Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits Volume I

This was a replacement. My old one got lost somewhere along the way. There are an incredible number of circuits in this book. I've only built a few, and they've all worked. Some are complete circuits. Some are only stages, or parts of a bigger project. A few circuits are a little vague, and expect that you have some knowledge of electronics to fill in the missing values. It is a big book, 760 pages worth. There are 1300 circuits broken down into 98 categories covering everything from Alarms to Zero Crossing Detectors. If you can't find what you need, don't worry. This is only volume 1.

If you read ALL the reviews of ALL seven volumes of Graf's general encyclopedia series, PLUS Graf's 5 "specialty" circuit books (Oscillators, Amplifiers, Detectors, Measuring and Converters), you'll get a noticeable trend: these books are either for very new hobbyists or designers OR very experienced engineers! Both are actually right, as the series depends on your goals. Since a lot of the info is outdated, it also means a lot is public domain, and you can find some real "gem ideas" that have been forgotten, and with modern component updates, can become the material for a new patent, or components thereof. Circle M's are usually abandoned within 9 years, and didn't even exist back then. In that vein of advanced scanning, another advanced requirement is the ability to calculate missing values and spot mistakes. Eg. Graf gives a digital power monitor circuit with a missing reset switch and only one (R2) of two resistor values. You can use VSense=r1 + 10K/10K * 2.3, for example, to solve for r1, and use vsense over your VTP, with test values, to get your max voltage. So, for the newbies, hobbyists and new inventors. Hey, with the right attitude, figuring out the mistakes (without blowing yourself up or burning your garage down) can be a challenge! If you compare circuits with online resources and the awesome McGraw Hill circuit (troubleshooting) series (volume 4 is awesome but very rare and expensive-- had to buy if from India: McGraw-Hill Circuit Encyclopedia and Troubleshooting Guide, Volume 4 ), you can become the Sherlock Holmes of the design world with this series! Think of it as a puzzle and you won't get as ticked off as some of this series' reviewers seem to! I test circuits, especially for law firms and inventors, at payroy dot com, for reference, so my perspective and bias is new as well as experienced inventors. If you're an inventor and combine these series with, for example, Practical Electronics for Inventors, Third Edition , you'll have a wonderful and huge set of resources to compare TO the modern web or even smartphone app circuit resources. They say a chess grandmaster has 50,000 positions memorized, I'm guessing that the best inventors eventually have thousands of circuits in mind too! Learning to judge the bad from the good is what the other reviewers who trash this series know how to do-- but studying both good and bad is a GREAT way to learn the difference, as well as spot undiscovered or forgotten gems. Old isn't always bad!!! Library Picks reviews only for the benefit of Amazon shoppers and has nothing to do with Amazon, the authors, manufacturers or publishers of the items we review. We always buy the items we review for the sake of objectivity, and although we search for gems, are not shy about trashing an item if it's a waste of time or money for Amazon shoppers. If the reviewer identifies herself, her job or her field, it is only as a point of reference to help you gauge the background and any biases.

I thought it’d smell like mothballs or aging binding glue, but it arrived almost perfectly new. I was delighted at the quality and can happily add this to my personal library. Very interesting book to peruse.

This book delivers a great starting point for circuits for those who know what they are doing. If you know nothing about electronics it can still be a good reference toward the day you do learn something about the subject.

I actually received this order and was as supposed.

This is my fifth review of different books in this series and like all the others this one is chok full of useful circuits for just about any application you can think of. I highly recommend the whole series.

This series of books (7 volumes in all) contain a lot of circuits from a variety of sources. Some pertinent notes: 1. The first volume was published in 1985 and the last volume in 1999. The joke in the electronics industry is that 5 years is one 'forever'. Hence, the oldest volume is five 'forevers' old and the latest volume is two 'forevers' old. Expect to see circuits with obsolete parts and don't expect to see 'leading edge' anything. 2. The author has assembled an anthology of circuits from a variety of sources: hobby magazines, semiconductor application notes, and, I suspect a soiled napkin here and there with some scribblings in grease pencil. The circuits are copied verbatim from their sources--there was no attempt to harmonize either the schematics into a consistent style or rationalize the supporting commentary. Some circuits are modestly blessed with explantory detail and some are not (and I mean absolutely not). The completeness and perhaps even accuracy will vary from page to page. 3. The circuits aren't particuarly complex. You will be hard pressed to find anything in the book with more than a handful of ICs and transistors--and many of the circuits are pretty trivial. So, who would benefit from the collection? --- Someone who is really interested in electronics but lacks practical experience. You can glean some useful ideas and techniques by observing how others have implemented specific circuits. --- Someone who doesn't need a lot of hand holding. If you need COMPLETE and ACCURATE information on whatever you build--this probably isn't a good book for you. No disrespect intended -- we all started as rank novices -- but if you can't extrapolate some details and substitute ancient devices for something more 'this millenium' then you will be frustrated with these volumes. --- Someone willing to hunt for a bargain. I purchased the first four volumes in the series "used" for an average price under $4/book. For that level of outlay, I can scan through these anthologies, get an idea or two and not feel bad about the experience. I am currently wrestling with the conundrum about the last three volumes that are still selling for 'real' dollars.

Very detailed information. Well illustrated.