Best electronic book?

[Tuumbaq]

So I built my first pedal and now want to build another...but take it to the next level as well.
First pedal came in as a kit, real simple, Id like to build another one but Im completely overwhelmed and not sure where to begin.

Came across pedalpcb, fairly simple to look at the component list, then I go to a manufacturer and get lost completely.Obviously have no idea what does what and how to look for quality parts and stuff.

Short of gettting an engineering degree is there a great book to help me learn and understand electronics better?

Went by Chapters and found a book for dummies, are those any good?

Please help ! 

[antonis]

Hi & Welcome...

Completely dummies should start from something like this:
http://psulibrary.palawan.edu.ph/wtbooks/resources/pdf/907274.pdf
http://www.n5dux.com/ham/files/pdf/Electronics%20for%20Dummies.pdf

[iainpunk]

welcome to the forum,

i had loaned Electrical Engeneering for Dummies from the local library, but its not the best book to learn from.
i suggest https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/
and start with DC circuits, then Capacitors and then AC circuits, those are good to begin with.
if you understand those, you can move on to amplefiers.
the only problem with that website is its use of american symbols and letters instead of the official ones.

cheers, Iain

[Tuumbaq]

Thanks guys! Much appreciated

[idy]

And don't get too hung up on "what to buy." You don't need special or magic componenents.
Resistors, Capacitors, transistors, diodes, ICs, maybe sockets.... what else do you need, for most stuff that's it.

Big suppliers catering to mega-corporations do have thousands of "100k ohm" resistors, some of which (they call this "SMD") are designed for robot assembly. What you need is small wattage (1/8, 1/4Wwatt) and "through hole."  Components with huge voltage or watt ratings (1watt resistors, 50v capacitors for example) would work but will be much to big to fit on your pcb.
The retailers catering to hobbyists make this easier. Sometimes less choice is better, especially when you are new.

[Rob Strand]

Went by Chapters and found a book for dummies, are those any good?

It depends where you are starting from.    Do you know what electronics parts are:  resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors etc.?  I look at books like that and I see lots of pages and lots of words but not a lot aimed towards understanding.

Sometimes it's easier to choose a project then work through it.   You will have build issues which you need to debug.  It's not easy to get this from book.  The idea is to use your wits and your tools, like a multimeter, to debug the problems.   It obviously helps to understand the circuit in order to do that.   So that's my point when you get stuck it forces you to understand the circuit.   You will have to hunt around to find out how it works (or how it should work).  You kind of pickup things bit by bit.   If you study the laws of physics then try understand the space shuttle it's a long road.   It definitely helps knowing Ohm's law and Kirchoff's law to make sense of what you see on paper and compare that with what you see on the actual circuit.  When the two don't match-up you have to work out why.

A good book is something like the Art of Electronics because it covers many topics and shows a lot of circuit patterns which come up time and time again.

[bluebunny]

Honestly, just stick around here for a while and absorb what's posted daily.  You'll pick up real-world, practical advice and knowledge.  I've got some of the books mentioned (and others); they're very good and you'll learn about electronics.  But they won't teach you how to build and debug a stompbox, or answer your questions, or throw in the occasional questionable joke...

welcome to the forum

^ this   

[phasetrans]

Came across pedalpcb, fairly simple to look at the component list, then I go to a manufacturer and get lost completely.Obviously have no idea what does what and how to look for quality parts and stuff.

Short of gettting an engineering degree is there a great book to help me learn and understand electronics better?

Personally, I recommend "Practical Electronics for Inventors" if you'd like an accessible intro to electronics, and want something more broad based than effects. It's big, affordable, and covers a lot.

Merlin's book on guitar amplifier preamps is also really lucid, and I recommend it to people for music specific interests.

There are also a number of books that I could recommend if you are an engineer, but want something better than your textbooks. But that is a different topic for a later date.

There are lot of silver fox analog engineering people here. R.G. PRR, Rob Strand, Antonis, Merlin, etc. They do a much better job on specific questions than a book.

[antonis]

There are lot of silver fox analog engineering people here. R.G. PRR, Rob Strand, Antonis, Merlin, etc. They do a much better job on specific questions than a book.

I shouldn't dare include myself into above mentioned "ensemble"..
( I'm still studing simple diode curves and I can ensure you that I'm swimming into troubled waters.. )

P.S.
As Rob proposed, Art of Elecronics is a valuable textbook..!!
(personally, I tend to like authors facing semiconductors more like voltage rather current controled devices - Hall effect multipliers excluded..)

[ElectricDruid]

The retailers catering to hobbyists make this easier. Sometimes less choice is better, especially when you are new.

Absolutely agree with this. At first, stick with the stompbox-orientated places to buy components. It might cost a little bit more but it's way simpler and quicker and you won't finish up ordering crazy stuff that looked right but turns out to be completely wrong.

If you want recommendations, I'm sure we can come up with lots - where are you?

[Tuumbaq]

And don't get too hung up on "what to buy." You don't need special or magic componenents.
Resistors, Capacitors, transistors, diodes, ICs, maybe sockets.... what else do you need, for most stuff that's it.

Big suppliers catering to mega-corporations do have thousands of "100k ohm" resistors, some of which (they call this "SMD") are designed for robot assembly. What you need is small wattage (1/8, 1/4Wwatt) and "through hole."  Components with huge voltage or watt ratings (1watt resistors, 50v capacitors for example) would work but will be much to big to fit on your pcb.
The retailers catering to hobbyists make this easier. Sometimes less choice is better, especially when you are new.

Super helpful, thank you!

Other than Tayda, are there any other retailers you would recommend?

[Tuumbaq]

The retailers catering to hobbyists make this easier. Sometimes less choice is better, especially when you are new.

Absolutely agree with this. At first, stick with the stompbox-orientated places to buy components. It might cost a little bit more but it's way simpler and quicker and you won't finish up ordering crazy stuff that looked right but turns out to be completely wrong.

If you want recommendations, I'm sure we can come up with lots - where are you?

Vancouver BC, so a Canadian retailer would probably best best save on time and money 

[phasetrans]

There are lot of silver fox analog engineering people here. R.G. PRR, Rob Strand, Antonis, Merlin, etc. They do a much better job on specific questions than a book.

I shouldn't dare include myself into above mentioned "ensemble"..
( I'm still studing simple diode curves and I can ensure you that I'm swimming into troubled waters.. )

P.S.
As Rob proposed, Art of Elecronics is a valuable textbook..!!

I think you sell yourself short.

I'd also recommend AoE for people farther along in electronics. I have 2nd ed, 3rd ed, and the X chapters.

I'ved worked with electronics in day jobs for nearly a decade, but my formal education (materials science) only ever taught the solid state and semiconductor physics side of the coin, rather than specific circuit implementations.

[edvard]

Where it all started for me, and many others:
"Electronics Projects for Musicians" and "Do-It-Yourself Projects for Guitarists" by Craig Anderton.
"Stompbox Cookbook" by Nicholas Boscorelli.

I can't say these are the "best", but like I said, they started it all for me.  What makes them most useful is they are focused on musical applications, which is why we're all here on this forum.