Continue to Site

Welcome to our site!

Electro Tech is an online community (with over 170,000 members) who enjoy talking about and building electronic circuits, projects and gadgets. To participate you need to register. Registration is free. Click here to register now.

  • Welcome to our site! Electro Tech is an online community (with over 170,000 members) who enjoy talking about and building electronic circuits, projects and gadgets. To participate you need to register. Registration is free. Click here to register now.

Where to start?

Status
Not open for further replies.

rocket100

Member
So I would really like to start learning about analog electronic circuits, but don't know where to start. I know how capacitors, transistors, inductors, resistors, etc. work. But, I have mostly been working with digital electronics. I know my way around AVRs very well. I started with the Basic stamp, moved my way up to Arduino, and am now an AVR C programmer. Unfortunately, I've always neglected to learn how to build even basic electronic circuits using analog components. I have always wanted to be able to understand and make those circuits. The problem is I've got no idea where to start. Could anybody make any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
Personally, I'd have to credit my understanding of analogue electronics to four books on my shelf:

Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory - Boyelstad
Electronic Devices - Floyd
Engineering Maths - KA. Stroud
Advanced Engineering Maths - KA. Stroud

As you can tell, math is equally important in your understanding as much as the electronics is.

Best of luck,
Megamox

Edit: Until you're ready for this level, any book entitled 'introduction to..', '... for beginners' and '... for dummies' is usually a good place to begin your understanding.
 
Last edited:
Thank you for the suggestions! It seems The Art Of Electronics is the way to go, I've heard great things about that book. It's a little on the pricey side, but I'm sure It'll be worth it.
 
Thank you for the suggestions! It seems The Art Of Electronics is the way to go, I've heard great things about that book. It's a little on the pricey side, but I'm sure It'll be worth it.

They have a third edition coming "sometimes this year". You might want to wait for that before spending 100 dollars on the 2nd edition. Some say that the 3rd edition is only a supplement to the second, but I believe it will be a full updated book.. 20 chapters or so.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Electronics#Third_edition
 
Hi,


Start with resistors and voltage sources. Resistors and how they can be combined, and what happens when resistors are powered by voltage sources.
Once you master that you will be prepared to move on to capacitors, then inductors.

The mathematics for some of this will require that you understand Algebra and Complex Numbers, but you can wait on Differential Equations for a while. How fast you progress will depend on how much math you've had in the past. You may wish to mention what math you have studied so far...Algebra, Trig, Geometry, Calculus, etc.

And of course you can always ask here, just about any question you feel like asking :)
 
You surprised me Rocket, after 82 posts about so varied subjects you are starting from zero. Is it like that, really...?

Had I to help someone with the very first steps I would go the MrAl way.
 
You surprised me Rocket, after 82 posts about so varied subjects you are starting from zero. Is it like that, really...?

Had I to help someone with the very first steps I would go the MrAl way.

Yeah, digital projects are a no-brainer. I mean, I understand basic things like why a resistor is needed on an LED, the purpose of capacitors on crystal oscillators, or how transistors can be used as switches. But, I've never really been able to understand how these work in conjunction. It just baffles me how people are able to put together circuits. I don't understand why a resistor goes there, a capacitor there, or inductor in there. I'm just a self-taught High School student, so I've never really followed a course. That's why I'm randomly spotty in areas.
 
I had ka stroud's engineering maths at tec, found it a heck of a trudge, but it probably wasnt the books fault.
 
Just shows how uniquely different one book can be to different people who read it, one of the thing's I liked about Stroud's approach was that it kept the pace flowing quite quickly. However by the time I tackled it, I had a pretty good ground in math already and so that probably helped. I think they're the only two math books I've ever bought apart from one I used to get me through GCSE's and A-levels called 'Core Mathematics' by Bostock and Chandler.

Megamox
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest threads

New Articles From Microcontroller Tips

Back
Top