Basic electronics help

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Ohms law is the basis of everything, when you understand Ohms law and I don't mean able to use it as a mathematical formula. When you have understood this law the modifications for the effects of inductance,capacitance and frequency begin to make sense.

Mike

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Well, Maxwell's equations actually.

Martin

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

Gordon,

the industry standard is by Horowitz & Hill, The Art of Electronics, but it's expensive. The monthly magazine Everyday Practical Electronics is good at explaining how circuits work.

Geoff

[michael mParticipant @michaelm]

"Someone asks for Basic electronics help, and in 5 mins. you are all going on about oscilloscopes and obtuse inductance theories."

Nothing unusual there then.

Michael

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by Geoff Theasby on 30/01/2015 08:55:51:

Depends what you wish to measure. You can get virtual oscilloscopes and other test gear that work at audio level (Up to maybe 20 kHz) which you can download from t'internet, some free, some not, and beware of viruses!

Hmm – it depends what you want to do. A virtual oscilloscope program is certainly the cheapest but as you say it is limited to audio frequencies and accuracy is poor as it uses the computer's audio card for aquisition. Another big disadvantage is the it is ac coupled. That means that the dc component of the signal is lost making it useless for logic signals.

The usb oscilloscopes from china all seem to get poor reviews.

Two western made usb oscilloscopes seem to be good value at the low price end (under £100), the Picoscope 2204A and the BitScope Micro. The Picoscope is a two analogue channel device with a 10 MHz bandwidth and the long established company has a good reputation. The BitScope on the other hand comes as a bare pcb but has a higher spec. It has two 20 MHz analogue inputs plus six 40 Mb/s logic inputs so is much more flexible.

Hope that helps a bit.

Russell.

[joneParticipant @jone]

Just another book recommendation.

I found "Electrical Engineering 101: Everything You Should Have Learned in School…but Probably Didn't" by Darren Ashby to be really accessible.

There's been another edition since I bought my copy, but would recommend it wholeheartedly based on the one I have. (Might be worth noting that the UK Amazon site doesn't have any reviews, but the US site has plenty).

Regards,

Jon.

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

Also, Foundations of Wireless and Electronics, William Scroggie. It has run to many editions.

Geoff

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

Sorry, M G Scroggie.

Geoff

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by Geoff Theasby on 30/01/2015 12:18:02:

Sorry, M G Scroggie.

Geoff

Ah yes. I used to enjoy his Wireless World articles written as "Cathode Ray". I still have a copy of his Radio and Electronic Laboratory Handbook from about 1960 which I was given as a Christmas present while still at school.

Russell.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

> Depends what you wish to measure. You can get virtual oscilloscopes and other test gear that work at audio level (Up to maybe 20 kHz) which you can download from t'internet, some free, some not, and beware of viruses!

Big issue with these is that sooner or later you will attach the probes and put something more than a few volts straight into the audio card and …

Neil

[Anonymous]

Posted by martin perman on 30/01/2015 09:19:03:

Andrew,

Where in Eaton Socon is the tool emporium you use and whats it called, I wouldnt mind a look as I only live a few miles away, approx 10 miles.

Martin P

Martin: The company is called Carillion Industrial Services. My contact there is Paul Beatty. I discovered them while searching for a UK distributor of Kurt vices. They are on the Colmworth Industrial Estate; that's the one on the opposite side of the road to B&Q, just off the A1/A428 junction. Their website is:

**LINK**

I tend to visit late morning or afternoon, as they have vans that deliver to customers throughout East Anglia and the East Midlands, and in the morning it can get pretty hectic sorting out the orders for the vans.

They have a wide range of cutting tools, some tooling (like ER collets), consumables such as oil and cutting fluids and some materials, like silver steel and gauge plate, and safety gear. Last time I went they had piles of out of date catalogues, so I expect they'll be glad to hand one over. Be aware that their primary customers are commercial machine shops, so they don't stock cheap import tooling or much in the way of hand tools.

Andrew

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Andrew,

Thanks for that, another choice, I've got Cromwell tools and Cooks of Bedford which are a pain to get to as I live between Bedford and Sandy, the A1 is close to me and easier to get to them, must have driven past them several times a week for several years.

Martin P

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

>Big issue with these is that sooner or later you will attach the probes and put something more than a >few volts straight into the audio card and …

The biggest issue I had was when constructing my radio telescope, I found a few volts coming 'out' of the sound card, which confused my satellite finder meter!

[Anonymous]

Posted by Gordon W on 30/01/2015 09:40:36:

This thread shows one of the real problems for us people who are trying to learn. Someone asks for Basic electronics help, and in 5 mins. you are all going on about oscilloscopes and obtuse inductance theories.

Ah well, serves me right for interfering in an electronics thread. Now back to my PCB layout, which involves…….oooops, better not say as it's a bit 'technical' like.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

A while back I did say I wouldn't interfere in any more electronics threads on this forum; but I'll make an exception for a relatively non-technical subject.

A 3rd edition of the book 'The Art of Electronics' has just been published. I've been lent a copy and it has a number of significant updates. As an example the chapter on DACs and ADCs has been greatly expanded. It even talks about under-sampling with ADCs, ie, when you can ignore the Nyquist limit, and has a simplified description of noise shaping in sigma-delta ADCs. It is by far and away the best book on electronics design, dicsussing real world quirks and traps while not forgetting the theory and design aspects.

It's not cheap (RRP £59.99p) but I will be ordering a copy in due course.

Andrew

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

I found this very helpful to get me going on Arduino. Very much easier than PICs

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Duncan,

I've got that book and find it interesting to read also.

Martin P

[Author]

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