Electronics Terminology

[tuffteef]

so im very interested in learning about this kinda stuff for uni mainly cause its just interesting to see how things tick
and i browse forums and such and i read alot of terminology that i dont quite understand.
stuff like something or rather is so in so in the feedback loop
resistor networks
capacitor networks
collector emitter base type stuff for audio such as what is actually going on inside that changes the sound
and data sheets whats things to read about for such transistor to work out what value resistors and caps you would use
data sheets in general for ics op amps
stuff like that, now ive googled it and dont quite get it to say the least
ive read a bunch of books but none so far have gone into this
more curious then anything

halp anyone

[McSpunckle]

I think we need a DIY "How shit works" thread.

I can't possibly answer your questions without explaining them in a circuit. (I'm not the most technically knowledgeable anyhow).

One of the things I noticed is, after reading articles on sites dedicated to effects, I wouldn't really have gained much of anything.

I found googling the component itself, and learning how IT works was a far better solution. Eventually stuff kind of clicks.

[tuffteef]

ive def learnt alot from reading alot about the components themselves from books but most of it was from comparing circuits and to each other and finding obvious similarities in the way there doing things
but yeah i wanna know whats going on inside deeper
esp with transistors the books seem to skimp on the transistors

[eatyourguitar]

datasheets for op-amps almost always give you an example circuit or recommended usage/applications. the terms you'll hear are shunts, pull-up resistor, pull-down resistor, forward voltage, voltage divider. very simple stuff if someone takes 2 seconds to point to a schematic. collector base emitter is almost like someone talking "yeah the transistor has 5 volts at pin 3" but they talk about collector base emitter cause its impossible to say pin 3. the anderton book is good, the wampler book I heard was good. and I got one called "your electronics workbench" also good.

[Scruffie]

I have a 3-Step Plan for you...
Find a Man Named R.G. Keen.

Get A Straw.

Injest Brain.

Or you can read http://www.geofex.com/ some of the stuff can be hard to find but it'll be in there and then you read it again and all the way through and again, nail this website into your eye.

Also pick peoples brains on sites like DIYstompboxes, the more you start messing with designs and following schematics, the more you'll start working out what all this crap is and if you don't know, you can just ask and someone will answer in almost all cases.

Then if you see it in a circuit you can google the words to see some more information on the subject, don't forget that alot of this stuff isn't limited to stompboxes so it has a wider terminology than you might think.

It's taken me probably 2 years of building and reading to get to the stage i'm at now, all I started with was the know how of how to solder, a few good websites, the parts I sourced for a SHO... and some basic components knowledge, oh and a bit of knowledge of Boolean logic etc. but that was utterly useless at the time.

It just takes time and practice like everything as you develop, you'll see it in circuits and read about it and then can spot it in the circuit and start to connect the dots of what it does.

But search DIYstompboxes, someone will have answered all your questions before.

[multi_s]

if you have a bit of math background i would really really suggest "Micro Electronic Circuits" by A. Sedra. If you look on Alibris or something similar you can probably get an older edition for very cheap. It covers semiconductor circuits (Transistors, opamps etc)in extreme detail as well as discussing frequency response of various amplifier topologies which is quite useful in the context of guitar pedals. I think it is up to 6th edition now but anything 4th or up is going to be more than adequate. The main difference with the new editions is the order of the chapter has changed to reflect which technologies are more relevant (for example, they present fets before bipolar transistors now since they are in a general sense more popular.)

It really is an encyclopedia of transistor applications. It even goes into howto design RAM cells and many basic logic circuits etc.

If you want something less about learning and more about getting results look up something like "op amp cookbook" i think it is by Dorf. It is old but it presents many many circuits and gives some description then some equations.

Another good source for similar style is the application notes on the Texas Instrument site, you probably wont find much on transistor circuits, but lots on op amps. (there is a big one called "op amps for everyone" that is basically equivalent to a course on op amps and linear feedback, there is also another one which is a cookbook for single supply opamp circuits and filters but the name escapes me at the moment.

[tuffteef]

is there carbs in brains scruffie
if so i cant eat it

im terrible at math and formulas, i didnt even do it in high school
ill check them out anyway
thanks kids

[nbabmf]

Forrest Mims III has a few good books. I bought a n00b one from Radio Shack and I still refer to it.

[modernage]

I think we need a DIY "How shit works" thread.

I can't possibly answer your questions without explaining them in a circuit. (I'm not the most technically knowledgeable anyhow).

One of the things I noticed is, after reading articles on sites dedicated to effects, I wouldn't really have gained much of anything.

I found googling the component itself, and learning how IT works was a far better solution. Eventually stuff kind of clicks.

I think this is a fantastic idea! I've actually thrown around the idea of starting various "circuit dissection" threads. I've read a few books, spent the past year and a half on diy forums, and the thing I've found that has helped me the most is circuit dissection over at the The Big Muff Page. I know it would be plenty helpful for many people (especially myself) if we had discussions on other well known circuits... Tubescreamer, Rat, SHO, Fuzzface, and maybe work up to more complex circuits like the Phase 45, Small Stone, Deluxe Memory Man, DM2, etc. It could be like school, but actually fun and interesting.

It makes it less overwhelming when you understand that within a pedal there are multiple circuits to make up a whole system. It would just be helpful to know where one section starts and another begins. Like with the Big Muff schematic below, you can see it conveniently split up. Then when you take that info and look at the guts it no longer looks like someone randomly soldered a bunch of components to a circuit board.

Big Muff Schematic
Big Muff Gutshot

[tuffteef]

I think we need a DIY "How shit works" thread.

I can't possibly answer your questions without explaining them in a circuit. (I'm not the most technically knowledgeable anyhow).

One of the things I noticed is, after reading articles on sites dedicated to effects, I wouldn't really have gained much of anything.

I found googling the component itself, and learning how IT works was a far better solution. Eventually stuff kind of clicks.

I think this is a fantastic idea! I've actually thrown around the idea of starting various "circuit dissection" threads. I've read a few books, spent the past year and a half on diy forums, and the thing I've found that has helped me the most is circuit dissection over at the The Big Muff Page. I know it would be plenty helpful for many people (especially myself) if we had discussions on other well known circuits... Tubescreamer, Rat, SHO, Fuzzface, and maybe work up to more complex circuits like the Phase 45, Small Stone, Deluxe Memory Man, DM2, etc. It could be like school, but actually fun and interesting.

It makes it less overwhelming when you understand that within a pedal there are multiple circuits to make up a whole system. It would just be helpful to know where one section starts and another begins. Like with the Big Muff schematic below, you can see it conveniently split up. Then when you take that info and look at the guts it no longer looks like someone randomly soldered a bunch of components to a circuit board.

Big Muff Schematic
Big Muff Gutshot

dude that link was awesome
makes alot of sense now
im off to the lab

[unownunown]

I think we need a DIY "How shit works" thread.

I can't possibly answer your questions without explaining them in a circuit. (I'm not the most technically knowledgeable anyhow).

One of the things I noticed is, after reading articles on sites dedicated to effects, I wouldn't really have gained much of anything.

I found googling the component itself, and learning how IT works was a far better solution. Eventually stuff kind of clicks.

I think this is a fantastic idea! I've actually thrown around the idea of starting various "circuit dissection" threads. I've read a few books, spent the past year and a half on diy forums, and the thing I've found that has helped me the most is circuit dissection over at the The Big Muff Page. I know it would be plenty helpful for many people (especially myself) if we had discussions on other well known circuits... Tubescreamer, Rat, SHO, Fuzzface, and maybe work up to more complex circuits like the Phase 45, Small Stone, Deluxe Memory Man, DM2, etc. It could be like school, but actually fun and interesting.

It makes it less overwhelming when you understand that within a pedal there are multiple circuits to make up a whole system. It would just be helpful to know where one section starts and another begins. Like with the Big Muff schematic below, you can see it conveniently split up. Then when you take that info and look at the guts it no longer looks like someone randomly soldered a bunch of components to a circuit board.

Big Muff Schematic
Big Muff Gutshot

dude that link was awesome
makes alot of sense now
im off to the lab

seconding this. that link was super helpful