Know of any good books/sources of useful electronic schematics? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ballsystemlord
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 02:20:01 am
content: Hello,When looking up how people make this or that, I can't help but find that many of the schematics offered online are either not functional or poorly designed. It's not just me either. Some YT-ers make videos about fixing bad circuit designs you can find online.Towards the end of getting a set of good/workable circuit schematics, I searched for books on the subject. I found some, but they're all from the late 1960s though the 1970s. This means that a lot of things can/have been converted into ICs or improved through the use of alternate tech, such as IGBTs/MOSFETs. So such books are a bit dated.Do you know of good books or resources for circuit schematics?Thanks!

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 07:22:55 am
content: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-Paul-Horowitz/dp/0521809266https://www.amazon.com/Operational-Amplifiers-Integrated-McGraw-Hill-Engineering-dp-0078028167

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 04:27:24 pm
content: useful electronic schematics?That's too general. Discrete? Integrated? Analog? Digital? Power? Control? Audio? ... There are thousands of fields and millions of designs.For example, flyback PSU is a big field all by itself.And those outdated books... I have a few of them and still have found useful ideas like this which is about 50 years old:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/scr-power-control-for-electric-blanket/msg5170533/

author: MarginallyStable
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 05:24:00 pm
content: The Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits. I have volumes 1 - 6. Not sure what you really mean by "useful", But I browse these for ideas from time to time. Many schematics to not come with much information, but I find that part of the fun.

author: selcuk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 08:03:12 pm
content: You can consider magazines as well. This one has lots of circuits throughout the years. And it is fun to read.https://www.elektor.com/products/elektor-archive-1974-2023-usb-stick-en

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 08:27:19 pm
content: Another magazine online:https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Hobby-Electronics/

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 08:58:44 pm
content: Quote from: ballsystemlord on May 03, 2024, 02:20:01 amLook for John Markus' books.But schematics on their own are useless. You also need a description of their performance and limitations.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 09:13:24 pm
content: Quoteif you go to the home pagehttps://www.worldradiohistory.com/index.htmyou can find hundreds of other useful magazine and books

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 09:24:03 pm
content: If you're in the "beginner/intermediate" stage, Don Lancaster's "Cookbooks" are a good place to go.They are free online:https://www.tinaja.com/ebksamp1.shtml

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 09:41:01 pm
content: Any ARRL Handbook. Though they are focus more on radio circuits, there is lots of stuff in them on test and measurement, power supplies and other generic stuff.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2024, 10:11:29 pm
content: Quote from: ballsystemlord on May 03, 2024, 02:20:01 amElektor had and may still have a wide range of books with all kinds of circuits. These could be a good start as these are from the 90's or even later.

author: ballsystemlord
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2024, 04:12:51 am
content: Quote from: soldar on May 03, 2024, 04:27:24 pmFlybacks are a big field? Seriously? That's amazing.I'm looking for beginner/intermediate books. Things beyond driving leds but not as sophisticated as building 9.5 digit DMM. But feel free to point out more awesome advanced stuff at your leisure. I can always refer back here later.Quote from: soldar on May 03, 2024, 04:27:24 pmThat's good to know.

author: ballsystemlord
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2024, 04:16:13 am
content: Quote from: selcuk on May 03, 2024, 08:03:12 pm$125 USD + shipping from EU->US is quite a bit to spend on some magazines. I think I'll pass.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2024, 04:54:03 am
content: After a few years of electronics, I pretty much developed an "intuition" as to what designs are good and not good. I have a hard time explaining it, I suppose it's like having a "circuit simulator" of sorts in my mind.Quote from: ballsystemlord on May 04, 2024, 04:12:51 amIt was the first switching power supply ever invented, used to ignite air fuel mixtures in internal combustion engines. A lot of modern cars still use flyback converters for ignition although I don't know what percentage, some manufacturers like Hyundai switched to a forward converter design as it allows a higher ignition energy for better MPG.Nowadays, they're commonly used anywhere a small isolated converter is needed. Quite cheap to make as they're quite simple.

author: selcuk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2024, 07:18:27 am
content: Quote from: ballsystemlord on May 04, 2024, 04:16:13 am$125 is also expensive for me. I read many issues on my school library. I don't know whether that is an option for you.By the way, its is about 550 magazines and that makes about 20 cents per issue. I cannot say that it is not fair.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2024, 09:28:28 am
content: Quote from: selcuk on May 03, 2024, 08:03:12 pmI'm not so sure whether this is a good buy especially where it comes to the magazines published before 1990. A lot will be outdated. Also, many projects published in the magazines come without a circuit board layout. You'd need to order the boards but likely many of the older boards are not longer avaible. The same goes for projects with a microcontroller or programmable logic. You'd have to order the pre-programmed chip from Elektor. For me this was the reason to cancel my subscription in the late 90's. I wanted to tinker with the code myself; not get some kind of black box.