water equates to current.

Again, you might be able to see the link to MLT.

Some analgies help to visualise rather being mathematically correct.
Some are mathematically correct but can cause 'visual' confusion.

An example would be the capacitor.
These are often referred to as reservoirs and they do indeed 'store' energy but not quite in a mathematically correct sense.
However, when using the water analogy and talking about reservoirs, don't forget it is only an analogy. The mathematical equivalent is energy stored in a spring.

 

[Dippy]

And squeezing your pipe relates to resistance.

And ballcocks are usually related to most newbie designs.

Water is a great one.

 

[hippy]

As most have probably noticed, I'm a great fan of analogies, comparisons to real life experience and role playing the part of a PICAXE. I find them best for explaining what is meant more than how or why things work.

As BeanieBots notes, analogies only work well when people can readily or untuitively grasp the analogy itself and see how it relates to the problem in front of them. Luckily most people involved in electronics have real world experiences and some basic experience of mechanical physics.

I'm sure you'll see more of my 'real world experience' examples cropping up ( people erasing and writing things in other's notebooks ) when the M2's multi-tasking starts getting used

 

[Andrew Cowan]

I think the water analogy is a good basis. It eliminates the questions of 'will a 3A power supply destroy the PICAXE', and 'why does my 6v battery's voltage fall to 2v when connected to my circuit'.

A

 

[boriz]

I couldn’t disagree more.

I was unfortunate enough to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time when primary schools began experimentally using I.T.A to teach reading/writing to children. To this day, I suffer from dyslexia and terrible spelling as a result. (Spellchecker=The only reason I don’t continually embarrass myself.)

I began learning my ABC as normal, then suddenly was told to forget that and start learning this rubbish:

Then after about a year of that, the experiment was over and I was told to forget that and go back to ABC. It was horrible.

With respect, I suggest that analogy, while having its uses for certain individual concepts, should be avoided as a complete system of understanding. Fine. Simplify electrons, conduction layers, electric charge etc. as much as you like, but in the long run, it only damages understanding when you have to convert between systems in your head. Any one here think in L/Km when thinking of fuel efficiency? I have to convert from Imperial. It’s a pain in the bum.

 

[manuka]

It's often a question of learning style,what you're used to & of course educator confidence (& faith in the material!) when delivering it. FWIW the phonetics debate rages here even in NZ, & I could speak volumes on this (& other) elementary curriculum issues that my (4) kids have experienced.

L/km ? We've long quoted litres/100km here in NZ (with 5 l/100km typical for an efficient vehicle), & it's so ingrained that old timers like myself have troubles with m.p.g. ! Even phrases such as "miles away" often now need explaining. It's again what you're used to - the UK has a real fruit salad of mixed imperial & metric units of course, & this can be ultra confusing to metricated colonial & continental visitors. Stan

 

[Rickharris]

@BB you must of course realise that everything is a mechanical failure even in electricity, a blow fuse - a mechanical failure. release of that magi smoke - a mechanical failure because the designer didn't make the junction big enough to dissipate the heat you were going to generate.

@Boriz

The moot question is are you an engineer because you can't spell or can't you spell because your an engineer (at heart)

As a theory - I also find spelling a trial and always though that if I could spell I would have been a pen pusher.

Give me pen and I will use it to prise an 08M out of it's socket, give a pen pusher a screw driver and 9 time out of a hundred (s)he will stab themselves with it.

As a clincher - Girls are MUCH better at English than boys - that's why so few girls go into engineering. viva the spell checker.

 

[manuka]

Rick: I certainly agree on the "wired for communications" ability of many girls, but have seen numerous examples of mechanical ability with that fair gender as well. The skills kids develop often relate to their background, culture, parental & peer pressures of course. In my NZ teaching experiences this is especially noticeable with the emerging Asian middle classes, many of whom increasingly may view "hands on work" as only suitable for peasants. I've had a real battle in recent times to get male students from certain Asian lands to even pick up a screwdriver! Yet - once suitably Kiwi culturally motivated- they typically do great work.

 

[papaof2]

And some girls get techie-oriented by their association with weird adults (like me ;-)

I volunteered at a local elementary school for about 10 years. The kids identified the hardest thing we did (learning to program in BASIC) and the thing they liked the most (learning to program in BASIC). One girl even figured out how to start BASIC from autoexec.bat (you know that was a LONG time ago). Wish PICAXE had been available then...

I probably influenced both daughters as well:
daughter #1 has a master's in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech
daughter #2 has a masters in library & information science (her English side, plus a minor in chemistry) and can fix almost anything if she can see a working version (her engineering side)

I'm the one that chose a microscope for our older granddaughter's 8th birthday and have a SnapCircuits wrapped and waiting for Christmas. Both granddaughters (ages 5 and 8) will get toolkits (hammer, pliers, scrwdrivers, safety glasses) and a birdhouse to build (pre-cut parts) for Christmas - that will be "do something with me" time.

John

 

[manuka]

Proud papaof2: Great to hear this "girls can do anything" tale. Pre Xmas you may want to extend that g'kids Snap Circuits kit so it'll snap PICAXE style! We've recently further enhanced the conversion to give Pin 0 and power transistor driving of the motor. Kiwi kids, such as the enthusiastic 7-10 yo's below, lap it up. The little girl with the blue beanie had a wiggly first tooth come free during the action -this was an undocumented feature of the snap hack! Stan

(FWIW the old Win98 D9 serial fitted Toshiba 480CDTs shown driving things cost ~US$10 each)

 

[BeanieBots]

@Rick, absolutely, no such thing as an electronic failure. It's all mechanical, eg "broken" wire. The clue's in the word

@Boriz, the caveat is that the trainee FULLY understands the likened analogy.

As for units, I still come out with expletives such as "I'm not paying ten bob for that!"
As an engineer, I use Kg and mm but when explaining to anyone else and require a 'feel' it's back to feet and inches.

 

[Rickharris]

As a teacher I often introduced first years to accuracy by requesting they put two dots on the paper 300 mm apart (using a ruler).

I then went round with a steel rule and checked the distance, about half the class would be up to 2 mm out.

I then asked them to connect the two dots with line. Again about half the class would not make the line touch one dot or the other or would draw right through the dots.

Sadly I think this is because a whole generation or two has grown up never making anything seriously, or using pre made blocks like Lego, even their parents see little point in this kind of knowledge because everything is ready made, un-repairable, complicated and so cheap these days!!!.

This aside I did find that the majority of students enjoyed electronics and making mechanical things as long as they could get them finished and even better of the final finishd quality could be good.

CAD/CAM helped a lot in this area.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Practical Electronics

Coming back to the original question, someone mentioned books by M.W. Brimicombe who for years has contributed to IET magazine.

An earlier publication by him titled Introducing Electronic Systems published in 1987 came with a companion publication of the same title, subtitled Practicals which is a set of copyright free worksheets that enable a more practical approach through a number of (and Manuka will like this) breadboard exercises. The book is quite dated now with one or two of the components hard to come by and PICs do not even get a look in. However, the basics it deals with are as relevent today as in 1987. I still use stuff from it now.

I do not think you could get a better introduction to electronics than these two publications if you can still get hold of them they cover a wide spectrum with a fairly limited component list.

Richard

 

[papaof2]

Coming back to the original question, someone mentioned books by M.W. Brimicombe who for years has contributed to IET magazine.

An earlier publication by him titled Introducing Electronic Systems published in 1987 came with a companion publication of the same title, subtitled Practicals which is a set of copyright free worksheets that enable a more practical approach through a number of (and Manuka will like this) breadboard exercises. The book is quite dated now with one or two of the components hard to come by and PICs do not even get a look in. However, the basics it deals with are as relevent today as in 1987. I still use stuff from it now.

The original book is available on ebay (uk) for L7 and the Practicals book is available from amazon (us) for $11 (including shipping in the respective countries).

John

 

[tb-boi]

Haha, things went a bit off topic there.

I have orderd the above book from amazon. Thanks for the recomendations. Meanwhile i'll keep experimenting (and inevitably destroying).

 

[boriz]

“(and inevitably destroying).”

Invest in a current limiting PSU. Someone mentioned this one in another thread, can’t remember who, but I have ordered one. If you set it to (say) 50mA, then you can experiment away in the knowledge that no matter what you do, no more than 50mA will flow in your circuit. And an indicator tells you that 50mA has been reached and the current is being limited.

Also doubles as a universal battery charger

 

[Andrew Cowan]

A limited PSU is very useful. It allows you to get things wrong without blowing them up. It'll pay for itself within a few years!

A

 

[hippy]

It's worth checking what the lowest current limiting is for any PSU. Going down to 20mA or less is very handy for testing PICAXE on breadboard and in minimal circuits as the limit can be set below that which can destroy an I/O pin.

As circuit complexity increases the current limits will likely have to increase and that gives the potential for higher fault currents and those fault currents causing greater damage. Having a good current limit will allow that to slowly climb as things are added while minimising potential damage done - A good rule is never first power a board up with everything connected. Start with an 'empty board', add one component at a time.

For people using servos, motors or other things that require high current to work, I'd recommend two PSU's; if a single PSU has a 2A limit set to allow for a servo it won't do anything to protect a PICAXE or other electronics from faults which cause them to pass too much current.

 

[dennis]

Benryves - Thanks for the recommendation. Looks interesting and I have just got a copy of Electronics Explained on e bay for £9.99 and am now aiting for delivery.