Customer Reviews

Electrical Engineering Reference Manual for the Electrical and Computer PE Exam, Sixth Edition

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I took the Electrical PE Exam (Power Option) yesterday Oct 29, 2004 for the first time, and I felt very well prepared and expect to pass the exam easily. To study and for reference during the exam, I purchased this Reference Manual and three additional books by the same author: the Quick Reference, Practice Problems, and Six-Minute Solutions. I also purchased the NCEES Sample Questions & Solutions, and I already had a copy of the NEC. I used no other materials for studying or taking the exam.

This Reference Manual is excellent, and was my number one guide while studying and during the exam itself. My studying consisted of working the NCEES Sample Questions & Solutions and the Six-Minute Solutions books twice each, using only this Reference Manual and the NEC. Out of the 80 problems on the exam, there was only 1 not covered by this Reference Manual and NEC. I don't see how you can take the PE exam without this book! The organization and format of this book are excellent and very polished. The content is concise but also comprehensive... the perfect balance. It's the details that make it exceptional: how each section is "tabbed" by a black mark on the side and starts with a list of abbreviations and constants, top quality illustrations and tables, etc. The index is comprehensive, which is also very important during the exam.

I would strongly recommend this Reference Manual, Six-Minute Solutions, and the NCEES Sample Exam. There is now a Sample Exam by this same author, which I did not use, but would if I was doing it over again. The NEC is necessary for anyone doing the Power option. The Quick Reference and the Practice Problems are not good books, and I would not recommend them. I used neither of them during the exam, and only minimally when studying. See my reviews on those items for more details.

I have owned Edition #4 of this book since 1988, and found it to be fully adequate when I sat for the PE in May 1994. It was the only book I actually used for the test. I have also found it to be an excellent concise electrical engineering reference.

Some context: I never met a test I didn't like. I graduated with BSEE from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1982 and found the P.E. to be sophomore-to-junior level with low-to-moderate difficulty and depth with no significant time pressure - one hour average per problem. With respect to the PhD-EE who commented below, I suspect that the narrow focus necessary for graduate study is not useful for a broad test like the PE. I passed the test cold twelve years after leaving school, and probably benefited from the broad treatment of EE topics and the accelerated pace at Rose which tended to cram a semester's work into 10 weeks (effectively three semesters per year). Unlike the Doctor, I found Yarbrough's treatment of Electrical Engineering closely resembled the test which included: Power, Digital logic, Communications, Integration, Filters, Op amp applications, Control systems/application of feedback, and
National Electrical Code (my 1994 test had a grounding problem).

I agree that Yarbrough's problems were more difficult than those on the PE. I strenuously disagree that it "did a fair job of reviewing areas in which one already had knowledge." It is accurate, however, to say that the book is not good at introducing new subjects. It is a *reference* and not a substitute for a semester or more of grinding through the applicable EE class.

I remember doing the following problems:
1) A freshman-level problem relating power and energy (first page of the test and shockingly rudimentary).
2) An integration problem - find the RMS value of a sine-wave 10V peak-to-peak, chopped at 65% - another freshman level problem.
3) An op amp problem - find the rise time, calculate the value of feedback resistors, draw bode plot showing frequency response.
4) A grounding problem using NEC. I DIDN'T HAVE MY NEC! But worked the problem anyway because at the time I'd been doing a lot of commercial design.
5) A Control Systems problem - classic transfer function with feedback problem.
6) A Sallen and Key low-pass filter problem.
7) A power problem - transformer regulation with non-purely-resistive load.
8) ?

A word of encouragement for prospective P.E.'s: Don't sweat the fact that you may not have prepared adequately - take it anyway. I delayed sitting for it because of this non-reason, and cost myself tens-of-thousands of dollars. Apply for it, don't tell anyone you're taking it, and go in with no pressure. If you get a 69, you'll get to take the test again. I took the test with no preparation, walked out of the afternoon session (multiple choice) with one-and-one-half hours to spare, and got a 76 (laughing when I got the notice). Real-world consulting and my classes at Rose were far, far, more difficult.

I have a Ph.D. in EE and several years of work experience and recently took the Profession Engineer examination in EE. I purchased this book to (a) review areas of electrical engineering with which I am familiar (e.g., circuits, devices), (b) learn enough about new areas (e.g., power transmission, motors, control systems) to pass in these areas on the Professional Engineer examination, and (c) work sample problems. I found that the book did a fair job of reviewing areas in which one already had knowledge, but was poor at introducing new subjects. There was no way I could learn much new (this varied with the topic). There are sample problems at the end of each chapter (with solutions available in a separate manual). After working real problems from a past test (available from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying in Clemson, SC), I found that Yarbrough's examples were not representative and much harder than the real test. I would give this book a worse rating, but during the exam I was able to look up critical bits of information that added many points to my score.

The Electrical Engineering Reference Manual (EERM) for the Electrical and Computer PE Exam is an excellent resource. The information contained in the handbook is very broad, yet is distilled to the most important elements of each subject area. When I took the exam, the majority of test-takers used the same reference manual written for their respective disciplines.

The EERM is designed for quick and easy location of subject matter, which is important during the fast-paced PE exam. I used it for about 90% of the exam questions. The companion sample test and review questions by the same author are good review material and are more representative of the exam problems than other references I purchased. The exercise problems focus on concepts without getting bogged down in minutia. Hints for studying and taking the exam are very useful. The errata are bigger than it probably should be, but can be easily downloaded from the publisher website.

I plan on keeping my copy of the EERM as a reference manual. My other study materials are for sale. I wish I would've had the EERM during college; it would have been a big help.

By the way, I passed the PE on the first try and it's been over 20 years since I got my degree.

I just passed the October 28th, 2005 PE exam on the first attempt. I used this book and the following 3 to help me study.

Electrical and Computer PE Sample Examination (ISBN: 1888577932), Six Minute Solutions for Electrical and Computer PE Exam Problems (ISBN: 1888577754), and PE Sample Questions and Solutions: Electrical and Computer Engineering by NCEES (ISBN: 1932613110)

This book consolidates most of the Electrical PE exam material into one reference, but of course it does not cover every type of question you may see on the exam. IMO, the more exam type questions you see the better. This book will also serve as a useful technical reference throughout your career. JMO.

Understand that 'sufficiency' is going to be totally subjective. In my case, I was 30 years post-BSEE, just took the FE last spring, and the PE in October '06. I had this book, and also a sample exam book, and the 'six-minute solutions.' But mostly only browsed through the others. My total study consisted almost exclusively of plowing through this book front-to-back, and I used only this book on the exam. A dictionary of network terminology might have been useful (for PM exam, computers), but otherwise this was enough. While it was interesting and useful for some of the areas that I wasn't familiar with, I didn't consider keeping it after the exam as a reference; any books on those specific subjects would be much better. IMO the exam was not as difficult as I'd feared. Other folks carried dozens of books to the exam; for me, this one was sufficient. [BTW, klkaiser's sample exam appears to be very representative of what I recall of the exam, recommended][BTW, notice that there is now a 7th edition of this book.]

I took and passed the PE in the fall of 2006. I think this reference book is definitely worth having in your possession on the exam (at least for the morning session). It provides a concise overview of most of the important topics on the exam. However, I was NOT satisfied with the many sample exams and additional problem sets available. For this reason, I decided to generate my own sample PE exam and to provide it free-of-charge (at klkaiser).

I have taken the PE exam on Oct 29th 2010 and
I have to admit that this book was my primary
reference, and it was sufficient for 75% of the
problems. There are questions on the exam
that will require more depth in communication
module. I have used it as my primary reference
while studying, and tabbed all critical information,
which made the exam much easier to take.
I recommend this book as a MUST during the PE exam,
along with handbooks all engineering fields touched
in the NCESS sample exam.

The NCEES sample exam handbook is almost a duplicate
of the actual exam with 100% of the topics from
the handbook covered on the exam.
I have studied with 6 minute solutions, NCEES sample exam,
PE sample Examination, andf Kaplan's Problems and
Solutions, and I have found that 1st 3 workbooks
were in a ball park on the content of the actual
exam questions, but going through Kaplan's
samples, gave me a ridiculous headache.
The format of some of the questions is wrong, the questions
take forever to derive, especially Controls chapter,
so many assumptions I have no idea where they came
from... Leave that book as additional resource..

Good luck

Best EE reference manual for me and bought it in great condition at a affordable price from Amazon.com.

After passing the FE Exam, I started to prepare for the PE. I bought this book because of its good reviews. The book itself is very informative, organized, and very-well written. The exercises are not overly difficult to work with. Some practice questions are straight forward and some require you to dig in to your college files. Regardless of the content, this book really encouraged me to review more and refer to other resources, i.e. other engineers. Overall, this is definitely a good buy. Of course, your mileage may vary. Study hard and good luck!