I seem to have arrived at a dead end. I'm in the fourth year of my engineering and I am yet to understand how does someone while designing a circuit from scratch:
1)Know where to put resistors
2)Where to put capacitors, and which type (Electrolytic, non electroltyic)
3)What value of resistor/capacitor should be chosen so as to serve the purposes of the overall circuit.
4)What the hell happens while biasing transistors.

Don't get me wrong,
I have studied and scored A grades in all major subjects of Electronics like Control Systems and Semiconductor Devices, even advanced ones like Embedded Systems.

I still go blank whenever I see a circuit (even so as Simple as a common Audio Amplifier). Given a circuit I can analyze it - AC analysis, DC analysis, calculate some random parameters - but give me a circuit to build and I don't know where to start.

HELP. I will go mad and leave this field otherwise.

 

This site gives methods for designing simple one transistor audio amplifiers. You could design an amplifier following one of their schemes and then, preferably, simulate it and see how it performs. Then you can make changes and see what happens. If you don't already have access to a simulator then LTspice is a good choice. It is free and there are people here with good knowledge and can help if you get stuck.

 

It looks like you studied all the advanced classes, but skipped the basic ones, especially since your question 4. As for questions 1 through 3, these are things that the engineer will decide. You seem to lack a practical application of your aquired knowledge. If you didn't get this in school, then you should teach yourself. You could start by building some simple circuits from kits, then advance to designing and building your own.

 

Here is a video blog I did sharing my hobby way of designing transistor amplifiers from scratch, at the hobby level.

https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/blog/my-hobby-way-of-designing-a-small-signal-amplifier.695/

 

It sounds like what you have missed out on so far is practical experience.

1)Know where to put resistors​

Study circuits and ask yourself "What is this resistor for?" If you have trouble figuring it out you can ask on this forum.

2)Where to put capacitors, and which type (Electrolytic, non electroltyic)​

Same as #1 above.

3)What value of resistor/capacitor should be chosen so as to serve the purposes of the overall circuit.​

Same as #1 above.

4)What the h@!!! happens while biasing transistors.​

I suggest you start reading at the link below and come back with any specific questions.
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/semiconductors/chpt-4/biasing-techniques-bjt/

 

Hello,

There are many books for electronics design available at the internet archive:
https://archive.org/search.php?query=electronics design&and[]=mediatype:"texts"&and[]=loans__status__status:"NULL"

Bertus

 

Here is a video blog I did sharing my hobby way of designing transistor amplifiers from scratch, at the hobby level.

https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/blog/my-hobby-way-of-designing-a-small-signal-amplifier.695/

Yes I have been stalking your forums and your answers are what led me to this website's forums in the first place.

Thanks,
Vedant

 

It looks like you studied all the advanced classes, but skipped the basic ones, especially since your question 4. As for questions 1 through 3, these are things that the engineer will decide. You seem to lack a practical application of your aquired knowledge. If you didn't get this in school, then you should teach yourself. You could start by building some simple circuits from kits, then advance to designing and building your own.

Precisely... I just didn't know where to start. I kinda broke down yesterday, frustrated with the fact that I don't know nothing. My head seems to be in a better state than before, hopefully I shall do as you suggested.

Thanks,
Vedant

 

It sounds like what you have missed out on so far is practical experience.

1)Know where to put resistors​

Study circuits and ask yourself "What is this resistor for?" If you have trouble figuring it out you can ask on this forum.

2)Where to put capacitors, and which type (Electrolytic, non electroltyic)​

Same as #1 above.

3)What value of resistor/capacitor should be chosen so as to serve the purposes of the overall circuit.​

Same as #1 above.

4)What the h@!!! happens while biasing transistors.​

I suggest you start reading at the link below and come back with any specific questions.
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/semiconductors/chpt-4/biasing-techniques-bjt/

Thank you very much for your reply.

I guess my main issue is that while I have studied each biasing method independently, I haven't had enough practical experience so as to determine which method is used while looking at a circuit.

So Practical experience, I think is what I need.

P.S. The link is fabulous.

Thanks,
Vedant

 

This site gives methods for designing simple one transistor audio amplifiers. You could design an amplifier following one of their schemes and then, preferably, simulate it and see how it performs. Then you can make changes and see what happens. If you don't already have access to a simulator then LTspice is a good choice. It is free and there are people here with good knowledge and can help if you get stuck.

Wonderful! Thanks a lot @AlbertHall, will definitely do so!

Regards,
Vedant.

 

I kinda broke down yesterday, frustrated with the fact that I don't know nothing.

You probably know lots already, as you've already stated. You just don't know how to apply what you know, or identify the things in the real world you're supposed to know... I think that what you lack is experience, and that you're at the border of a "mental breakthrough" ... so hang in there, start building simple things and grow from there ... if what you've said about your academic education is true, then you will be learning this stuff much faster than most people. Good luck.

 

I still go blank whenever I see a circuit (even so as Simple as a common Audio Amplifier). Given a circuit I can analyze it - AC analysis, DC analysis, calculate some random parameters - but give me a circuit to build and I don't know where to start.

I'm not too surprised you (and many other EE students) are having this problem: unless things have changed drastically in the ≈40 years since I got my engineering degree, university EE curricula usually focus heavily on circuit analysis and synthesis, but say almost nothing useful on circuit design or creation-- perhaps because, for the most part, it's something that has to be learned through experience.

Study circuits, build them and experiment with them. Avoid YouTube, Instructables and hobbyist web sites-- too much of what's out there is suitable only for showing how NOT to do things. Most of the major semiconductor manufacturers maintain large collection of "application notes" which are a good source of well-designed circuits to study as well as general design guidance. Texas Instruments, Linear Technology, Analog Devices and Maxim all have tons of good stuff in their app note sections.

Learn to think in terms of circuit "functional blocks"-- common circuit configurations consisting of only a handful of components-- that are used again and again, combined in various ways, in nearly all designs. Once you learn to recognize these building blocks, you will find that most large, complex circuits can be broken down into a collection of small, easily-understood subcircuits. And once you master those functional blocks (there are only a couple of dozen of them), you can begin putting them together in your own designs.

There are also some good books out there. I like The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill. It's expensive, but IMO well worth the price. Some people don't like it as a beginner's book because parts of it can be rather intimidating to someone just starting out; but my view is that it's a book you can grow with and come back to again and again as your skills evolve over time.

 

Given a circuit I can analyze it - AC analysis, DC analysis, calculate some random parameters - but give me a circuit to build and I don't know where to start.

When you analyze these circuits, do you understand why certain components or component values were selected?

 

Hello,

The 2nd edition of book of "The Art of Electronics" seems to be on the internet archive as opensource book:
https://archive.org/details/TheArtOfElectronics-2ndEdition

Bertus

 

Hello,

There are many books for electronics design available at the internet archive:
https://archive.org/search.php?query=electronics design&and[]=mediatype:"texts"&and[]=loans__status__status:"NULL"

Bertus

Thank you Bertus, for that link. Will be using that in my ongoing learning process.