RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Electronic books

Lessons in Electric Circuits, by Tony R. Kuphaldt. This is an open source book available on the web. http://www.faqs.org/docs/electric/ or

http://openbookproject.net/electricCircuits/

Socratic Elelctronics, also from Kuphaldt, http://www.openbookproject.net/books/socratic/

Circuit Theory, an open WIKI book. This is an open source book available on the web. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Circuit_Theory

Electronics, an open WIKI book. This is an open source book available on the web.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Electronics

Circuit Idea, This is something different. It is not really a book. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Circuit_Idea

Semiconductors, As the name implies, this wikibook focuses on semiconductors. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Semiconductors

Analogue (European spelling) Circuits, yet another wikibook. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Analogue_Electronics

Electronics/Op-Amps, focus on the very important subject of op-amps. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Electronics/Op-Amps

Op-Amps for everyone. Texas Instruments. http://www.siongboon.com/projects/2008-04-27_analog_electronics/op%20amps%20for%20everyone%20third%20edition%202009%20%28Texas%20Instrument%29.pdf

Books

Electronics is a rapidly changing field. You should consider the copyright date on any reference material. You should also look for the most recent edition.

The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill (second edition). This book gets my highest recommendation. It is considered to be the "bible" on electronics by many physicists. The bibliography in the back of the book (page 1095) gives references with short descriptions.

Student manual for The Art of Electronics by Hayes and Horowitz. This is more than just a lab manual. A great deal of theory is presented here as well.

Basic Electronics for Scientists by James J. Brophy (fifth edition) This is a general, introductory text written from an experimental scientist view.

Principles of Electronics Instrumentation by A. James Diefenderfer (second edition) This is a general, introductory text written with the scientist in mind. It does use a little calculus.

An Introduction to Modem Electronics by William L. Faissler. This is a general, introductory text, covering a wide variety of topics. It uses some calculus.

Electronic Circuit Design by T .H. O'Dell. As the tile implies, this text goes beyond an introduction to electronics and gets into the design of electronic circuits. It does not derive equations therefore it does not use calculus. It is available in paper back.

Electrical circuits: an introduction by K.C.A. Smith and R.E. Alley. Despite the subtitle, this is not an introductory book, as I have used the term to describe other books. It is a first year electrical engineering book. It makes use of calculus including differential equations. It is available in paperback.

Digital and Microprocessor Electronics for Scientific Application by Dennis Barnaal. As the title indicates, the concentration is on digital and microprocessor circuits. The book is fairly introductory with no calculus background required. It is available in paperback.

Intuitive IC OP Amps by Thomas M. Frederiksen. This is an introductory book. It uses a little calculus but not much. It has plenty of practical circuits with specific values and examples, with numbers.

Analog Electronics with Qp Amps by A.J. Peyton and V. Walsh. This is an introductory book. It does not use any calculus. It has plenty of practical circuits with specific values and examples with numbers.

Hobbyist books

The Radio Amateur's Handbook published by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). First published in 1926, it is updated frequently. It has, what many consider to be one of the best introductions to basic electronics in existence. It is obviously a great source for an introduction to radio communications. I have seen them on sale in a variety of places, including grocery stores. Electronics shops such as Radio Shack usually sell them. They are, I believe, only available in paperback.

Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits Volumes 1-3 by Rudolf F. Graf. Chances are the circuit you want to design has already been designed at least once. This encyclopedia has over 700 circuits.

How to build and use electronic devices without frustration, panic, mountains of money, or an engineering degree by Stuart A. Hoening. (second edition) This has to be one of the longest titles in the world. It is obviously for the hobbyist, but it gives more background on the circuit than many. It uses op amps extensively.

The master IC Cookbook by Clayton L. Hallmark. Basically a collection of abbreviated data sheets of hundreds of ICs.

note: many other "cookbooks" exist. Do not overlook the introductions. They contain very useful information.

The 555 Timer Applications Sourcebook with Experiments by Howard M. Berlin. As the name indicates, a book devoted to circuits which use the 555 chip.

Radio Shack publishes lots of "mini-notebooks" as well as other specific publications.

Magazines and Journals

There are thousands of electronics magazines. Some are even free. You can peruse them at you local library.

Nuts and Volts Magazine: I personally subscribe to this one because it has a wide variety of articles. It covers the spectrum from simple circuits to lasers. 1-800-783-4624 Interestingly, they are local, Colton.

California Council of Electronics Instructors. Inc. (CCED Newsletter: Comes with $15.00 annual dues. Call Tom Diskin at 415-574-6133.

Data sheets. Application notes, etc

Sam's photofacts: Circuit diagrams of many consumer electronics devices (televisions, telephones, stereos, etc) are available. Many electronics stores carry these are similar publications. They can even be found in some libraries.

Most major electronics provide data sheets on components as well as other publications such as application notes. The Physics department has a collection of publications from such manufacturers as Motorola, Texas Instruments, National Semiconductor, and Intel.

IC master Comprehensive selection guides and thousands of pages of data sheets.

SUPPLIES

Almost everyone agrees that the best way to learn electronics is by DOING IT, therefore, a good supply source is essential.

Local

Radio Shack: Almost everyone knows about Radio Shack. Many large metropolitan areas have several stores. Not all stores are the same. Some specialize in consumer electronics and have only a modest selection of parts for the hobbyist. It has also been my experience that the expertise of the sales people varies, ranging from very knowledgeable to dangerously ignorant. So, be careful about the advice you get, particularly when it comes to safety issues.

Mac’s Electronics: This is a “hard core” electronics store in San Bernardino and is located on E street across from the baseball stadium.

The electronics hobby shop is becoming very rare, but look around in the yellow pages or even contact your local area chamber of commerce. A good electronics hobby shop is a treasure if you can find one. Most of the "electronics" stores you find in the yellow pages are for household or commercial electronics such as light switches, electrical wiring, etc.

Mail Order

Newark electronics: (www.newark.com) Not always the least expensive, but arguably one of the most extensive sources of electronics parts and supplies. There is a minimum order. One quark about the Newark product index; if you do not find the solid state device you are looking for look under" semiconductors".

Allied Electronics Inc: (www.alliedelec.com) Another great catalog to have on hand.

Digi-Key Corporation: (www.digikey.com) Good selection of components.

MCM electronics: (www.mcmelectronics.com) This company carries a good selection of audio/video service products.

Jameco electronics (www.jameco.com) Good selection of educational materials.

All Electronics (www.allelectronics.com) Not as wide a selection as many others, but some very reasonable prices. They carry some project kits.

Marlin P. Jones & Assoc- Inc.: (www.mpja.com) Not as wide a selection but reasonable prices. They carry come project kits.

JDR Microdevices: (www.jdr.com) A limited selection of components but should have basic needs. A large selection of kits.

Electronic School Supply. Inc- (ESS): (www.esssales.com) Specializing in electronic supplies for schools and colleges. Very reasonable prices. They are willing supply custom lab kits. We purchased many of the components for the lab through them. They also have a selection of kits..

Information on the web.

Of course the web has a wealth of information.