I'm about to start a home automation project, and I have a number of other ideas I'd like to build, but my complete cluelessness with respect to basic electronics is a problem. I'm not afraid of a little math, and I'd rather have something that gives me a really solid foundation, even if it's a little tougher to get through. On the other hand, I don't want a 1000-page reference tome for my first introduction.
Recommendations?
I'd recommend my book:
divegeek:
On the other hand, I don't want a 1000-page reference tome for my first introduction.
Well - if you -do- decide to go that far, the two best out there are Horowitz's "Art of Electronics" and Grob's "Basic Electronics". Both are basically EE101 level books - and as such command hefty prices for a current edition. Save your money, and instead purchase an older edition.
You might also check out Forrest M. Mimms III's "Engineer's Mini-Notebook" series:
He also has a few other good beginner electronics books out there; well worth looking into.
I don't know your level but if you are very new: Ohm's law, Ohm's law, Ohm's law. If you are not first familiar with the relationships between resistance (in ohms), voltage, current and power you don't have a chance. And there are so many, obviously intelligent, on this forum who don't seem to have a clue about Ohm's law. To anyone getting an interest in Arduino, please first understand Ohm's law before you ask a newb question. If you don't, you won't get much benefit from the answers. Maybe you are already familiar with Ohm's law, well then just apply it to whatever you're doing; and if you are going beyond DC circuits, then a bit more study into impedance, inductive and capacitative reactance, etc. takes you to the next step. It is all very intuitive.
You can get the concepts in only about half an hour to an hour and it opens doors to everything. Do some Google-ing. Here is just one site, maybe not the best: http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_2/1.html
Now you are ready to look into and get some understanding of active devices, such as transistors and diodes
And you don't really have to buy a book. It's all here, on the web, for free.
I should have mentioned my background: I have degrees in Math and CS, and 25 years' experience as a software engineer (and about 35 years' experience writing code). WRT electronics... well, I can state Ohm's law, and I vaguely remember learning a bit about in in my second-semester Physics course. I understand what voltage, amperage and resistance are and have a loose handle on their relationship, but not on the implications of their relationship. Capacitance I understand at a very high level. Impedance, not so much. Reactance is a new one to me, inductive or capacitive, though In understand the basic electromagnetism behind inductance.
I had actually already found and downloaded the first volume from allaboutcircuits.com, and I'm just about to begin Chapter 2, Ohm's law (didn't learn anything in Chapter 1, though it was a useful review).
Sounds like you don't lack much. You mentioned " a really solid foundation", then it sounds like you only need some physics. Plenty of that on the web too, starting at very elementary levels and progressing way beyond that which you will probably need (or want, lol.)
You're most of the way there already. Have fun!
Oh, and I should have mentioned: Get very familiar with components. All kinds of components because it sounds like you will be using quite a variety of them and good designs partly stem from knowing what components are available and which are best for the job.
pegwatcher:
Oh, and I should have mentioned: Get very familiar with components. All kinds of components because it sounds like you will be using quite a variety of them and good designs partly stem from knowing what components are available and which are best for the job.
Heh. It was hours looking at lists of components and trying to puzzle out what their data sheets mean that convinced me I really need some electronics to move forward. Well, that and looking at schematics and having absolutely no idea why designers scatter resistors and capacitors seemingly at random all over the place.
It will all fall into place sooner than you might now think. My son is a CS and he got an R&D position that required Innovative hardware married with software. I was frankly astounded at his great results in such a short time (and there are no adjectives that overstate my belief in his genius, lol.) If you haven't heard it before, it's not a great leap between disciplines in engineering.
Google schematic symbols, if you haven't already..
Regarding the 'sprinkling' of capacitors, many of these are insurance against nasty voltage spikes from the power mains or inductive components which might never exist, and can often be ignored in understanding of the circuit. The resistors might be to limit current or used to generate a voltage drop for some purpose in linear circuits. The combination of resistors and capacitors might be for timing purposes (RC time constants) or DC biasing of transistors (AC bypass capacitors) if they are connected to the emitter of a transistor. All this will fall into place, eventually, although I probably did not present it as clearly as a good textbook might. You should probably start with understanding some simple circuits.
"The Art of Electronics", Horowitz & Hill, hasn't been mentioned yet - very worth
getting to see if you can. Very practical in approach, full of tips and tricks, covers
lots of ground - although rather out of date.
MarkT:
"The Art of Electronics", Horowitz & Hill, hasn't been mentioned yet - very worth
getting to see if you can. Very practical in approach, full of tips and tricks, covers
lots of ground - although rather out of date.
crOsh mentioned it. I ordered a copy of the 2nd edition.
For a basic visual start in electronics Forrest Mimms' Getting Started in Electronics is great.
I think the most important thing to grasp in electronics is the voltage divider. Study and understand that and many things fall into place.