Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits, Volume 7

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

 

 

This series contains thousands of schematics from a variety of sources. I'm quite sure that few, if any, were tested by the authors. However, based on the sources, most probably were tested by the originators. The explanations were sparse, and there were errors, some obvious. As such, these are probably not suitable for beginners. However, I find them to be very valuable, and I suspect that many experienced techs, engineers, hobbiests, and experimenters will as well. I often use part of one circuit as the seed of an idea for a circuit I am designing, with the end result bearing little resemblance to the original. These are filled with perhaps the most valuable of all resources - other people's ideas. I do wish the authors had been more careful to catch errors.

After puchasing volumes 1-6 as a group and testing some of the circuits I spent many hours correcting the mistakes and errors in these circuits. I threw the books into the closet and designed from scratch my own circuits, it took far less time and they work when I'm done. I wish you could hold the authors accountable for lost time I could hire a design staff larger than Microsoft.

I already had Vol 1. of this series from decades ago. I thought the author had maybe improved the content and accuracy of his books. Sadly mistaken. Schematic diagrams are routinely missing values for parts or lacking important information. I have been in electronics for several decades and I again am greatly disappointed with lack of quality. I don't know if the author received permission to reprint these circuits on the condition he left out part values or what. For the money your better off somewhere else. Large voume of circuits diminished by poor quality of information.

This book has lots of mistakes (many circuits don't work), the author kept many magazines through years and reprinted the circuits he found in them.

Several readers have criticized this book for its lack of working circuits. Let me say that I too have run up against this problem while lifting circuits from this book. However, I like to look at this book as a great compendium of circuit ideas that are going to need some modification if they are to work as advertised. I particularly liked the sections on game circuits, sound-effect circuits, and sound/voice activated circuits. I have built several of these, and I had to make some adjustments to each one. The point is that the basic ideas were all there along with pretty good descriptions for each circuit. The author also takes the time to introduce electronic parts with which you may not be familiar. If you are not already familiar with electronics, this is not the book for you, since familiarity with electronics and circuit design is assumed. However, for only $40 I think it is a great value for those with the correct background.

If you are into creating electronic gadgets or love tinkering with electronic parts, then this is the book for you.
There are lots of beneficial, as well as "just fun" projects, contained within this publication.
This book can also serve the "electronic dreamer" with lots of food for thought...a good volume to own if you are interested in electronics to varying degrees.

This is one of the best references for the hobbiest to get ideas for circuits. This set does not tell you how the circuits work--but it does tell you the source so you can look up the authors description. Building and using the circuits are description enough for the advanced designer. The series is a must for anyone interested in electronic design.