hello all,

I was just wondering if anybody learned electronics in very unique ways or did something very helpful in their education. I've read some books, new and old, and do the occasional take apart and am a couple years away from school. So if anybody has any helpful hints that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

Practice makes perfect

 

hello all,

I was just wondering if anybody learned electronics in very unique ways or did something very helpful in their education. I've read some books, new and old, and do the occasional take apart and am a couple years away from school. So if anybody has any helpful hints that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

The better way to learn is to read the theory and then make a circuit and make your calculations about the components values according to the theory. Then take measurements from the circuit and compare them with the theoretical to see the difference or vary the values of some components to see what happens. Theory and ideal or approximations are good but the real world is different.

 

"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is." -- Bob Pease

mik3 has described the way we were taught in tech school: Monday & Wednesday were information (theory), Tuesday & Thursday were Lab (practice); Friday was for testing.

There is a world of difference between knowing a 1K resistor has a 5% tolerance, and hooking up two 1K resistors in a voltage divider and NOT getting exactly 1/2 the voltage applied at the output. -- There were a number of students in my class who swore there must be something wrong with the equipment!

--Rich

 

mik3 has described the way we were taught in tech school: Monday & Wednesday were information (theory), Tuesday & Thursday were Lab (practice); Friday was for testing.

we are tought in the same way, but i think it's good. First you learn how some electronics component should work, then test it in the lab how ir really works, and why the only problem i see in the learning process, is that there are few really good books(i mean in my coutry or on the internet). I made an impression that almost all the books written by professors or lecturers is written not to students but to other proffesors.

 

... the only problem i see in the learning process, is that there are few really good books(i mean in my country or on the internet). I made an impression that almost all the books written by professors or lecturers is written not to students but to other professors.

Books? We didn't need no books! Well, there were a couple of them, but they were mostly used for occasional reference. The one that got the workout was TI's IC databook. I still prefer it to trying to find something online.

We did, however, carry looseleaf binders. By the time I finished, I had filled 4 2-inch binders with class notes, and had 4 1-inch lab workbooks. I suppose the teachers, who all had real-world experience, were frustrated by the "professors-writing-to-professors" books that were available then.

Fortunately, Radio-Electronics and Popular Electronics magazines were still being printed then.

Oh, yeah, the books on this site are pretty good, also!

--Rich

 

RiJoRI is pretty close. Texts and class work only go so far. What people who have worked in the field have to pass on is invaluable, as they are able to say how practice differs from theory. Working with the hardware is very useful.

However, complex stuff has to be understood to make use of it. We see any number of posts here from people who want a very simple cookbook solution to a microcontroller or microprocessor project. It may be that they have looked at the 300+ page data sheets and decided it was too much, but you can't use hardware without knowing how it works. That is very advanced stuff for students with limited experience.

I do agree that the magazines were just invaluable for projects and tips. I had a hoot finding a 6502 assembler in Byte that was written in Applesoft Basic. I cleaned up the print routine and extended it to include the R65C02 instruction set. It was like anybody who could pick up a soldering iron could have fun with it. Remember point-to-point wiring?

There is a discouraging move towards SMD that makes hobby activities pretty difficult. I would have had a hard time staying interested if I had had to use only surface mount stuff - it's too easy to make mistakes.

 

Ok cool thanks, any suggestions ob good magazines that you've used? Luckily I go to an engineering school, So there are many teachers there that can show me things in person.

 

Nuts and Volts is a pretty good electronics magazine. The website is www.nutsvolts.com

hgmjr

 

Thanks I will look into that

 

You might try Circuit Cellar.