Electronics Application Learning Resources / Courses

[craigj1303]

Hi All

I have just taken a job as a Product Manager at a company I have worked for for 20 years. Up to this time I have been in Logistics.

I have a good understanding of our product range and what we offer. What I am really desperate to improve on is my knowledge of how our customers apply our parts in the real world. And also electrical energy theory in general.

Example in point, I went to see a customer who started to talk to me about some issues he was having with our product. He was started talking about 3 phase / 4 wire system he was running. We were discussing balanced loads / unbalanced loads, and I was just thinking…I need to clue myself up on this stuff asap.

I don’t think I need to be as competently technical as an Engineer, but I want to be able to sit in front of a customer and understand his system and how it works.

I would really appreciate if anyone could point me in the right direction for any online course, resources or anything that would be of benefit to me in terms of understanding Electronics, particularly application in industry.

It may be that I embark on a proper course, but I would like as much information as possible in a short space of time.

Looking forward to your replys!

 

[Paul.M]

Welcome to the forum Craig. What you ask is not a quick thing to learn I'm afraid.

I assume you have Electrical Engineers/Technicians within your firm? If so please set aside a good few hours a week in an office for the theory with them and a lot more time for the practical side of things. In the mean time arrange one of them to go with you on customer meetings and/or have a direct line to call one of them when confronted with technical questions so you can pass the phone over to the customer.

 

[craigj1303]

Thanks Paul

Yes, I understand there are no quick fixes here. But I realise there are so many aspects to electronics and I could go down many paths when it comes to learning. I don't want to waste time on the wrong path.

Would it benefit me to embark some kind of Electronic Principles course, or is there something more targeted to what I am interested in i.e. Application of electricity in industry?

We do have some engineers who I can spend some time with. I just need to make sure I structure my questions properly. I am finding we have a lot of knowledge and experience but they are all busy people and not always the best teachers! So it is important to me that I take as much in my own hands as possible.

I learn best when I see things so when I hear about 3 phase / 3 wire or single phase etc, etc, I like to be able to picture how that all looks and feeds in to our customers applications e.g. Switchboards, panels, motors etc.

Any links to resources online are welcome.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

or is there something more targeted to what I am interested in e.g. Electrical Applications.

Whether this is a good idea will depend on your knowledge of underlying theory and maths. Coming from the engineering side, I cannot stress too highly how important it is to have a solid grasp of the nuts and bolts of electronic theory. The more of the fundamentals you understand, the easier it is to make sense of all the specifics and the more advantage you can gain from each piece of knowledge.

 

[fall-apart-dave]

What does your company actually do? I am just starting on my 4th career (I get bored easily), three of which were engineering based. What I needed to know in my first tech career was only partially relevant to my second, and the two are again partially relevant to starting put as a spark. My first was RAF engineer working on legacy kit that used valves to component level, so my electronic and electrical principles I learned in training were absolutely essential along with skill at hand. The IT stuff and digital stuff I learned was useless to me. Second was geophysics engineer on a ship. Suddenly I needed 3 phase, hydraulics, digital electronics, all sorts. Signalling theory was of use as was radar propagation etc but valve based stuff, useless again. This time starting as a sparks, regs need learning, methods of install etc but analogue electronics, propagation, and much of my other background knowledge will not be of use (yet) but electrical principles will be absolutely vital. Before all this I was a pub landlord and was a chef for a brief stint, nothing transferable there lol!

Anyway my point here is if you let us know what it is your company does and where your products are applied, we might be able to furnish you with some areas to read up on.

 

[craigj1303]

We deal with all aspects of electrical instrumentation. Our range represents one of the largest product offerings of power measurement, control and protection instrumentation, for switchgear and generator set manufacturers, panel builders and OEMs. Our products are used in a diverse array of industries including power generation, process control, test and measurement, utility, marine, defence and energy management applications.