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Basic Electronics

MARVINGARDENS

Aluminum
Joined
Dec 13, 2014
Location
Central Valley, CA
If this is posted in the wrong forum, Moderator please delete this thread.

I am an accountant by education and experience and worked as a law enforcement officer for many years. I hold Bachelors Degrees in Accounting and Economics. As for science classes in college, I chose biology and astronomy. I have a basic understanding of electrical systems as far as house and older car wiring. I understand how motors, generators, and switches work.

I know nothing of electronics. I currently have a 10EE with a Sunstrand drive but am pretty sure this one will not be my last 10EE. I hope that my next one will be running but as I read post offering help to owners and the discussion often includes resistors, diodes, exciters, etc. To be honest I don't know what any of these things are and do.

Can someone recommend books, videos, etc., that would give me a basic understanding of electronic systems, reading diagrams, and testing? I've checked and there are no local college classes offered although I did enjoy a great welding program and got a certificate last year at the local junior college.

Thank you.

Bob
 
Look at this on eBay Science Fair Exploring Electronics Lab 2 Project Kit 28 265 Radio Shack | eBay

RadioShack sold many of these kinds of learning labs and there are a lot of them listed on eBay for cheap. I had a similar one back when I was around 10 yrs old. They have all the different components and a book that explains what they do and how to hook them together to build different projects.

If you learn better by doing than reading, this will take you a long ways.
 
I had reached my own conclusions about electronic ability when I asked one of the best electronic people I know how he handled it, without giving him any coaching. His answer was that you have to lift the circuit out of the diagram or wiring and run it in your head. I had already concluded that the key was visualization because you can't see the electrons running around the wiring. You need to work on that and then learn the exact functions of the various basic components. Most texts stop a layer short, for example describing what a capacitor does but not why. I suspect that often it is because the writer or teacher doesn't really know.

Most junior college or trade school courses are a waste of time. I don't know what it is they are teaching most of the time, but it isn't electronics. I had a technician working here briefly who had a 4 point average in the electronics course at Florissant Valley Junior College. He was unable to hook up a thermostat, simply didn't understand current flow. He was mature enough to leave voluntarily when he saw he wasn't making it, saving me from a very unpleasant task. He was a good person and worker, just a victim of a disfunctional school.

I don't have a book to recommend since my basic training was 65 years ago, but I have seen some good ones on electronic store shelves, Gateway Electronics in the St. Louis area.

Bill
 
Should your concerns be focused on your 10EE, then one of Richardson's books on electric motors and their controllers is a good beginning.

In the last 100 years, electrical engineering has morphed from a field which was almost solely concerned with electric power generation and distribution, and utilization, to a field which encompassed electronics of all kinds, and even software of all kinds, but perhaps most particularly system software (operating systems).

It was not until 1969 that one major West Coast research university granted its first PhD in the then-emerging computer science field. Up until that point, most operating systems were designed by electrical engineers.
 
It was not until 1969 that one major West Coast research university granted its first PhD in the then-emerging computer science field. Up until
that point, most operating systems were designed by electrical engineers.

When I went to university (1975) I had to take EE & CS to get the CS, it wasn't offered standalone in my preferred school. A lot of the work experience following school involved about as much EE as CS - debugging malfunctioning disc & tape drives, solving small power supply issues, etc. That all petered out after 10 years and everything after that was CS until I'd lost most of the EE skill I once had.
 
I don't know if it is still the case but the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
used to put some basic electronics explanations in the handbook they publish annually.

There is also a wealth of information on the internet and if you typed in something like "how a diode works" on google plenty of sites would come up.

The basis for electronics begins with understanding the difference between alternating current and direct current as well as ohm's laws. Once you have the basics I'm sure that other EE owners could help with specific problems.

Although many aspects of electronics can be complex the basics are fairly easy to learn if you have good instruction, whether by a teacher, a book, or web articles.
 
If you are going to get a motor generator system, I will send you a couple of Audel's handbooks, one basic electricity and one on motors. They are dated 1946 and '47, so the technology is the type used in the MG Monarchs. They use the mechanical analogies to electricity that I think are beneficial to someone trying to learn it on his own. They start simple and work their way into some fairly sophisticated information.

I need to reduce clutter, so if you want them, send your address to [email protected].

Bill
 
the best electrical text book i have found so far, that properly explains magnetic theory is
John Bird, electrical circuit theory and technology

google that and you should find a pdf of the second edition, its 1005 pages and should take you at least a year to get through it all.

but if you work through the first 8 chapters, you can then pick up an electrical motor and electrical motor control book and start there.
 
Look for text books on electronics pre 1980 as this is before computers took off.

Before 1975 or so even better.

This wss the day of component level repair where one did spend a couple hours time to locate the bad 20 cent part as the board was not a throw away item.

Basic ohms law and dc circuit analysis is good foundatiin.

Ac circuit analysis requires more math so good to learn but not as critical until you start playing with 3 phase conversion.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk
 
These are what I learned on and never have found anything better. When I had so sit through some electronics courses in my electromechanical courses at the local tech, I don't think they leaned anything they would remember later.
 
I have no electronic knowledge other than know how to hook up an ohmeter so that when you touch the two probes together the little needle goes to the right. I can wield a mean soldering iron though. New schematics with all the symbols and stuff, not a clue. The good news is that the old Monarch schematics are real simple and easy to follow even for a non electric type. I completely rewired a WIAD unit, by taking good notes and following the factory schematic., and except for a pesky tube, has been running flawlessly for the last 10 yrs. Just point A to point B. It will be helpful to know how to check resistors, capacitors can be alittle tricky, if possible just replace them. Take the motor and generator down to a electric motor shop and have them check it out and have them
replace everything that needs replacing. Replace all old wire and redo all soldered connections. Common sense is the key.
 
Hi Bob,

There are training courses for military electronics technicians that will teach you everything that you need to know. Here's one:
NEETS - US Navy Electricity and Electronics Training Series

Cal

Back when I was hiring technicians for a large company, Navy (or Marine, same difference) was best, Air Force next. Army required drilling down into the guy's psyche to see how much he had learned on his own. One of the best we had was Army National Guard trained, but he was a very exceptional person. I think a lot of the difference was that the Navy and Air Force had them for four years so they could afford to spend much more time in training.

Bill
 
If this is posted in the wrong forum, Moderator please delete this thread.

I am an accountant by education and experience and worked as a law enforcement officer for many years. I hold Bachelors Degrees in Accounting and Economics. As for science classes in college, I chose biology and astronomy. I have a basic understanding of electrical systems as far as house and older car wiring. I understand how motors, generators, and switches work.

I know nothing of electronics. I currently have a 10EE with a Sunstrand drive but am pretty sure this one will not be my last 10EE. I hope that my next one will be running but as I read post offering help to owners and the discussion often includes resistors, diodes, exciters, etc. To be honest I don't know what any of these things are and do.

Can someone recommend books, videos, etc., that would give me a basic understanding of electronic systems, reading diagrams, and testing? I've checked and there are no local college classes offered although I did enjoy a great welding program and got a certificate last year at the local junior college.

Thank you.

Bob

"Engineering Circuit Analysis by Hayt, William H., Kemmerly, Jack E"

My college text book, Ebay has them as low as $8. The first 4 chapters will get you most of what you need.

CarlBoyd
 
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"Ac circuit analysis requires more math so good to learn but not as critical until you start playing with 3 phase conversion."

Dc power interchange is mainly a function of potential difference. Uses scalar math.

Ac power interchange is not mainly a function of potential difference at all, but mainly a function of phase angle difference, with there being zero power interchange when the phase angle difference is zero degrees, and interchange approaches maximum when the phase angle difference approaches 90 degrees. Uses vector math.

More than 90 degrees is not possible as this would turn a generator into a motor. 90 degrees is also called the "equal area criteria", as less than 90 degrees is absolutely stable, whereas 90 or more than 90 degrees is absolutely unstable.

Fortescue was amongst the early researchers in Ac power systems, but there are now more modern methods, and so-called "stability analyses" are frequently run by electric utilities, as part of long-term planning (power system design and development), and also short term planning (power system "dispatch").

Symmetrical components - Wikipedia
 
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Hello Group.

To be honest I am a bit overwhelmed by the response to my query. I truly appreciate each and every one of you that took the time to offer suggestions, advice, and especially to Bill who is sending me two books.

I hope that I am in the position to contribute something of value to a discussion in the future.

I am truly grateful to all of you who took the time to assist me.

Best regards.

Bob
 








 
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