[Bosk]

Hi guys,

I need some help getting started in the DIY side of things.


I have no real ambition to build amps or other DIY projects but I'd like to acquire enough basic electronics skills to be able to mod my existing components and thereby save money instead of upgrading them.

I'm only talking about the simpler kinds of mods, like replacing capacitors and resistors, bypassing things, and soldering on new connectors.

I've bought a copy of Horowitz's Art of Electronics but the book is very heavy going and the explanations of the basic concepts are rather... wanting to say the least.

I feel as if I need a source or two of more user friendly starting material if I'm going to get started in this hobby.

My main interest is in music, not electricity, but I don't mind learning some basic concepts if it's going to empower me to mod my gear rather than pay the crazy prices vendors like Meridian, Naim, Linn, Wadia etc. are charging.


I'm getting nowhere fast with Horowitz but am determined not to give up.
I'm sure I could pick up a soldering iron, buy some black gates and hope I don't screw things up, but I actually would like understand some of the theory behind the mods I perform.

I have a history of computer hardware modding (including watercooling) so I'm not completely technically incompetant, but the learning curve with computer hardware seemed like it was a hell of a lot easier than electronics and understanding how circuits work.

Can anyone offer any suggestions for where I should look next?
Thanks.

 

[grasshpr]

Are you looking for information on mods or learning on how to do them?

If you want to learn how to do mods, I suggest you learn by trying. I recommend purchasing a cheap soldering iron with a desoldering pump. Take an junk old piece of electronic PCB board and play with how to take each component out of the PCB board. Most mods typically encompass desoldering old cheap components and soldering on newer high quality components. Much of the process requires experience in using the soldering iron and less on textual knowledge IMO.

 

[DaKi][er]

A great start would be some of the DSE beginner kits, they are made for real beginers and would help get the basics going, and for your art of electronics book, stick to the first chapter and know that fairly well as if you don't know any of those basics then the rest will look like chinese algebra

 

[Bosk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grasshpr Are you looking for information on mods or learning on how to do them? If you want to learn how to do mods, I suggest you learn by trying. I recommend purchasing a cheap soldering iron with a desoldering pump. Take an junk old piece of electronic PCB board and play with how to take each component out of the PCB board. Most mods typically encompass desoldering old cheap components and soldering on newer high quality components. Much of the process requires experience in using the soldering iron and less on textual knowledge IMO.

I considered doing something similar but without any electronics knowledge how do I know what to replace each component with?
No doubt capacitors for example have different ratings and come in different brands, sizes, types, etc. and I really have no idea which ones are which.

 

[Bosk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaKi][er A great start would be some of the DSE beginner kits, they are made for real beginers and would help get the basics going, and for your art of electronics book, stick to the first chapter and know that fairly well as if you don't know any of those basics then the rest will look like chinese algebra

I'm sure you're right, but unfortunately the first chapter isn't too easy to follow either. For example - he spends all of one paragraph explaining the concept of voltage, and even that explanation is rather vague and difficult to relate to anything tangible in a real-world situation.

I guess the book might be an excellent reference tool, but it seems like I need an easier place to start from. Horowitz seems like he is trying to explain electronics to a bunch of electrical engineers, not to people who know absolutely nothing about it.

Funny you mention DSE though because I happened to be in at the DSE city store in Melb near the Bourke Street mall today! I spent a few minutes browsing their range of electronics kits and some of them looks sort of interesting. Would I really be able to assemble them with zero knowledge though, and do you really think I'd learn much by doing a couple?

Thanks for your help btw.

 

[grasshpr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bosk I considered doing something similar but without any electronics knowledge how do I know what to replace each component with? No doubt capacitors for example have different ratings and come in different brands, sizes, types, etc. and I really have no idea which ones are which.

That's what the DIY forum is for

As for component choice, some books cover this in detail, but alot of them do not.

If your doing replacements, just take the similar specs from the one you pulled out and find a component that is similar in ratings but is well known to be of better quality (unless you really care to look at the technical specifications pages of individual components). Just ask around what brands are good for certain type of components. IMO, hardest part is to get the darn thing out of the PCB board cleanly without damaging other components.

 

[ezkcdude]

AoE is great. Also, I bought the D/A book from Analog Devices, but it is available free online in pdf format:
http://www.analog.com/library/analog..._handbook.html

Ch. 9 is especially interesting in that it discusses passive components. Most of the information is also available in Walt Jung's op amp book. Good luck!

Also, I highly recommend getting an oscilloscope. I got a Tek 465B on eBay for ~$150 (which was a good deal, but they can usually be found for around $200-$250). My first project was to build a power supply, which I think is a good idea, because it is relatively easy to understand, and can be made without any surface mount or digital components (and hard-to-solder IC's). It doesn't make music, but it gives you a good idea of what the DIY thing is all about.

 

[SiBurning]

You're going to need more than one source. How about one tutorial to explain principles, and another to show the applications. Go through them in parallel. Since you didn't get to that chapter, that means read the same topic in both tutorials, then move to the next topic. >;-> I'll leave it to you to find the third tutorial that shows the basics in between.

Here's two I found with a quick web search. They seem different enough, but you'll need a few more.
http://www.electronics-tutorials.com...lectronics.htm
http://williamson-labs.com/

I've never seen a proper book addressing what you need, which is (1) theory (1) basic uses with simple, if useless circuits (3) sample of practical circuits showing the range of uses (4) attributes of the parts and how they relate to the above. It's hard to get all this presented in a proper gestalt manner, probably because it loses most people anyway.

 

[Bosk]

Thanks for those links SiBurning. I'm starting to work my way through the tutorials at electronics-tutorials.com, hopefully these will give me a basic understanding of the principles behind electricity.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Bosk-

This book isn't going to help you do mods. However, it is a fun read and you'll understand a lot more when you're done:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/096...lance&n=283155

If you want to continue, I liked Bruce Rozenblit's book here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/188...e=UTF8&s=books

And if you still want more, look here:

http://www.pmillett.com/technical_books_online.htm

Also, don't rule out building your own gear. You never know, you might get a good idea for something and want to build it. Or maybe you'll stumble across a schematic that's exactly what you're looking for. Don't limit yourself.