I’m looking for a very basic, intro type book on circuits, I mean absolute beginners guide. I have no electronics background so what most on here would consider basic is probably not to me.
I’m faking my way through things by being careful and following instructions but it’s just not very smart doing it this way.
I’m faking my way through things by being careful and following instructions but it’s just not very smart doing it this way.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/134161994898 Best $25 you'll ever spend.
Tube oriented at the beginning, but then has chapters on electrical networks starting with "Current and Voltage", which is right down to the base. Author assumes you're intelligent and can do math!
Tube oriented at the beginning, but then has chapters on electrical networks starting with "Current and Voltage", which is right down to the base. Author assumes you're intelligent and can do math!
Why not start online? Google "basic electronics" and several options will come up. Pick one an start watching. If you like it then continue. If it is not doing it for you, then STOP, and try another. Every author has his approach, they are not all generic. The material is the same, electrons, current, the idea of circuits, etc, but like teachers, the presentation varies. FInd one you like. I have been training technicians for decades, and I love to see someone else explain what I am trying to explain. They may have a better way than mine. I might pick up some nuance.
There are of course fine electronics books, but online is free and gives you a chance to see what you like.
There are of course fine electronics books, but online is free and gives you a chance to see what you like.
I think RDH is an advanced study.
Until Mulburg says otherwise, I think he wants one of those 1930s picture-books where electrons have pointy noses and run through pipes and fences. Looks silly but gets you a grasp on intuitive fundamentals.
A lot of "electronics fans" are very weak on ELECTRICITY, batteries and resistors and loops and voltage dividers. When I start my design school, the recruits will spend the whole morning in the gym doing Ohms problems until they come out their ears in their sleep.
Until Mulburg says otherwise, I think he wants one of those 1930s picture-books where electrons have pointy noses and run through pipes and fences. Looks silly but gets you a grasp on intuitive fundamentals.
A lot of "electronics fans" are very weak on ELECTRICITY, batteries and resistors and loops and voltage dividers. When I start my design school, the recruits will spend the whole morning in the gym doing Ohms problems until they come out their ears in their sleep.
Do you want to study primarily tube or solid state? Ohm's law is the same, of course.
Last edited:
Thanks everyone for the suggestions, PRR hit it pretty close. I just need to be able to follow along a little better that’s all. Hard copy would be nice to have.
I sure miss the days when every Solaris box came with its own hard copies of all the docs.
I sure miss the days when every Solaris box came with its own hard copies of all the docs.
Try the Norman Crowhurst books here.
http://www.tubebooks.org/technical_books_online.htm#Audio (hi-fi, amplifiers, speakers...)
http://www.tubebooks.org/technical_books_online.htm#Audio (hi-fi, amplifiers, speakers...)
@Mulburg I am in a similar situation and have a lot of books that seemed too advanced.
Finally, I spent a couple hours at the local library to see what they had and figure out if any of the approaches felt easier for me to understand. These may not be the best books, but they were ones that made sense to me and I picked them up on the auction site for very little. I don't know that these would be good for everyone, but the process of spending some time with the books before buying them worked for me and I bought these two:
Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics by Gibilisco,
Practical Electronics for Inventors by Scherz and Monk.
These supplement a bunch of more advanced books I had already picked up based on recommendations and help understanding the basics when needed.
Hope this helps....
Finally, I spent a couple hours at the local library to see what they had and figure out if any of the approaches felt easier for me to understand. These may not be the best books, but they were ones that made sense to me and I picked them up on the auction site for very little. I don't know that these would be good for everyone, but the process of spending some time with the books before buying them worked for me and I bought these two:
Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics by Gibilisco,
Practical Electronics for Inventors by Scherz and Monk.
These supplement a bunch of more advanced books I had already picked up based on recommendations and help understanding the basics when needed.
Hope this helps....
I got a bunch (2 totes of books that might be of interets to someone) i am giving away (you pay post). Now you gonna make me go take pictures (someone will ask)
dave
dave
You start to learn with electronics when your kits go wrong !
It then tests your knowledge of how it works to find why its not working.
I build and sell loads of circuit boards.
Even after 40+ years I make mistakes. Shorts, missed or bad solder joints etc etc
Spent 10 minutes debugging a usb scope only to find I had forgot to solder in crystal for micro.
Had a valve amp red plate and that was missing grid stopper resistor.
Only people who dont make mistakes is those who dont do anything.
And you learn from the mistakes.
An interesting problem I had with an amp that didnt work.
Some of the voltages were wrong despite taking great care building it.
In the end I had to go through resistor by resistor checking values.
Turned out Farnell had put wrong resistors in a bag !
The bag had right value on it but wrong resistor inside.
I like to refresh my knowledge now and then and find youtube invaluable.
AC theory formula's and Kirchoff's laws and theory etc which I sometimes forget.
It then tests your knowledge of how it works to find why its not working.
I build and sell loads of circuit boards.
Even after 40+ years I make mistakes. Shorts, missed or bad solder joints etc etc
Spent 10 minutes debugging a usb scope only to find I had forgot to solder in crystal for micro.
Had a valve amp red plate and that was missing grid stopper resistor.
Only people who dont make mistakes is those who dont do anything.
And you learn from the mistakes.
An interesting problem I had with an amp that didnt work.
Some of the voltages were wrong despite taking great care building it.
In the end I had to go through resistor by resistor checking values.
Turned out Farnell had put wrong resistors in a bag !
The bag had right value on it but wrong resistor inside.
I like to refresh my knowledge now and then and find youtube invaluable.
AC theory formula's and Kirchoff's laws and theory etc which I sometimes forget.
In a peep, Gibilisco looks good in the first few chapters, and without trying I turned-up a PDF (probably pirated).
Scherz is very good, is available under $20 used, and a 4th edition is free at archive.com
It really tries to cover too much. There is only 1.25 page on superposition. Which is enough for brilliant readers, but many minds need a bigger hammer for this (and similar) Important Points. Still, print-off a fat handful of pages for bathroom or bedroom reading.
https://archive.org/details/practic...cherz-simon-monk-z-lib.org/page/n103/mode/2up
https://archive.org/details/practic...onk-z-lib.org/page/n103/mode/2up?view=theater
Easy Reading - FIrst two are well known RIder publications in order.
Third one is a great little hands on book by Keith Brindley that starts you with a couple of parts , a breadboard and meter and takes you through the basic concepts with actual plug and test real physical stuff. It's a great little book. Link is to online pdf but it's still under copyright so if you like it you can get a real copy for a dollar or two on AbeBooks.com or log in and borrow it at the archive Here
Basic Electricity
Basic Electronics
Starting Electronics
Third one is a great little hands on book by Keith Brindley that starts you with a couple of parts , a breadboard and meter and takes you through the basic concepts with actual plug and test real physical stuff. It's a great little book. Link is to online pdf but it's still under copyright so if you like it you can get a real copy for a dollar or two on AbeBooks.com or log in and borrow it at the archive Here
Basic Electricity
Basic Electronics
Starting Electronics
AND.... if you side-load it to your Kindle, it is reasonably readable. TINY but readable. Drawings hold-up too.
This is slightly surprising because Kindle and the standard loading techniques tend to choke on huge files. I have returned several omnibus collections because my Kindle stuttered, stalled, locked-up when opening or reading a huge file.
Get the PDF from Archive.org, linked above, on your PC. Connect Kindle via USB and find it in your My Computer (Mac: like "In the Finder, choose Go > Computer-- Show disks connected to your Mac, CDs and DVDs inserted in your optical disc drive..."). Open the Kindle's 'Documents' folder, and stash your PDF in there.
I would also recommend Elliott Sound Products and Lennard Audio sites.
This appears to be a basic text on circuit theory (passive). Free.
https://eng.libretexts.org/Bookshel...rcuit_Analysis_-_A_Practical_Approach_(Fiore)
https://batch.libretexts.org/print/Finished/eng-25010/Full.pdf
While passive circuits may be boring, you can't dance until you can walk. (Apologies to any differently-abled dancers, who can surely write their own analogy.)
From:
https://eng.libretexts.org/
https://eng.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Electrical_Engineering/Electronics
A problem is that the files for each book are all named the same-- Save_As... to keep them straight.
https://eng.libretexts.org/Bookshel...rcuit_Analysis_-_A_Practical_Approach_(Fiore)
https://batch.libretexts.org/print/Finished/eng-25010/Full.pdf
While passive circuits may be boring, you can't dance until you can walk. (Apologies to any differently-abled dancers, who can surely write their own analogy.)
From:
https://eng.libretexts.org/
https://eng.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Electrical_Engineering/Electronics
A problem is that the files for each book are all named the same-- Save_As... to keep them straight.