Active Filter Cookbook, Second Edition (Paperback)

~ DON LANCASTER (Author) "A filter is a frequency-selective network that favors certain frequencies of input signals at the expense of others..." (more)
Key Phrases: scale all capacitors, quadrature art, ultimate attenuation rate, Flattest Amp, Gain Gain Component Response, Decibels Tolerance Best Delay (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This Don Lancaster classic is by far the best-selling active filter book of all time. It gives you everything you need to know to build active lowpass, bandpass, and highpass filters.


An active filter needs no inductors. Instead, op amps, resistors, and capacitors are used for better results. Advantages include lower cost, easy tuning, simple design, and modularity. Lancaster's Active Filter Cookbook includes practical elements such as working circuits, ready-to-use design tables, tuning, and real-world applications, making it easy to use and apply. You'll find both instant design and the mathematics behind coverage. Microcomputer pioneer Don Lancaster is the author of 34 books, 2 videos and countless articles and columns in technical magazines. He also heads Synergetics, an Arizona-based design and consulting firm.

From the Publisher

An active filter needs no inductors. Instead, op amps, resistors, and capacitors are used for better results. Advantages include lower cost, easy tuning, simple design, and modularity. Lancaster's Active Filter Cookbook includes practical elements such as working circuits, ready-to-use design tables, tuning, and real-world applications, making it easy to use and apply. You'll find both instant design and the mathematics behind coverage.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Newnes; 2 edition (August 27, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075062986X
• ISBN-13: 978-0750629867
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #525,689 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lancaster's Active Filter Cookbook, Second Edition, October 31, 2000

By	prfssr (Monterey, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Owners of Lancaster's original Active Filter Cookbook: read on. I just bought Lancaster's Active Filter Cookbook, Second Edition. For years I have owned a copy of the original (1975) edition (mine is the 17th (1992) SAMS reprinting). Based on a cursory inspection, I can find no difference between the 1992 reprinting of the original edition and the so-called second edition. The Preface, the Table of Contents, the page numbering, the contents of numerous pages I examined, the List of References, the Index, are all identical, as far as I can tell. There is no new preface to the second edition. There is no description, either inside or on the outside cover, of what has been changed in the second edition. Based on my examination, I would recommend that, if you already own a copy of the first edition, there is no reason to buy the second.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hands-on, real-world active filter cookbook..., July 30, 2001

By	Nick Soudas (Lake Mary, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Active Filter Cookbook (Paperback)

I bought the second edition cookbook in the early '90s. I have used Mr. Lancasters' book to design many audio active filters. I am ordering another copy of the "Active Filter Cookbook" because I gave away my other copy to an engineer in Asia (while on a business trip) who desparately needed it. The math is kept to a minimum, but very accurate if good quality parts (Op-Amps, resistors, caps etc) are used. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific topic, which makes reading very easy. Mr. Lancaster arms the reader with the tools neccessary to understand, build and/or modify existing designs. I would only recommend this book to readers who have built previous projects, as Mr. Lancaster does not go into any construction details/techniques.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent pracitcal book, May 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Active-Filter Cookbook (Paperback)

I have used this book to design many active filters for audio applications. The book is non-mathematical in nature, many design tables are given, but most importantly the book connects theory and real world applications. Many other books are way too theoretical in nature to be of any use. If you want to build filter circuits, then this book is a must. If you want lots of elegant mathematics, look elsewhere. An excellent book.