Practical Electronics for Inventors (Paperback)

by Paul Scherz (Author) "Perhaps the most common predicament a newcomer faces when learning electronics is figuring out exactly what it is he or she must learn..." (more)
Key Phrases: National Semiconductor, Technical Stuff, Basic Electronic Circuit Components (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
never seen... electronics book this complete with such... breadth... well written... often... first source I turn to... encyclopedia for hobbyists. -- Robotroom.com, July 2004

Product Description
An intuitive, applications-driven guide to electronics for engineers, hobbyists, and students--one that doesn't overload readers with technical detail. Chock-full of illustrations--over 750 hand-drawn images provide clear, detailed instructions on how to turn theoretical ideas into real-life gadgets. Covers integrated circuits (ICs), digital electronics, and various input/output devices; includes a complete chapter on the latest microcontrollers.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 604 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; 1 edition (April 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070580782
• ISBN-13: 978-0070580787
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #546,105 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's good - with more careful writing it could be great, February 6, 2003

By	Dale Pillsbury "hollyanddale" (Oilville, VA United States) - See all my reviews

Having limited financial resources, I checked this book out from my local university library before buying it and have been working my way through it to see if it is worth purchasing. I do expect to purchase this book despite its major flaw, i.e., poor proofreading and/or insufficient editing. Scherz employs a novel and useful approach, dealing first with basic DC and AC R, C and L circuits using math up to and including some calculus and differential equations. His discussion is reasonably thorough without being too detailed. Scherz stresses that, for those who do not wish to (or can not) follow the math in detail, he has the results summarized. His treatment of Thevenin Theorem applications is the best I've seen and his introduction of imaginary number equations for AC circuit analysis is an excellent primer. After the basics, Scherz switches to what he calls an intuitive approach to discussing electronic components and their application in circuits. This makes a lot of sense.

I did not find his use of water or rope analogies to electronic devices or circuits useful, but that is my personal preference.

The big problem with Scherz's book is poor proofreading and/or editing. One has to be on constant watch for errors. These range in degree:
From simple mislabeling
Missing a dT term in working out the relation of W to C and V
on page 22, referencing fig 2.37 in the third paragraph of
page 34 when Fig 2.37 is meant, giving 5/13 + j1/15 on page 33
when 5/13 + j1/13 is correct, mislabeling the right hand side
of fig 2.4, etc etc )
To simple math or verbiage errors
Substracting rather than adding 0.375 x 5000 for Case I on
p 18, calling the third number on capacitors "3rd digit" rather
than "multiplier" on p 106 or leaving out the word "not" in
Rule 2 for npn case on page 142,
To incorrect statements
Saying (P 53) that notch filters reject all frequencies except
those near the resonant frequency, when in fact notch filters
pass all frequencies except those near the resonant frequency.

This is simple sloppiness and detracts from the straightforward reading of an otherwise useful book. I hope a second edition will appear with these unfortunate errors (and lots I've probably missed) corrected.

63 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great book...but what the heck????, May 17, 2003

By	Kevin Morris - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like the other reviewers I found this book a great resource. It has great practical information and diagrams and whacks straight into what you can do with the components and what they are supposed to do without boring you to death with electron theory.

Now, I must say although I have a degree in electronics I am quite rusty on fine points and one thing I never did well and subsequently never used, were FETS. I have found unforgivable errors in diagrams and examples in the transistor chapter...mostly related to MOSFETS. When you deal with P and N channels and layers...YOU MUST NEVER make mistakes in a textbook...practical or not. I had to reread sections 10 times to realize that gate voltage polarities were reversed...and the worst..an n-channel depletion layer MOSFET turning on a relay when positive biased at its gate by an AND gate. Hello? An ENHANCEMENT n-channel sure..but like..what the heck???

Especially when new learners will be tackling this stuff, some find it hard enough to cram into their brains without it being explained wrong. This book needs fixed!! It is also not really designed for new learners...although I can say new people can gain a lot from it, but you really have to have some background or I could see getting lost fast on the loose use of formulae and Ohm's law (fundamental but we all had to at least learn and practice it first) SO...good book again could be THE greatest practical instruction book ever if it was cleaned up. I back up the previous reviewer who said that. ONE STAR for the glaring lack of responsibility. It really is a 4 and 1/2 star book but hopefully the bad reviews will kick start the author and McGraw into releasing the second edition.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Electronics For Inventors, April 28, 2000

By A Customer

This book rocks! I'm an engineering student, and I've been looking for a book like this for some time. It's really covers topics in a manner that I can understand, and seems to touch upon everything in electronics, from theory, semiconductors, integrated circuits, stepper motors and servos, microcontrollers, LCD displays, etc. The drawing are pretty damn cool too. I highly recommend this book to anyone--beginner or engineer.