Not really an intro...

[mattmcl]

I've been on here for almost a year, quietly trying to learn and get into this hobby. I admit flat out, I've never used a multimeter and the most I've ever done is soldering crossovers.

I just posted a question and received a rather degrading remark about how "basic" my question was. Yeah, it was about very basic multimeter use.

SO WHAT? So what if it WAS basic? Am I incorrect in thinking that the point of this site is to learn? I've seen these types of comments quite a bit and it's really a huge detractor to the best site for DIY audio on the net. Is there some requirement I should have passed before joining this board? Or are these people so high and mighty that their little pearls of wisdom have to come with the price of pedantic arrogance?

Maybe it's just me. I'll come back after I've gone back to college, earned a degree in EE and spent a lifetime building circuits.

[Glowbug]

I saw that, thought the same thing...

I think sometimes people forget that we don't come out of the womb knowing Ohm's Law

[Moondog55]

Good point, some people do not appreciate how difficult it sometimes is to read the instructions that come with the device.
I think the instructions for my DMM were written in Chinese and then translated by "Gobbledygook .com" before printing

[Moondog55]

Btw
welcome

[mattmcl]

I just don't understand the value in pointing out someone's lack of knowledge in a derisive manner.

Ah well, easy enough to add to the ignore list.

[Cal Weldon]

Matt, You'll notice the offending posts were removed. I guess some guys just get a kick out of feeling superior. Not sure they'd pull the same thing were you face to face. Don't let it bother you. Water off the back as they say. When that sort of thing happens to ne, I just grin and think "small p*****s".

Cheers.

[TheSeekerr]

Hi Matt,

Don't let people stress you out. They're probably even quite nice in person.

In electrical engineering, we have a secret: We only know 3 things.

Ohms Law: Voltage = Current * Impedance
(oh, and the related notion that Power = Voltage * Current)

Kirchoffs Current Law: You can't get current from nowhere, so current into a circuit junction = sum of current out of a circuit junction.

Kirchoffs Voltage Law: Voltage doesn't just disappear, so the sum of voltages across components around a circuit = 0.

Nearly everything else is just definitions and derivation. For instance, from those you can derive the voltage divider rule. From that, with the help of some definitions and a little complex algebra, you can understand the operation of a first order filter.

What's my point? That these "basic" things are actually "fundamental" things, which, once learnt, will allow you to understand a great deal. It's not as complicated as it looks before you start.

Continue as you have begun, by asking questions, and value those answers which encourage you to do just a little of the thinking by yourself.

Cheers,
- Chris

(Disclaimer: I just finished my first year in an EE degree. Still holding down a distinction average for now)

EDIT: Don't let MJL21193 get to you. So far as I can tell, he's actually one of the nice ones. Certainly quite knowledgable. He just has an odd writing style which comes off as abrasive, but he's often protested that he didn't mean it that way.

[Moondog55]

Hey Seeker
you still owe me some feedback on that speaker experiment of yours, when ya gunna post??

[TheSeekerr]

Hi Moondog;

When I build them You know how it is, you get distracted sometimes. Me, I got distracted by going to uni for a year - on the plus side, I now know opamps and filters inside out

- Chris

[doorman]

Mattmcl: Your posts have more value than you know--they help answer questions many of us share, but haven't asked!
Best, Don