Books to help learn about electronics

[etwaudio]

Hey all, I've decided to try and learn more about building and repairing studio gear to diversify a bit. Does anyone have any recommendations for books to help me with this? I checked out a couple of books on electrical engineering from my local library, but I'd like to know what other people have done to learn about this aspect of the studio. Are preamp kits like these (http://www.seventhcircleaudio.com/index.htm) fun/useful tools for learning about this stuff?

Thanks!

[kslight]

Are preamp kits like these (http://www.seventhcircleaudio.com/index.htm) fun/useful tools for learning about this stuff?

In my experience that kits while fun, are more "paint by numbers" and less of a learning experience (unless the SCA kits are different...you don't learn WHY any component is chosen or why it is where it is...) unless you need experience soldering.

[rhythm ranch]

http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopic.php?t=75049

[Tragabigzanda]

I really loved working with this:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=3814337

[dfuruta]

This isn't a book, but you might want to look at the MITx program (now part of EdX). They'll be offering a free, online introduction to electronics course in the fall. I took the pilot run of the course this last spring. It's pretty theoretical and mathematically-based, but I learned a lot. You need to be comfortable with calculus and basic differential equations, though.

[kslight]

I really loved working with this:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=3814337

I have one of those in my basement... I actually did go through most of the projects in the book for this...

While I think I learned SOMETHING out of it, I'm still not as comfortable with electronics (as far as design goes) as I wish I was. I wish I could find the learning tool that really makes it click for me.

You need to be comfortable with calculus and basic differential equations, though.

This is probably why I gloss over when I read about electronics...

[AndersonSoundRecording]

This one helped me out when I was first trying to learn about this stuff:

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Yourself-El ... 0071377301

I treated it like a class: I read it cover to cover a chapter at a time and took all the quizzes and tests.

Not that I'm all that great with electronics, but this really helped my understanding quite a bit, especially with regards to impedance, capacitors and inductors.

[ricercar.record]

This isn't a book, but you might want to look at the MITx program (now part of EdX).

I also found this a while back when I was amassing books and resources for my own learning. Some that I have found to be great, and am still reading/going through so still much to learn...

General Electronics & Electrical Engineering 101:
The Art of Electronics, Horowitz and Hill
Student Manual for the Art of Electronics, Hayes and Horowitz
Practical Electronics for Inventors, Paul Scherz
Electronics Fundamentals: Circuits, Devices, and Applications, Floyd
Building Power Supplies: Useful Designs for Hobbyists and Technicians, David Lines

More Audio specific:
Small Signal Audio Design, Dougles Self

also I found these other online lectures around the same time I came across the MIT lectures, NPTEL Electronics for Analog Signal Processing - http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/video.php?subjectId=117106087

this reminds me I need to get back to reading instead of recording and mixing my brain away

[etwaudio]

Thanks everyone! You've been really helpful. I'll look into these sources and I guess try and take a few calculus courses.

[dfuruta]

I'll look into these sources and I guess try and take a few calculus courses.

If you're interested in brushing up on your math, the lessons at khanacademy.org are thorough and easy to follow. They start with elementary school stuff and go up through basic differential equations and linear algebra.

[The Scum]

At this point, I'm kinda conflicted on the Art Of Electronics. It's great if you need to work from the physics on up to circuits. but half of the book is dedicated to somewhat dated digital stiff, building an 8080-ish computer from scratch. Great if your goal is to become a computer architect...maybe not from an audio perspective.

The Student Manual, though, is really great, even if you skip the digital stuff. The most accessible guides to biasing transistors and opamps I've ever read.

Of course, maybe it takes the pair of them to make a complete course.

The Self Small signal book is great.

Bob Pease's Troubleshooting Analog Circuits is another great book. Jedi-level knowledge. As are all of his old monthly columns for EDN.

So it Henry Ott's Noise Reduction book.

And Jung. And Fredriksen. Though they're not Pease, nor Ott.

The assorted Forrest Mims and Don Lancaster books are all worth having on the shelf.

The old Audio Cyclopedia is a good reference to have around, though mainly for a historical perspective. The newer Handbook for Sound Engineers refreshes the concept.

There are some good online & vendor specific resources to track down, too.

National Semi's Audio/Radio Handbook is good. As are many of NS's old datasheets...particularly the old opamp and FET ones...lots of useful circuits in the app notes!

TI's Opamps for Everyone is a classic, and was free as a PDF last I checked.

All of the stuff (datasheets, appnotes, whitepapers, etc) from THAT and Jensen transformers are worth reading.

And the Audio Precision measurement whitepapers are good, too.

I'm also a fan of Nelson Pass...who has regular columns in Audio Xpress magazine, and a number of articles around the web. Starting at passdiy.com.