how to become an electronics circuits expert

[zia]

hi to all,
i am embedded system programmer having very much exprience in pic microcontroller but i am not conident in electronics circuits. anyone plz guide me how i became electronics as wel as power electronics expert without any boredom.

 

[TonyM]

anyone plz guide me how i became electronics as wel as power electronics expert without any boredom.

Wanting to become an expert in something without any boredom and having fun, fun, fun on the way is a wish of most of the whole world. I'm afraid the ingredients to being an expert are roughly:

* Lots of hard work
* Keen interest
* Lots of hard work
* Natural ability
* Lots of hard work
* Trying things for real
* Lots of hard work
* Academic study
* Lots of hard work

I'm sure there's different things other people would put on that list. But it goes something like that. Enjoy and good luck...

 

[sky_123]

A quick way is to find the works of Forrest Mims to get used to what you can do with simple circuits, and get a copy of The Art of Electronics - not a cheap book but worth it if you're planning to take things seriously at least for practical use.
You should also try things out - this is a good site with many simple circuits, and at the top of that page there are some additional links.
Of course, nothing beats some good education (e.g. a university course) if you have that possibility.

 

[Genovator]

Boredom depends on your like and dislike on that particular topic.

And about electronics, just start studying... Search some ebooks, buy some books. Find a local tutor....

 

[zia]

thanks for gving me link of very nice site.its really helpful for me but my background is electronics engineering but at time my area of interest was embedded programming and that goal was achieved and now i want to complete my goal of becomming expert in both soft as wel as hardware.plz further guide me by which i step by step complete my goal.

 

[karthick1987]

A quick way is to find the works of Forrest Mims to get used to what you can do with simple circuits, and get a copy of The Art of Electronics - not a cheap book but worth it if you're planning to take things seriously at least for practical use.
You should also try things out - this is a good site with many simple circuits, and at the top of that page there are some additional links.
Of course, nothing beats some good education (e.g. a university course) if you have that possibility.

I think sky_123 is right about that book the ART of electronics by Paul Horowitz. I got that book a few months ago and it solidifies your concepts and makes you think in first principles if you are really inquisitive

regards
K

 

[zia]

thanks karthick,ok i will get art of electronics and test hw it might help. but here is problem that i bought electronic devices by floyd whick is very good book but main issue is i forget things jxt after a day . kindly guide how should i follow art of electronics.

 

[karthick1987]

thanks karthick,ok i will get art of electronics and test hw it might help. but here is problem that i bought electronic devices by floyd whick is very good book but main issue is i forget things jxt after a day . kindly guide how should i follow art of electronics.

Well the way I go about it is reading a chapter and looking at the website suggested. The first chapter is about transistors so the suggested website is fitting. Analyse the circuits and see how you can use them. Also build them or simulate them with software. I use Circuitlogix its a simulation software. its very useful. about $39 for a student version or get P-Spice or something and simulate it with various parameters and see how the response changes.

Your brain remembers things most efficiently through association. So you have to do things and have vivid memory/experience of events. LEDs, speakers, etc...

cheers and good luck
K

 

[thylacine1975]

Yup karthick - I agree entirely - I know *I* only remember something if I can associate it with something... the more memorable, the more it sticks!

(For example, despite the fact I was so young I've never forgotten that some LED's change colour when they get *really* hot... such as when you put them across a 12 V supply with no series current limiting resistor! Likewise, I now double-check the multimeter is set to "volts" and not "amps" when I measure the terminal voltage of a lead acid battery

zia - the "Art of Electronics" is a brilliant book. I'd also wholeheartedly recommend any of the annual "ARRL Handbooks" (any from 1990 onwards would be sufficiently contemporary) - particularly if you're interested in anything radio. While less academically rigorous (than Horowitz and Hill), it's a wonderful motivator and an easy read.

For me, a key motivator to understand more and more electronics is the desire to want cool stuff and not be able to afford it (or even find it for sale
If I can't buy it, I'll have to build it! ...and thus be motivated learn about it in the process. Massive sound system for the car? Blindly part with $1000, or go learn about DC/DC converters and audio power amplifiers. You end up never forgetting all the subtleties such as transformer leakage flux and thermal runaway you could otherwise read one day and forget the next. A desire to try spectacular high voltage experiments, tesla coils, rail guns, linear accelerators, pirate radio stations, jammers, electric fences, animal tracking, model aircraft telemetry etc? Go build it! My home projects more than often fail/get shelved before they're complete, but by then I've moved onto something more interesting and armed with knowledge I didn't have before! I'm having fun, and learning along the way

Make a start - no matter how small (this weekend I'm launching an LED and a lithium coin cell on a balloon filled with hydrogen with my 4yo daughter) and get the addiction rolling. You'll be an expert in your chosen niche in no time

Enjoy!

 

[karthick1987]

What you said there is very true Very true thylacine1975.

Another very very useful document to learn from is Datasheets. Often they have schematics and blocks. Some have typical applications in them. If you look up any 74HC14 or CD4010 on www.datasheetcatalog.com they give you some very typical uses of these ICs, e.g: to make oscillators for instance. So try that and it can be very useful

cheers
K

 

[biff44]

will, you are lucky. Today you can get excellent used tektronix 150 MHz oscilloscopes for a few hundred dollars, 2 Mhz function generators for less. You should download a free copy of SPICE to analyze circuits, and then actually build them to see how well they work.

You can start with a simple solderless breadboard, like from global specialties, and build your low frequency circuits on that. Things like thermocouples, audio circuits, voltage regulators, etc. After you have had some luck with low frequency circuits, you can do higher frequency things, say 100 MHz ampifiers, etc, but you will have to do those on soldered boards with a ground plane.

Play around for a good long while, and really look for small nuances or details about the performance that differ from what you expected, fix those discrepanceis, and you will start to become an "expert"

 

[zia]

I think sky_123 is right about that book the ART of electronics by Paul Horowitz. I got that book a few months ago and it solidifies your concepts and makes you think in first principles if you are really inquisitive

regards
K

thanx karthick for guide now InshaALLAH i think that i will be expert by following ur kind guide.
so much thanx karthick.

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thank thylacine for kind guidence

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thanx to ALL people for very nice guide. the conclusion that i have learned from you all my kind teachers is that start studying art of electronics for concepts and after completion of each chapter do practice on both simulator and hardware. finally reversing things and getting knowledge how people can implement things will make me expert.
am i right?

 

[ElectronicsRookie]

All the above mentioned are excellent suggestions. Let me spice it up a bit. This is what I do. Yes I use books and simulator. However, I also do experimentation because theory does not always agree with practice. Therefore building circuits for fun is important too and it doe not have to be expensive too. When my old radio or tv breaks down, I overjoy and celebrate because it will be my feast time. I take them apart for components which is much cheaper than buying new. I use these components to build circuits for experiment. If I burn up something by accident, its not a big deal then. Hopefully that helps you.

 

[D.A.(Tony)Stewart]

If you like to to learn design.. I used to read all the magazines of clever circuits to the editor in the library in my spare time as a student. So when I graduated I could tackle a big project. Cookbook recipes help you get started. Then learning why it works comes with practise. But here are books of recipe designs that work, for transistors and simple IC's someone else suggested in this forum. Keep in mind , to use short wires with caps across supply rails. First to start small designs, then large then networks with SCADA, RF Optical, then anything is possible. WIth the web you have a huge resource of talented friends always ready to help. In my day it was hard work and long long hours.

You need a good supply of electronic surplus parts , a breadboard , lab supply scope to learn quick. otherwise read .. read ...

The creative part is fun, the diligent part is learning the language of specs... if you can read a Spec for any part.. you can learn to write one for your design.. this helps frame your thinking for what needs to be defined before you start the design process. Learning from other existing designs what works and what you need to change is the value added process. Dont reinvent the wheel if you can help it unless it is an academic exercise to learn how to do it. Learn from the best and get paid at the same time.