Customer Reviews

Getting Started in Electronics

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I cannot overstate the impact this book has had in my life.

My dad bought me a copy of this book when I was in 7th grade.

22 years later, I'm working in the electronics industry, and I keep my original copy handy for reference or explaining electronics concepts, and I regularly buy additional copies to give to coworkers and friends who need a crash course in electronics. There are some other books (_The Art of Electronics_ for instance) that I hold almost as dearly, but while I'm sure people can come up with flaws in this book, it's been on my shelf for more than half my life.

It literally got me started in electronics.

I read this book when I was 10. I went on to college and got a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and work in the industry. Never in my education and experience have I run across a better book on electronics. It is very limited on math and won't teach you how to solve circuits, but it will give you a conceptual framework that helps the math make sense.

The book has lots of practical examples that you can implement to get the "feel" of electronics. Many of these exercises are ones that folks in the industry haven't managed to do and it shows in their work. This should be everyone's first book on electronics.

I wanted to learn electronics but I ended up being frustrated. Almost every beginning level electronics book explains 'what' resistors, capacitors, diodes, and other electronic components are and how they work. However, they all fall short of explaining 'why' these components are found in any particular electronic circuit. This book is no different.

I can look at a schematic and build what I see, but I have no idea why the circuit was designed the way it was designed. WHY does a capacitor need to be placed between this IC pin and that component? I believe my lack of knowledge is a result of not yet finding the right book to give me that knowledge. Mim's book gave me some of the 'what' but is sorely lacking on the 'why'. Unfortunately most beginning electronics books suffer from the same problem.

Hands down the best book for anyone who wants to learn about electronics. Easy to read explanations laid out in the correct order to learn easily by building onto previous examples. Simple projects that are not only fun to build, but many can become useful in the home and your new lab.

This was the first book on electronics I ever remember buying. I "discovered" it at the local Radio Shack in the early 80's while attending Navy electronics training. Thankfully this book and its writer, Forrest M. Mims, III made the challenging world of electronics accessible and best yet, fun. With the help of this book, I survived the Navy's training (thank you Forrest!) and it sparked a love for electronics that continues to this day.

Especially good for beginners, I strongly recommend this book for anyone looking to feed their electronics interest. In just 128 pages, Mr. Mims with his simple writing style, great explanations and numerous easy-to-make circuits makes the magic of electronics seem possible. Buy several copies because once you read it, you will want to share it. Just be sure to always have at least one copy for yourself.

Robert Hull
Director of Technical Services
TubeDepot.com

Forrest Mims is the man when it comes to conveying basic electronics. I like his style of presenting the material in a brief clear and concise way. The drawings are top notch! This book is excellent for all ages, so no fear in grabbing this book and thinking it is "for kids".

My only issue with the book is it really hasn't been updated in two decades. Can you believe it? With the explosion of newer electronics on the market in recent years and it hasn't even been revised and updated. ARRRGGGHHHH!

Anyway, don't let that steer you away because everything contained in the book is still relevant today!

NOTE: A more complete "teach yourself" complement to this book is the "Electronics Learning Lab" from Radio Shack. It looks like a kids toy but, for about $69.00 you get a great kit for building circuits that demonstrate all the material he explains in this book. Additionally, the Learning Lab comes with TWO additional Forrest Mims books on Analog and Digital Circuits. Both books are written in the same easy to grasp style as this one.

Good Luck!

This book is the first one to read if you want to learn about electronics.

Forrest Mims is a giant in the field of hobby electronics writing and I am glad that his classics are still in print. I was concerned when Radio Shack stopped publishing his books, but all the best stuff (the Engineers' Notebooks are indispensable as well) has been reissued.

This book presents itself as a book intended for those uninitiated in electronics, and it gets off to a great start, describing static electricity and electrons and the like. But around page 20, things start to feel a bit muddy; the author begins to use terms without properly defining them, and the circuit schematics don't make a terrible lot of sense. He explains in a rapid-fire manner what resistors, capacitors, diodes, FETs, JFETs, and MOSFETs are, but he doesn't really explain WHY a lot of them are used. By page 50 I found myself completely lost and looking online for another book.
However, this book would probably serve as a good review or reference to someone who is already knowledgable in electronics, so it's not a complete waste, and I doubt I'll get rid of it.

My 10-year-old son asked for an electronics book for xmas and I stumbled across this book online. So far it has been the perfect book for him. It has handwritten text with playful illustrations that make it very accessible. Also, the author presents the information very logically and builds on earlier concepts. I believe he is a professor and if this book is any indication, he is a very good teacher. My son and I read this together and thus far the level of complexity has been just about right - challenging but very manageable. The later chapters do look more daunting but so far, so good.

I've been in electronics for over 25 years and to this day I recommend this book when someone ask, "How do you get started"? The beauty of this book is the visual representation of concepts that can seem complex to a beginner. You get just enough information to grasp the theory but not the math that so many electronic books use to bog down a beginner. In fact if you really grasp what Mr. Mimms is showing before you start your math exploration of electricity and electronics theory you will have a much better foundation. At the same time if you have nothing more than this book you could learn the concept of repairing existing equipment or putting together projects by following along especially if you had someone that could provide assistance.