So, I have been teaching myself about building circuits for a few years now, I can now read schematics pretty well, solder together amps, both valve and solid. I can modify the circuits so that I can have it look fancy, with plug in wires and things like that. Point is, I can put an amp together, but I dont understand why a .047 cap goes there, or why a 680ohm resister goes there.

I have searched pretty thoroughly online, and have yet to find a any resources that explain what it is im doing in a way that I can understand. I started reading Valve Wizard's tutorial. I got up to cathode load lines and at that point it lost me.

Any suggestions? Either valve or solid state or both.

 

Hello,

You might want to read some of the articles on this page of ESP:
http://sound.westhost.com/articles.htm

Bertus

 

You can also read through the AAC tutorials.

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/index.html

 

Thanks for the heads up.
Actually I did start reading the ESP texts a while back, I always get to a point where the math dislodges what I'm reading from reality. I know that this fact may doom me. Although I taught myself VB, and writing code is pretty much a giant math problem.... I try to equate amplifier framework to that of, say... a car. IE: Input stage is like ignition, the Coupling caps are blankety-blank.. yada yada (just an example, not literally what I think.) I cant come up with a good analogy.....

How do you guys and gals think of / visualize electronics?

 

The simplest analogy to flow of electricity is water flow, pumps, valves, piping, radiator coils, storage tanks.
But analogies can only get you so far until it breaks down.

Eventually, you have to study the real thing. A good start is learn and be fully knowledgeable with:

Ohm's Law
Batteries, power sources
Resistors
Series and parallel circuits

Capacitors as storage elements
Capacitors as reactive elements
DC and AC circuits
Low-pass and high-pass filters
Frequency response

Inductors as reactive elements
Inductors as energy storage elements
Reactance and impedance
Phasors
Power factor

Semiconductors
PN junction
Diodes and rectifiers
Zener diodes

Transformers
Unregulated DC supplies

Transistors
PNP and NPN transistors
FET
MOSFET

... just for starters.

Take one baby step at a time. Read the AAC tutorials.

 

Plumbing, my god. Not sure how I didn't get there myself, especially because my father is a master plumber and I'v worked with him enough to have a decent knowledge about it.

Anywho, I am literally going to save and print off that list and start chipping away. Do you suggest that order? If its not asking too much....

I really do appreciate it MrChips

 

You're Welcome.

 

You learn by doing. Work on every amplifier you can get your hands on, and don't stop until you have repaired it. You will learn why there is a .047uf here, or a 680 ohm resistor there, because you will experience the effect of those parts being bad.

"Knowlege is not enough, one must do." Bruce Lee

 

Two thoughts

See if there are any issues of the now defunct american magazine Audio Amateur in your area.

Try this site as well as AAC

http://www.diyaudio.com/

 

Fair enough, guess the eyes are scared while the hands make progress (Russian saying, translated poorly).

Thanks for the responses.