Electronic books used in college/university - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 03:50:34 am
content: Hi,Can someone help me with a list of electronic books they use in college/university which i can download. I have "Electronic Principles" 8th edition from Albert Malvino and David Bates, but maybe there are better books which are easier to read and don't go too deep in theory with too much calculus. I don't have a problem with calculus, i'm a mechanical engineer, but the book must be a bit more practical. The Malvino and Bates book is good, but maybe there is something better.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 04:28:45 am
content: Quote from: robsims on August 06, 2019, 03:50:34 amAre you familiar with The Art of Electronics and it's accompanying workbook? It's the de facto standard work here and likely elsewhere. It's readable and practical.

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 05:12:47 am
content: I have The Art of Electronics and it's accompanying workbook, but i find Malvino and Bates's book a bit more well-arranged. And Malvino's book starts from the basics which is good. I just want to know how components work, how they are used in a circuit (power ratings etc.), what to take into account when designing circuits, maybe one or two circuits as an example. I don't want too much information too.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 05:57:19 am
content: These two (top one being the newer) are both easy on the math.Introduction to Basic Electricity and Electronics Technology - Earl Gates.Introduction to Electronics - Earl Gates.This is a popular book here on the forums.Practical Electronics for Inventors - Paul Scherz and Simon Monk.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 09:56:51 am
content: Art of Electronics and Practical Electronics for Inventors won't be seen in universities and colleges as a rule unless it's ancillary work ie you're a physicist and want to get some shit done. The latter of the two is utterly junk though. I wouldn't buy it. I actually worked with one of the authors for a while and it's entirely not his real domain of expertise!I'm not sure what the gold standard is now but at university you'll learn a lot of theory in a lot of pages and waltz out unable to throw anything together whatsoever other than an impressive ability to do laplace transforms and burn your fingers trying to put together an AND gate and two LEDs. Then when you get a job you'll find that most of it is cookbook glue and sticky tape. I go for the cookbook glue and sticky tape first now.My favourite (analogue) books are these which are relatively deep:1. Gray & Meyer: Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits.2. Sergio Franco: Design with Operational Amplifiers and Analog Integrated Circuits.

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 11:48:45 am
content: Practical Electronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz and Simon Monk is not comprehensive enough. I need something that is comprehensive. I've gone through a lot of theory already, like resistance, capacitance, theory of Alternating Current, AC circuits with resistors, capacitors, inductors and filters. Also magnetic field theory etc. I want to learn more about BJT's, FET's and other electronic components, but in a more structured way

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 12:35:32 pm
content: See my first book recommendation. That covers it nicely. I think there’s a PDF available if you google it as well. Don’t be fooled by the title: you can build your own ICs with transistor arrays and individual BJTs so the theory is applicable across the board.

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 04:30:15 pm
content: Ok, i don't have the need now how to build IC's. That's a step further. I just want to know how to use different transistors, diodes etc, correctly The art of electronics is just horrible. Not comprehensive at all on the subjects. Looks like they tried to pack a lot in a few pages.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 05:00:29 pm
content: Did you learn anything 'practical' in ME school? I suspect that the real education came after graduation. What you are looking for is information on applications and that simply isn't taught in school, or at least I never got any. Oh, you get the math and all the equations but when it gets down to it, the real engineering educations starts after graduation.Try to Google for something like 'transistor bias circuits app note' and there are a lot of options. Some of the papers look like they might actually be used in education like this one but it seems to actually be an Agilent paper:https://www3.nd.edu/~hscdlab/pages/courses/microwaves/labs/Agilent1293.pdfThe equation on the bottom of page 4 is the reason I shunned analog electronics and went over to the digital sandbox.Any idiot can count to '1' (Bob Widlar)https://www.autodesk.com/products/eagle/blog/bob-widlar-life-engineering-legend/The manufacturers produce some really excellent app notes.

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 05:26:06 pm
content: Yes, you're right, about learning anything practical in school. The equation at the bottom of page 4 is just a simple equation.Ic = Ib x Hfe + Icbo (1+Hfe). Leave the insignificant part on the right away and then you'll have Ic =Hfe x Ib .I think i'm going to stick with Malvino and Bates "Electronic Principle". Not the best book, but comprehensive enough. Thought there were way better books than that.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 07:11:01 pm
content: Quote from: robsims on August 06, 2019, 05:26:06 pmWith a slide rule?

author: aneevuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 07:38:03 pm
content: Quote from: robsims on August 06, 2019, 03:50:34 amHave you seen "Electronic Devices" by Thomas Floyd? I have the now-ancient third edition. It's fairly good for, say, small signal analysis of BJTs and FETs, and covers op-amps too. I think it's a bit more advanced than Malvino, though not hugely. It's reasonably light on calculus but not particularly practical, I'd say.

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2019, 08:51:17 pm
content: Yes, "Electronic devices" of Floyd 9th edition at first sight seems good too. Not too much math and practical. That's what i like. Not that i have a problem with math, i mean i'm a math and physics man, but i like the practical side of things too. Thanks aneevuser. I speak dutch and i have a friend who has some dutch books, so i will also look into those books too.

author: djacobow
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2019, 03:02:09 am
content: The two core circuits books in my EE program in the 90s were Nilsson "Electric Circuits" and Sedra/Smith "Microelectronic Circuits". The latter was used in more advanced classes.Both are still in print, many editions advanced now. Looking at them makes me feel old.

author: SuzyC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2019, 04:26:06 am
content: Circuit Analysis and Design by Ulaby, Michel M. MaharbiFree download .pdf 186MBhttps://www.google.com/search?q=Circuit+Analysis+and+Design+by+Ulaby%2C+Michel+M.+Maharbi&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-bMostly very much ado about nothing, but for the price, can't be beat. Good examples on how not to best design using inappropriate circuit analysis methods, with a failure to mention important design tools such as LTSpice, and results to leading a student to gain an over complicated and confused understanding on how to design circuits, for example, designing a BJT amplifier circuit using mostly Thevenin circuit analysis. Yet still some valuable information about ohm's law, capacitors, inductors, op-amps, etc.------------T]o find what the latest textbooks are used in electronic engineeringcourses at the best schools, like MIT or CalTech, etc.simply enquire at the appropriate college/university bookstores or contact the university of interest about textbooks needed for a specific course.

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2019, 12:43:55 am
content: I think i will stick with Malvino and Bates Electronic Principles. Started reading their book. It has good guidelines and examples. No calculus, only simple practical equations and guidelines to get the job done. Another good book i think is "Electronic devices and circuit theory" 11th-edition from Robert Boylestad and Louis Nashelsky.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2019, 01:54:59 am
content: You can pick up some very useful books at secondhand bookshops associated with Universities, & they are usually quite "laid back" about people browsing.Once or twice a year, many "Unis" have sales of "out of date" books which are still full of useful information.Another possibility is picking up an older copy of the "ARRL Handbook" on line, or perhaps, at a Hamfest.This book, along with the similar RSGB Manual, contain a lot of fundamentals, as well as quite advanced materials.Malvino is a good book--- another one from the same era, is "Hughes", which concentrates more on Electric motors, generstors/alternators, 3ph circuitry, transformers, etc.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2019, 09:25:53 am
content: Disagree with ARRL handbook. Awful book. Someone really needs to rewrite all the tutorial stuff again.All the units are in groats per dyne still.RSGB one is useless. Mainly because it’s 80% cross references to out of date ARRL handbooks.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 11, 2019, 09:37:26 am
content: Quote from: aneevuser on August 06, 2019, 07:38:03 pmI think Floyd is excellent and one of the picks of the bunch.

author: blackbird
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2019, 11:23:09 am
content: During my study we used:"Electronics A Systems Approach" by Neil StoreyISBN 9780273719182

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2019, 03:36:37 am
content: Quote from: bd139 on August 11, 2019, 09:25:53 amOne problem with the older ARRL Handbooks is that they are really a compendium of QST articles, which tends to make the narrative a bit disjointed, but I think they are better than the newer ones in general.I still think that for an Engineer from a different discipline to get a good insight into the basics, they take a lot of beating ----- surely such a person would have the Mathematical background & Googling ability to find the correct SI units, & amend the references.(Maybe people don't have the attention span to do this, though-------I remember an Engineer many years back, who went through all the pages of "Glasford's Television Engineering" redoing all the calculations which expressly referred to the US 525 line system, & amending them for the 625 line system.)Much of basic Electrical theory is concepts, rather than the rigid use of units, & when it gets to explanations of more advanced RF things like mixing, units haven't really changed, anyway.I do find the use of things like 468/f to derive half wave antenna lengths in feet annoying as hell, though!It was probably useful back in the days prior to the use of pocket calculators, but has well & truly passed its use by date!I haven't seen a modern RSGB Manual, so it seems they may have "fallen on evil times", but the old ones were good.

author: TheNewLab
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2019, 06:19:45 am
content: I don;t know about past AARL books, but the most recent seems to be good. It's in six volumes (2018-2019) Some YT channel did a review on it, and appears really good. When I looked it was sold out, and could not even find on eBay or Amazon.I Like the Malvino Book. I have the 6th edition and to compare the changes I checked the library for 7th and 8th editions. Interestingly, each edition has the same questions. The 7th is without color-didn't like that..Art of Electronics, Floyd book andElectronics for Inventorshave already been mentioned. All good for what they present.The John ByrdElectrical and Electronic Principlesis interesting, but 2003. He has a 2013 tile on circuit theory, but I guess theory you already know..Owen Bishop has two titles.Electronic Circuits and Systemsmight be a possibilityI agree I like the Malvino book best..It is well laid out and the one textbook i worked all the way through it. There was a critical Amazon review that complained little or nothing about IC's, but, IC's are made up of Passives, semi's and transistors.. In my mind, having a solid foundation first makes more sense. Now I can look at the datasheets and understand what they are doing in designing the chip.

author: TheNewLab
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2019, 06:24:59 am
content: The thread next doorElectronics primers, course material and bookshas been running since 2011. There are an awful lot of titles both books and free online titles.Maybe one day someone might want to go through all those titles and write detailed summaries for all those titles. Maybe include suggested level and specific direction a reader would be interested in. But that would be quite a project, and there are sites, likeAll About Circuitsthat have tried to do thisEDIT:Oops, sorry, just went thru that thread. It appears to basics and tutorials... Where was that thread that listed mostly book titles???Edit 2:here's a search on EEVBlog forum with the term "textbooks"https://www.eevblog.com/forum/search2/Try other words more closely related to what you want...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 12, 2019, 06:43:23 am
content: I want to do a shootout review of various textbooks, but they have to be similar in content and scope.e.g. Floyd, Malvino and Boylestad would be fairly similar I think, ones that cover all your basic active electronics components and circuits (transistors, opamps, filters) etcThese don't cover resistors, inductors or capacitors though.Like this:

author: Neganur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 12, 2019, 09:22:30 am
content: I'd recommend Sedra/Smith and Floyd as well. They cover the basics for college and beyond in a useful way.Especially Floyd may appeal to you if you like lots of examples and diagrams to follow the text.There was also the course book for MIT's Circuits and Electronics by Prof. Anant Agarwal (link).I think the transistor chapter was fairly OK

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 12, 2019, 09:45:17 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on August 12, 2019, 06:43:23 amAd Sedra/Smith to that list.All 4 cover basically the same stuff and worthy of a shootout I think?

author: Johnboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2019, 06:57:27 am
content: There are also several other older textbooks that seemed to focus on a technician's educati rather than an engineer's.One of the problems is that there are things we "know" well by exposure, whether by rote repetition or by repeated grapplings with things we might encounter in the field. Subsets are common.I have no idea how one might score a textbook, considering the modern scope of digital electronics (just an example) and the rarity of the apparent need for the understanding of the building blocks. This is not a wheel for most of us, and shaving away at the square leads to splinters for most.Despite the "edition", which book did most find the most enlightening? and without the prior experience of drudgery, which might have been most helpful? Well, now we're talking about a single tome.I think that a better discussion might lie in "what was the cadence?""Which books helped you in self-study, and in what order?" is a better question than... "which book was issued, and which professor did you draw, to answer the questions which the text left hanging?" We are all left to our own "ah-ha's".Is it better to choose the right college text... or the right professor who not only knows its content, but sees a way to bridge that knowledge by his own experience in teaching? Or better yet, the professor who has experience in doing, rather than teaching?I do not claim to have an answer for any of these. I'm interested in what helped others and what they slogged through BEFORE their "breakthrough" text, if that makes any sense.

author: robsims
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2019, 03:28:01 am
content: Microelectronics Circuit Analysis and Design Donald Naemen 4th EditionMicroelectronic circuit design Jaeger 4th editionIntroductory Circuit Analysis Boylestad 11th editionFundamentals of Electric Circuits (Alexander and Sadiku) 5th EditionElectronic Devices and Circuit Theory Boylestad 11th editionElectronic Devices - Floyd 9th editionElectrical and Electronic Principles and Technology John Bird 3th editionBasic Electronics SchultzI have downloaded all the books mentioned above, and they seem good. Floyd, Malvino and Boylestad are basically the same. They are good for self study. Went trough Malvino's diode chapters and things were well explained. I have a lot of homework to do.

author: Vtile
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2019, 12:48:36 am
content: Old Mullard transistor books might be interesting to skim through.