Understanding Basic Electronics – A Step-by-Step Guide to Electricity, Electronics, and Simple Circuits

I purchased two beginner's electronic books and they both proved to be as described on Amazon. This one is more about reading and thinking while the "Maker" book is more about hands-on experiments. The two are a great complement. This one is perfect when you just want to read, learn, and understand without sitting a desk fiddling with anything. Sometimes that's the best way I learn. Other times I need to "touch" the work to learn. Both work great.

Bought this for a grandson for his birthday. He said it was helpful and he used it a lot to figure out what he was doing. Good book for the value.

This is an interesting book, as it covers a broad amount of subject matter. I struggled with the organization a bit, as Unit 1 - Introduction, seemed to cross into specifics, and some of the other sections seemed to be just introductory. Also, it seems to present some concepts in more depth than related topics. For example, capacitive and inductive reactive responses to frequency are presented, but passive filters are barely touched if at all, while resonant circuits are discussed in more detail. This may be due the importance of resonant circuits in Amateur Radio. In all, I find the depth on par for an introductory text but the breadth of topics inconsistent. As I read more, I found many of the explanations well thought out and easy to absorb. There seems to be some hidden gems of knowledge that aren't represented in the table of contents, which is great, but points to an organization issue. I like this book a lot.

Lots of good info for the amateur, and it's easy to read - small bites. Worth the money.

Sins book came in fast and amazing condition.

This book is targeting readers who are new to electronics. The content is very basic and the language is kept simple - about on the same level with what is taught in some high schools. Math is simple and also very well explained. Any concepts discussed in the book are explained from ground up. You are not just presented with how something works but the author helps you discover it yourself from the very foundation throughout the book why things work as they do.The book starts to explain conductors and insulators and what current and voltage really means. Next resistors are discussed with Kirchoff's and Ohm's laws. Once this foundation is built, the book moves on to explore the difference between DC and AC and how to calculate impedances with capacitors and inductors before the book starts to dive into semiconductors. The common semiconductors such as diodes, bipolar transistors, and different FETs are explained. The last chapters talk about linear (analog) and digital integrated circuits. The appendix has some valuable information about thermionic (vacuum) tubes which are still found today in high powered radio transmitters.The book is an easy read and helps the newbie to understand the basics of electronics. The book teaches more than you need for the Technician or General exam but less than what is required for the Extra.

If you're just getting started with electronics as a hobby, I recommend this book as your introduction. This book was very well thought out in it's presentation, unlike other books I've purchased, or free courses I sought out online to supplement the books that left me feeling like I'm missing something.This book is very easy to read, has many diagrams, explains things very thoroughly, and provides points that help you integrate what you're learning with real world examples. At times it seems a bit repetitive, but I very much appreciate the fact that the repetition of some points confirms that I understood the point when it was mentioned earlier, and helps me avoid having to go back and reference the previous point. Each section in each chapter builds upon the points previously provided. I've only had this book for 2-3 days and I'm almost practically half way through the book, and excited that I'm finally integrating these concepts together, instead of having floating concepts that I learned from previous books that are missing some understanding that I've needed to move forward and continue learning.

It is a good basic electronic self study but it has one flaw: the sections or chapters of the book need better organization. It will be a much better book if the author presents new material upon each previous chapter in a coherent manner.