A good general book on electronics and components

R

rmeldo

Senior Member
Hi,

I would like to improve my proficiency in electronics.

At the moment I feel I am like one of those automatic vacuum cleaners which roam around the room and change direction when they hit an obstacle.

Furthermore I am not aware of what components "out there", let alone being able to read datasheets.

I have read the book "starting electronics" by Keith Brindley. That was great but I need more.

I guess I need some foundation reading. A book(s) that explains what various components are (what is a Triac, what is a Thyristor, ...) and when to use them. I am not afraid of theory or formulae.

There are experienced people on this forum. Some of them are electronics engineers too. I would be happy to take advice.

Riccardo
 
J

Jaguarjoe

Senior Member
The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill is the bible. It's a tad dated but it has more than you'll ever need to know about components and circuits. You can find it on eBay for around $40.00 or so.
 
M

Michael 2727

Senior Member
This site has a truck load of info -
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/te_interactive_index.html

Much of it is written for beginners with lots of tutorials and animations etc.
Can be a little hard to navigate, but there are some diamonds in there if you
are prepared to dig a little.
No Picaxe stuff unfortunately, there is a couple of hundred pages on raw PIC
info/tutorial/commands etc.
Some of the things done using simple but innovative Logic circuits/chips will amaze you.

My 2¢ worth.
 
G

George Sephton

Senior Member
I was in a similar position with you, and I found the A-level and GCSE revison guides for DT Electronics very helpful. GCSE is basic electronics with bits of advanced, in fact it was reading this book that told me about PICAXEs! :D See this book: ISBN: 1-905129-11-4, look on amazon. You can buy it from most book shops in UK, borders and waterstones.
The first 60 odd pages are about product design but from then on is really good. Thyristors P86 ;) FETs,buzzers, Capacitors, diodes, relays, op amps, ics, logic, PICs, PICAXES, electronic/physics laws: ohms law. For £7.50 its really good. Once you like that you can get an A-level electronic one. Ive only seen on and it starts with DC circuitry, transforming, waves and signal processing, etc...the more really detailed electronics stuff. Dont be put off that its made for students but they are simple to read and get to the point telling you what it is and how to use it in a circuit.
Hope it helped.
 
M

MikeGyver

Senior Member
I just got The art of electronics second edition from ebay. Great book, it puts things in fairly simple terms unlike some other books I've come across. This book is like industry standard.

A rock solid understanding of the basics really is invaluable if you plan on doing more than just dabbling in electronics.
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
Do Rev-Ed do any books covering beginners-intermediates?

I see they do some books but I have never read them.
 
B

BeanieBots

Moderator
Having done a degree in electronics and been a design engineer for +40 years, I can honestly say that I've learned more about the 'oddities' of components from hands on playing as a hobby.
Get a few devices and PLAY with them.
Ideally, get a 'scope so that you can "see" what is going on.
Get a few 'circuits' from the internet and BUILD them.
Put the 'scope on a few points and observe.

TAKE NOTES OF WHAT YOU OBSERVE.
 
R

rmeldo

Senior Member
Thanks for the great pointers.

I guess all I have to do is read....oh and play with components.

Down to Maplin tomorrow.


Riccardo
 
C

Chaos

New Member
Hi new to the forum /wave

I going to try and learn electronics in 2009, I heard a few folk recommending a book called Basic Electricity by A Van Valkenburgh before doing any electronics, its quite old so might be tricky to find. Ive ordered it and should be here in a few days, also picked up Electronics a first course by Owen Bisop, and have the Art Of Electronics but that looks a bit deep for a beginner so will come back to that one later. Once I have some idea of what im doing Ill pick up a Picaxe starter kit :)
 
W

westaust55

Moderator
Chaos,

Welcome to the PICAXE forum.

While books and website will teach you about the concepts of electronics and how a transistor or IC works, there is a second side to the PICAXE. That is, programming.

If you are not looking to be too ambitious then go and buy a breadboard some resistors, LED's, a piezo buzzer and a PICAXE 08M and start experimenting. You can move on to a larger PICAXE chip and starter/proto board at a later date.

Working your way through the PICAXE manual tutorials (Manual 1) and examples =(Manual 3) while reading Manual 2 - all available for free download from the Rev Ed website you will be learning the basics of the BASIC programming language at the same time.

The three PICAXE manuals are available at:
http://www.rev-ed.co.uk/picaxe/ then click the "DAtasheet" tab and the three manuals are the top of the list.
These are the most current as currently (at 29-12-2009) those through other links such as the top of the forum pages are old revisions.
 
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D

Dippy

Moderator
Paper Catalogues rule!

As the initial question was about learning basic electronics, may I suggest (for people in UK) it may be worth looking at the books that Rapid sell.

However, they seem easier to find in the good ol' fashioned paper catalogue than online.

There are oodles from the main culprits Babani and Penfold, though there are many others too.
I only had a 10 minute look on their website and had great difficulty finding them as a neat continuous listing - which is a right pain in the arm.
Here's just an example:
http://www.rapidonline.com/searchresults.aspx?style=0&kw=babani

Even if you can't buy direct at least you will (might?) get some titles to search for more locally to you.
 
G

George Sephton

Senior Member
I suggest you read the manuals, especially 1 and 3. 1 will tell you how it works and 3 will give you circuits to look at. Once youve done that and want to get a book I suggest Programming and Customizing the PICAXE. Search PICAXE on amazon its like the first one, green cover. Very very good. Unfortunately its extremely difficult to buy in stores in UK, so amazon is really the only way. I believe Waterstones dont have a single copy in any UK store and wont start taking customer orders until next year.
 
R

rmeldo

Senior Member
I didn't like the book "Programming and Customizing the PICAXE". I thought the PICAXE manuals have superseeded it. The information is very similar and there is little more. It is expensive as well at £30+p&p. If I could go back I would just read the manuals and then move on to something else.

Riccardo
 
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A

Andrew Cowan

Senior Member
westaust55 said:
If you are not looking to be too ambitious then go and buy a breadboard some resistors, LED's, a piezo buzzer and a PICAXE 08M and start experimenting. You can move on to a larger PICAXE chip and starter/proto board at a later date.
Click to expand...
Sounds just like the axe090. I've got one - it is a great product.

A
 
B

boriz

Senior Member
I got my start with a spring terminal 200-in-1 kit, something like this. I would recommend it as an introduction to electronics for everyone. It’s very ‘hands on’.

I also vote for The Art Of Electronics. It has a minimal maths philosophy and little tests at the end of each chapter. I particularly enjoyed the ‘spot which circuit diagram contains mistakes’ questions.
 
R

rmeldo

Senior Member
any comments on:

R.C. Jaeger and T.N. Blalock (2004). Microelectronic Circuit Design (Second Edition ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill

Thanks

Riccardo
 
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