Customer Reviews

Basic Electronics (Dover Books on Engineering)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Considering the ancient date this book was published in, it still contains valuable information and surprisingly clear language. I guess the Navy really deosn't screw arond when it comes to writing clear instructions in electronics, as this book clearly proves.

The quality and breadth of information that this book lays out concerning electronics reminds me of this old Eastman textbook on vacuum tubes that I acquired a couple of years back. That book likewise is a gold mine of valuable knowledge, written with a crisp understandable writing style.

This is a book about basic electronics and the nitty-gritty of this science doesn't change over time. Integrated circuits aren't really basic electronics and neither is a lot of "modern" circuit design - there are many other book choices for that.

But if you want the basic science behind electronics - this is the best book you can get in my opinion. It is written in clear language for the average reader to understand. If you're a calculus wiz - this book isn't going to be your cup of tea. But ... if you're new to electronics and tend to struggle with some of the more difficult concepts - look no further as this book was really the core of basic electronics education for the U.S. Navy for many decades and the Navy trained THOUSANDS of technicians with the information in this book. The only way you could do better ... would be to get ahold of a set of the old Navy Electricity and Electronics Series Modules (also referred to as NEETS modules). That's basically a library of paperback books - each one devoted to a specific segment of electrical / electronic study - like COMPUTERS and Binary Logic, or Motors and Generators. Those modules are written in the same language as this book - tend to go a bit deeper into detail and are in nice digestible chunks.

Good luck with finding them though.

Even the section on vaccuum tubes in this book is a valuable exercise into electron science - and it's fun! And I still think electronic techs should be at least vaguely familiar with the principles of vaccuum tubes even in this day and age!

I have used this book quite often since I started my journey with the Navy. This guide, coupled with a basic knowledge of electronics and electricity, will prove an invaluable aid to both inexperienced, and experienced alike. I strongly recommend this book.

A very few sections, such as those listing specific pieces of equiptment, are a little out dated and/or a little bit specific to the US Navy. Otherwise, this is a good introductary text on the subject.

I bought 3 books about basic electronics in an attempt to understand why hearing aids don't work. The other two books were helpful for learning about amplifiers and microphones but this Basic Electronics for Naval Training was way over my head.

For me this book was a waste but if you are building your own nuclear submarine this book may be helpful.

Lots of info about electronics during the 60's and 70's...poor choice if you are interested in IC's or anything even remotely recent.