Tab Electronics Guide to Understanding Electricity and Electronics [Paperback]

G. Randy Slone (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071360573 | ISBN-13: 978-0071360579 | Publication Date: July 21, 2000 | Edition: 2nd

All-inclusive introduction to electricity and electronics. For the true beginner, there's no better introduction to electricity and electronics than TAB Electronics Guide to Understanding Electricity and Electronics , Second Edition.

Randy Slone's learn-as-you-go guide tells you how to put together a low-cost workbench and start a parts and materials inventory--including money-saving how-to's for salvaging components and buying from surplus dealers. You get plain-English explanations of electronic components-resistors, potentiometers, rheostats, and resistive characteristics-voltage, current, resistance, ac and dc, conductance, power...the laws of electricity...soldering and desoldering procedures...transistors...special-purpose diodes and optoelectronic devices...linear electronic circuits...batteries...integrated circuits...digital electronics...computers...radio and television...and much, much more. You'll also find 25 complete projects that enhance your electricity/electronics mastery, including 15 new to this edition, and appendices packed with commonly used equations, symbols, and supply sources. (20040201)

Editorial Reviews

Review

by James K. Deane, Library Assistant at the Emporia Public Library, Kansas

In this thorough hobbyist's guide, electrical engineer Slone provides a sound overview of the basic theoretical concepts necessary to successfully build, maintain, or repair electronics. In addition, he addresses practical applications such as how to build a workbench, how to solder, and how to create a parts and materials inventory through salvaging. With 25 projects for readers to try, this is useful as a basic learning tool and an essential reference. (Library Journal )

From the Back Cover

No expensive tools required! Master electricity and electronics in the real world with practical, easy-to-build projects!

Open this book and--
*Understand the energy and applications that drive the modern world
*Build your own inexpensive electronics workbench
*Construct 25 useful projects that explore electrical and electronics power, principles, and applicationsHave you ever dreamed of mastering the energy and technology that's transforming life on Earth? Imagine yourself in control of electronics at your own hobby bench? Wanted the knowledge and skills to make your electronic equipment work better, to create new applications (even new inventions), and to be able to explain what's going on inside the high-tech devices you use every day? With this book, you're on your way. Popular Electronics writer G. Randy Slone can help you do it all. His TAB Electronics Guide to Understanding Electricity and Electronics launches you into the exciting world of electronics.

Practical and jovial, Randy tells you "watts" really going on. His reader-friendly guide will soon have you constructing exciting electronics projects, such as a state-of-the-art MOSFET audio amplifier that you build from scratch.

Electronics ABC's at Your Own Speed
You get every bit of help you need, from learning to solder and use test equipment to assembling a functional lab. Working at your own pace, you'll discover basic electrical concepts and components, transformer and ac voltage conversions, rectifiers, capacitors, resistors, zener diodes, integrated circuits, digital electronics, oscillators, and more.

You'll also find helpful information on suggested reading, sources of equipment and materials, schematic symbols, and commonly used equations. From a pared-down course in quantum physics to suggestions for removing solder, this true beginner's guide keeps you entertained and answers all your questions. It's like being taught by a friend. If you want to enjoy learning electronics, you've come to the right place.

BUILD IT YOURSELF
*Percussion Synthesizer
*AM and FM Detector
*Emergency Auto Flasher
*Soldering Iron Controller
*Logic Probes and Pulser
*Light-Activated Relay
*General-Purpose Battery Charger
*Lab-Quality Audio Amplifier
*And Many Others

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 459 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; 2nd edition (July 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071360573
• ISBN-13: 978-0071360579
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I've found yet!, March 3, 2003

By 

Matthew Hunter "Technology Geek" (Blacksburg, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tab Electronics Guide to Understanding Electricity and Electronics (Paperback)

I'm a systems analyst, and wanted to get into building *things* instead of just code. So, I bought a few electronics books and set out to learn. I quickly found out that many books expect a lot of background knowledge, or just briefly touch on something and then use the concept extensively later on. This all made learning quite frustrating.

That was until I found this book... This book is leaps and bounds above the others... The author explains things very clearly, and really starts from the begining. The writing style is very easy to read, and the projects in the book are actually useful. I've since bought this author's audio projects book, which is also very good.

Another thing that really impressed me about this book is that the author answers his email. I had a question about a modification I wanted to make to one of his designs, and he gave me a very detailed answer, and even sent me part numbers that would be appropriate for the task.

If you're setting out to learn electronics - this is definitely the book you want :)

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to practical electronics, January 28, 2006

By 

Mike (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tab Electronics Guide to Understanding Electricity and Electronics (Paperback)

For most people, this a probably the best book available to self-teach yourself electronics. It briefly introduces the theoretical concepts, but it is mostly focused on the practical side of things. The first two chapters deal with the basics-- setting up a workstation, selecting tools, briefly introducing each component (later chapters go into much more detail), and finally about 35 pages or so on the underlying theories & laws. From there on, each chapter introduces a specific component type, covers more of the theory relevant to those components, and in most cases the chapter ends with one or more projects that use the component. The projects range from short (one or two pages) circuits, to fairly involved projects spread over multiple chapters. Unlike some eletcronic books, most of these projects will be generally useful. In most cases, you are building tools that you will probably continue to use as you skills develop (The first project, for example, is a dual variable power supply that any electronics hobbyist will find quite useful.)

There are a few minor problems with the book, though none of them warrant deducting a star. The biggest thing that I've noticed so far is the lack of photographs. There are a few photos in chapter one and two showing each tool and examples of the components, but there are no photos at all showing any of the projects. The projects are illustrated with line drawings & schematics, but in some cases the instructions would be clearer with the addition of photos. The section on soldering has the same problem. The text is quite clear, but the addition of a photo or two would be beneficial.

Another reviewer complains about schematic symbols being used without being introduced. He's correct, Slone doesn't actually define any of the schematic symbols, nor does he include a section on reading schematics. That's clearly a pretty big oversight, and it should be fixed in a later edition. That said, all of the schematics are quite clearly labeled. While it may not be immediately obvious to someone with no electronic knowledge what T1 refers to on a schematic, it shouldn't be to hard to figure out that, considering you are reading a chapter on transformers, it probably means "the first transformer". Anytime that it's not obvious the component is labeled specifically.

The same reviewer also complains that the book is focused to heavily on projects, not enough on theory. Most people will probably think that's a good thing, but rest assured that you will learn enough theory here to get you started. Writing a book like this is a fine balancing act between introducing enough theory to make the concepts clear, but not so much as to turn off the casual hobbyist. This book does an outstanding job of walking that tightrope. If you still feel you need more theory after reading this book, you there are dozens of other books that you can graduate to from here, and this book will get the groundwork in place so you will be able to understand those books.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book got me through college!, November 30, 2004

By 

Ron Eddy (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tab Electronics Guide to Understanding Electricity and Electronics (Paperback)

I want to say that this is the best electronics teach yourself book for beginners I have ever read (if this changes I will edit this review to reflect it). While I have advanced to more sophisticated books my footing is firmly planted in the theories and applications this book taught me.

After two years of electrical engineering schooling at the University of North Dakota I was doing well but always felt I didn't quite have a grasp on a lot of the basics (especially transistors, capacitors, and inductors). In engineering all we hear is theory and math and never is there anything really explained at a practical level (Such as for use in DIY projects). So I got this book without really knowing all that much about practical electronics principles. This book (along with Mr. Slone's other book (The Audiophile's Project Sourcebook)) got me through all of my labs and assigments in electronics (three semesters worth).

This book does not describe the nitty gritty theory of everything, but that isn't its purpose. The purpose of this book is to give the reader a working knowledge of electronics principles, and it does that VERY well. I wish I would have had this book many years ago...

As a compliment to this book I also read "Practical Electronics for Inventors" by Paul Scherz. In fact, I would be say that if you studied this book well and combined it with the previous two books (which will provide even more real world experience) you will come out of it with a better general knowledge of electronics than almost any electrical engineer out of college.

If you are reading this and ARE an electrical engineer or EE student you should seriously consider this book and the others to enhance your current breadth of knowledge if you feel you aren't quite connecting it all, as I wasn't at one point. If you are neither of these but rather somebody who is interested in learning about the field of electronics with the thought of creating your own circuits someday, this book will be invaluable to you.

Overall this book is excellent and very easy to read and I highly recommend it to beginners and experienced people who might need a refresher course. This book is very simple, and one should not expect to become an expert in the subject with just this. As for weaknesses, I cannot think of any, since this book is exactly what I needed to tie everything together in my mind. So for the inherent value of a "non-textbook" approach to electronics along with its easy to understand flow and do it yourself projects, I give this book a perfect 5 stars.