Hi there,

I meant to post this a while go but just got reminded today.

How many here keep a notebook?

I mention this because as the years go by we tend to forget things especially the most detailed things. If we keep a notebook we can look back on what we did. Logging clear examples helps a lot too so that we can see what we did in the past.

Most of the stuff i kept over the years i can remember by looking it up but stiff i did not log i find it much harder to remember, having to look on the web for hours sometimes.

 

Since I've only done electronics via school or just for myself(as hobbyist). I still have every paper that I got or made in school. About what I've done at home by myself...Every breadboarded circuit is digitally documented. However the tests and measurements+ modifications that I've done...Only exist as memories

 

I keep a notebook of ideas and odds and ends and have done that for the past 40+ years. Is that unusual?

Quick, I need to know if I am odd. I am not an engineer though. Is that OK?

John

 

Nah. You are good mate.

Well if you ain't, I'm loony tunes

 

I keep a notebook of ideas and odds and ends and have done that for the past 40+ years.

Me too. It started in school and was reinforced when I worked at HP Labs.

 

I keep a notebook, but not in paper form; everything I do is on my computer, and I don't delete ANYTHING. What little is done on a notepad gets scanned periodically and filed away as a .pdf.

 

I keep several notebook that I tend to forget at exactly the wrong time. I've started taking auto sync'd digital photos of just about everything now at various stages including pages from notebooks. The 'cloud' never forgets.

 

I haven't kept a formal notebook but I have lots of computer files that are semi-organized. Taking a lead from OBW0549 and nsaspook, if I were to do it, I would make it electronic so it's searchable and reproducible.

 

I keep details, schematics, S/W etc of all the past projects on file just in case, sometimes I go through them for nostalgia sake , On looking some of them over I sort of amaze myself that I actually built/designed (whatever) THAT, the large majority still out there in operation.
Max.

 

I have a web based engineering notebook and if I ever do anything on paper, it is easy enough to make it a png.

Paper notes have that limited search capability...

 

Hello again,

Yes notes on the computer are easier to search.

I had to keep notebooks at work too but had to turn them all in when i left.

With a paper copy it helps to number the pages. The notebook i kept for some years at home with my own projects i used the last few pages for an appendix and wrote down the main contents of each page. For example if page 22 had a transformer wound for RF the appendix would have an entry "RF Transformer pg 22".
You may be wondering what happens if you just use the last two pages for the index and get to the last page and run out of room. Well, what you can actually do is start from the LAST page of the notebook and work backwards while the actual contents on the pages starts from the first page. So you work your way toward the middle of the notebook, actual info from page 1 through page maybe 95 and appendix from page 100 to page 96 that reference pages 1 through 95, where the contents for page 1 appear on page 100 and contents for page 95 appear on page 96 (100 page notebook for example). Works pretty nice.

These days i use the computer too though. If you have to keep notes in different folders you can keep a list of all the notes with the local path to the info. For example, if you have "Boost-01.gif" in folder "D:\\Converters\\" then the entry in the table of contents might be:
BoostConverter 01: "D:\\Converters\\Boost-01.gif"

That also helps if you want to do categories too. For example, that Boost-01.gif might fall under your category of Boost Converter Projects and also under Boost Converter Theory, so you can list the file under both of those categories without having to actually store it twice on the hard drive (under both directories if you have two).

 

I just write books, seminars, and articles so I can find what I need in my reference file.

 

I have a couple composition books in order to help me remember formulas and basic circuits.. Also keep one for my projects design and my repairs in order to keep the parts straight that are needed to be ordered .. Plus I carry a Moleskin hardcover pocket notebook with a fisher space for everyday notes and ideas ...

 

Hi there,

I meant to post this a while go but just got reminded today.

How many here keep a notebook?

I mention this because as the years go by we tend to forget things especially the most detailed things. If we keep a notebook we can look back on what we did. Logging clear examples helps a lot too so that we can see what we did in the past.

Most of the stuff i kept over the years i can remember by looking it up but stiff i did not log i find it much harder to remember, having to look on the web for hours sometimes.

I have a bookshelf full of binders. Every time i start a new project (which is waaaay too often), it goes in a paper clip, when (if) i finish it gets punched and put in a binder. I have binders sorted by type of project. Related items go in the same binder.

I have only been doing this for 10 years. Computers are far too finicky to be trusted with all my important data. All important items are redundantly stored on a computer (just beginning to use the cloud) and primarily stored in binders (where i can write all over everything).

 

Who has the best notebook doodles?

My entries from an old notebook:
Work: Raster display counter.

Doodle: I think I see some Dr. Strange influence.

 

I keep an electronic diary ever since mini-computers existed, so before the PC.

Had to do the lab notebook with numbered pages at work.

Larger work projects used a binder. Larger home, projects the string tie envelopes.

Sometimes I miss entries. I started a notebook at home, but really never kept it up.

 

You definitely should keep a log of your work and what your experiences were.
I have been in electronics about 35 years and wish I had done so.
It means I have to relearn things when I go back to a project I did many years ago.