Customer Reviews

Schaum's Outline of Signals and Systems

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, the first author was a former instructor at my university. I have never taken on of his courses, so this review has no bearing on the individual.

On the other hand, I'm taking a Linear Systems course and the required textbook is Signals and Systems by Oppenheim, one of the most expensive coffee table props to exist on this side of Silicon Valley.

Schaum's was only (price) and it seemed to cover all of the concepts found in a standard Linear Systems course. The only major difference was that instead of useless graphs, more useless techno-babble (to satisfy the needs of some Ph.D's that want to confuse the students so they feel strong and powerful - in other words maintain their authority), and sparse problems and even less frequent solutions, the text contains DETAILED solutions for its problems, along with useful equations and tables that HELP rather than confuse the student.

If you're taking a Linear Systems course, this book is MANDATORY. If instructors are reading this review, I highly recommend you grab a copy and see if you can use it as a supplement.

As a student, I can tell you that if you made other students purchase this text as a requirement, they would all eventually pick up a copy. It's THAT helpful.
I paid $100 for our required textbook and it's money down the drain.

Most Schaum's Outlines are usually supplements to a standard text book with lots of solved problems. This book actually can serve as a text book. It's organization is a pleasure. The subject is presented in a simple, well thought out matter, covers both the analog and digital areas. I highly recommend it. More advanced textbooks will be easier to read after you finish this book. The price makes it definitely a good bargain!

This is truly an excellent book to quickly recap the essentials of signals and their manipulations. By working along with the exercises, I was quickly able to come back to speed on such important issues such as convulutions, Fourier Transforms, and LTI systems.

This little Schaum's outline is an excellent introduction to signals and systems aimed primarily at the upper undergraduate electrical engineering student. It starts out with an introduction to the various properties of systems - Linearity, Time invariance, causality, BIBO stability - defines them clearly and explains what other properties hold if these properties are present. It does this in plain language that is absent in many expensive textbooks. Next it moves on to clearly describing convolution - the bane of many an EE student's existence. Next it shows how the loathsome task of convolution can be replaced by transform methods if you are dealing with an LTI system. The Laplace Transform method is introduced for continuous systems, and the Z-Transform for discrete time systems. Next Fourier analysis is explained for both continuous and discrete time systems. Next, the student gets just a taste of control theory with a chapter on state space analysis. The final chapter is on joining continuous and discrete systems with discussions on aliasing and sampling of continuous signals. These are very important since everything starts out and often ends up as an analog signal, even if you process it digitally. Of course, there is the ample helping of examples, solved problems, and unsolved problems that Schaum's outlines are famous for. I highly recommend this cost effective study aid.

This is the book to get if you're an Electrical/Computer Engineering student. It should be worth more for its marvelous coverage of all the topics. It was nice to be able to have it as reference but it is also nice to have for learning concepts. I used this book extensively to teach myself Fourier Series and Fourier Transforms in preparation for an introduction to Communication Systems Engineering Class. This book has also helped me understand concepts for other classes (Laplace Transforms, Z-Transforms etc) I highly recommend this book. It is well written and flow nicely. A bonus is the problem sets with solutions.

I purchased this book for a first course in Communications; Math of Linear Systems in the Electrical Engineering Department. This was the first outline book that I ever purchased. It was a great study tool. It is clearly organized and easily navigated. The language is plain and simple. The examples are effective in detailing the covered concepts, and will greatly improve your understanding of the material.

This book was used to clarify the concepts taught in the course - and accomplished that task well. It would be a poor idea to expect this book to teach Signals and Systems to someone unfamiliar with the concepts.

I am currently taking my first semester in systems and signal analysis. While the subject matter is a little intimidating in terms of math, this outline cuts through the generalities and provides great, worked out, stepped out examples for everything from the basic properties of LTI systems to convolution, laplace transforms, z-transforms, fourier analysis, and space state analysis. Between the class text and this outline, I am very well prepared for future classes in signals and systems. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels they may need a little help with signal analysis, especially since the price is right.

I highly recomend any of the Schaum's series. This book is a perfect replacement for any Signals and Systems course. Straight and to the point and easy to understand. Great for anyone who doesn't need all the long paragraphs and just wants the meat of the material.

Positive:
The topics are well organized and covered with an attention to detail. In fact, some of the details regarding convergence of transforms are nicely and concisely presented in this text, while other more expensive texts gloss over certain subtle aspects (bilateral Laplace transforms). As a result of the quality of this book, I've used the text as the sole text for an undergraduate introduction to Signals & Systems. Like all Schaum's outlines, the book provides great detail in the steps necessary to arrive at final solutions. It's a bargain when used as a reference manual or tutorial.

Negative:
Unlike a typical course text, there is very little explanatory prose in each chapter. Without an understanding of the motivation or reason for using certain "tools" in an electrical engineer's toolset, a student can easily feel as though most of the presentations are mathematical exercises without connection to real signals or systems. I've found that in my use of this text, it is imperative that those connections are carefully made, and constantly re-enforced, while working the exercises. A user of this text benefits from seeing demonstrations, working on real-world problems and making the mental connections between the mathematical operations contain within.

If you are trying to understand the premise and scope of signals and systems theory, look no farther. Hsu hit a home run in the materials--especially selection of problems--and their arrangement. To get the most out of this text, you will need to understand your calculus and your calculus-based physics backwards and forwards. Otherwise, some of this material may strike you as somewhat pointless.