As a student, I can recommend "Practical Electronics For Inventors, Fourth Edition" by Paul Scherz, accompanied by the occasional youtube video and reddit question :) You can buy it from Amazon here
I havent read any others, so I cant compare the quality, but you can go through it like a book and be able to understand everything. You may run into some problems in the real world that requires some fairly advanced calculus, which the book doesn't cover. (It does cover where to apply it, just not how). It is really extensive (1256 pages on my desktop e-reader), so if you have an idea for something specific you want to build, there might be something more efficient out there :)
I would think that not a lot of electronics books, if any, explain the math in full, so I would suggest that you find an online source for whatever specific piece of math you've run into. I can recommend Kahn academy.
Good luck :)
This is an awesome intro book to electronics. Covers all the basics, including how to read diagrams and identify components. Which is beyond important.
Almost everything I know (and it's not that much believe me) comes from a couple of goods books on the subject (I recommend Practical Electronics for Inventors) and from YouTube (where I've watched every Ben Eater videos if you're into bare metal computing which I'm really fond of).
It's amazing what you can learn online theses days.
To answer your questions, the tool left of the soldering iron is Siglent SDS 1104 X-E 4 Channel Oscilloscope. It allows you to measure voltage across some very time interval. Perfect for measuring and studying the frequency, amplitude and shapes of waveforms. It's one of the most essential tool you can get after getting a decent multi-meter.
The other one on the far left is a FeelElec FY6900 Waveform Generator, think of it as a power supply for AC instead of DC. It can generate sine, square and trig waveform of varying frequency and amplitude. Let's say you want to build a full bridge rectifier which is a fun little beginner project. You'd use one of them to generate the AC current input.
It is truly the bible of electronics.
It's great but to start it's often a bit violent,
I advise you to read this one : https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=QBLGLJURDU5&keywords=inventor+for+electronic&qid=1664644736&s=books&sprefix=inventor+for+electronic%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C141&a...
Physics major here who went on to also get a BSEE, so I'm probably uniquely qualified to understand your situation. In my physics program we covered the basics of electric circuits and had a circuits lab, but really stopped short of any actual circuit analysis. Unless you're an unusually motivated person, I think approaching this from the academic construct is going to be difficult. But, to answer your question anyway: - Circuits I: Intro to circuit analysis. Kirchoff's voltage and current laws, node and loop analysis, basic passive circuit elements, independent and dependent voltage and current sources, Bode plots, AC analysis, time domain representation of circuits, frequency domain / complex representations of circuits, Laplace transforms
Circuits II: Diodes, operational amplifiers (black box), transistors. My course mostly focused on MOSFETS - DC analysis, small signal models, basic amplifier structures. Similar things for BJT, but less depth
Analog and Digital Circuits: Intro to cascode amplifiers, high frequency amplifier analysis, more detail on amplifier configurations, 6T memory structures, inverters, digital rise/fall time / timing analysis, logic gate synthesis
Those were the basic courses. From there it was your choice in how much deeper you wanted to go.
In your case, I would probably pick up a hobbyist electronics book, like Practical Electronics for Inventors: https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541
Tbh, for me its a lot of reading/youtube. Guys like BigClive and AvE can teach a lot, and I can't recommend Practical Electronics for Inventors, Fourth Edition enough.
one of my favorite references is practical electronics for inventors. it's just a great book to have for referencing all kinds of circuit ideas. Like the title suggests, it's about practical knowledge, so it's a little light on the theory.
This book was an incredible resource for me: Practical Electronics for Inventors
I favor books over websites and youtube videos for most technical learning projects like this.
Practical Electronics for Inventors has been in one of my amazon wishlists for a while now, saved for when I decide to start tinkering more myself. It looks pretty decent and isn't uber expensive.
I would recommend Practical Electronics for Inventors. This book is awesome for all electronic concepts. Plenty of examples and working problems. Here’s a link on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=electronics+book&qid=1567720843&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Thanks! I bought this as a teaching tool, primarily; I had/have the intention of letting its capabilities dictate what I might use it for and just enjoy the learning experience for its own sake. A 100mhz scope was recommended generally as a starter scope in “Practical Electronics For Inventors” and that was my guiding light at the time. All ears if anyone has suggestions to share!
Wow, cannot believe that nobody recommended the excellent book by Scherz and Monk: Practical Electronics for Inventors. I guess this is what you are looking for.
​
Oui et non, m'enfin ca avance comme ca avance. Je commence a avoir l'habitude du rythme bizarre des projets quand tu apprends et fait tout seul (en pompant sur le web ou les livres cela dit)
ps: le livre c'est celui de paul scherz https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541/ref=la_B001IGLZCW_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1531338816&sr=1-1#customerReviews
Je le trouve pas mal du tout, faut avoir un peu l'habitude de la notation mathematique parfois, mais a part ca j'aime le rythme
Scherz's Practical electronics for inventors is a good intro level book that includes theory at an understandable level and lots of practical stuff. The early editions had a lot of mistakes but presumably by now it's better edited
https://smile.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541/
There's definitely something to be said about being self-employed. If you can pull it off, being your own boss is probably pretty liberating. I was actually having a conversation with my roommate last night about work and money, etc. He graduated college a few months back with a 4-year degree and now he's making $30k/year at a job he already hates after working there for a month. It does suck to feel like a pawn of the system - you work for pennies while other people profit immensely off of your productivity. So going freelance might ameliorate that problem for you.
In regards to printing PCBs, yeah, that's electrical engineering. There's a book my EE friend made me buy that you might find useful for that endeavor: Practical Electronics for Inventors. Though that link to American Amazon might not be the best based on your usage of the word "flat." I've been working my way through a different one - Essentials of Computing Systems, which I've found pretty cool. Starting with NAND gates (in a hardware simulator) it has you build up a fully functional computer, which you then write software for. Pretty cool stuff. For context I'm a 23 year old chemical engineering graduate who's 2 years into a 7 year MD/PhD program. So lots of tests left to take and reports to write for me at least.
I had the same approach as you when I first started learning electronics; I'd recommend Practical Electronics for Inventors. While it does explain just about every topic in great detail, it does so at a pace that's neither too slow nor too fast; you can easily skip the more technical chapters, and stick to the easy bits too. However, if you want to do more than create simple signal clipping distortion pedals, I would suggest that you read the technical stuff as well, to learn what actually goes on in a circuit, and to understand how you might modulate your guitar's sound.
Practical Electronics for Inventors covers the fundamentals of electronics, ranging from Ohm's law and simple circuit analysis, to guides on selecting components and the use of microcontrollers. It was a lifesaver during the first year of my Bsc in electrical engineering, and I still find it handy.
From your other post: > Users will receive a brief shock while the button is pushed down
Please don't do this. It's not safe. You may have already decided not to do it, but for anyone else reading I want to drive the point home. To reach for a quote...
> Electricity is neutral. It doesn't want to kill you, but it will if you give it a chance. Electricity wants to go home, and to find a quick way to get there -- and it will.
> Anything that gives it an escape route. Anything -- iron, wire, water, flesh, ganglia - that will take it where it must go, with the efficiency of gravity or the imperative of salmon swimming upriver.... And it wants the shortest route - which is not around a corner and through a muscle mass in the middle of your back, but it will go that way if it has to.
> -- Hunter S. Thompson, 1989, Songs of the Doomed
In particular:
Very tiny currents can stop a heart. 1 microamp can induce ventricular fibrillation if applied directly to the heart. The reason you can safely grab a AA battery at both ends is that your dry skin presents a high-resistance interface. But if someone with a heart condition and salty sweaty skin came around, that might be all it would take for a mild novelty shock to produce a serious injury.
Even "safe" currents that only produce a mild tingle can cause damage to the surrounding tissue if they apply current in the wrong waveform. DC currents cause ions to migrate which can burst cell walls, and can also induce chemical damage due to sodium hydroxide formed at the cathode and hydrochloric acid formed at the anode. Medically-approved electrostimulation devices like TENS use a monophasic or biphasic waveform as described here to prevent this.
If the shock would be a surprise, this violates consent. No one should be subjected to shocks without the ability to opt out. I'm all for safety third, but consent comes first.
If you want to read more about using electricity safely, Juice - Electricity For Pleasure And Pain is available for free download.
I'd really think hard about whether you might be able to replace the electric shock part of your art piece with a buzzing vibrator motor or weird audio effect. Which could have an equally surprising effect for visitors in a certain sort of headspace.
If you want to learn more about electronics in general, I'd recommend:
I'd suggest just posting some details here if you're looking for advice. This subreddit doesn't really get enough traffic that it's going to spoil a surprise for people, if they even remember. And that way any responses might help or inspire other people to build some cool interactive art just like you're doing!
How about trying a few projects for yourself? I'll come back to this in a minute.
As people have recommended, an OS class at your school can be very helpful; I got a lot of value when I took it. Our project was to build a deterministic scheduler for the kernel and that taught me a lot. Analog and Digital Circuits classes can be incredibly useful as well. Computer Architecture, especially the basic components of a "computer", will help you understand what's going on at "silicon" level.
You can check out Computer Engineering (not CS) classes at the top schools - they post a bunch of the lectures online. By looking at the various syllabi, you can start to learn what you don't know and see what's interesting.
Your question is fairly wide as you can go very far down a rabbit hole in exploring all manner of buses, sensors, RTOS's, etc. etc.
As @snellface pointed out, what you're proposing to work on are two different magnitudes of complexity and require some electronics knowledge. You can check out a book like this: https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541/ I learned a bunch about circuits from that book; I'm sure there are similar (and free) alternatives out there.
At the end of the day, nothing beats learning via a project. Some assumptions / suggestions first:
Here are some ideas (finally):
Build a car or robot arm. The idea is to play around with different types of motors and learn how they operate, what PID is, how encoders work, etc. You can find inexpensive kits on Amazon / Sparkfun / Alibaba.
Build a multi-sensor system. Using I2C or SPI, string together a few sensors, e.g. temperature, light, humidity, etc. Get the data from them and send them to somewhere online. You can build a simple python server that will accept data from your sensor and store it in some database. Bonus points, connect it to some kind of dashboard for visualization. Double bonus points, setup an email alert when a sensor goes above/below some value, e.g. too hot or too cold or too ... The goal is to build a connected device that can use a common bus and save that data remotely. For RasPi, the Zero W model ($10) has built-in wifi. For Arduino, there are shields.
Write a bit-bang SPI or I2C library. Will teach you how these buses work, timing, etc.
Build a security camera that is motion-activated. Lots of tutorials online about this. Probably easier using RasPi but doable on an Arduino. Bonus points for connecting an LCD to show previews of what the camera sees. Goal is to connect a complex device and use it.
Use something like ChibiOS / FreeRTOS / Nuttx and load it onto an STM32F board, something like what @daguro suggestion (discovery board from STM) using a JTAG. Write a little program that updates a file on the onboard flash at some interval. Now step through it with a JTAG to understand what's going on. Goal is to get some hands-on experience with an RTOS, learn how to load code via a JTAG, try on-target debugging. Bonus points, add another thread that writes a different file; mess around with priorities, observe what gets preempted, why?
Build your own library for flash memory. You can find expansion boards with a flash chip on them and hook that up to an Arduino or RasPi. The goal is to learn a little about using memory chips, reading/writing from/to flash chips and storage. You'd rarely use this in production, but it's good to know about this stuff.
Build an Ethernet or WiFi logger. There are quire a few ways to approach this, depending on which board you choose to go with. Google around for network monitor. I would suggest you start with an Ethernet-based one and if you find that interesting, try to build a WiFi logger next. RasPi will be easier to start as you can leverage something like Wireshark. The goal is to learn about networking, interfaces, TCP/IP, etc.
Lastly, it's worth your time to play around with Linux drivers. Building even a simple driver will teach you a lot about working with the Linux kernel. While this isn't necessarily an embedded thing, plenty of embedded solutions run Linux now. Being familiar with how to compile your own kernel is incredibly empowering. There are books and online resources galore on this topic. Google around and see what suits you.
One thing to keep in mind, there are lots and lots of distractions out there, especially when it comes to various embedded systems. Educational kits, tutorials, development kits, etc. are being announced quite often. Don't try to cover everything, find something that piques your interest and go learn about it. Think how you could build something to play with for YOURSELF first. Building a consumer product requires all manner of things, build something that works on your workbench first, play with it, figure out what you want to do with it - then go learn about that next step.
I'll leave you with this, see if it sparks your imagination: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13015
Alors, y'a deux bon bouquins, malheureusement je ne connais pas les titres en francais (si ils existent).
Practical Electronics for Inventors, Fourth Edition, C'est juste une bible sur l'elec, ça couvre tous les trucs de base et un avec un certain niveau de profondeur. C'est un bon morceau à lire par contre, genre 5kg de papier bible.
How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic, Second Edition, C'est beaucoup plus pratique sur le comment s'y prendre, les outils, la logique pour réparer des trucs. Après tu seras forcément limité par ce que tu comprends du 1er.
Start here: https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/
Follow up with YouTube videos on particular topics that are confusing/interesting.
As for a great book, check out Practical Electronics for Inventors. Get the book, not the kindle version, which apparently has some formatting issues and stuff missing.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1259587541/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_PGN4W8MATXTD2R7Z158C
Practical Electronics for Inventors. Get the book, not the kindle version, which apparently has some formatting issues and stuff missing.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1259587541/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_PGN4W8MATXTD2R7Z158C
It's all you need to get started. Easy to understand.
All About Circuits has a pretty good primer for all things EE
Can also recommend the book Practical Electronics for Inventors by Sherz and Monk. Typically you'll see The Art of Electronics recommended as the bible of EE when it comes to books also.
In my opinion, the “Practical Electronics for Inventors” book does a pretty good job of explaining the fundamentals at an approachable level.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1259587541/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_D4FN7YETAEFRKC9V646J
> * Tu as appris en autodidacte, donc ? En mode pure pratique, ou as-tu des livres à conseiller ?
Niveau bouquins il y en a de très bons :
"Dépannages électriques domestiques". Super bien expliqué, excellents schémas. De façon générale tous les livres David Fedullo et Thierry Gallauziaux sont top pour le bricolage.
Sinon pour des connaissances électronique en général "Practical electronics for inventors".
You can check some book like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/1259587541/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_7Mb4zbP1WTDB3, or this https://www.amazon.com/Electronics-Beginners-Introduction-Schematics-Microcontrollers/dp/1484259785/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1PLMOI6GPHFB5&keywords=microcontroller+book&qid=1641589828&s=books&sprefix=microcontroller+book%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C141&sr=1-2 - you can check also some youtube video for integrate some conceps or take some idea. I suggest to check "Great Scott" channel he makes some videos for beginners where explains electronics basics
I like this one; I borrowed it from the local library.
https://www.arrl.org/shop/Understanding-Basic-Electronics/
I bought this one but regret it; too much theory (for me at least) and slow to get through.
https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541
It's pretty accessible. I would suggest starting with an WS2812 (aka NeoPixel) RGB LED strip, an Arduino and an appropriate power supply (though you may be able to get away with not using one).
Adafruit has a tutorial on how to set one up. They claim you need a resistor and a capacitor. You don't. just take them out, you don't need them.
If you're feeling really ambitious (and if the strip is not that long) you can probably just power the strip through the +5V pin on the Arduino directly. It's not really recommended but you can sometimes get away with it, especially if you're just trying to get an understanding.
Once you've hooked up the wiring, load the Arduino IDE, make sure to install Adafruit's NeoPixel library (I think there's a nice interface in Sketch->Include Library->Manage Libraries
?), go the the "examples" and upload the code. I personally like strandtest
because it goes through a bunch of different effects, with one of them being the rainbow wheel, which is nice.
You should get a breadboard because it's useful, but you don't need it. The resistor is a safety measure to not blow out the output line from the Arduino and to do some noise suppression (I think). The capacitor is for noise suppression.
Assuming you have the software setup and the electronics laid out, it can take less than 10 minutes. I often spend hours chasing down dependency issues with which version of node, Python, npm, etc. when creating software projects so, by comparison, at least for me, working with Arduino, Adafruit's stuff and WS2812 LED strips, it's a breeze.
To help demystify it, here's a complete shopping list to get a 'hello world' running:
If you shop around for the RGB LED strip, the power supply and the Arduino Uno, you can probably get it for half to a fourth of the cost that Adafruit charges. The benefit from ordering from Adafruit is that you have some assurance about what you're getting and that when you follow the tutorial, you'll be using parts directly referenced in the tutorial, rather than some other thing that might be slightly different.
In response to your 'lego blocks', first off, I don't see a software system that has ever done this. The closest is unix pipes. In terms of software and libraries, at best it's an include, but often it feels more like an organ transplant.
There are niche communities for this LED stuff, but, in my opinion, the space is too large, so you can't get broad adoption of standard tools. For example, some RGB leds have 3 separate lines, one for each color. Some are 12V. Some LED matricies require direct drive, even worse when they're RGB. Do you need to update 1k LEDs at 60fps? Good luck doing that with Python on an RPi. Good luck doing anything non-algorithmicly generated for 1k * 3 bytes @ 60fps
on an Arduino. Do you need to compensate for color correction? Do you need to split out strips so that the controller is controlling a few in parallel instead of one long strip in series? etc etc.
The WS2812/NeoPixel/SK6812/etc. are becoming pretty ubiquitous now, so you see a lot more work done with them. Here are some libraries/communities to check out (that I've run across):
I haven't used PixelBlaze (I think ElectroMage is the software that controls the patterns for PixelBlaze), but that might be something closer to what you actually want. They have a 'complete' solution, with controllers that you can access via some web interface (I think) through WiFi and some software to load different patterns, create your own (I think) and share with people.
Taking a step back, I would recommend learning some of the basics of electronics. You will get very far by playing with Arduino and following Adafruit's, Sparkfun's, Seeedstudio's and others tutorials, but eventually, when you want to remove the training wheels.
It can seem daunting but learning the basics gets you most of the way there, especially for the projects it sounds like you're doing. Learning electronics now is so accessible because of the cost, the profusion of online resources and because, in my opinion one of the most important factors, electronics is primarily programming and not fiddling with flip-flops, op-amps and other electronics esoterica that was taught to the generation previous, at least for the domain that we're looking at.
Broadly speaking, electronics can be split into a 'digital' realm and an 'analog' realm. Using Serial, I2C or SPI to communicate to an LED strip? Digital. Creating a class D amplifier? Analog. Even when it's analog, often times you can get away with it being mostly digital by using an Arduino with the analog complexity hid behind some other module or some minimal amount of analog circuitry.
My hand-waivy explanation of digital electronics is that you only need to essentially worry about data line wiring and power. You need to worry a little about some other stuff, like noise suppression (which is what the cap is doing in the Adafruit tutorial) and not letting the magic smoke out of LEDs or other lines with a current limiting resistor (which is what the resistor is presumably doing in the Adafruit tutorial), but, for the most part, it's hooking a wire from point A to B.
That being said, it's good to know V = IR
, P = IV
, what current limiting resistors, what decoupling capacitors, what a voltage divider is, and the basics of how to use a transistor, if you need it. I don't have a good sense of where you are in your electronics knowledge, so I'm not sure what resources to suggest, but here are a few:
Boy, this response got long.
A few years ago, I was in exactly your position. Don't despair, do it incrementally, get a simple 'hello world' going, learn what you need to do the thing that want and scale up in terms of learning, tools and parts appropriately, as needed. As with many things, it seems daunting at first and then obvious in retrospect.
Also happy to answer any questions if you want to DM me.
You will probably get more traction on r/AskElectronics.
As far as starting and learning, here is a decent place: https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/1223855/Practical-Electronics-For-Makers-Part-of-N
Here’s a popular book: https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541
You can get some starter kit sets also on amazon for not much expense: https://www.amazon.com/REXQualis-Electronics-Breadboard-Resistor-Raspberry/dp/B078XV3RK2
While it’s not a course, I totally recommend the book Practical Electronics for Inventors - is a great way to get the foundations.
Practical Electronics For Inventors (amazon link)
Buy a copy of Practical Electronics for Inventors. It's cheap and much more practical than theoretical. Read the basics and whatever else interests you.
Search for things like "Guitar pedal schematics" and try to understand them. The Tube Screamer is well known and simple. There's tons of good stuff on YouTube too.
Maybe build yourself a simple headphone amp like the C-MOY.
Consider getting an Arduino and messing around with PWM sound synthesis.
Luckily it's never been easier to start learning electronics. I know you want hands-on experience but you gotta learn some theory first - I'd recommend a book like Practical Electronics for Inventors to learn the basics (some people swear by The Art of Electronics but it is not a beginners book, rather more of a intermediate-advanced reference). Then something like the Arduino Starter Pack that will start you on the path to building circuits!
Along the way, watching electronics tutorials and teardowns on youtube, and taking apart stuff to see how it works would also really help.
this book might help.
Also, we have good resources in the side bar\FAQ\wiki.
Arduino has lots of beginner guides and tutorials.
The book "Practical Electronics for Inventors" has a lot of these analogies... with drawings!
Edit:
https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541
Assuming you’re a beginner, and are starting with little to no knowledge:
I bought the 3rd edition of the book called “Practical Electronics for Inventors” by Scherz and Monk it starts from the basics and you slowly build more and more complex and practical circuits. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1259587541/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_eTs2BbXN9S1DN
Another fun on by Monk is “The Maker's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse: Defend Your Base with Simple Circuits, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi” https://www.amazon.com/dp/1593276672/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XVs2BbYMVJT5N
If you are looking for something more theory based (I wouldn’t recommend initially unless you’re just curious) there’s a whole slew of texts books depending on what exactly you’re interested in you can pick up for cheap at a used book store or on amazon.
Remember build slowly in the beginning until you get a good grasp on the content and have fun. Diving in too deep to quickly can overwhelm and kill morale.
Happy learning!
I also highly recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1259587541/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_d9BoBb7PKAYFN
This is not Arduino specific though there is a chapter on it but it's a very good how to reference book: Practical Electronics for Inventors, Fourth Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1259587541/
It's sort of like getting a $20 textbook except with less theory and more about how to do various things, what parts to use, etc.
There's also a free textbook here that is pretty good:
I will try and organize this post best I can so information is easy to find.
*Education: * *Mechatronic Systems Engineer from Canada (Simon Fraser); Graduated 2.5 years ago. *1 Year Diploma in C++, i got this in grade 8 by taking evening classes near my home in Sharjah, UAE
Experience: *All of Childhood - Was an early IT geek in childhood and pre-uni - I'm sure you know one - or are one ;) - Grew up in Dubai and have probably been to the majority of computer stores there (there are a loot!) *2-3 Years - Worked in IT @ Call centers doing technical support for a few years, also in an IT Helpdesk Environment to help pay for Engineering school and to earn money - liked it, but it wasn't a career thing for me *1 Year - Worked in an EPCM (Engineering Procurement Management Office) in Vancouver, a project office did some small scale Autocad and Solidworks, mostly wrote reports, talked to bidders, created work packages, Gantt Charts; Project was a Pellet Processing facility full with rail offload, truck offload and loading onto very large Barges for shipment to China *2 Years - Field Service Technician at a Valve Actuator Manufacturer in the Oil and Gas sector of Alberta; Visit 1-3 different sites per week; Visited well over 80 sites all over Western Canada - Power Generation, Water Treatment, Refineries, Fertilizer Plants, Pump Stations, Valve shops etc... Mostly Heavy Industry. Love meeting customers and getting to know the plant, love commissioning new product and telling people how to use our fairly advance piece of equipment. Also regularly rebuild (myself!) gearboxes, large pneumatic actuators, Electric actuators (Replacing PCBs, drive mechanism components, wiring harnesses etc..) - damn this was a huge learning curve for me. We didn't learn any practical skills in Engineering school and my cushy childhood in Dubai and Africa meant I seldom put a nail in the wall or changed a light bulb (Sorry if it sounds bad but that's the life Expatriates live)
Interests / What I am good at: *Love Electronics, read http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541 *Like Embedded Programming but am hesitant in making it a career; Maybe I am wrong but i conjure up pictures of guys going through 1000s of lines of code developing firmware - eish - though Im not bad at at it got an A in Embedded Systems in School without much studying (one of the few As I did get in tough core courses - I have a 1 year diploma in C++) *I don't know how to word this without sounding a little stupid since I feel most people would love this too but... I would love to own a technical business. One that either creates a Mechatronic product or one that really uses innovation as fuel (I remember thinking when I worked at the EPCM how dry things were and how it feels like how I would expect a law firm works - I know some people work on some really neat projects, but though mine was nice it did seem dry) *Like Matlab and other technical languages *3D printer @ home from a kit, use it all the time. Good at Arduino, Raspberry PI, Atmel chips (other than arduino). Operate a small workbench near my TV. *Have a pleasant personality - am fair, nice, and methodical in my approach to life. I feel I would be good in an entrepreneurial environment
What I feel I am missing: *A great use of my program, being a technician I very rarely use Design Principles and I feel like I would like to create something or bring an idea to life. Though I work with all sorts of sensors, motors, and Mechatronic devices in general. *An entrepreneurial aspect; I love moonshot thinking and would love to create something great given the chance *Living in a nice place. I am seriously considering California since I would be closer to Internet of Thing conferences, CES, and the "community" in general.
I am open to all sorts of advice / idea. If you made it this far. Thank you for your time, I appreciate it.
Unfortunately, I'm not in the best position to make recommendations. I'm studying electrical engineering in school (the long way).
However, many people seem to have asked Reddit for recommendations, and this book seems to be highly regarded: Practical Electronics for Engineers
Furthermore, /r/askElectronics looks like they have a fantastic Wiki dedicated to helping aspiring inventors. I think the section about Education would be useful for getting into some of the theory. You could browse the FAQ, which seems great, but if you never learn theory, you will always need someone else to answer questions for any problem you haven't encounter before -- and, you will be stuck on the wrong side of Dunning-Kruger effect. Even with theory, we all need help from our peers, but it helps use understand what we know and what we don't -- and, how what we know fits into a larger picture. It's a great journey and I think it's absolutely doable if people are willing/able to put in the work.
Just as an FYI, as a Junior year EE student, I probably wouldn't have attempted your project because power systems involve complicated circuit calculations involving differential equations. That said, I could (and you too with a little reading) probably hack together a safe enough circuit that works by utilizing circuits that other people have already designed.