Ask YC: Learning circuit/hardware; lab book?

Learning electronics was much, much, harder for me than programming. Electronics seemed magical. I couldn't break complex circuits into the little components, circuits didn't seem to be built hierarchically. I felt like, if a circuit designer wrote code, you'd have one big function with no loops and minimal branching. First thing to keep in mind -- that's not true. It's just hard to see the components until you get familiar with them.

But, to answer your question. You _need_ The AoE. Read it over and over and over again. Look at Forrest Mims books. Your local technical library should have some.

The most important thing (not mentioned) is your lab. Mims books basically beg you to build his circuits. At minimum, a power supply and multimeter. Consider adding an oscilloscope* and function generator. I have a lab at home, basically everything purchased off of ebay, it's great. You'll need components. These are expensive, I have several bins of components at home. Handy to have when you think of an experiment to perform. If you live in the bay area, go to weirdstuff warehouse. You could film wargames 2 in that place.

If you really don't want to invest in a lab, an alternative (might) be the software package "multisim." Multi-sim lets you hook stuff up in software, and simulate the output. I've heard this tool helps students learn circuit design. But I've never used it.

good luck

* Just learning how an oscillscope works, and how to use it will teach you more than you can imagine :)

Hurray for lots of of links!

I tinkered with FPGAs in college as part of my digital logic class. I remember reading about Hugo De Garis's work with them and they sound neat.

Wouldnt amount of water be more analogous to current, than voltage?