Was a classic but now outdated
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This book is an excellent introduction to electronics and as a practicing engineer I still find this book is useful to dip into as an aide memoir. The book is primarily practical, being at best sketchy on theory. Also much of the device specific information presented is now out of date (I guess H&H's expiry date was around 1985). These days the book would not be out of place in a museum of electronics history.
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Good investment for the engineering student
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As an electronic engineering graduate, this is the electronics Bible. It will definitely be useful for post practical reports like it was in my case, and it contains loads of useful references.
However, it's good to have a good book about circuit theory to better understand this book.
Then, It becomes a very good guide to the fundamentals of electronics, such as how transistors behave, as well as having a large number of "cookbook" examples of good and bad circuits.
It is written in a nice, easy, informal style, without heavy emphasis on mathematics. Although it is the kind of book you can dip into, it is actually readable enough to sit down with and read whole chapters - and there are precious few reference books you can do that with.
There are sections on transistors, FETs, discrete analogue circuits, timers, op-amps, how DACs and ADCs work (essential if you are doing any serious work with them), how to drive logic signals over large distances and why you need special line drivers, RS232 and UART operation, address decoding for peripherals, driving multiplexed displays, and many others.
If there is a downside to this book, it is that the specific information in the microprocessor section is a little dated. (The reference design uses a 68008, for example, although it does list the 68040 and 80486 as available.) However, the general principles of logic-driven designs are still sound, even if some of the actual specific devices have changed.
It's not cheap, but then it's a good investment
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A classic! The first serious book about electronics you should buy!
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If you are thinking about buying a book about electronics don't wait any longer. It is the most popular and complete book you can have. You will find everything you may ever want to know about electronics, designing electronics circuits, calculations, etc. It is not a book for beginners, though. There are plenty of mathematics, charts, definitions. It is great as a compendium for engineers and something you should buy if you no longer want to be a beginner.
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For real world engineering
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Some of the comments below say that this is not a great undergrads book. Well no, not for coursework (but great for your project work!). But AFTER you graduate you are quite likely to find that this is the only book you ever refer to. I threw my uni textbooks away years ago, I'm now on my third copy of this because people keep stealing it! Just wish someone would update it.
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An essential book for electronics enthusiasts
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As an electronics hobbyist, I must say that I can't rate this book highly enough. It is a very good introduction to the fundamentals of electronics, such as how transistors behave, as well as having a large number of "cookbook" examples of good and bad circuits. It is written in a nice, easy, informal style, without heavy emphasis on mathematics. Although it is the kind of book you can dip into, it is actually readable enough to sit down with and read whole chapters - and there are precious few reference books you can do that with. There are sections on transistors, FETs, discrete analogue circuits, timers, op-amps, how DACs and ADCs work (essential if you are doing any serious work with them), how to drive logic signals over large distances and why you need special line drivers, RS232 and UART operation, address decoding for peripherals, driving multiplexed displays, and many others. If there is a downside to this book, it is that the specific information in the microprocessor section is a little dated. (The reference design uses a 68008, for example, although it does list the 68040 and 80486 as available.) However, the general principles of logic-driven designs are still sound, even if some of the actual specific devices have changed. It's not cheap, but it's the best £45 I've paid out in a long time.
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