rstofer
Thank you for all the recommendation! its always a big help having the material recommended by someone who learned from it. So i guess everyone recommends The art of electronics so i might
as well get it and then for mastering schematics maybe "Getting Started in Electronics
for schematics or maybe just "Beginners guide to schematics"
I graduated in '73, I didn't use any of these books. I have bought them over the last few years to follow along with questions but I haven't actually read any of them. I have read through the Forrest Mims book and I think it is a lot more useful for beginners than "The Art of Electronics". Everybody raves about the AoE book and I'll be darned if I see why. Maybe I haven't spent enough time with it.
Any book aimed at a college course is going to be a tall step for a beginner.
I also agree that there is a lot of great information online, i just
need to find the right channels and websites suited for my style of
learning and prefferibly a progressive course that mixes theory
with practical examples and exercises. I got a Lab Bench
so i will probably need an Oscilloscope. Anything else you guys can think of would be useful?
Any of the videos by Dave or w2aew will be most excellent. Alan Wolke (w2aew) does a magnificent job while keeping the math under control. Dave's stuff doesn't tend to be math heavy either.
Khan Academy electrical engineering is pretty good and so is DigilentInc's Real Analog.
https://learn.digilentinc.com/classroom/realanalog/But both of these are aimed at students, not hobbyists. Or, if hobbyists, at least those with math skills.
As to equipment, who's to say? You would absolutely need a scope if the signals wiggle. You simply can't see what is going on without one. Three decent (but not expensive) DMMs are also helpful. Don't use them on mains but the Aneng AN8008 is not a bad little meter (yes, I have one). Dave did a review. Why three? Well, when you play with transistors, you want to measure base current, collector current and probably V
CE(SAT) concurrently. Watch Alan's transistor videos and do what he does without the high dollar meters. He keeps dragging out that Simpson 260 analog meter - yes, I have a couple of those as well. I actually like analog meters. Search Google for 'w2aew transistor' and follow along.
You need a signal source when you want to play with AC signals. You can buy an Arbitrary Waveform Generator with prices all over the map as a function of capability and specifications. It's a separate topic and it has been addressed many times. Search for it. I bought a Siglent SDG2082 but that's over the top. The SDG2042 is more than adequate. I also bought a Rigol DS1054Z scope to go along with my 350 MHz Tek 485. Today, I would be looking at the newer Siglents.
If you are more interested in digital signals, maybe an Arduino can generate them.
Which brings me back to recommending 4 channel scopes to view the SPI bus. That's why I bought the Rigol. In fact, that's the ONLY reason I bought the Rigol. The Tek 485 has much higher bandwidth and I wasn't paying attention to all the measurement capabilities of a DSO. My bad... There is no comparison between a modern DSO and an old analog scope.
This is a really long thread but around Reply 152, Charlotte buys the Siglent SDS1202X-E - 2 channels, 200 MHz. And then we get to playing around with all the controls and features. It's a long thread but it covers an amazing amount of territory.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/what-an-oscilloscope-recommended-for-a-woman-passionate-about-electronics/There are MANY threads on entry level scopes including used analog scopes. We start one every week or so.
When it was cheaper, I always recommended newcomers start with the Analog Discovery 2. Since Covid, pricing seems to be opportunistic as university students are buying them like crazy. They have been out of stock for a very long time but now we have a promise of a maybe. I'm still a fan but only at the previous price. Since NI bought Digilent, I'm losing interest in the company.
Why buy one? Well, it has a 2 channel Arbitrary Waveform Generator, a 2 channel Scope which can also be a 2 channel DMM. It also has 16 bits of digital IO which can be used as a logic analyzer but the number of software defined instruments is where it really shines. It used to cost $279 and could replace an entire workbench worth of tools. But that was then, this is now.
To see the various tools, download the Waveforms software. There is a 'Demo' device that will let you play around with things.
There are a bunch of really cheap signal generators (without the Arbitrary capability) and the signals may not be as clean as those from a more expensive unit but they may work just fine:
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20210210134443&SearchText=signal+generatorThere are inexpensive Arbitrary Waveform Generators as well. Ask over in the Test Equipment forum
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20210210135625&SearchText=arbitrary+waveform+generatorThey may get you started and if you have to upgrade later, so what? Sell the low end stuff or just keep it in a drawer like the rest of us.