Electronics For Dummies
by Earl Boysen, Gordon McComb
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Book Reviews of Electronics For Dummies
Book Review: Scope misjudged
Summary: 4 Stars
Perhaps it'll help if I shortly give you an overview of my background.
I am an IT guy. The interesting thing about that is, that here in Switzerland, electronics fundamentals were a part of my education. We didn't go deep, but I know what resistors, capacitors and diodes are. I know what they're used for and what they do.
What I was looking for in a book was a refresher of the fundamentals plus a kick-start to building my own stuff.
This said, what I can say about this book is that it provided the former in a nicely presented way but completely lacks the latter. The book is well written and doesn't get too boring but the problem is it suddenly ends there.
The offered do-it-yourself-projects in the book are merely provided schematics for you to copy. They do not explain why they connect the timer IC the way they do. They just expect you to put the parts together and be happy about the flashing lights.
So what I don't like isn't particularly what the book contains but the description of its scope. As others who have left a review, I had expected a tad more from this book. I had expected to be presented a schematic and receive an explanation as to why the problem was solved the way it was.
Book Review: Practical & Understandable
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the perfect book for gaining an understanding of the basics and the buzz words of today's electronic world. It covers everything from the how and why of electronic components (parts) and circuits (parts connected together to perform a desired result) to symbols, schematic reading, meter and oscilloscope use, tools, and more. Did you know that a choke, coil, and inductor are all the same physical component and why it's referred to with 3 different names? "Electronics for Dummies" is a book less on theory and more on practical. It includes breadboarding, creating projects and printed circuit boards--from 30-minute projects to a basic microcontrolled robot--all clearly explained and easily understood. After finishing this book, you won't be a rocket scientist, but you certainly will have a basic understanding of electronics--enough to gain a confidence for further study or enough to be an informed component in today's world of circuits.Book Review: This is the bread(board) and butter of electronics!
Summary: 5 Stars
Before reading this book I didn't know my PNP bipolar J-Fets from my NPN's! I thought transformers were just lame robot/car children's toys from the 80's. After reading the book I was in my (Optimus)Prime of electronics knowledge! This book got me feeling really AMP-ed about electronics in general. I now know how to build a analogue-to-digital FIR amplitude and frequency quantiser using only a bicycle wheel, a pair of hair-straighteners and a roll of sticky-back plastic!!! It's really that simple...
Seriously though, this is essential for the beginner. But be warned, this book is not for the faint-hearted. The failure to follow the book's step-by-step instructions carefully may result in serious harm done to yourself or your dog. Death included. RIP Rover.
Book Review: Only 1 Error
Summary: 4 Stars
The book is good, no doubt. But on page 146 "Exploring a
Voltage Divider Circuit" the author states that by putting 2
resistors before and after the output you divide the voltage of
the output by half, I was going to buy a multimeter to test
this as it didn't sounded reasonable. But I got an electronics
simulator and tested out, and it didn't divided by half with
all resistors as stated on the book. This is the only flaw I
found so far. Maybe I'm just dummy (hence the book) and got
something wrong, English is not my mother language as well.
Anyway just thought other people would like to know.
Book Review: Sure helped me!
Summary: 5 Stars
Great book for somebody like me, who has always been mystified by electronics. I admit it-I always shied away from trying anything "electrical" for fear of electrocuting myself. And all the terminology overwhelmed me. I was looking for a book that would assume I knew nothing and start from the very beginning, explaining things to me in language I could understand. Learning how to read a schematic was really helpful, and the stuff about circuit boards was very interesting. I'm feeling confident enough to tackle some of my home electronics projects (like hanging that dining room fixture) in addition to some of the projects in the book.