The Art of Electronics Considered Dangerous

[tggzzz]

TAoE is a wonderful book, but it has its niggles and its dangers. First the niggles:

• it will disfigure an otherwise attractive bookshelf because the colour of the cover isn't "gold": a better description would be "nicotine stain". It is reminiscent of pre-smoking-ban pub walls and of truly dreadful 1970s British Leyland cars. Yuck.
• it occasionally refers to material in the 2nd edition. Fortunately I have a first edition.
• it appears the "RF tricks and tips" are missing. Fortunately I have a first edition.

Now the dangers, which really ought to be mitigated:

• your voice will be damaged and the neighbours annoyed by the repeated screaming, typically when coming across references to non-existent material: the "xChapters".
• work-related upper-limb disorders will increase; check your medical insurance. Typically I like to sit back and relax in a comfy chair and read entertaining books such as TAoE. I tried that last night and ended up with aching wrists and elbows due trying to hold the 2.5kg load in a reading position.

Fortunately the former can be easily rectified, albeit at some cost, simply by publishing the material. Pointers welcomed

The latter is more difficult to rectify. Maybe some enterprising hacker will produce a lectern exactly the right size for TAoE. Clearly that would be particularly attractive to people of this disposition: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/the-art-of-electronics-45119/msg639844/#msg639844

[lapm]

Wait, you didn't get the complimentary table book stand with it for easier reading?  Just joking, but sounds like someone with access to lase cutter could do some nice looking from acrylic sheets..

[Zad]

Wasn't there an Indian paperback version of 2nd Edn? If they do a version of the 3rd Edn it may be more to your liking. I agree about the colour though, it does look like the wallpaper of a Working Mens' Club circa 1981.

[Bud]

For a stand you can look for notebook bamboo cooling pads like the one in the picture. I saw a similar one at a local computer store and would go for it one day. It looked nice and had even more angle adjustment. The price is a bit of  a problem though but certainly the stand can be used for your other Bible-style reference books.

And heck, isn't it nice to have a fan cooled book stand
 

[tggzzz]

Wasn't there an Indian paperback version of 2nd Edn? If they do a version of the 3rd Edn it may be more to your liking.

Too late: I've spent my £47, and I'm not going to gdo it again

I agree about the colour though, it does look like the wallpaper of a Working Mens' Club circa 1981.

Sounds like nicotine! Fortunately there's no flock on the cover, phew. But, horriflingly, the top google reference for "flock wallpaper" starts with

"Flock wallpaper evokes a feeling of grandeur and class. It holds an opulence with its roots in the 18th century although it still retains a strong sense of classical beauty to this day. We at Graham & Brown have a wide range of flock wallpaper designs on show, created by iconic designers such as Laurence Llewelyn Bowen and Barbara Hulanicki. With such options, there is sure to be a flock design to suit your home design style needs.

Now I'm going to have to recheck the dictionary definitions of "class" and "beauty".

[tggzzz]

And heck, isn't it nice to have a fan cooled book stand

I know it's a hot book, but that's a bit .... extreme.

[Simon]

I've not paid too much attention to the cover, it may or may not be propper metalized gold ink that is not cheap and I think nice gold ink like what I used to use may have some environmental restrictions. There are also various strains of even metalized gold ink despite gold being gold.

I had some business card printed with gold as the logo was gold and the result was not like I used to get but the guy said something about it being very expensive or practically banned, can't remember.

[Simon]

of what I have read so far I'd say that it is NOT for a beginner and is poorly structured as things are not explained in order. Also for a book that claims minimal use of maths it just tells you what a sine wave is mathematically when it could have given a more practical explanation for a book that has minimal maths.

I've learnt one thing with books, as soon as the author states that all use of maths has been reduced to a minimum you know that they are talking bollocks and you best get a maths book to go with it.

[tggzzz]

of what I have read so far I'd say that it is NOT for a beginner

It is for a beginner engineer. As noted in the preface, it evolved from a set of notes for people at Harvard (undergrads, grads, advanced grads, post docs) who suddenly found themselves hampered by their ability to "do electronics".

I wish I'd had it while I was at school (UK school, not a higher education establishment). As it was I had to make do with library books, Wireless World and similar - which couldn't do more than describe a few pieces of a jigsaw.

and is poorly structured as things are not explained in order.

Well, if you could define a single correct order, you might have a point.

Also for a book that claims minimal use of maths it just tells you what a sine wave is mathematically when it could have given a more practical explanation for a book that has minimal maths. I've learnt one thing with books, as soon as the author states that all use of maths has been reduced to a minimum you know that they are talking bollocks and you best get a maths book to go with it.

Engineering requires maths, full stop. It isonly possible to get "so far" with handwaving and pretty pictures; to go beyond that point you need maths. End of story.

[LabSpokane]

Now the dangers, which really ought to be mitigated:

• your voice will be damaged and the neighbours annoyed by the repeated screaming, typically when coming across references to non-existent material: the "xChapters".

For those of us not in on the joke, could you please explain the "X-Chapters?"  Are those the chapters referred to in previous editions?  Or are there referrals to stuff that's just plain missing?

[tggzzz]

Now the dangers, which really ought to be mitigated:

• your voice will be damaged and the neighbours annoyed by the repeated screaming, typically when coming across references to non-existent material: the "xChapters".

For those of us not in on the joke, could you please explain the "X-Chapters?"  Are those the chapters referred to in previous editions?  Or are there referrals to stuff that's just plain missing?

See the end of page xxix and the start of page xxx, which refers to advanced and real world component topics that "...will instead be published in a forthcoming companion volume, The Art of Electronics: the xChapters".

For the avoidance of doubt, that doesn't detract from superb summaries of a vast range of real world component information in TAoE - much of which is not correlated elsewhere. That was a significant advantage of the 1st edition, and is a significant advantage of the 3rd edition.

[Simon]

If you want to talk about sine waves in the first chapter no need to resort to maths and formulas mention radians with no explanation. All you need to say is that take an XY graph and swing a line of constant length starting at the origin and swing it round the grass in a circle. The X is time the corresponding values on the circle with respect to Y are the individual amplitudes of the signal at that time of course the highest value being one or whatever maximum value you wish to use. Very simple explanation no need for maths unless you are going to have a proper mathematical discussion.

The mention of dynamic impedance and the examples given including zener diodes had no place in the basic explanation of resistance in the 1st chapter particularly before you have explained diodes in the 1st place and then suddenly there was already a comparator circuit. Is a total mishmash and is written as though the authors are worried the student will lose interest and think they are having to keep them occupied. For an absolute beginner it is total confusion. I can understand the concepts but then again I don't need to be reading that chapter or possibly the one after it. To claim that the book is for beginners is misleading, to claim that all unnecessarily use of maths has been removed is not really correct. The open-ended option of those familiar with calculus was given when talking about theremin's theory and maximum transfer of power. This is something which could have been better and more thoroughly explained with simpler maths than just saying if you know calculus you can go and work it out.

I am well aware that engineering requires maths. And this is why I have just completed a level III in maths because this was required by the University I am doing my HNC with before they would allow me to embark on an electronics course and with good reason. To be honest despite the introductory session to calculus which is supposed to be sufficient for me to undertake a HNC course I have no idea how to use calculus where mentioned above.

[Simon]

I am still trying to decide if the cover was printed with metallised gold ink or if it was the closest approximation with the 4 prime colours and their reliance laminating to make it look like gold.

[LabSpokane]

Wasn't there an Indian paperback version of 2nd Edn?

Yup.  It's red.

[mtdoc]

Mine just arrived.  Looks good - wavy pages and all.  $82 from The Book Depository. I haven't spent that much on a book since my student days!

As far as the level of math and suitability for beginners -Looking it over, I'd say they get it just about right - just as they did with the previous editions - at least IMHO.

I say this as a relative electronics beginner and someone who last took a math course 33 years ago and uses no more than simple math in my day job.

As a former college teacher I can say that no matter what level you teach at you will always have people who feel you are doing it at too low a level or too high a level.  I'd imagine many find TAOE dumbed down too much and many other find it overly complex. But I think most find the authors have struck a good balance.

[smjcuk]

Wasn't there an Indian paperback version of 2nd Edn? If they do a version of the 3rd Edn it may be more to your liking. I agree about the colour though, it does look like the wallpaper of a Working Mens' Club circa 1981.

Yeah this is the one I use and the best edition. Printed on strong toilet paper - doesn't kill you when reading it. Had an Indian friend send it to me. Cost about £12 including delivery if I remember (it was quite a while ago).

Having been brought up in pubs and working mens clubs in the 1980s (yuck) I couldn't agree more. It's supposed to look classy in gold but it looks like a gold iPhone (tacky).

Photo attached.

[rolycat]

I'd a shame that eReaders suck so much for this type of book. It would suit a good one well I think, with internal cross-references and links to external content where appropriate. Also, it wouldn't weigh 2.5kg.

Something like the Sony DPT-S1 would be great for this - a 13.3 inch, hi-resolution, e-ink screen optimised for PDFs. The price is prohibitive at the moment, though.

I'd guess that the publishers will resist ebook versions due to fears of piracy, though. Seminal references like this are prime targets.

[ConnorGames]

And we all know that it will never b pirated if they don't release an ebook version.