Members FLNagle Posted January 12, 2011 Members Share Posted January 12, 2011 I've been getting into basic microcontroller and programming stuff lately (through Processing and Arduino), and I'm starting to get a hold of the digital side of things, but I'm still pretty lost with circuitry. I was wondering if there was some kind of guide (website, book, kit, or otherwise) to electronics for beginners that incorporated lots of synth design or other audio projects, because that's what I'd mostly be making. I don't want a kit that tells me just to "solder this here, snap this piece in here", but a kit that tells me exactly how each component behaves and contributes to the circuit would be useful. I basically want to be able to learn about basic uses of capacitors, resistors, different ICs, and other components (without being bored, of course) in order to see how to use them for more complex projects. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted January 12, 2011 Members Share Posted January 12, 2011 Find a copy of this. I think Mr. Klein even has reprints available. Yes, that's my copy. No, you may not have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FLNagle Posted January 12, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 12, 2011 Reviews on Amazon tell me that a lot of the chips in this book are obsolete and very hard to find. Is this the case in your experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted January 12, 2011 Members Share Posted January 12, 2011 For the circuits in the book that used specialized chips, yes. But, there's still circuits in there that used common parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gribs Posted January 12, 2011 Members Share Posted January 12, 2011 There is a DIY forum at muffwiggler (modular synths forums) and a sticky thread there on DIY learning resources. You can probably get lots of practical info there from just reading through the threads and not just on circuit topology but on making your own PCBs, cases, panels and panel graphics, etc. Going in this direction tempts me seriously from time-to-time, but I just don't have the bandwidth with all of my other interests. I went through the EE student "electronic instrumentation design" rite of passage too long ago, too, as in about 25 years ago, then got into applied math, computation, and modeling in optics, E&M, magnetics, and heat transfer full time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kooki_sf Posted January 13, 2011 Members Share Posted January 13, 2011 are you in it for the gear lust or for the sonic possibilities of designing your own tools? if it is the latter I would actually suggest you try out something like max/msp or supercollider. home built subtractive/modular synths are neat, but the real power in synthesis (and all the active research) these days is over in DSP land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FLNagle Posted January 14, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 14, 2011 Oddly enough, I'm in it for education! I'm a future engineering student looking to get ahead of the curve by combining electronics with something I'm interested in. I'd probably end up going half digital by integrating analog stuff with microcontrollers anyway. I've fiddled around with PureData and I appreciate it for what it is, but I haven't gone very deep with it. I'm sure the time will come where I'll use it more and if I like it enough I might step up to max/msp or supercollider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gribs Posted January 14, 2011 Members Share Posted January 14, 2011 Unsolicited advice: I have a PhD in EE (and an BS and an MS) and 22 years in after the PhD. I would say that getting into whatever area of EE that interests you is a real good idea. The engineering job market is tight but there are jobs out there for people in hardware and software; it just takes longer to find something. Look for and take opportunities for internships or co-ops. Also prepare yourself well ahead of (office hours) time by studying and working problems and then visit and get to know your professors and TAs during their office hours and try to find one or two with whom you might have a rapport. This is so they can get to know you, know you are a good student, and remember you when you go back to ask for a letter of recommendation for a job or grad school. Also if you are ever asked in an interview about things you have done about which you are proud or why you got into engineering, explain about the things that interested you, stuff you built, stuff you took apart and figured out, inventions you made, projects in school like robotics, science, or whatever that you made and programmed, even musical compositions and playing, etc. The idea is to show drive, passion, interest, and creativity/inventivity. I found this job opening for an audio dsp engineer at Kurzweil by accident. I am a very mathematical/computational engineer and in fact would describe myself more as a theoretical physicist and computational scientist than an EE. I fit a lot of the job requirements but not all of them; I am not really a DSP engineer but working in optics, laser imaging, E&M, etc. you end up working a lot with mathematical techniques and algorithms that cross over with modern DSP algorithms (FFTs, random signals and noise, spectral estimation, nonlinear modeling, etc). In fact, looking at the job requirements, I would say that they are going to have a hard time finding someone that fits the bill. It almost looks like the job requirements were written to fit a single experienced person that they have in mind and they are just fishing for alternatives and/or covering their legal bases. Either that or they are going to pick the best younger candidate and train them up, which happens a lot. This job opening gives you an idea of an alternative area to look at in EE that is related to the music business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FLNagle Posted January 14, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 14, 2011 Wow, thanks so much for the link Gribs! That job at Kurzweil would be a dream come true for me, that's exactly what I'm aiming for! I'm really more interested in computers and software design than hardware, but I want to know at least a little about how circuits and components work in order to get an idea of the bigger picture. I'm obviously interested in music and synthesizers as well, considering the fact that I'm here posting in KSS. I doubt there are a ton of opportunities for this specific of a job in the market, but I'm going to try my best to find them. I'm learning more about programming, computers, music, and audio every day. If everything goes as planned, maybe I'll end up as an audio DSP software engineer some day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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