> "Art" is not a bad word to describe it at all.
I consider analog electronics to be more akin to "dark magic" than anything else...
Re:Ask HN: How to self-learn electronics?
by hoosieree on Friday April 06, 2018 @08:42PM
(#16778746)
Analog wizards say that about RF engineers.
I spent quite a few years as an wide-band RF engineer and I still think it's black magic. If you're not being snobby, you can learn a lot from an experienced bench technician. If you want to get into RF electronics, you need specific features in your spectrum analyzer along with a very good return loss bridge at your target impedance.
I'm another fan of Horowitz and Hill's _The Art of Electronics_ - it's my go-to reference after 35 years in the business.
Been doing RF/Microwave design for 24 years. It’s not black magic, though that’s what led me into it.
Re:Ask HN: How to self-learn electronics?
by filterfish on Friday April 06, 2018 @10:08PM
(#16779020)
As a "dark magician" I think that about digital electronics.
And it's really not that hard.
This class ranked right up there with my nuclear engineering labs in the following sense: 1) using an oscilloscope in a lab setting takes a lot of patience & hard work (similar to radiation detectors) 2) I wasn't prepared for how "fuzzy" (sorry, I know that is not the right word) electronic components behave when examined in a lab setting. I was used to resisters and capacitors, and in previous labs they behaved fairly well. This class showed me how complex it all is, and "Art" is not a bad word to describe it at all.
I learned a lot and strongly 2nd the Horowitz recommendation if you want to really get down into the nitty gritty. Maybe it isn't the first book you pick up depending on your background, I dont' know. AND, I hope oscilloscopes and their user manuals have gotten a lot more friendly in the intervening years since 1991 :-)