Post by thread:[OT] Electronics books

> From: Steven Rightnar [spam_OUTrightnarTakeThisOuTDOMINION.LLUMC.EDU] > I was about to buy a good general electronics book and I was > ready to click > $60 away on The Art of Electronics then I noticed the pub > date of 1989. With > electronics changing so rapidly I felt it might be better to > search for a > newer title that is as good as the art of electronics. > Any suggestions? Suggestion: Look on a planet other than earth. There is no single better general electronics book anywhere here. I got a note from Mr. (Prof. ?) Hill about two years ago alluding to making another revision. I'm not sure what happened, but ANY "AOE" is worth the cover price.

> I was about to buy a good general electronics book and I was ready to click > $60 away on The Art of Electronics then I noticed the pub date of 1989. With > electronics changing so rapidly I felt it might be better to search for a > newer title that is as good as the art of electronics. Any suggestions? Yes.. Click. When you have questions, you can come over to sci.electronic.design, where Win Hill hangs out, and ask the author. (Well, 1/2 of them anyway) I have two copies, one is a loaner.

<x-flowed>At 02:48 PM 2/9/2000 -0600, you wrote: > > From: Steven Rightnar [.....rightnarKILLspam@spam@DOMINION.LLUMC.EDU] > > I was about to buy a good general electronics book and I was > > ready to click > > $60 away on The Art of Electronics then I noticed the pub > > date of 1989. With > >Suggestion: Look on a planet other than earth. There is no single better >general electronics book anywhere here. I would agree - still far more useful than any textbook I've yet seen in my college years, and considering I've only got about three months to go, that pretty much covers it. Consider I keep two reference books on my desk, and one of them is the AOE - most of the electronics texts they use here I've found to be much less useful from a "how do I get something done" standpoint - they're mostly focused on theory and mathematical derivations of everything. Don't get me wrong, all the math has its place, but it's no good when you just need a quick reminder of how to build this or that. Despite the fact that some of the ICs and such discussed are a little dated, the basic fundamentals of bipolars, FETs, opamps, current mirrors, and all those nifty fundamental things hasn't changed. It's a very, very good starting point to learn from. ND Holmes -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan D. Holmes maverickKILLspamdrgw.net, .....ndholmesKILLspam.....iastate.edu 122 Shepard #3 Box 328 Gilbert, IA 50105 Iowa State University - EE http://www.drgw.net/~maverick PH: 515-663-9368 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- </x-flowed>

I couldn't agree more. I bought it about 2 years ago and I have learned a great deal from it. If you combine AOE with the PICLIST and some occasional web searching, I think you have covered most of the bases. Make sure you get the second edition, though. I think it DOES have a copywrite date later than 89, possibly 92 or so. In any event, ther eare two editions and you should get the later of the two. In some cases, there will be a new IC to do the job that they suggest doing with several ICs or discretes, but they will always teach you a solid way of doing it and in the process, you will learn valuable info which will be of use even if you are using an IC solution. IN addition, they do talk about many specialized ICs (for example, switching power supply ICs) in AOE. If I had to complain about AOE, I would say the following two minor things: #1) The microprocessor section is out of date (no harm for you, you have the PICLIST) #2) They mention many neat and useful topics (such as RF design, detecting very low-level signals, specialized light detectors, phototransistors vs. photodiodes,etc.) and sometimes do not go into any depth in those areas. For example, I was surprised that they give a short explanation of phototransistors and photodiodes and gave very few (if any) example circuits or suggestions on good parts to use for particular applications. In the RF section, they give a few example circuits, but little informatoin on how to analyze them or design using them. I only mention these things as possible improvements to the book. I know of no book which covers these topics better. Sean On Wed, 9 Feb 2000, Dave VanHorn wrote: {Quote hidden}> > I was about to buy a good general electronics book and I was ready to > click > > $60 away on The Art of Electronics then I noticed the pub date of 1989. > With > > electronics changing so rapidly I felt it might be better to search for a > > newer title that is as good as the art of electronics. Any suggestions? > > > Yes.. Click. > > When you have questions, you can come over to sci.electronic.design, where > Win Hill hangs out, and ask the author. (Well, 1/2 of them anyway) > > I have two copies, one is a loaner. >

>>Suggestion: Look on a planet other than earth. There is no single better >>general electronics book anywhere here. > >I would agree - still far more useful than any textbook I've yet seen in my >college years, and considering I've only got about three months to go, that >pretty much covers it. I usually refrain from "me too" postings, but in this case it's warranted. Just like it says above, there is no better general electronics book, anywhere. For details on this or that IC, of course, look on the web for the data sheet. But for an all-around useful electronics reference, that $60 will be the some of the best money you ever spent. Dave Johnson

At 02:54 PM 2/9/00 -0600, you wrote: >At 02:48 PM 2/9/2000 -0600, you wrote: >> > From: Steven Rightnar [EraseMErightnarspam_OUTTakeThisOuTDOMINION.LLUMC.EDU] >> > I was about to buy a good general electronics book and I was >> > ready to click >> > $60 away on The Art of Electronics then I noticed the pub >> > date of 1989. With >> >>Suggestion: Look on a planet other than earth. There is no single better >>general electronics book anywhere here. Amen to AOE....However, Although for simple circuits that jog the memory and quick and dirty tricks--and very little theory, The Forest Mims ENGINEERS NOTEBOOK from Hightext Publications (San Diego) at $14.95 is a compilation of most of the little Radio Shack Mini-Notebooks. It sits right next to my AOE, and I think it might get a little bit more use. The other one is the ARRL Handbook--available at any Ham radio store is also very useful--on occasion. The older versions (1960's, 1970's) are the best for fundamental electronics theory and practice. The new ones get very detailed very quickly, and assume you already know everything. Lots of assembly tricks, home-made instruments, etc. And don't forget anything by Yourdin for programming and systems analysis. Kelly William K. Borsum, P.E. -- OEM Dataloggers and Instrumentation Systems <borsumspam_OUTdascor.com> & <http://www.dascor.com>San Diego, California, USA

Some personnel opinions... Sean Breheny wrote: > [some stuff deketed] {Quote hidden}> > If I had to complain about AOE, I would say the following two minor things: > > #1) The microprocessor section is out of date (no harm for you, you have > the PICLIST) > > #2) They mention many neat and useful topics (such as RF design, > detecting very low-level signals, specialized light detectors, > phototransistors vs. photodiodes,etc.) and sometimes do not go into any > depth in those areas. For example, I was surprised that they give a short > explanation of phototransistors and photodiodes and gave very few (if > any) example circuits or suggestions on good parts to use for particular > applications. In the RF section, they give a few example circuits, but > little informatoin on how to analyze them or design using them. If you work with photodiodes etc, the best that I have found is "PHOTODIODE AMPLIFIERS, OP-AMP SOLUTIONS" by Jerald Graeme. Oh and not to forget, Burr-Brown has some excellent app notes on photodiode monitoring... > > I only mention these things as possible improvements to the book. I know > of no book which covers these topics better. Here here. Nino -- ****************************************************** * Antonio (Nino) Benci * * Professional Officer / Electronic Services Manager * * Monash University - Dept of Physics * * WWW - http://www.physics.monash.edu.au/ * ******************************************************