[PDF] Encyclopedia of Electronic Components Volume 1 by Platt

Preface to Encyclopedia of Electronic Components

At a time when data is extensively and freely out there in larger portions than ever earlier than, the reader might ponder whether The Encyclopedia of Electronic Components is absolutely crucial.

Certainly, something you need to know will be discovered on-line? Effectively, sure and no. Let’s think about the out there sources.

Datasheets

Datasheets are indispensable, however they’ve limitations. Some are detailed; others are skimpy. Some present you pattern schematics as a information to utilizing a element; many don’t.

None of them tells you a lot about how a element works as a result of that’s not their objective. Usually they don’t point out different elements that have to be added.

Some datasheets for DC-DC converters, as an illustration, say nothing in any respect about bypass capacitors, though the capacitors could also be important. A datasheet for an optocoupler says nothing in regards to the pullup resistor required by the open collector output.

Datasheets don’t facilitate comparability purchasing. A datasheet from one producer won’t examine its merchandise with these from one other producer, and will not even present a lot steering about alternate options which are out there from the identical producer.

For instance, a datasheet for a linear voltage regulator gained’t recommend that you just would possibly do higher to make use of a DC-DC converter in an utility the place excessive effectivity is necessary. Most of all, datasheets don’t inform you the way to keep away from widespread errors.

What really occurs in case you join that tantalum capacitor the improper means round? A datasheet offers you the customary record of absolute most values, and after that, you might be by yourself, burning issues out, encountering mysterious digital conduct, and discovering limitations which are so well-known, the datasheet didn’t trouble to say them.

In my expertise, counting on datasheets creates a big threat of reinventing the wheel.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia’s protection of electronics is spectacular however inconsistent. Some entries are elementary, whereas others are extraordinarily technical.

Some are shallow, whereas others are deep. Some are nicely organized, whereas others run off into obscure matters which will have one of the contributors however are of little sensible worth to most readers.

Many matters are distributed over a number of entries, forcing you to hunt by a number of URLs. General, Wikipedia tends to be good if you need principle, however not-so-good if you need hands-on practicality.

Producers’ Tutorials

A couple of useful and enlightened producers have compiled extremely authoritative, tutorial overviews of the elements that they promote.

Littelfuse, as an illustration, publishes a superb sequence of paperwork telling you the whole lot you would probably need to find out about fuses.

However now you encounter a distinct downside: There may be a lot data, you’ll want a pair of hours to dig by all of it. Additionally, as a result of the tutorials have a tendency to not obtain excessive web page rankings on Google, they are often arduous to seek out.

And if a producer has gaps in its product line, its tutorial is unlikely to say them. Consequently, you gained’t know what’s lacking.

Private Guides

It’s a well-known attribute of the Internet that many people really feel the impulse to share the whole lot they know (or suppose they know) a couple of specific subject.

These private guides can current surprisingly thorough on-line protection of comparatively obscure points, corresponding to the categories of capacitors most fitted for loudspeaker crossover circuits, or the right derivation of amp-hour numbers for lead-acid batteries.

Sadly, on some websites it’s also possible to discover errors, unsubstantiated opinions, plagiarism, and eccentricity. My basic rule is that three or extra guides usually should agree with one another earlier than their statements will be trusted—and even then, I’ve a small residue of doubt.

The search-inspect-and-verify course of can take some time. So—sure, the data that you really want often does exist someplace on-line, however no, it will not be simple to seek out.

The vastness of the Internet isn’t organized like an encyclopedia. What about books? Typically talking, they are typically entry-level, or they concentrate on slender areas.

A couple of broad-ranging books are really wonderful, however they’re primarily academic, organized in an tutorial sequence. They don’t seem to be reference books.

The Encyclopedic Answer

Shortage or inaccessibility of data ceased to be an issue a few years in the past. Its huge amount, inconsistency, and dispersal have develop into the brand new limitations to buying data.

If it’s important to go searching amongst datasheets, Wikipedia, producers’ tutorials (which can or might not exist), private guides (which can have unrevealed bias), and a number of academic books, the method shall be inconvenient and time-consuming.

In case you plan to revisit the subject sooner or later, you’ll have to recollect which URLs have been helpful and which of them weren’t—and chances are you’ll discover that many of them should not even there anymore.

Once I thought of these points throughout my very own work as an electronics columnist for Make journal, I noticed an actual want for a fact-checked, cross-referenced encyclopedia that might compile the fundamental details about elements concisely, in an organized, constant format, with informative pictures, schematics, and diagrams.

It’d save many individuals loads of search time if it might summarize how elements work, the way to use them, what the alternate options are, and what the widespread errors and issues could also be. That’s the modest ambition of The Encyclopedia of Electronic Components.

The Viewers

Like all reference work, this one hopes to serve two classes of readers: The knowledgeable and the not-yet-informed. Maybe you might be studying electronics, and also you see an element listed in a catalog.

It appears fascinating, however the catalog doesn’t inform you precisely what the half does or how it’s generally used. It’s good to look it up both by operate or by identify, however you’re undecided the place to start out. An encyclopedic reference can simplify the fact-finding course of, can prevent from ordering an element that could be inappropriate, and may inform you the way it needs to be used.

Maybe, as a substitute, you might be an electronics engineer or hobbyist, enthusiastic about a brand new circuit. You keep in mind utilizing a element three or 4 years in the past, however your recollection will not be dependable.

It’s good to refresh your reminiscence with a fast abstract—and so, you open the encyclopedia, simply to verify.

Completeness

Clearly, this ebook can’t embrace each element that exists. Mouser Electronics claims to have greater than 2 million merchandise listed in its on-line database.

The Encyclopedia of Electronic Components solely has room for a fraction of that quantity—however nonetheless, it may well refer you to the first sorts.

The digital version of this ebook ought to permit simple insertions and updates. My hope is that it may well develop into an ever-expanding useful resource.

Acknowledgments

Any reference work attracts inspiration from many sources, and this one is not any exception. Three have been of particular significance:

Sensible Electronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz (second version) McGraw-Hill, 2007

Electronic Units and Circuit Principle by Robert L. Boylestad and Louis Nashelsky (ninth version) Pearson Schooling Inc., 2006

The Artwork of Electronics by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill (second version) Cambridge College Press, 2006

I additionally made in depth use of data gleaned by Mouser Electronics and Jameco Electronics.

And the place would any of us be with out Getting Began in Electronics by Forrest M. Mims III, or The TTL Cookbook by Don Lancaster? As well as, there have been people who supplied particular help.

My editor, Brian Jepson, was immensely useful within the growth of the mission. Michael Butler contributed vastly to the early idea and its construction. Josh Gates did resourceful analysis. My publishers, O’Reilly Media, demonstrated their religion in my work.

Kevin Kelly unwittingly influenced me along with his legendary curiosity in “entry to instruments.” Main reality checkers have been Eric Moberg, Chris Lirakis, Jason George, Roy Rabey, Emre Tuncer, and Patrick Fagg.

I’m indebted to them for his or her assist. Any remaining errors are, of course, my duty. Lastly I ought to point out my faculty associates from many years in the past:

Hugh Levinson, Patrick Fagg, Graham Rogers, William Edmondson, and John Witty, who helped me to really feel that it was okay to be a nerdy child constructing my very own audio gear, lengthy earlier than the phrase “nerd” existed.

Encyclopedia of Electronic Components Volume 1+2+3 PDF

Author(s): Charles Platt

Publisher: Make

Year: 2012

ISBN: 1449333893