Literature on electronics...

Stickman393

Stickman393

Well-known member
So...hey all, I'm new to the forum.

They call me stickman. And by "they" I mean imaginary people. My real name has been lost to the ravages of time because it was extremely boring and did not amuse me sufficiently for my online persona, which is only slightly more absurd than my IRL persona...

Though I can't remember my own real name, I believe it translated into "a whale's v....". No. No, that's a quote from Anchorman. Shoot.

Anywho, I'm an HVAC tech. I've been impressed with the writings of Dan Holohan's books on hydronics loops and boilers, the likes of "Pumping Away", that engage the reader in a conversational tone while presenting useful information for building a mental model of systems. It's the kind of writing that can keep even my own ADHD addled brain focused.

With that gratuitously long preamble...does anyone out there have any good recommendations for books on electronics? Specifically; in the non-technical-manual, engaging, jangling keys every minute or so type of book that's meant for people like me who are *EXTREMELY* likely to pick up a book and promptly put it down, never to be disturbed again, once a different set of jangling keys catches our attention...

Thoughts?
 
ADHD brain here too ... if you find a general one let me know, I haven't yet. A lot of the foundational stuff took me forever to grasp, to whatever degree I do, because they're concepts that have to be described by metaphor and abstraction, and boy most engineers should stay away from those.
 
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Basics aren't a problem, I'm comfortable with engaging with electrical theory for the most part. The stuff I'm interested in is developing a deeper mental model of how semiconductors interact in a circuit. Also... trying to wrap my head around how capacitors function in a DC circuit...

Starting to think of those a little like a buffer tank for a hydronics loop. I'm used to using the for power factor correction in single phase AC induction motors.

I like engaging with theory and abstraction...but...like...tell me a story. Why is that cat in the box? Who the hell thought it was cool to rig up a bottle of poison to a trigger linked to the random decay of a radioactive isotope? WTF SCHRÖDINGER!?!?!?
 
I posted about a book a little while back called Vacuum Tube Amplifier Basics because it was written for muppets like myself. It'll obviously be helpful if you're interested in tube amps, but he spends a good amount of time in the beginning explaining what's what and why. It's kind of like an "electronics for dummies" book before he gets in to the tube amp stuff. Worth checking out, I think.
 
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I'm also an HVAC tech, and coming to grips with DC current and wiring diagrams has been a challenge to get my head around
 
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Stickman393 said:
Basics aren't a problem, I'm comfortable with engaging with electrical theory for the most part. The stuff I'm interested in is developing a deeper mental model of how semiconductors interact in a circuit. Also... trying to wrap my head around how capacitors function in a DC circuit...

Starting to think of those a little like a buffer tank for a hydronics loop. I'm used to using the for power factor correction in single phase AC induction motors.

I like engaging with theory and abstraction...but...like...tell me a story. Why is that cat in the box? Who the hell thought it was cool to rig up a bottle of poison to a trigger linked to the random decay of a radioactive isotope? WTF SCHRÖDINGER!?!?!?
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Here's a pretty decent article about capacitors.
www.coda-effects.com

Coda Effects: All you need to know about capacitors in guitar pedals

Learn more about electric guitar related electronics: DIY guitar pedals, from fuzz faces to delays and reverb, cables and circuits theory
www.coda-effects.com www.coda-effects.com
IMO, there is no one book or one stop shop. I started out learning from guitar pcb on YouTube, found a book at my library about the basics, and digging through chucks vineyard for some of the more advanced stuff. Everyone here is also very helpful with their combined knowledge. Google CAN be helpful if you know what you're looking for.
 
Electrosmash has some good analysis of circs for online reading, click on "Pedals". Whether it jangles your keys or not, is on a case-by-case basis.


Books-wise, with physical pages you can flip with your thumb, I'd like to recommend "Zen and the Art of Building Pedals and their Maintenance" — but I can't, as it hasn't been writ yet.
 
Are there any books out there that do the equivalent of what Electosmash does for circuit analysis? Also wondering if there's a source out there that explains a lot of the basics too for builders: hard clipping vs soft clipping, what do opamps do, high/low pass filters, voltage dividers, etc.
 
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