Customer Reviews

Understanding Telephone Electronics, Fourth Edition

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

 

 

If you are coming from a position of having no knowledge of how the fields of electronics and telephony merge and you need an accessible book on the basics, this book certainly fits the bill. I think lots of people are disappointed by this book because they are expecting something more from a standpoint of engineering modern projects involving telephony, and this book's content is wedged half way between technician and engineering-level. To understand why this book is put together this way you need to know its history. The first edition came out in 1983 and was sold at Radio Shack back when they sold electronics parts and kits for hobbyists and technicians, not wireless phones. Thus, its origins are still evident even in its fourth edition. There is very little mathematics in this book, and what is there consists of very simple calculations. Most everything is explained via block diagrams and then detailed diagrams of the electronics within each block. You'll need to remember your basic electronics before diving into this book - the operation of diodes, transistors, and opamps - because the illustrations make heavy use of them and the book assumes you know their usage and operation. Each chapter has a quiz at the end of it and the answers to all of the questions are in the back of the book. The book fills a needed niche - no other book I know of really addresses this subject - but the fourth edition is now six years old and it could use an update.

The title is accurate. If you want to learn about telephone electronics, this is a great book. It's easy to read, comprehensive and well structured. No, it doesn't go into great detail about state of the art modems or attempt to teach the finepoints of wireless telephony, but it does cover basic fax, modem and telephone electronics very well.

I bought this book for work - It provides a good working base for how telephones work. We live in an age where we have a right to dial tone and very seldom give any thought how the telephone and its network really work. This is not a book for the novice though you really must want to understand the phone and the phone system from a technical prospective. I keep it on my desk at work for a reference. I recommend that you also get a copy of Newtons Telecom Dictionary as well.Newton's Telecom Dictionary, 25th Edition: Telecommunications, Networking, Information Technologies, The Internet, Wired, Wireless, Satellites and Fiber

You will be interested in this book if you:
o Want to learn about analogue, circuit switched, telephony basics;
o Want to learn about the internal workings of modern analogue electronic phones;
o Are looking for a text suitable for polytechnic (eg: TAFE) students or first year engineering students;
o Know about older electromechanical systems and want to update your knowledge.

This is not suitable for anyone who:
o wants to learn about modern VOIP technology;
o has no background in electronics.

Originally prepared for Texas Instruments Information Publishing Centre, this provides the reader with an introduction to modern electronic telephones as found in customer premises, as well as an understanding of the functioning of analogue exchange (or "central office" in US usage) equipment. While the major telephone service providers are switching to VOIP over their own private networks and planning "soft switches", this is still how the majority of telephone conversations are transmitted.

The technology is explained by looking at functional blocks, showing how this is implemented in circuits with discrete components, then giving examples of ICs that perform the tasks. Diagrams are used liberally and are well-presented. Explanations are clear. You can learn a lot from the text alone, but if you are reading this, then do yourself a favour and get hold of a telephone that you can dissect and experiment on. You should also try out a few circuits. Warning: never connect telephones that you have repaired or modified to the public switched network or use the network to conduct experiments. Your telco contract and local laws will prohibit this as it can result in shocks or injury to linesmen and damage exchange (US: "central office") equipment.

Chapter headings include:
1. the telephone system - a good briefing on electromechanical telephone sets and exchanges, carrier telephony.
2. the conventional telephone set - overview of functional blocks in electronic telephones
3. electronic speech circuits - DC and audio circuits in electronic telephones
4. electronic dialling and ringing circuits including E&M signalling
5. integrated telephone circuits - single chip telephones
6. digital transmission techniques - codecs and digitisation
7. electronics in the central office - signalling, routing and supervisory functional blocks
8. network transmission - groups and routing
9. modems and fax machines - other telephone services
10. wireless telephones - mostly cordless phones but brief explanations of cellular systems

Each chapter is followed by a quiz so that it can be used as teaching resource.

This is a 370 page trade paperback with the usual high quality SAMS production values - excellent diagrams, clear presentation and well written.

Hi,

Went thru this book, it cover all the basic element of telephone network, it's most sutiable for someone with 0% of telephone circuirty

The example (of schmatic) uses older chip's, that mean if you plan to purchase this book for some project then do not put your hope.

M.Pathma

I found this book to be completely outdated and useless. I had expected to find some state of the art data, or at least recent information. When it came to the best modems, 2400 baud was the best available but 14,400 baud might offer some potential.

It was my fault for buying this dog as I had assumed that it was updated as of 1997 - it was only copyrighted then.

From the beginig to the advanced level of the telephone as a machine and as a part of a net. Good to learn how a telephone is inside yesterday and today.

It coverd all telephone basic

Telephone Electronics Engineer: Douglas Mallach
So, where did Douglas Mallach go to high school? That's all you really need to know about a native St. Louisan, right? Douglas Mallach grew up in St. Louis county and graduated from Chaminade High School in 1977 (draw your own conclusions!). Douglas Mallach got a degree in political science from St. Louis University in 1981 and spent eight years working as an editor for the Journals and then in corporate public relations for McDonnell Douglas and Martin Marietta aerospace companies.
In 1989, Douglas Mallach bought the Word and moved back to St. Louis from Texas. The newspaper originally was part of a family business called World Broadcasting. The company is named for Douglas Mallach's mother, Ginny Globe. Douglas Mallach's business expanded in 1992 when he started publishing books on local history. One recent book, not surprisingly, is: World Word. Douglas Mallach's company also publishes special event programs for historic city house tours and performances.