I am a software engineer who dabbles in hardware. I know all about OS, algorithms, how to prevent deadlock, how to throw together a jquery web page, etc etc. And I have a rudimentary understanding of electronics. Enough to put together kits and follow tutorials.
But there is a definite upper ceiling I hit for the projects I want to build because I don't have the background. Complex numbers, signal processing, etc - I don't have any of that fundamental stuff as a software guy.
I can write assembler, but I get nervous when trying to implement a PWM because I just don't get it.
It is frustrating to try to learn. All of the kits and guides are tailored for newcomers. I don't even know where to begin as someone who is fairly technically competent, and who has debugging skills, but is missing a chunk of math and theory and rote practice relevant for hardware hacking. Do you know how long it took me to figure out what "Vcc" meant on a datasheet?
So guys like me love these modules because it lets me create my raspberry pi party trick that responds to tweets. (blog post forthcoming.) Or my MIDI-controlled glockenspiel. But your point stands that there is a whole world of innovation that I can conceive of, but cannot put into practice, because you can only go so far with an Ethernet shield.
My raspberry pi twitter device ran out of batteries halfway through the party - I don't know enough to design something more efficient.
So. While I can agree with your points, short of enrolling in my local EE program, what is one to do?
Knowing where to look and what order to do things in is the key to success on this. Without understanding in a reasonable order you're screwed, hence your Vcc problem. If you dredge through the basics up to BJTs, you would suddenly realise that it's "voltage common collector" (or +v). This kind of demonstrates my point. This is no personal reflection of your progress - just an observation.
With all the free resources out there, it's probably best to do the following. This is my personal recommendation and it's what I throw people towards who want a solid understanding of the subject:
1. Start with Khan Academy and do at least up to the end of Linear Algebra. Make sure you cover trig as well. Do the first few sections on arithmetic with a calculator or skip them if you can't be bothered. Arithmetic isn't all that important in maths. Grab a reasonably new Casio calc with solver and calculus functions such as FX-991ES as well.
2. Pick up the NEETS guides from [1] and work through the first module [2] until you get a rough understanding of what electricity is. Some eye openers in there which surprise a lot of people.
3. Grab a copy of "the art of electronics" and the associated student guide and work through the latter using the former as a reference ONLY (seriously the latter is an awesome book which contains some real practical hints and tips that are missing from everything else). The main art of electronics is a disjoint mess of information but the student guide uses the right approach.
4. Move slowly to AC circuits, referring back to Khan Academy if you get stuck on the maths and NEETS as the fundamental information.
5. Rinse and repeat. You will be able to chose your own path when you get through those bits.
Also, best advice in the world - buy an analogue oscilloscope - an old 25MHz one can be had on ebay for virtually nothing. It doesn't have to be a nice one - just something that works. I've got one that is 35 years old that is fine - it cost me $20! Ignore those digital ones - they're a piece of shit unless you want to spend upwards of $500.
You can probably do the whole series in a year or so with $100-200 investment which is less than an iPhone.
[2] When I say work through the modules, I mean buy some components and actually build some stuff and play with it rather than just mindlessly sap up the theory.
But there is a definite upper ceiling I hit for the projects I want to build because I don't have the background. Complex numbers, signal processing, etc - I don't have any of that fundamental stuff as a software guy.
I can write assembler, but I get nervous when trying to implement a PWM because I just don't get it.
It is frustrating to try to learn. All of the kits and guides are tailored for newcomers. I don't even know where to begin as someone who is fairly technically competent, and who has debugging skills, but is missing a chunk of math and theory and rote practice relevant for hardware hacking. Do you know how long it took me to figure out what "Vcc" meant on a datasheet?
So guys like me love these modules because it lets me create my raspberry pi party trick that responds to tweets. (blog post forthcoming.) Or my MIDI-controlled glockenspiel. But your point stands that there is a whole world of innovation that I can conceive of, but cannot put into practice, because you can only go so far with an Ethernet shield.
My raspberry pi twitter device ran out of batteries halfway through the party - I don't know enough to design something more efficient.
So. While I can agree with your points, short of enrolling in my local EE program, what is one to do?