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Ok found a PDF and scanned through it. This appears to be a rehash of older material, going back as far as the 90s, as I recognise some of the graphics and expl

by uuyi 4y ago

Ok found a PDF and scanned through it. This appears to be a rehash of older material, going back as far as the 90s, as I recognise some of the graphics and explanations. Newnes seem to make a great effort to retitle and reuse stuff in this capacity. It doesn’t look like a terrible book to be fair but limited in explanation and use. Worthy of the title perhaps. If I was at ground zero now I’d probably buy that, then do Khan Academy algebra and calculus, then pick up Art of Electronics and then Sedra/Smith. Art of Electronics is really important as it discusses applied theory rather than just theory. The real world is a lot less ideal and has edge cases and problems galore in it and concerns which don’t even appear in theoretical texts. I honestly wish I had all this stuff as a kid. Had to put up with local library contents which were full of garbage.

lbriner 4y ago
It depends what you want to do and at what level. There are many Makers in the world who don't have and don't need the AoE, it is a tome written a while back before lots of circuits came pre-packaged and which in many cases people don't care about how they work, as long as they just work. Remember back in the day, to make a high powered audio amp, you needed a tonne of components and now you can get a 150W amp on a chip with a couple of external components. Some people will be interested in how each section works but many just want an audio amp! If you were learning formally/professionally, that would be very different and the narrative in the AoE is very useful, especially around improving transistor characteristics by building up supporting components.
- uuyi 4y ago
  The problem is that line of thinking only scales to when things work using the very basic level of abstraction presented. A 150W audio amplifier is a surprisingly difficult thing to get working right, even with an off the shelf IC. You have to consider grounding, trace impedances, current density, power supply quality, filtering and parasitics really otherwise you end up with wildly oscillating nightmares or exploding amplifier ICs.
- Terry_Roll 4y ago
  > Remember back in the day, to make a high powered audio amp, you needed a tonne of components and now you can get a 150W amp on a chip with a couple of external components. Some people will be interested in how each section works but many just want an audio amp! Careful you might get Audiophiles arguing that an IC doesnt cut the mustard.
- lysp 4y ago
  > There are many Makers in the world who don't have and don't need the AoE, it is a tome written a while back before lots of circuits came pre-packaged and which in many cases people don't care about how they work, as long as they just work. Are you talking about the 2nd edition (1989) or the updated 3rd edition (2015)?

by uuyi 4y ago

lbriner 4y ago

It depends what you want to do and at what level. There are many Makers in the world who don't have and don't need the AoE, it is a tome written a while back before lots of circuits came pre-packaged and which in many cases people don't care about how they work, as long as they just work. Remember back in the day, to make a high powered audio amp, you needed a tonne of components and now you can get a 150W amp on a chip with a couple of external components. Some people will be interested in how each section works but many just want an audio amp! If you were learning formally/professionally, that would be very different and the narrative in the AoE is very useful, especially around improving transistor characteristics by building up supporting components.

uuyi 4y ago
The problem is that line of thinking only scales to when things work using the very basic level of abstraction presented. A 150W audio amplifier is a surprisingly difficult thing to get working right, even with an off the shelf IC. You have to consider grounding, trace impedances, current density, power supply quality, filtering and parasitics really otherwise you end up with wildly oscillating nightmares or exploding amplifier ICs.
Terry_Roll 4y ago
> Remember back in the day, to make a high powered audio amp, you needed a tonne of components and now you can get a 150W amp on a chip with a couple of external components. Some people will be interested in how each section works but many just want an audio amp! Careful you might get Audiophiles arguing that an IC doesnt cut the mustard.
lysp 4y ago
> There are many Makers in the world who don't have and don't need the AoE, it is a tome written a while back before lots of circuits came pre-packaged and which in many cases people don't care about how they work, as long as they just work. Are you talking about the 2nd edition (1989) or the updated 3rd edition (2015)?