Electricians, Cable Guys

[mpimpin]

Wondering if we have any on this forum. I work around guys who know their $hit with electricity and I've recently wanted to learn more. It seems to be very useful knowledge especially with the audio/video work I do. I've been looking around for project/hobby ideas, kits etc. But nothing has really caught my eye.

Any kits, project ideas, books you would recommend for a beginner to learn and get some hands on knowledge?

I'm also pretty interested in solar power. I watched Discovery channel's The Colony last fall and was amazed at some of the stuff they came up with and were able to do with parts that were around and realized that I would not be able to do any of it.

 

[Teflon_Mcgee]

I'm an electrical engineer. There are a few others too (Synergy at least.)

What are you interested in? Things like rewiring your house or like building a filter for your AV equipment?

 

[synergy1]

I'm an electrical engineer. There are a few others too (Synergy at least.)

What are you interested in? Things like rewiring your house or like building a filter for your AV equipment?

Mechanical, but I understand the basics of electrical systems.

Here is the order I learned electrical systems:

1- Understood the basics of electronics. This is where a high school physics book comes in handy. Learn about resistors, capacitors, inductors and how the systems work.

2- Once you get the basics of electronics, pick up a residential wiring book and learn how to apply building code to designing residential wiring. There are a ton of rules, and its a pain, but thats what makes electricians earn their pay

3- Move on to 12 Volt systems and learn how to integrate photovoltaic. Solar is not an "always on" technology, so you'll need to use the PV to charge the batteries. I am learning how to do this now. You'll need to read up on the right kind of batteries, chargers, inverters etc.

My beef with solar is that the PV cells are expensive, require another energy source in order to be useful 24/7 and they degrade very quickly. Its a costly way to get a very small/ non reliable energy source ; solar is very low energy density by nature ( so is wind).

 

[mpimpin]

I'm an electrical engineer. There are a few others too (Synergy at least.)

What are you interested in? Things like rewiring your house or like building a filter for your AV equipment?

Anthing honestly. I've had issues with speaker crossovers, inductors, grounds on mixers, cables etc, which has taught me some things and I helped wire a new garage for power so I've been getting some knowledge. In general I'd like to understand some things I see older guys like my dad and grandfather doing no problem when rewiring parts of a house etc. As well as understanding necessary voltage and power sources for small electronics.

 

[mpimpin]

Thanks Both of you for the replies. Synergy good info. My roommate used to be in school for this and has a lot of the basic books laying around so I've been reading one in my spare time. I'm hoping to find some hands on projects to grasp it more.

My interest in solar is more the basic questions how to hook the panels together, how many volts are produced, or what do I need to power it. how you figure out the math and what inverters are necessary.

I agree it's not the most efficient source and not something I'd want to rely on. But I'd be interested getting a small shed and powering it with solar just to learn how it works and be able to power a bulb, charge a drill, etc.

 

[Teflon_Mcgee]

Check out this book http://www.amazon.com/Nilsson-Riede...=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275047650&sr=8-4

It's a couple of editions old (so it's cheaper) but it's good to get started.


Like Synergy said, the first thing you need to learn is the basics. That would be:

1. What a resistor is
2. Resistors in series and parallel
3. How to solve for current or voltage across a resistor network
4. Same thing for capacitors (at DC)
5. Same thing for inductors (at DC)

Once you learn this stuff you'll be able to analyse most circuits at DC (as even more complex circuits and components can be modeled as resistors, capacitors, and inductors.)

To get past this level you start to need more math.

AC analysis requires at least basic calculus to really understand, unless you are dealing with pure sine waves at steady state.

After you learn the basics you can start learning about semi-conductors.


Do you have any specific questions?

 

[mpimpin]

Just ordered it. Looks like a good place to start. If I come across some questions while I'm reading I'll PM you. Thanks for the information

Edit: I found some PDF's of Electronics 101, and Beginner Electronics that look promising. I think I'll understand a lot more once I grasp the basics.

 

[ChalengeGuyFan]

Did you really order it??

Here's how you should be doing: you search the book on torrent sites, you download it and read three chapters and, if it proves useful FOR YOU, you reward the author by buying the real thing.

Had I ordered books based on reviews I would have wasted in excess of $500 in the last 6 months alone.
Believe me that some well regarded books are crap for he who has little or no knowledge about a subject.
And some of them are really expensive (like $150).

 

[mpimpin]

^^ If you look at my edit I did that for a couple books, but yes I did order the other. For $20 I don't mind purchasing a hard copy of a book especially a textbook that I can turn around and resell if I wanted too. I ended up buying about 3 books off amazon two on an unrelated subject. I find it easier to read actual books then PDF's on a computer screen.

 

[synergy1]

Since I had to shotgun electrical wiring and code, I just went to the library and borrowed it until I was done with the preliminary wiring diagram. The NEC code book was there too, but it is lengthy and I didn't need that much "in depth" reading for the residential wiring I was doing.

I would recommend against buying books initially. Preview them, or go to your local library first for sure. Save the money.