[sdiy] Where is the DIY spirit? was: Filters

[ElmacacoX at aol.com]

I agree with Paul,

as a newbie myself, I don;t really know how the circuits work, until I build 
them and they don't!  I bought my DMM because my first PSU didn't work, and 
my scope ($26! 1973!  gotta love it!) because my oscillators weren't 
oscillating.  
next I'm reading old books about op amps and comparators and stuff.
SDIY members like Theo and Harry break up schematics into their different 
circuits and slowly it creeps into my head that capacitors can set up decay 
times, etc.  Slowly but surely I'm learning about these things.

I think Kits are indespensable to newbies, but also the understanding of the 
circuit is 
indespensable, and most of the time it seems that those explanations happen 
off list.  

I'm going to be on a diet of EFM boards (budget but oh so rewarding!) with an 
occasional perfboard project, 
and hopefully lots learning along the way.  maybe I'd learn more if I perfed 
everything or tried some designing, but I think there are some fundamental 
concepts that I still need to grasp before I can confidently build stuff like 
that.  and having a bunch of successes with kits sure helps keep us newbies 
at it.

I am sure glad that you guys are concerned about us!! thanks for the thoughts!

Eduardo