Op-amp tutorial for electronic noobs?

Question

Can anyone point me to a tutorial for electronic noobs that explains how to use op-amps and what I can do with them, besides amplification?

score 17 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 27 '13 at 04:51

17

Hyperphysics has a pretty good section about opamps:

edited Aug 27 '13 at 04:51

endolith

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answered Nov 21 '09 at 20:41

Dago

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+1 This is a great link... a definitive list of everything you can do with an op amp. Thanks. – BG100 Jan 04 '11 at 17:48
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Hyperphysics in general is made of multiple flavors of win, with a sprinkling of awesome and a dash of genius. Between that and wikipedia the first 2 years of college are pretty much covered. – Joe Stavitsky Apr 04 '12 at 15:34
First two years of college except the sex. – Lightyear Buzz May 25 '12 at 15:18
@JoeStavitsky: Is there an overview/index page of Hyperphysics somewhere except the directory listing? – Rev Aug 27 '13 at 09:23

Chris Gammell · Answer 2 · 2009-12-15T23:46:07.410

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I know it's not all online, but the Art of Electronic by Horowitz and Hill is fantastic. It's basically the only book you need for the first 2 years of learning electronics (especially if you don't have any math requirements). The second edition of the book was published back in the late 80s and a lot of the example circuits using op amps are spectacular examples.

edited Dec 15 '09 at 23:46

answered Dec 09 '09 at 23:59

Chris Gammell

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Horowitz and Hill not Howe – Shawn J. Goff Dec 10 '09 at 02:07
As someone in "the first two years of learning electronics", I must say that it's not necessarily for beginners. Some people may grasp it intuitively, but for the rest of us it's a concise reference. – Joe Stavitsky Apr 04 '12 at 15:32

score 7 · Answer 3 · edited Feb 22 '12 at 10:08

7

Try Opamps for Everyone (warning -- large pdf, and some TI bias)

It has lots to teach, covers beginning to somewhat advanced topics, and it's free.

edited Feb 22 '12 at 10:08

stevenvh

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answered Nov 21 '09 at 23:40

Monica

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Note that the section on noise calculation is full of errors, so be careful with this book. The author no longer works for TI, though, so the latest edition is supposed to be unbiased. http://e2e.ti.com/support/amplifiers/etc_amplifiers__other_linear/f/18/t/156728.aspx – endolith Aug 27 '13 at 04:46

score 5 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 14 '11 at 05:18

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There are a couple of very good tutorials at Analog Devices and Texas Instruments. The TI one is called "Handbook of Operational Amplifiers".

edited Jul 14 '11 at 05:18

stevenvh

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answered Dec 15 '09 at 23:56

jluciani

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Diosces · Answer 5 · 2010-03-11T14:36:52.113

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Falstad Falstad Circuit index has an excellent Java applet that allows you to do virtual prototyping with various types of circuits.

Has a nice section on Op amps, whats great is the built in O'scope, volt and current meters. Right clicking on a template component in the applet brings up menu where you can experiment/substitute with different values, add remove components.

edited Mar 11 '10 at 14:36

answered Mar 11 '10 at 14:23

Diosces

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I've just discovered this app. It's great ! – JonathanD Mar 13 '10 at 18:55

score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 21 '09 at 23:28

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Op amp Cookbook

This book is considered to be a key text on the subject. I dont think there is an online version available... £30 (where I come from) is around the "reasonable" price range for such books.

answered Nov 21 '09 at 23:28

Justblair

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I will add my vote. It can be found on abebooks as well. Excellent book, covers how to do all manner of analog math with op-amps. Linearization, converting linear to logarithmic, etc. – wackyvorlon Dec 07 '09 at 01:38

score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 21 '09 at 21:30

3

Check out: http://www.opencircuits.com/Op_amp

answered Nov 21 '09 at 21:30

russ_hensel

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score 2 · Answer 8 · answered Dec 15 '09 at 04:33

This one helped me a lot for a Devices class which included op-amps. Really good animations, and covers most types (inverter, differentiator...) needed for a starting point.[link text]

http://electronics.wisc-online.com/Search.asp?search=op+amp

[1]

score 2 · Answer 9 · answered Mar 11 '10 at 15:32

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I always simulate my op amp and other analogue circuits with SPICE before building and testing them. Free SPICE implementations are available, and many PCB packages include it.

answered Mar 11 '10 at 15:32

Leon Heller

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It's no use simulating if you don't know how to use them. – Federico Russo Jun 11 '11 at 15:16
Why the downvote? It helps one learn how to use them without wasting time building hardware that doesn't work. SPICE packages generally have plenty of examples of op amp circuits. – Leon Heller Jun 11 '11 at 16:18

score 0 · Answer 10 · edited Feb 22 '12 at 10:06

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Op Amps for Everyone (2.0 MB PDF) by Texas Instruments is a very good reference. It covers almost any aspect you might need. Even single supply opamp techniques.

edited Feb 22 '12 at 10:06

nibot

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answered Jun 02 '11 at 22:17

Hendrik

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Duplicate of [[this answer](http://electronics.stackexchange.com/a/596/142) – Kortuk Aug 27 '13 at 13:02

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Jun 02 '11 at 23:16

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The "IC Opamp Cookbook" paperback was ~THE~ standard for hobbyist electronics back in the 80s. Still a good reference.

answered Jun 02 '11 at 23:16

Vintage

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Op-amp tutorial for electronic noobs?

11 Answers11