This is a much better introduction to circuits than most. You actually get a bit of depth rather than a cookbook of "do this to get that" sort of prose.
That’s also what I really like about “Practical Electronics for Inventors”, the authors explains the underlying physics for each component. Though the theory chapter can be heavy if you want to follow everything. “Secrets Life of Circuits” seems to be a bit more approachable
I'm hoping you're right. I enthusiastically bought PEFI but found it to be way over my head. I'm eager to get SLOC because I'm hoping it can be sort of a bridge between my "MAKE: Electronics" book and PEFI.
PEFI/PE4I as a technical reference when you need details about a specific topic, SLOC as an overall introduction to give a good intuition, and M:E for more practical project tutorials, if that’s what we (hobbyists without any formal training) end up with that would be awesome :)
AlphaPhoenix YouTube channel is also a great source of information to clarify theoretical topics. I find it very helpful to just see how he think about electricity in his various projects: <a href="https://youtu.be/X_crwFuPht4" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/X_crwFuPht4. And his enthusiasm is contagious!
One personal note: as someone coming from software I find learning electronics pretty hard as it requires a completely different mental model and way to approach systems. Took me years of various failed attempts to finally internalize I have to stop relying on metaphors and shortcuts, and instead understand the actual physics at play to develop an intuition that makes sense. That looks daunting and I thought I would hate that part but in fact after pushing through the first weeks it becomes really satisfying! Accept things take time and that you will be uncomfortable for a while, and move at your own pace. And here LLMs are actually really helpful to clarify topics you’re not sure you understand fully, once you start to learn the terminology (I use instructions that makes it clear they shouldn’t solve things for me and instead evaluate my understanding)
To me, transistors are the best example of how hard EE can be. I heard "transistor is a switch" or "transistor is an amplifier". So I bought some MOSFETs and tried to use them. No go. Well, I had to learn (through random web pages and some books) that microcontrollers struggle to switch mosfets. Fine. I'll get a gate driver. Then I have to very carefully pick a bunch of resistor values that make my system behave. Eventually, I learn that transistors aren't switches at all, but can be coerced into sort of behaving like switches, but in reality, there is always leakage and a hundred other variables you have to understasnd and control for. You can see one of my threads here: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskElectronics/comments/1omqn4d/convert_switchcontrolled_rc_circuit_to/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/AskElectronics/comments/1omqn4d/con...
For transistors vs MOSFET I really liked <a href="https://youtu.be/DKYguNg1vmk" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/DKYguNg1vmk as an overview
> I heard "transistor is a switch" or "transistor is an amplifier".
As an EE, those statements sound so ridiculously reductive. It's like saying, "An oven is a cake-baker."
And it results in confusion for both EE students and non-EE hobbyists who aren't baking cakes - or who don't know about timers and temperature dials.
ChuckMcM · · focus · HN ↗
dgellow · · focus · HN ↗
ExtremisAndy · · focus · HN ↗
dgellow · · focus · HN ↗
AlphaPhoenix YouTube channel is also a great source of information to clarify theoretical topics. I find it very helpful to just see how he think about electricity in his various projects: <a href="https://youtu.be/X_crwFuPht4" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/X_crwFuPht4. And his enthusiasm is contagious!
One personal note: as someone coming from software I find learning electronics pretty hard as it requires a completely different mental model and way to approach systems. Took me years of various failed attempts to finally internalize I have to stop relying on metaphors and shortcuts, and instead understand the actual physics at play to develop an intuition that makes sense. That looks daunting and I thought I would hate that part but in fact after pushing through the first weeks it becomes really satisfying! Accept things take time and that you will be uncomfortable for a while, and move at your own pace. And here LLMs are actually really helpful to clarify topics you’re not sure you understand fully, once you start to learn the terminology (I use instructions that makes it clear they shouldn’t solve things for me and instead evaluate my understanding)
dekhn · · focus · HN ↗
dgellow · · focus · HN ↗
For transistors vs MOSFET I really liked <a href="https://youtu.be/DKYguNg1vmk" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/DKYguNg1vmk as an overview
IAmBroom · · focus · HN ↗
As an EE, those statements sound so ridiculously reductive. It's like saying, "An oven is a cake-baker."
And it results in confusion for both EE students and non-EE hobbyists who aren't baking cakes - or who don't know about timers and temperature dials.