His book: Timer, OpAmp & Optoelectronic Circuits & Projects, Gives you projects to build as you read and learn.. It is Volume 1 in the series. Very Good. It will increase your "excitement" to learn, because as you book-learn, you build a circuit that you hold IN YOUR HANDS and see it work. The feeling of accomplishment and 'I can do this' will drive you along.

And he is a genius and all around good guy, so you will get a good education from it.

You should also purchase volume 4 to keep on hand. It is titled: Electronic Formulas, Symbols & Circuits

That is a good reference to help understand what is going on around you in Schematics, wiring diagrams and the such.

I have both sitting in arms reach.

Added all of his books to my Amazon wish-list.

 

You will be a better EE for having done so.

 

You will be a better EE for having done so.

Assuming i buy and use them!

 

I would get vol 1 and vol 4 today... You can wait for the others.

You will use them daily.

 

I would get vol 1 and vol 4 today... You can wait for the others.

You will use them daily.

Will ask my manager at our next 1:1 (weekly)


I have a specific work goal for this year to get better at analog design (op-amp circuits specifically) and C++ programming. i havent had time for either due to this project i am working on (royer oscillator is a small part of it - my other thread)

i set both of those goals myself. last year i wanted to build an FPGA programming base - i did about 7 Altera online courses and built up several projects.

the professional development opportunities here are nice - but eventually id like to leave this place in the dust and work for NASA (or a similar space exploration company) - hopefully to make a difference (even with one small circuit!) to help us explore beyond our current limits.

 

A worthy goal. Imagining your designs up in space will get you through the driest of textbooks, that and a thirst for knowledge. They're not written to be entertaining, and they invariably require a lot of effort on the part of the reader. But here's a secret: You don't have to read them cover-to-cover. If I did that with my library, I'd never get anything done. But it's a very useful skill to know just where to find the information you're after, so a good resource bank and an ever-expanding index in your head will serve you well.

Talking of the great Walt Jung, here's his Op-Amp Applications Handbook (pdf or dead tree format). And not forgetting Ron Mancini's Op-Amps for Everyone (same deal). Am also loving his Pink Panther theme... Download and/or buy all the works of the greats and you can't go wrong - Bob Pease, Jim Williams, Walter Kester, Bonnie Baker, and more, they've each forgotten more than I'll ever know. You'll have to reach into your pocket quite a lot as most of the really good stuff isn't freely available on the web, but the way I look at it is like this: If I spend $50 on a book, and I only learn one thing from it, but that one thing I've learned saves me an hour of fruitless messing around, then it's paid for itself. I haven't bought a textbook yet that hasn't earned its keep.

Maybe a bit advanced for now, but squirrel these titles away and one day seek them out, for these tomes are unsurpassed and yet perversely out of print: "Operational Amplifiers" by Jiri Dostal, and "Analog Filter Design" by M.E. van Valkenburg. If you care to look, there may be unauthorised scanned versions available for download, but I'm sure I couldn't condone such wickedness.

Finally, and unfortunately, you can't skip the stuff you don't like but need to know. The best way I've found around this is an attitude shift - find a way to like it, by fair means or foul, or it's going to be a short summer and a long winter.

 

thanks for the recommendations - i will add them to my amazon list as well.

i just ordered the jim williams book, and the two forest mims books.

hopefully i can get some free time at work to build some of the circuits.

 

A worthy goal. Imagining your designs up in space will get you through the driest of textbooks, that and a thirst for knowledge. They're not written to be entertaining, and they invariably require a lot of effort on the part of the reader. But here's a secret: You don't have to read them cover-to-cover. If I did that with my library, I'd never get anything done. But it's a very useful skill to know just where to find the information you're after, so a good resource bank and an ever-expanding index in your head will serve you well.

Finally, and unfortunately, you can't skip the stuff you don't like but need to know. The best way I've found around this is an attitude shift - find a way to like it, by fair means or foul, or it's going to be a short summer and a long winter.

I agree with your statement about knowing WHERE to find knowledge and solutions. I think that's the only viable approach to have really, there is SO much information out there, and so many ways to design things - there is no need to have solutions in your head - just need to know where to look and what questions to ask.

 

also, i much prefer a hard copy of a book (sorry trees) to a pdf.

for some reason being able to hold the book, highlight and make notes helps me learn and absorb information better.

anyone else this way?

 

I tape the book to my body and use osmosis.

 

I tape the book to my body and use osmosis.

you should patent that.

 

Its not easy to teach....