A Practical Introduction to Electronic Circuits

by Martin Hartley Jones

Book Overview

The effective learning of electronics must involve practical experience in circuit building. This book provides a practical explanation of electronics, understandable to any reader with some knowledge of electrical circuits. Martin Hartley Jones presents a full account of the subject, starting with basic concepts such as amplification, and progressing to analog and digital IC chip applications, including a lucid account of microcomputers. All the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521478790
• ISBN13: 9780521478793
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 548 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.9" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

I assume this is a college text somewhere...

Got this book from the library, it is amazing. This book explained the concept of 'negative feedback' better than any other book that I have read to date. This is an absolute must-have for amplifier designers/tinkerers. Wish I could afford it.

the new gold standard for electronics

If I could give this book 10 stars I would - it's that good. It's the best all-around electronics book for those non-EE people interested in understanding electronics. Be aware it does not cover the basics like DC or AC circuits. Doesn't cover capacitors or inductors. Nor does it cover diodes or circuit theorems or meters or magnetism. This book assumes you know those basics already. This book is primarily devoted to the study of solid state amplification - FETs and bipolar junction transistors. It covers both with equal depth and clarity. It does have a short chapter on vacuum tubes just for completeness. The math is straightforward (basic algebra and a bit of calculus) but what makes this book special are the descriptions of what's happening. It's absolutely crystal clear at all times. 11 of the 14 chapters are devoted to amplification and related topics like power supplies. The remaining chapters are on oscillators and digital circuits. Another aspect that makes it so readable is the layout of the text and diagrams on the page. A nice large font was used and the character spacing is generous. The line diagrams are very clear. All of this combines for a book that's never an eye strain and a joy to read. There are no end-of-chapter problems. Ordinarily this would be a negative. But the circuits presented are intended to be built and experimented with. This is the only true way to learn the subject. The author has identified all the components you'll need including IC pinouts! It's the only book I've seen to take this approach. I'd pick this book as the new gold standard over Horowitz and Hill (H & H). The present work covers 70-80% of the analog topics found in H & H but does so with much greater clarity.

Excellent Book

If you really want to understand how transistor amplifiers work (among may other devices) this is the book for you. I'm not an electronics engineer and I've read many books that have left me none the wiser. This however is the first book I found where author explains in plain English how stuff works and why. Worth every penny.

Exceptional book, not for novices

Don't be swayed by M. T. "mtartagni"'s review - as he said, it was his mistake - he was obviously looking for something different. This book is an exceptional intro to electronics but not for the novice. Suggest you start with "Foundation Electronics" by B G Barker (if still in print) if you are just starting out. Why so good - some of the best engineers I have worked with have one piece of advice - understand electronics at the physics level and you will easily understand any circuit, be able to fault trace quickly and even build your own equipment from scratch. Electronic math is ok but no substitute for knowing what those darned electrons are up to. This book takes you from the physics through to theoretical and practical examples and will get you a long way to becommining an electronics engineer.

The best ways to describe the science of electronics.

I read too many books in electronics most of them try to explain the electronics using abstract method or as it is. This book is different, it shows you the theory with method or a model and the logic is very well explained. If you are tired from understanding the basic concepts such as amplification, power supplies, oscillators and digital circuits from other text books, try this book and trust me it will improve your skills in electronics dramatically. Also I believe this book will be a good and valuable reference with other advanced textbook in electronics. This is an excellent book for the beginners in the world of electronics.