[sci.electronics] Learning Electronics

jbwaters@bsu-cs.UUCP (J. Brian Waters) (01/14/89)

I presently know the software end of microcomputers reasonable well,  and would
like to learn about the hardware.  I have been considering taking once of the
home study courses I have seen advertised.  Is this a good way to learn?  If so
what are some of the better home study schools?  If not,  what would be a good
way to learn?

-- 
Brian Waters              <backbone>!{iuvax|pur-ee}!bsu-cs!jbwaters
                                          uunet!---/

larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) (01/16/89)

In article <5340@bsu-cs.UUCP>, jbwaters@bsu-cs.UUCP (J. Brian Waters) writes:
> I presently know the software end of microcomputers reasonable well,  and
> would like to learn about the hardware.  I have been considering taking one
> of the home study courses I have seen advertised.  Is this a good way to
> learn?  If so > what are some of the better home study schools?  If not,
> what would be a good way to learn?

	The proper course of action depends upon how seriously you _really_
want to learn about electronics.  If you are serious, then I would recommend
taking a beginning course in electronic technology at a 2-year community
college on an evening basis.

	You will probably spend less money and get a MUCH better education
if you take a community college course with a human instructor WHO CAN
ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IN PERSON.  I have known a few people who have taken
correspondence courses, and the lack of the ability to clarify points of
misunderstanding is a serious drawback.

	Of course, you may have no choice if there is no 2-year college
available to you, or your schedule does not permit it.  I have heard that
DeVry is one of the better corespondence schools, and they have been in
business for well over 30 years.

<>  Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, New York
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myers@hpfcdj.HP.COM (Bob Myers) (01/17/89)

Check out the local community colleges and voctaional/technical schools.
Many of these have fine programs in basic electronics.  Stick with
accredited schools only, as you will be a bit more certain of the quality
of instruction, and the credits will be transferable later on to a four-year
college, should you choose to go that route.

I have no personal experience with home-study, but as a community college
instructor, I think that the students learn faster when there's an
instructor around to provide "instant" feedback, and to direct the course
of study for the student.  This is particularly true with the "hands-on"
(lab) experience.  Of course, I may be a little biaesed....:-)



Bob Myers  KC0EW   HP Graphics Tech. Div.|  Opinions expressed here are not
                   Ft. Collins, Colorado |  those of my employer or any other
{the known universe}!hplabs!hpfcla!myers |  sentient life-form on this planet.

henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (01/18/89)

In article <2931@kitty.UUCP> larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) writes:
>	Of course, you may have no choice if there is no 2-year college
>available to you, or your schedule does not permit it...

Of course you still have a choice.  The alternative to correspondence
courses is to buy a few textbooks and start reading them and doing the
problems.  It means you're strictly on your own if you hit problems,
but buying (say) two different books in hopes that they will help you
over each other's rough spots is a whole lot cheaper and more convenient
than a correspondence course.  If you don't insist on being spoon-fed
everything, this can be a very effective way to learn.
-- 
"God willing, we will return." |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
-Eugene Cernan, the Moon, 1972 | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu

myers@hpfcdj.HP.COM (Bob Myers) (01/24/89)

>than a correspondence course.  If you don't insist on being spoon-fed
>everything, this can be a very effective way to learn.

I would agree that this *may* be a very effective way to learn for *some*
students, with a couple of caveats:

The vast majority of textbooks for electronics are inadequate without
*some* type of supervision/feedback/verbal instruction.  The problem is,
that while they are very good at presenting tons of formulas and their
applications, they do very little to enhance a student's *understanding*
of what's going on.  It is always better to have an understanding of the
principles involved than to have a perfect recollection of reams of
apparently-mystical formulas.  The student who has learned nothing more than
the formulas, by rote, will be completely lost when encountering problems   
which do not match the very specific conditions under which those 
formulas were derived.  I'm not saying that you *can't* gain an understanding
of electronics through textbooks alone, but my experience as an instructor is
that about 90% of the students will be far better off in a classroom
environment than on their own.


Bob Myers  KC0EW   HP Graphics Tech. Div.|  Opinions expressed here are not
                   Ft. Collins, Colorado |  those of my employer or any other
{the known universe}!hplabs!hpfcla!myers |  sentient life-form on this planet.

jim@nih-csl.UUCP (jim sullivan) (01/24/89)

In article <16750012@hpfcdj.HP.COM> myers@hpfcdj.HP.COM (Bob Myers) writes:
>
>Check out the local community colleges and voctaional/technical schools.
>Many of these have fine programs in basic electronics.  Stick with
>accredited schools only, as you will be a bit more certain of the quality
>of instruction, and the credits will be transferable later on to a four-year
>college, should you choose to go that route.
>
>I have no personal experience with home-study, but as a community college
>instructor, I think that the students learn faster when there's an
>instructor around to provide "instant" feedback, and to direct the course
>of study for the student.  This is particularly true with the "hands-on"
>(lab) experience.  Of course, I may be a little biaesed....:-)


	I agree but they can be inconvienient and expensive.  An
	alternative may be video tape courses.  I think
	Heath electronics has one.  You get the tapes, a book
	and hardware.  I find home study almost impossible because
	there is no instructor but video courses are much easier
	to learn from.  I saw the Heath courses at a local
	Heathkit electronics store many (~6) years ago.  Maybe 
	others on the net can point to other sources.

					Jim
					jim@nih-csl.dcrt.nih.gov

	

murray@jumbo.dec.com (Hal Murray) (01/30/89)

Another idea worth considering... See if you can arrange your job to get
you closer to the hardware.

There are lots of hardware guys who don't know or like software. They need
somebody to write code when they are checking out their new widget. If you
are working with one of them when they locate a bug, they will probably
take time out to explain what is going wrong. Frequently that leads to
understanding how it was supposed to work and/or how some other part that
works right works does its thing.

If you are interested in books, I suggest Horrowitz and Hill, The Art of
Electronics. There is something in there for everybody. I think there is a
lab workbook and/or problem set, but I don't have a copy. It does a real
good job of covering the practical aspects of electronics, the real world
as compared to theory.

henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (02/09/89)

In article <13544@jumbo.dec.com> murray@jumbo.dec.com (Hal Murray) writes:
>If you are interested in books, I suggest Horrowitz and Hill, The Art of
>Electronics...

I second this recommendation.  For digital stuff in particular, any book
by Don Lancaster is at least worth a look (although some of them have
gotten pretty dated now).
-- 
Allegedly heard aboard Mir: "A |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
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