[mminutel]

I can follow schematics and put stuff together but I have no idea what the parts do. What book would you recommend me starting out with?

 

[Daroid]

I think Basic Electronic Circuit Analysis by J.D. Irwin and R. M. Nelms is a very good book that starts out very easy and get's you through how to actually do circuit analysis so you can apply this to any circuit you see.

There are probably cheaper books that will do that though.

 

[colonelkernel8]

The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz

 

[Uncle Erik]

"There Are No Electrons," by Kenn Amdahl

http://www.amazon.com/There-Are-Elec.../dp/0962781592

Looks cheesy, but a great (and fun) primer on what's going on and what the components do. You'll read this all the way through, but might put down a drier text. For about $10, you can't go wrong.

 

[colonelkernel8]

There are a ton of free online resources that various educational facilities establish and maintain. Thats where I learn.

 

[clatter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by colonelkernel8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz

x2

 

[tangent]

http://tangentsoft.net/elec/reviews/

 

[Anthrox]

I hope this isn't considered thread crapping but can you recommend any book that does a good explanation of phasors (mathematics included?) my current textbook and I don't get along too well. I looked at your list, Tangent, but I don't think any of those is going to cover what I need to figure out before next term

 

[beerguy0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by colonelkernel8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz

x3

My most used reference at work. It could use some updating, but the fundamentals are sound, and they give plenty of useful, real-world examples of how to avoid many common pitfalls when designing or building circuits.

(The RS-232 section alone has been worth the price of the book for me.)

 

[tangent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthrox /img/forum/go_quote.gif can you recommend any book that does a good explanation of phasors

The only one I can think of is reviewed up there, "Basic Mathematics for Electricity and Electronics". It's another textbook possibly much like the one you have now, but I found it to be quite gentle. Not too deep, but maybe that's what you need right now.

 

[Anthrox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangent /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only one I can think of is reviewed up there, "Basic Mathematics for Electricity and Electronics". It's another textbook possibly much like the one you have now, but I found it to be quite gentle. Not too deep, but maybe that's what you need right now.

Ok, thanks. The word basic in the title threw me off, I figured it may not cover what I need but I'll take a look anyways to see if it helps.