Learning the Art of Electronics: Constant Current BJT Circuit from AoE | In The Lab With Jay Jay

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Silly Job Title: Switch Sleuth. I am the Switch Sleuth!

In this video we continue working through Learning the Art of Electronics. Today we don’t do any course work, rather we do two exercises from the text, AoE ex 2.9 and 2.10 on page 86, and make a BJT-based current source as described in AoE Figure 2.32 on page 87.

These are the results I got as I varied the load resistance:

RL Ω VL V IL µA VBE V
1 0.06 0.0 -0.746
10 0.18 0.0 -0.745
100 1.21 0.0 -0.740
1k 5.41 0.0 -0.699
10k 7.54 4.9 1.145
100k 7.79 4.8 1.598
1M 7.88 4.9 1.637
10M 7.96 5.0 1.641

My notes are here:
John's notes for AoE ex-2.9
John's notes for AoE ex-2.10
John's notes for the circuit in AoE figure 2.32 A

We use the METCAL PS-900 Soldering Station for soldering.

We use the AiXun H314 Hot Air Gun for heat shrink.

We use the MUIN Solder Fume Extractor for fume extraction.

We use the Riden RD6006 Bench Power Supply for 10 V power input.

We use the EEVblog BM2257 Digital Multimeter to take measurements.

We use the Fluke 17B+ Digital Multimeter to take measurements.

We use the Peak Electronic Design Atlas DCA75 Pro Semiconductor Analyzer to check our NPN transistor pin out.

We use the Sharp EL-546L Scientific Calculator to crunch some numbers.

We use the ElectroCookie PCB Prototype Solderable Breadboard to build our circuits on.

We use the Multicomp Pro MP701033 Resistor Decade Box as a variable load resistor.

We use the Hakko CHP 3C-SA Precision Tweezers for tweezering.

We use the Plato Model 170 Wire Cutter to trim component leads.

We use the Kaisi S-160 45x30cm Repair Mat as our workspace.

Thanks very much for watching! And please remember to hit like and subscribe! :)

p.s. today I added AoE to my spell check.


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Learning the Art of Electronics: Constant Current Reading from AoE and AoEx | In The Lab

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This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video.

Silly Job Title: Connector Kingpin. I am the Connector Kingpin!

In this video we continue working through Learning the Art of Electronics. Today we don’t do any course work, rather we do selected readings about current sources found in the text.

Our reading from The Art of Electronics 3ed includes:

  • §2.2.6 pg 85-87 RE: resistor and BJT current sources
  • §4.2.5 pg 228-230 RE: op-amp current sources
  • §9.3.14 pg 620-623 RE: voltage-regulator current sources

And our reading from The Art of Electronics: The x Chapters includes:

  • §2x.2 pg 103-107 RE: Current-Source Problems and Fixes
  • §2x.3 pg 108-109 RE: The Cascode Configuration

Note that the 2nd edition of the x-Chapters is available for pre-order: The Art of Electronics: The x-Chapters 2.

When we continue next week we will do the various exercises we ran out of time to do today, and build some current sources, starting probably with a BJT version.

Thanks very much for watching! And please remember to hit like and subscribe! :)

p.s. today I added BJT and Cascode to my spell check.


Following is a product I use picked at random from my collection which may appear in my videos. Clicking through on this to find and click on the green affiliate links before purchasing from eBay or AliExpress is a great way to support the channel at no cost to you. Thanks!

Yum Cha 13-in-1 Multi-function Digital Display USB Voltage Current Power MeterThis is an image of the product.

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Learning the Art of Electronics: 1W.2 Resistor power dissipation | In The Lab With Jay Jay

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Silly Job Title: Chief Fuse Blower.

In this video we continue working our way through Learning the Art of Electronics and continue working through 1W Worked Examples: DC circuits with 1W.2 Resistor power dissipation and 1.2.2.C Power in resistors.

Thanks very much for watching! And please remember to hit like and subscribe! :)


Following is a product I use picked at random from my collection which may appear in my videos. Clicking through on this to find and click on the green affiliate links before purchasing from eBay or AliExpress is a great way to support the channel at no cost to you. Thanks!

Ninth World Floppy Disk USB DriveThis is an image of the product.

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The Art of Electronics

I am having a conversation over on New Book Teardown #3: Learning The Art of Electronics: A Hands-On Lab Course (2016) | In The Lab and I was asked about the various books that carry the title “art of electronics”, they are:

  • The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill currently in its 3rd edition. This masterpiece of electronics literature was first published in 1980 and has been the go-to book for anyone interested in learning about electronics ever since. It’s the textbook for many university electronics courses. The 3rd edition of the book was published in 2015.
  • The Art of Electronics: The x-Chapters also written by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill is a collection of supplementary material that didn’t make it into the 3rd edition of The Art of Electronics.
  • Learning the Art of Electronics is a companion book that provides a structured introduction to electronics through a collection of 25 lab exercises. It’s the coursework for many university electronics courses. The 1st edition by Thomas C. Hayes and Paul Horowitz was published in 2016. The 2nd edition by Thomas C. Hayes and David Abrams comes out in 2025.

New Book Teardown #1: The Art of Electronics 3rd Edition (2015) | In The Lab With Jay Jay

This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video on this show’s homepage which is here.

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Silly Job Title: Charge Charmer

This video is part of the New Book feature of my video blog.

In this video I review the venerable The Art of Electronics 3rd Edition by Paul Horowitz by Winfield Hill published in 2015. This monstrous tome includes some 1,220 pages.

This is a long video, because this is a long book!

While I was writing up these notes for the video I found a wealth of fun stuff. Here are a few links:

Thanks very much for watching! And please remember to hit like and subscribe!


Following is a product I use picked at random from my collection which may appear in my videos. Clicking through on this to find and click on the green affiliate links before purchasing from eBay or AliExpress is a great way to support the channel at no cost to you. Thanks!

Plato Model 170 Wire CutterThis is an image of the product.notes

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