--- Lindy Mayfield <lindy.mayfield@ssf.sas.com> wrote:

> Everyone has given me good advice, which I will
> follow.  But what I don't understand is how you -- I
> don't know the words I'm looking for -- how you read
> a circuit.  If it were a program, I'd could start at
> the beginning and follow the flow keeping track of
> variables, like a debugger does.
> 
> I think I'm trying to do that with circuits and sort
> of my question is, am I doing this right, or is
> there a proper way that I haven't figured out yet? 
> Do you start at + and work your way to - ? 
> 
> I read every single "how it works" I find, and I
> understand a bit, but I don't quit get it in a way
> where I could look at a circuit and tell what it
> does.
> 


  You could make things simpler by drawing a  flow
diagram of the circuit. Take a big snapshot of the
circuit and then zoom down to the areas of interest.
Treat areas that you are not sure as black box. Just
like programming. Then later on use your meter or
scope to look at details that you want to know about. 

For example. This section is for power. How power is
handled and maintained are details. Zoom in when you
are interested in it. Open the book when you need to
see the relationship between theory and practice. That
is about it. Break is down over and over again. Just
like programming do not assume what was previously
done just know what you are expecting here at this
point in the circuit. Impedence or etc of the previous
circuit need not to be calculated until you need them.

Well that is how I do things.

John


PS: start with the basic theory*on the circuit* first
before moving to more exotic stuff like thevnin
theorem. Rarely needed to be applied unless you are
doing circuit analysis.



 
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