Books - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Spekkio
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 29, 2011, 11:39:28 am
content: Hello, I recently got a gift certificate for books. I have sent an E-Mail to Dave and Jeri Ellsworth for book recommendations.And they both recommended Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz. Though this book seems to be out of stock everywhereI can buy it on ebay or Amazon of course, but my gift certificate only works on the Swedish site bokus.comI read somewhere that there might be a Third Edition coming out in June 30 2011. So I'll wait for that one.I might buy the second edition anyway from amazon or something.But maybe someone has recommendations of other books on electronics also.

author: DJPhil
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 29, 2011, 12:36:35 pm
content: The third edition of AoE has been 'a year away' for at least a decade, though optimism is up lately. It's been said that the 3rd edition will be an addendum to the 2nd edition, covering more modern topics in depth but building on the basics. This makes the 2nd edition a good buy no matter what.Just about any other book I can think of is more focused or less worthy than AoE. What are your interests? Advice will vary greatly depending on where you're going to start.

author: Spekkio
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 29, 2011, 02:22:14 pm
content: Something that is good to read for a beginner but can also work as a good reference in the future. I guess AoE fits in,I found a book called Practical Electronics for Inventors that covers some simple basic stuff, but 80% of it seems to be on digital electronics. And I already have some good books in Swedish that we used in school on that.I am very interested in radio communication, always been fascinated since my RC car when I was a kidMaybe something on that could be fun to read also.

author: DJPhil
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2011, 12:28:58 am
content: There are a few I can think of for radio, though they're geared to amateur (ham) radio as opposed to RC control or more modern topics like bluetooth or wifi. The folks who make use of what follows mainly spend time tinkering with low power homebrewed ham radio transcievers. It's a long shot that this will be your exact interest, but it's what I know the most about in terms of RF.The ARRL Handbook- Somewhat of a bible for radio builders and operators. Some of the material is particular to US regulations, but the RF engineering stuff is universal and exhaustive. I think it's only printed in English, but I'm not sure.I found a link for the newest edition on the site you mentioned. A new one is released each year, and some prefer the editions from the mid '80s as there's more focus on discrete component analog designs as opposed to using ASICs and digital modes. Searching for ARRL (American Radio Relay League) will show you all sorts of other publications that are released from the same folks on more focused topics.Crystal Sets to Sideband- A free book in multiple PDF form that's designed to be an introduction to ham radio with a focus on building your own gear. This book approaches RF engineering from the ham radio perspective and is very anecdotal and low math. Lot's of history and personal experience make for a pleasant read.Experimental Methods in RF Design- Another great ham radio book,also available on the site you mentioned. Considered very important by those who build low power transmitters. I don't have a copy yet, but I've heard it mentioned so many times that it's sure to prove useful if you spend any time in the field.Solid State Design for the Radio Amateur- Yet another ham book, though I believe out of print. It's often mentioned in the same breath as Experimental Methods. It's not available at the site you listed, and can be difficult to find anywhere, but if you really get into QRP ham radio it's worth tracking down.Hope that helps some. I don't have enough experience to advise on anything else, so anything else I could advise to would be guesswork.

author: the_raptor
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2011, 11:10:34 am
content: Thanks for those links DJPhil, I am currently getting into amateur radio (going for my newbie license at the end of February) and I eventually want to build my own gear. I really want a retro-tech tube based radio monstrosity one day (with nixie tube display!).

author: Regnirps
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 31, 2011, 06:41:24 pm
content: Quote from: Spekkio on January 29, 2011, 11:39:28 amThere is an old book that is still very useful for analog. it is called "How to Build and Use Electronic Devices Without Frustration Panic Mountains of Money or an Engineer Degree" and you can find used 1980 printings. I recall sending one to each of my physics profs when it came out and it had great word of mouth sales.If you plan to deal with small signal stuff, any text or advanced electronics text that uses the full Ebers-Moll exponential transistor model. AoE describes it briefly but for measuring nano and fempto-amps, etc. you need to go into more depth. I have a shelf full of teachers versions of good texts from the 90's that I have no need for. Email me for a list. One interesting one uses the "electron version" of circuit design. In other words, reverses Franklin's error about the meaning of + and - and has electrons flowing in the directions of the arrows in circuit symbols.

author: orbiter
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2011, 08:22:39 pm
content: As a relative noob myself, I bought loads of electronics books last year to help me along, including The art of Electronics. However as you say you can't get hold of that, I would recommend the following books, although they're not cheap.I have both of these and can honestly say that they are excellent books, they sort of go hand in hand as one is more for analogue electronics stuff and the other is geared heavily towards the digital side of things. Both go from the basic stuff right up to the steep part of the learning curve.I would say though that they not quite as in depth as TAoE, or as hard to read, but I would also say that both books together cover what TAoE does, and more...Links are from bokusElectroncs FundamentalsDigital FundamentalsI did a quick review of Electronics Fundamentals...Here

author: Spekkio
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2011, 07:06:29 am
content: Thanks alot