So I'm not exactly a newbie to electronics, but still fairly new. I know how to solder decently and I've owned several electronics experiment kits over the years, enough to know what most the parts are and what they do / are used for. The question is how do I take the next step from working with parts / components and predetermined projects to designing my own circuits / experiments?

Can anyone recommend a good textbook?

Thanks!
Tim

 

One source is ebooks such as this one on the popular 555.
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/50 - 555 Circuits/50 - 555 Circuits.html
Depending on your country of origin, a good source of parts for N.A. is Digikey.
Also do you want to stick with discrete ic's or venture into μp such as Picmicro etc?
Max.

 

Welcome to AAC!

Can anyone recommend a good textbook?

A text book can be rather tedious for a beginner.

Forrest Mims wrote a number of beginner books, Getting Started In Electronics seems like a good place to start.