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questions about op amps... — Parallax Forums

questions about op amps...

omgitsaliv55omgitsaliv55 Posts: 24
edited 2008-05-16 22:03 in General Discussion
Hello everyone. I've been doing robotics as a hobby for about 2 years now on and off and have been loving exploring the basics so far, but I want to get into more advanced stuff dealing with ICs and more complicated circuitry parts. I've mainly been enjoying the programming aspect and haven't really gotten familiar with circuits all that well. I figured since op amps are one of the most widely used ICs out there, why not tackle that one first. If anyone who is circuit savvy could help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it! I figure I'll start by stating what I know and then asking questions later...

I know that...
an op amp amplifies a signal
can be used for various purposes
could be really useful for a lot the stuff I do

I was wondering...
what pins do what
how I determine the desired amplification
what common things their used for
what's the deal with the inverting thing ( - vs +)
and if a dual op amp is literally just two op amps rolled into one

I know I sound like a total dummy but all of the articles I've looked at so far (including wiki's) have been a little too technical for my level so far. I want to have a good understanding of how it works because I built a circuit that amplifies a microphone which I found off of these forums, but I really don't understand how it works. That's not the best thing if I'm gonna need to adjust sensitivity or wire up other peripherals. I really appreciate all the help I can get and you'll be doing me a huge favor.

Thanks!

-Patrick

Comments

  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2008-05-13 01:59
    Could be helpful if you'd link to the post with the schematic of the circuit that you used; that way the circuit could be explained to you (perhaps, even, by the member who posted it.)
  • STST Posts: 13
    edited 2008-05-13 02:00
    Trek over to amazon.com and search for Forrest Mims. He authored some excellent short pamphlets on Analog and Digital circuits. When I was teen I would purchase these from Radio Shack they cost only a couple of bucks back then (shouldn't break the bank and almost anyone can grasp the information). Anyway, they are great for beginners and Forrest does a wonderful job introducing the components, formulas and circuit diagrams and symbols.

    You'll be feeling like an expert in no time.
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2008-05-13 03:09
    Also, the Wikipedia is your friend. Do a web search for "wiki op amp" and that should get you started.
  • omgitsaliv55omgitsaliv55 Posts: 24
    edited 2008-05-13 03:39
    ST said...
    Trek over to amazon.com and search for Forrest Mims. He authored some excellent short pamphlets on Analog and Digital circuits. When I was teen I would purchase these from Radio Shack they cost only a couple of bucks back then (shouldn't break the bank and almost anyone can grasp the information). Anyway, they are great for beginners and Forrest does a wonderful job introducing the components, formulas and circuit diagrams and symbols.


    You'll be feeling like an expert in no time.

    Thanks! I found them and they look promising. I'll have to check my local Borders to see if they have them in stock, otherwise I'll order them. Is he like "the man" of the electronics engineering world? Looks like he's got a ton of great books out and frankly I wish I would've known about him years ago. Thanks again for all your help!

    -Patrick
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2008-05-15 14:56
    This thread is being moved from the Robotics Forum to the Sandbox Forum.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2008-05-16 07:59
    Texas Instruments provide a wonderful and complete text online for free. Op amps are very useful and important if you want to combine analog and digital electronics. Aside from merely amplifying signals, then and do filtering and create responses to complex mathematical curves.

    Forgive me, but you will have to Google for the TI text. It was mentioned several months ago on this forum and I downloaded it to my home PC.

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    PLEASE CONSIDER the following:

    Do you want a quickly operational black box solution or the knowledge included therein?······
    ···················· Tropically,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2008-05-16 22:03
    The TI book is called "Op Amps for Everyone", you can buy it from Amazon and other places but it's a little pricey. You can download the .pdf file free directly from Texas Instruments here:

    focus.ti.com/lit/an/slod006b/slod006b.pdf

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    - Rick
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