Searching for  little Passive Components Handbook (?) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: bronson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2013, 11:12:12 pm
content: Way back when I was an EE I had a small, teal (I think) hardback book called something like the "Passive Components Handbook". It was great because it broke down exactly when you would use carbon comp vs wirewound vs thick film vs oxide vs... Or tant vs ceramic vs mylar vs... And why. It was probably $25 or so in the mid 90s. Open it, glance over a couple charts, read how the parts are made, and the answer would be obvious.To my utter dismay I appear to have lost it.Other books likehttp://www.amazon.com/Passive-Electronic-Component-Handbook-Charles/dp/0070266980/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1379285703&sr=8-2&keywords=passive+component+handbookare massive, expensive, and get bogged down in mostly irrelevant minutiae. Not fun.Does anyone else remember this book? Any idea what the title was?MAYBE JUST AS GOOD, anyone know of a good reference for selecting passives? Something that lists all the benefits and drawbacks of the common types so I can pick the right parts without having to digest pages and pages of Wikipedia descriptions or PDEs. We're talking real world Z tolerance parts with thousand PPM tempcos here, no need to get all rigorous and academic...How do you guys remember all this stuff?

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2013, 11:39:18 pm
content: This is the second time today I have cut and pasted thisBuy "Practical Electronics for Inventors"3rd edition only. Hands down the most usefull single book on general electronics and basic electrical. You will thank me after just browsing thru it.Here is the table of contents(using the look inside feature on amazon) Just scroll down to see the table of contents.It has very good coverage on what you are looking for and a whole lot more. IMO the best single reference on electronics and electrical I have ever seen.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 12:23:07 am
content: Analog SEEKrets(available asfree PDFhosted by our benevolent leader, the author accepts donations on his website) contains decent description of the pros and cons of various types passives in the first few chapters. It's aimed at a more advanced audience than the Paul Scherz book, and is more of a collection of advanced material than a general electronics textbook. At least the price is right.Troubleshooting analog circuits by Bob Pease also contains some rarely-mentioned attributes of passives, but is not a general purpose reference. I think Bob Pease refers to something like a 'handbook of passives' that may be what you're talking about.Edit: He refers to: Passive components - A user's guide by Ian Sinclair, Heinemann Newness, London, UK, 1990.

author: bronson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 01:48:56 am
content: Oo, that Ian Sinclair book might be the one I'm thinking of. Right on alm.http://www.amazon.com/Passive-Components-Series-Design-Engineers/dp/0750602295/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379293823&sr=8-1&keywords=passive+components+a+user%27s+guideWut, $507.22 for a copy? Now I am SUPER bummed that I lost this priceless collector's item! Come to think of it, my copy might have been signed by RAP.robrenz, you have expensive taste in multimeters and frugal taste in books. Gotta say, that looks like a winner. Ordered, even though I'm trying like crazy to get rid of books (and CDs and DVDs).

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 02:30:25 am
content: Not being an EE, if I had to throw all my electronics/electrical books away except one, It would be the one I would keep. Please comment when you get a chance to see all it covers to see if I am misguided or on target with my enthusiasm for this book.

author: MacAttak
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 02:56:56 am
content: What's the deal with electronics books not being available in PDF or similar formats? Practical Electronics looks nice, and isn't too pricey, but only available in paperback

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 03:01:16 am
content: I think it's available for the Kindle. Publishing are still trying for DRM-encumbered formats for ebooks.

author: bronson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 03:57:44 am
content: Careful of buying the Kindle version. A lot of reviews say the charts and equations are unreadable. Catastrophic problem if true.It's on Safari but it looks like some sort of browser-based reader:http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/electrical-engineering/9780071771337I guess the moment you stop paying your $30/mo subscription, you're locked out. Of your $25 book. Does anybody actually use this service???I'd pay MORE for a PDF of this book than I would for the paper version. Then it's searchable and always with me as long as I have my laptop. I found a PDF of the 1st edition online but no 3rd edition so I'm settling for the antiquated version, grrrr. I'll reply here when I've formed an opinion.How come nobody else does the Pragmatic Programmers approach to ebooks?

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 04:08:54 am
content: Beware of the first and second edition of this book. The errata listhereis almost as big as the book (28 pages)

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 04:14:13 am
content: About the Kindle version: I'm guessing ebook formats aimed at fiction aren't ideal for technical books like this. They probably don't incorporate any support for equations or vector graphics, so the only option is to embed a pixel image.O'Reilly does what Pragmatic programmers does and better in my opinion. They offer DRM-free PDF, epub and mobi (and probably some other formats I don't care about) and can even sync the books with Dropbox. Not too many electronics books, though, except the occasional maker/Arduino book. They also sell books from a few other publishers through their website. They even sell a book by Ian Sinclair (a general electronics text).Safari is a subscription service that's mainly aimed at corporations and institutes. It's a library-like service that allows you to select different books each month. Very useful if you want temporary access to books about a certain technology for a project, not so useful if you actually want to own the book. I think you can download limited sections, but not whole books.At some point Amazon offered online access to books you bought for a small fee, is that service still available or has it been replaced by their Kindle offerings? I think it was only available for a limited selection of books.The problem with PDF is that it gives you more freedom than the author/publisher is willing to give you. So you can either play by their rules or find some other resource from a different author/publisher.Quote from: robrenz on September 16, 2013, 04:08:54 amYep, the early editions were somewhat infamous for that. How is the third edition holding up? People have of course had much less time to find errors, but I would expect errors to start surfacing right about now. Unless the publisher did a better job of either editing or keeping the errata quiet.My main beef with the earlier editions was that it treated theory (eg. how does a transistor work / how to use it) too tersely and superficially (a transistor is a current amplifier). Not enough theory to understand a current mirror, for example. I would rather have preferred to focus on either theory or on the practical aspects.

author: chicken
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 04:27:50 am
content: Quote from: bronson on September 16, 2013, 01:48:56 amCheck AbeBooks, usually has much more reasonable prices than Amazon for out-of-print books.http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=Passive+components+-+A+user%27s+guide&sts=t

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 04:59:23 am
content: Components enciclopedia volume 1 on amazon

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 06:03:28 am
content: Quote from: ddavidebor on September 16, 2013, 04:59:23 amWhat are the contents like?This may (or may not be) a newer edition of the same book as the 1990 one:Passive Components for Circuit DesignIt's from the same author. It's available for Amazon Kindle and on Google Play Books, no idea about PDF.If anyone has access to the 1990 edition then it would be interesting to compare. The 1990 edition has no preview available on Google Books, so I can't even find a table of contents. It wouldn't surprise me if it was the 1990 book with some minor updates.

author: synapsis
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 07:12:35 am
content: Quote from: robrenz on September 15, 2013, 11:39:18 pmI second this. This is the first electronics book I've purchased (found it at Barnes and Noble), and it sat next to me for months. I like how it's split into theory (chapter 2, biggest chapter I've ever seen in a book) and practical use.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 08:51:25 am
content: I browsed the 2001 book via Amazon and Google Books. It certainly appears to be based on an old book: it barely mentions 'SMC' resistors (I'm pretty sure these were very common even in consumer electronics back in 2001), but contains a fairly extensive discussion of carbon composition resistors. It also describes moving coil meters. My guess is that they took the 1990 book and revised it adding some websites, discussion of Firewire connectors and a chapter about Spice/EDA. Either that or he did a poor job keeping up with recent developments.I don't understand why this book needs to explain voltage, current, phasors, Ohm's law and KCL/KVL in the first chapter. It contains some neat tidbits, for example thermal EMF in WW resistors, or the Boalla effect that causes carbon comps to suck at high frequency, but lacks depth in other parts. The discussion of high frequency effects in resistors essentially explains that resistors have parasitic capacitance and inductance, but provide little guidance in what components are better or worse. I like the resistor chapter in Analog SEEKrets better. It feels much more modern and does not waste space discussing obsolete components like carbon comp resistors. I think it's a good read, somewhat similar to how Bob Pease's "Troubleshooting Analog Circuits" is a good read, but in my opinion it's not comprehensive enough to be used as a reference for what resistor to use in what application.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 11:12:45 am
content: Easy solution to no PDF being offered: Buy the paper copy, scan and PDF it yourself... no DRM to fight with either.

author: baljemmett
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 03:06:42 pm
content: Quote from: MacAttak on September 16, 2013, 02:56:56 amHeh; strangely enough I'm currently being grumpy about the reverse - I've been using TI's Digital Logic Pocket Data Book PDF for reference whilst sketching ideas out, but would find a printed copy far more convenient to flick through. Have been pondering picking up an older volume second-hand but the ones I can find all seem rather more substantial.

author: MacAttak
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 05:04:39 pm
content: I had a Safari subscription for a while (about a year or two). It was good for having quick access to educational material - great for software developers for example - but it is not useful when it comes to reference material.You can only have so many books in your "bookshelf" at a time, which encourages you to swap them in and out regularly. You get "download credits" every month that allows you to download a few chapters to PDF. That is hit or miss, with the quality of the PDF not always being very good. And yes, when you stop paying the monthly subscription fee you lose access to everything except for those downloaded chapters.It's a good deal from someone who normally buys and reads a technology book every six weeks (or more frequently). Not such a good deal for someone who doesn't go through books that fast or who wants to build up their reference library.

author: MacAttak
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 16, 2013, 05:11:07 pm
content: Quote from: amyk on September 16, 2013, 11:12:45 amThat's not exactly a good way to produce a readable PDF, for many reasons. The publisher just needs to offer it.

author: bronson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2014, 10:11:04 pm
content: Sorry for reviving this ancient topic but I just ran across The Handyman's Guide to Capacitors. It's awesome! Attached in case the shady and slow site where Google found it goes away:http://193.6.189.120/letoltes/HG0MAT/kondi.pdfThis file appears similar but I like the layout and size of the former better:http://www.gqrp.com/na5ndatasheet.pdfEDIT: and yet another layout of the same file:http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/~pharden/ref/_caps.pdfAnyone have something similar for resistors?The same author wrote The Handyman's Guide to Oscilloscopes. It's interesting but I like Tek's ABCs of Scope more -- it's more approachable and goes deeper. Of course, it has 10x as many pages...

author: bronson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2014, 11:38:28 pm
content: Ah @robrenz, I said I'd offer my opinion on Practical Electronics for Inventors...In a word? Meh. Happily, I think it removes any need for updating The Art of Electronics. It's the same style and quality as Horowitz and Hill but with modern technology, a more direct narrative, and better pictures. If you like TAoE, you'll love PEfI.So maybe the problem is me. I just don't like TAoE much. You read lots of words and a few rules of thumb and come away thinking you understand the topic... but it's superficial. The "transistor man" model falls down instantly and now you need to read other books to understand the circuits that appear in later chapters.Both books are too detailed to be a good overview but too shallow to offer much design insight.The first thing you notice is Practical Electronics for Inventors is friggin ginormous. I don't like how much room it takes on the desk or how floppy it is when reading in bed. It's reminiscent of the bad old days of Wrox Press and giant University textbook kickbacks, may they remain forever in the past.Chapter 2, all 250 pages of it, seems a bit of a waste since it doesn't offer enough insight on its own to understand what comes later in the book. (or, maybe it does, but novices will have to read it a hundred times to get it all). It should be trimmed to a much shorter reference chapter, then maybe be expanded to a full 400 page book on its own (assuming there's a need for another fundamentals of electricity book).Chapter 3 is, yes, excellent. But it should have been organized better and gone further on some the topics. Expand it from 150 to 250 pages, and from one chapter to six.Now, PEfI starts to feel like a term paper where you suddenly realize you're out of time and out of words but haven't hit all your topics yet. Chapter 4, semiconductors, is a single chapter of 100 pages (this is the one area that I think TAoE still treats better). And now we go even faster: 4 pages on multimeters, 20 pages on op amps, 30 pages on filters, 15 pages on regulators and SMPS, ... Good luck actually understanding any of these topics!Organization seems a little weird. Why not merge Ch16 Modular Electronics into Ch7 Hands On Electronics? Why not split chapters 3 and 4 into proper chapters? Chapter 3 is titled "Basic Electronic Circuit Components" so even the title indicates "Giant Grab Bag".If I could have bought a PDF I suppose wouldn't mind the physical bulk. I'm tempted to saw the binding off and scan it... that way at least I can refer to it without digging it out of the shed. (last book I scanned was ~500 pages and took 3 hours)Priced per pound, or per technical illustration, it's an amazing deal. It would be a neat book to leaf through if its density were higher. However, its audience seems rather narrow: maybe someone who wants to have semi-deep knowledge on a huge range of electronics topics but not actually enough to design much? Something like that.And where are the worked problems?? At least TAoE has the student manual. Without worked problems I suppose the authors expect their prose to cause fully formed circuits to spring straight out of our heads?So them's my thoughts. Would love to hear other opinions and rebuttals.- ScottOh and what's with the darkbulb on the cover? I've never seen one of those before.

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2014, 03:58:31 am
content: I agree PEfI is not perfect but as a wannabe EE that goes to the book more as a reference when I need to learn a concept, brush up on something or find a formula, it seems to always have what I am looking for. I learn more by necessity of the moment than actually studying and learning an entire topic.Some of the things that many books leave out:Extensive component code markings.How to derate components based on spacing enclosures, etc.Powerline and building electrical wiring and how it relates to electronics, etc.

author: bronson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2014, 05:53:52 pm
content: Agreed, if it were trimmed down it would make a phenomenal reference.Exactly the sort of book I was looking for when I started this thread.

author: Co6aka
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 13, 2014, 05:30:23 pm
content: Quote from: robrenz on February 11, 2014, 03:58:31 amNecessity is the mother of education, and the nurturer too.FWIW, after lots of Googling, I found my copy of the thread-subject book on some obscure UK used book trading website. (Sorry, no-me-rember URL.) Found other copies too, but this one was the the least expensive, including postage to USA.

author: bronson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2014, 07:41:37 pm
content: Nice Co6aka, you'll have to tell us how it is. It can't possibly live up to my glowing memories of it.I expect the lack of SMT topics will be somewhat painful. Also, capacitor technology has come a LONG way in the past 25 years.

author: Co6aka
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 13, 2014, 08:49:01 pm
content: Quote from: bronson on February 13, 2014, 07:41:37 pmReally? Huh, I hadn't noticed!(Eyesight is getting pretty bad in my old age... sigh.) Anyway... The fundamentals are still the fundamentals. (Last time I checked, at least.) The book didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, but it did help me explain some stuff to a couple of non-EE-types in such a way that they understood the subject material.