I so desperately want to understand!!!

[JBVries]

So I was looking over the recent thread http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=40975.0 (51x freebie) and I wan to look at it and figure out what is going on in the circuit. I've read books on basic components and I'm reading Audio Cyclopedia but how else can I learn about these circuits and why there is a resistor or cap going to ground or coupling two circuits and the values of said components. I know im pretty much asking how do I become an EE but I really just want to understand that which is relevant to analog audio processing. Is it community college and ee classes or just continuing to do tins of diy and really examining each circuit. I've got a voracious appetite to learn this but it is still a hobby an don't think I can devote a full schooling schedule to it. Anywhoo, any advice on grasping the theory and implementation would be much appreciated. Cheers all, and many thanks for the info already provided.

 

[jdbakker]

Most of what's mentioned in http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=30654.0 is probably useful.

JDB,

 

[JBVries]

Thank you for that. I think my course is already in motion but my patience is the main thing being tested as my journey has just begun (feel like I'm in some Kung Fu movie) .

Gonna keep hitting the books. Cheers!!

 

[analag]

http://sound.westhost.com/articles.htm#s5
http://focus.ti.com/lit/an/slod006b/slod006b.pdf

Info is everywhere and it takes time and thought lots of it.

 

[sahib]

Info is everywhere and it takes time and thought lots of it.

+1

These days I do not think you have to have a formal EE education to acquire the basic knowledge. But the formal education provides you with the discipline to progress quicker.

But even if you are learning in your own time still you have to devote a time everyday to study. Internet is great but can be overwhelming.

Watch out the titles below on e-bay and get one or both. They go for the cost of a burger and both are good books for beginners.

Electronic Fundamentals, Circuits, Devices and Applications by Floyd.
Very basics but an excellent book. Very minimal mathematics and as long as you know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide by the end of the book you will be able to design simple amplifiers, filters and power supplies. If it has the accompanying CD even better.

Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory by Boylestad and Nashelsky
Slightly more comprehensive and detailed than above and more on the analysis side. But still it is a basic book.

These will keep you busy for almost a year. Don't skip a single line. Read everything. If a page has things written in it, then  it is explaining something and should not be missed.

 

[lassoharp]

Thank you for that. I think my course is already in motion but my patience is the main thing being tested as my journey has just begun (feel like I'm in some Kung Fu movie) .

Gonna keep hitting the books. Cheers!!

Patience is a must.  For most folks getting really good at electronics takes some time.  Give yourself about 3 years if you are starting at ground zero.  Community college classes help a lot too.

Keep one or two really good (meaning well written and easy to follow) basic electronics texts around.

Get a breadboard and have fun - that's an important adjunct to the grind of textbooks.

Do lots of simple projects.

One way of looking at it : The cost of getting good is paid in mistakes.  Accumulate as long a list of them as you can.

Best of Luck!

 

[PRR]

> I know im pretty much asking how do I become an EE

No. Mostly you need to be a theoretical Electrician(*). You need to know Ohms and Volts and Current.

There is a LOT more to being an "EE", and most of it won't help you with simple electronics.

And DO keep it simple!! ELEVEN transistors is WAY more than most folks can comprehend. There's tons of fine 2- and 3-transistor units. ONE transistor can do good work, and IS where you start.

(*)Not a Practical or Master Electrician. They know electricty, but most of their work is more "mechanical" and "legal". Most system-decisions are already made: supply voltage, standard Ampere ratings. The closest they normally come to an Ohm is a voltage-drop table.

You want to be a Tinkering Electrician. You want to know instantly if a 12V battery, a 12V 1A lamp, and a 240 ohm backup switch will work together. You want to know the voltage-ratio of R12=4K7 R13=47 and a JFET gate at a glance.

 

[bahrens]

Most of what's mentioned in http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=30654.0 is probably useful.

Wow!!  I forgot about this!  Fun to re-read..

To the OP, FWIW, I'm now knee deep in an undergrad EE program and loving it.  Of course, the focus here is not at all on audio and I have little time for recording, so there are downsides, but I've realized there are tons of other topics in EE that interest me.  Having all kinds of applications for math and physics has made me fall in love with those subjects.  Also, a lot of the stuff I learned in circuit analysis, and especially the stuff in the first course on active electronics was exactly the sort of thing I was trying to learn on my own.

That said, if heavy math/science is a big turn-off, don't do the EE thing.  My classes are full of people who love the idea of an EE paycheck but don't give two ***** about learning anything, as well as people who like the IDEA of learning but bit off a little more than they could chew.

Two books I would strongly recommend getting are a basic circuit analysis book and an introduction to microelectronic circuits.  Some of the more experienced guys on here may have other suggestions, but those are the two books I feel have helped me the most so far in the understanding of real circuits in general.

Hope some of this helps!

Ben