Where to Learn how to Design Circuits?

[Alex Hughes]

Hello, I'm currently getting my degree in mechanical engineering but have lately taken an interest in electronics. I've ordered several books and have learned a ton about resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes, etc. However, every circuit I have made so far has been one that somebody else has already designed and I just built it myself, following the diagram. I'm really curious on where I can learn how to design my own circuits. For example, if I want to make a common-emitter amplifier for a certain purpose, where can I learn exactly what resistor values, capacitor values, and transistors to use? If anybody could recommend some books or cites for me to check out I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[phinds]

I don't have any book recommendations since I've been away from the field for a while but let me say this. Starting off by building/studying circuits designed by others is exactly the right thing to do. The next step is to start to make your own modifications to those circuits just to make sure you really understand how they work and what happens when you change component values. THEN the next step is to work on your own circuit designs but even then it's likely you'll want to base them on existing circuits.

There's a saying in software coding that the best coders are inveterate thieves, meaning that they lift existing code rather than re-write it. I think that beginning circuit design is exactly the same.

 

[Alex Hughes]

Thank you phinds, that makes sense. If anybody else has any books they recommend or links they can post. Please do so!

 

[berkeman]

I've ordered several books and have learned a ton about resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes, etc.

Have you looked at "The Art of Electronics" by Horowitz and Hill?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0521809266/?tag=pfamazon01-20

IMO, it's a good book to learn basic circuit design from, and has a number of practical tips about real-world circuit design. If there is a technical school library near you, stop by and see if you can look through the book to see if you like it.

And here is an old PF thread that discusses one aspect of the book, "Bad Circuits" and what might be wrong with them:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/bad-circuits-test-your-knowledge.178516/

 

[donpacino]

To add to what others have said, it depends on what your end goals are.
In addition to software knowledge, buying an aruidino can be a great platform to learn about digital and analog circuitry.
Its a great tool that will allow you to control and test your circuits. Building basic things with an aruidino may also provide you with a purpose for building the circuitry. You may decide to build a power supply from the ground up, rather than buy one, you may decide to design your own H-bridge, rather than buy one, etc.

 

[Tom.G]

The Art of Electronics is a little cheaper for used at:
https://www.gettextbooks.com/isbn/9780521809269/
And try a Google search for the ISBN: https://www.google.com/search?q=978-0521809269

You can also use a simulator program such as PSPICE (many free versions on the web) or TINA-TI from Texas Instruments (http://www.ti.com/tool/tina-ti) which is based on PSPICE and is also free and widely used. One advantage of using a simulator is instead of smoking components and waiting for a replacement to arrive, you can try out different component values and even look at waveforms without investing in an oscilloscope and other pricey instruments right away. A simulator is also quite handy for fine tuning a pencil-and-paper design, and a lot easier!

Cheers
Tom

 

[Stephenk53]

I would suggest using Engineering app ebook. You can get it for free on the play store. They have several free books you can try. You could also use an engineering electronics calculator to check your work, they often also can tell you why you need certain values, or you can use the ebooks I mentioned to tell you why

 

[Averagesupernova]

My suggestion is to find and repair non-working equipment. Power supplies are a good start. Once you learn common failures and the reason why they failed, you will gain some insight in what not to do in a design.