I want to learn about electronics and electronic devices. The problem is that there does not seem to be a book with a good balance of practical application and physical/mathematical background.
EE books for university start with 500 pages of complex ac calculus, if I didn't know better I'd say their focus is to teach you multi-variable integration. Now after working through these 500 pages (I gave up after about 150 out of boredom) I'd still have no idea wtf I am looking at when standing in front of a board or a power supply.
Now on the other hand there are books for electricians and electricians in training. I've looked through these and the level is so low that most of them don't even mention Coulomb's law.
So please, are there any balanced books that don't force me to go through 500 pages of math (don't misunderstand me, I have a CS background so I'm not afraid of math) before I'm allowed to design and analyze simple circuits?
Here's what unbalanced EE education did to students.
Landon Perez
There's a lot of stuff out there that will enable you build simple/somewhat complex circuits. If you really want to understand what you're doing - especially if you're getting into analog circuitry - you need to get the background.
Hunter Cooper
I understand what you mean, however I have the feeling that the textbooks are trying to teach you ALL of the background first before teaching you about amazingly simple things. I'd understand better if there was a way to learn the theory as you go.
Joshua Collins
Well, you might find some project threads that are set up to specifically teach you the concepts... I remember (from years ago...) a book called 'The Art of Electronics' - see if you can find/order a copy as it might be just what you need...
Xavier Bailey
...
Brody Hughes
Looks perfect. I'll work through a portion of this and maybe read a more mathematical book in parallel.
Aaron Hernandez
>I am a mechanical engineer
Nathan Morales
Sad
Oliver Robinson
Jeez, people are fucking retarded.
Benjamin Barnes
It's not their fault though. I bet they are great at multi variable calculus applied to electric circuits.
Luis Rivera
Probably not even that since that is exactly the kind of shit everyone forget just after taking the exam.
Luis Wilson
Pick a project online and buy the parts for it, then dive in. Make sure it's something you really want, it will push your motivation more.
You need hands-on experience. Pick something that will force you to learn about resistors, diodes and capacitors. Do one after another, maybe pick something that involves programming ic's or rectifiers.
Source: Am basement junkrat.
Ayden Jones
Depends on if they did their homework or not. If you so hundreds and hundreds of math problems over the course of a semester, you'll remember that shit for a while
And OP, what you want is practice. Take stuff apart and put it back together. Break shit with a hammer or overvolting and try to fix it. Make little gadgets or buy some premade kits and just experiment. You'll start to discover what about the field you don't really understand and can find a specific book on the topic after. Starting with general books and just pretending you'll remember it all isn't really how it works. Just know V=IR so you don't kill yourself and try to have fun.
Nathan Nelson
>Depends on if they did their homework or not. If you so hundreds and hundreds of math problems over the course of a semester, you'll remember that shit for a while
I only remembered for about six months after the exam, after that most was gone. Did all the homework. Maybe I'm retarded.
Jackson Phillips
Any suitable beginner projects you got in mind? Or a source for those?
Tyler Gomez
>EE books for university University isn't supposed to teach you the things you should be teaching yourself in your own time if you have any interest in the subject.
There's no need to pay a lecturer to teach you how to make basic things.
You want hobbyist books, youtube channels, and things like that. Look up radio stuff too.
Robert Gonzalez
That's the one - Horowitz & Hill
Jose Nguyen
You professor might not have been reliant enough on homework to burn it into your memory. My professors always recommended you just solve every problem in the book
Dominic Powell
Yeah, but how realistic is this when you have five other classes that semester where you get the same advice?
Tyler Baker
Well if you have never powered a light bulb with a battery and wire start with that.
Easton Wilson
Yup. And all the exams always end up on the same week + projects. High tuition means you need to work on top of it all. Definitely not fun
Lincoln Bennett
They are engineers not technicians.
Austin Flores
I'm interested to hear you elaborate on why an engineer of any flavor does not have to know what an electric circuit is.
