Electronics Book Reviews

 Why do I like this book?

If you've looked at other popular books in electronics, such as:

• The Art of Electronics.
• Practical Electronics for Inventors.
• Electronics for Dummies, the 9 in 1 book omnibus.

You'll notice that they are all, huge tomes of 1000 pages or more. Are they great books? Sure, but certainly not something I'd give a beginner! If you do, they'll use tomes like these as a door stop, or prop up their couch with it when a leg breaks.

Beginners are likely to be intimidated, or scared off, and use it for anything but training material. Frankly, it took me a long time to get "around" to using some of these books for anything but an occasional reference.

The catch phrase on Make: Electronics, "Burn things out, mess things up, that's how you learn" is appealing to a guy who had to fumble his way through the old Funway Electronics kits sold by Dick Smith stores back in the 90s. With my lack of guidance as a child, it was certainly not the most fun way for me. I was frequently frustrated, and disappointed when things didn't work, but also elated with each success too.

Interestingly, in one case, I found that the components provided in the kit themselves were the wrong type and that it was never going to work. That took me a long time to figure out. When something did indeed "burn out" I was often bitterly disappointed. I think setting the tone of "You're going to mess it up so you learn how not to do things, and more importantly why not to do certain things" is a fantastic message to send beginners. "Don't be afraid to fail, or break stuff".

This book starts with an assumption that you're at the absolute beginner. The first half of the book includes basic theory, broken down into parts that late-primary school children can understand. It lists components for each experiment so you can get them from any reputable supplier when you're ready. It gives you some interesting side notes about why things are the way they are, even when modern knowledge states that some of the old theories are, in fact, wrong. This is very important stuff.

I also like the fact that there are some significant experiments in the beginning where you intentionally dismantle electronic components to see how they work, how they're assembled, and some of their limitations. That can be really handy as well... especially when some components do fundamentally similar jobs to others, but each option might have particular pros and cons to consider.

While I believe that many primary-aged kids can understand the basics, this book builds on itself from one experiment to the next. Honestly, I think that the book will quickly move beyond primary-aged kids and will be best suited to teenagers and beyond once it starts getting into the more advanced experiments. Once you start building security systems, especially with integrated circuits like the "Chips Ahoy" chapter, I think a couple of readings will be necessary since a "once over" might not convey the meaning fully.

Overall though, I think Charles has done a commendable job and it's a great start to basic electronics.

If you’re looking to “learn a bit about electronics”, especially with a view to learn basic electronic problem solving, and of course repair, then this is a beginner friendly book that’s much easier to understand than most alternatives out there.

However, I don’t want you to be under any illusions. This book won’t make you an electronic engineer, it’s not riddled with the numerous mathematical formulas, it doesn’t include the theory of advanced circuit design, and it certainly won’t teach you the underlying physics of each and every component. You just need to find problems (whether it’s a bad connection, a short circuit, or a dead component), fix/replace them, and then test everything is ok before you put it back together. You’re not going to be able to fix bizarre faults that require multi-million dollar equipment, or repair the internal microscopic circuitry in chips, CPUs, and graphics cards, but you can fix common parts where issues are most likely to turn up…. at least in a range of common household devices.

Michael has cut out a lot of stuff that would probably scare off most beginners. Instead, he teaches you the concepts of “what” and “where”, rather than the “how” (unless we’re discussing deductive reasoning and testing methods) and he’s also avoided the deeper rabbit-hole areas of “why?”. Why seems limited to explaining why one symptom may be more likely to indicate problem with a capacitor in a power supply, than…. say.. an inductor on an input stage.

QUESTIONS THAT THIS BOOK MAY ANSWER:

“How on Earth do I open up the device without breaking it, or zapping myself?”

“What does each component look like, and what do they do?”

“What equipment do I need to test various components, and how do I know a good result from a bad?”

“Most consumer electronics are quite complicated, how do I identify common sections (called stages) responsible for power supply, input signal processing, control/interface, and output?”

“What are the common problems, their symptoms, failure points, and repair methods for <insert common electronic device here>?”

“Are there any dangers with attempting to fix a device with these symptoms?”

“Once you’ve found the issue(s), is it worth repairing a device with that issue, knowing the risks, the odds of getting replacement parts, and successfully installing them?”

“What are the limits to what I can fix with a typical hobbyist electronics workspace?”

“What should my expectations be, realistically?” (You will fail more often as a beginner, and get better). Don’t expect everything to be repairable if it’s been dropped in the ocean, a vat of acid, or involved in a house fire.

“If I could ask an experienced repair tech, what tips and tricks might they have to improve my odds of success?” If those questions sound fairly similar to ones you ask, then this book will be quite interesting and useful for you.

THE BOOK, COMPARED TO THE COMPETITION:

A lot of you will be reading this to answer one simple question:

“Should I buy this book?”

At 366 pages long, “How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic, 2nd Edition” (from here on, called “the book”) is far shorter (and cheaper) than other cornerstone electronics… tomes like 1200+ pages of “The Art of Electronics”, the 1000+ pages of “Practical Electronics for Inventors”, and the 900+ pages of the “Electronics All-in-One For Dummies”. However, this book is noticeably easier to read than the similarly titled “How To Test Almost Everything Electronic” by Delton T. Horn.

Conversely, at least, at the simpler, more beginner friendly end, I’m big fan of “Make Magazine’s” numerous “Hobbyist” publications like “Make: Electronics” by Charles Platt, and the sequel “Make: More Electronics” by the same author. However, while these are great at practicing rudimentary designs and bread board based prototyping, electronic repair is not really the focus of those books, and they do NOT include important safety information about the dangers of consumer, mains-powered devices.

Jay Geier, the author of this book, has written this in a readable way that  is not only informative, but also has a conversational tone. This is in stark contrast to the dry, shall we say.. sterile, even boring method so commonly used in textbooks and manuals. He even includes “magic smoke” in the glossary, he jokingly described the irrational prices of components might be rationalised if they’re made of “unobtanium” and “exhorbitantium”, which makes failed repairs even more painful.

The overall structure of the book is logical and carefully thought out:

• Chapter one with “Fixing is fun” (If only half of my university text books were as “to the point” as that).
• Chapter two is all about the tools you need to set up a repair space, and what is likely to be more (or less) important to those just starting out.
• Chapter three is about safety to you, others, and the devices/tools in question.
• Chapter four is the philosophy, and process of diagnosing issues, and fixing things. This is the general “why and how” to fix things.
• Chapter five outlines basic electrical/signal/circuit concepts, and terms.
• Chapter six is “how to use your test equipment”. Pretty self explanatory, really.
• Chapter seven is “intro to electrical components”. (Resistors, capacitors, diodes, inductors, integrated circuits, resistors, etc)
• Chapter eight is about circuit diagrams… and overall structure of a circuit.
• Chapter nine is called “Entering without breaking” (how to open a case and get to the circuits inside a device, not the criminal activity).
• Chapter ten is called “What the heck is that? Recognising major features” (breaking the whole device into manageable and recognisable stages).
• Chapter eleven is called “A hunting we will go, signal tracing and diagnosis”
• Chapter twelve is “Presto Chang-o (replacing dead components)”
• Chapter thirteen is “That’s a wrap, reassembly”
• Chapter fourteen is “Pesky parts and persnickety problems” basically an outline of troublesome components ranging from car electronics to microphones.
• Chapter fifteen is “Aces up your sleeve: Tips and tricks for specific circuits and products”. Need to repair a mobile phone, a laptop, projector, or TV? Stuff you should know, and things that can help you to repair them. This is one of the best chapters in the book.

This book will suit people with a casual interest, teenagers, a hobbyist, and people who are considering “going further” toward electronic engineering, and product design. As such, I think it suits people of a beginner-to-intermediate level of knowledge, who want a direct, practical application to that knowledge. So I’d have to say, it’s a “gateway” book that opens up a wide range of possibilities. Particularly when coupled with free YouTube channels like “Learn Electronic Repair”, which complement this book extremely well.

However, there’s a lot of stuff that just doesn’t fit into a book like this. Detailed descriptions of practical soldering techniques, why using thinner solder wire often results in a better (and cleaner) joint, the difficulties in using “lead free” solder, or the benefits in using flux. It doesn’t describe the correct temperatures/times you can expose components to as you’re soldering/removing them from boards (particularly tiny SMD components) or much detail on electrostatic discharge (ESD). Similarly, it doesn’t cover calibration of your particular test equipment, or it’s maintenance in any great detail. So you might not know that your readings are off, if you have the most basic setup.

So while this is a good, easy to read repair book, there’s always more you could know. So it’s worth watching a few YouTube videos, or chatting to someone more experienced to round out some of those rough edges/omissions. I’m not criticising Jay for not including them, as this would make a tome I think few people have the time to read. However, it’s important to realise the limitations of a book like this, and if you do intend to attempt a particular repair job, look at a few videos online, re-read that section a few times BEFORE starting and of course, double check your safety procedures/gear.

I found this book to be particularly helpful, and helped me to read my other electronics-related tomes that I never quite got around to beforehand. The sheer practical relevance of the information to things I’ve literally had to fix around the house is irrefutable. I’ve repaired things, from broken headphones, thermostat controls on a central heating system, smart lighting systems, an LCD projector, a phone, and several LCD monitors which needed caps replacing almost every two years or so like clockwork. I’ve done most of this with little more than a soldering iron, a multimeter, and a LCR/ESR meter.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some useful insight into the book. Onto the next one!

If Jay Geier's "How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic" sounds near identical, you'd be right, up to a point. So why would you want this book?

Delton's writing style is not quite as "conversational" in the tone. It's certainly more dense, and (if I'm being honest) more dry than Jay's book. However, I urge you not to write this book off for the following reasons:

• Ok, sure, the 3rd edition is older, being published in the 90s. This is actually a good thing, since a lot of hobbyists on a budget... or those just starting out, are buying older test gear from that era on the second hand market. Alternatively, a lot of people entering the hobby inherit gear from friends and family, so this is particularly relevant for those who actually are learning to test electronics properly. In some cases, the older analogue equipment is superior to modern digital gear because you're not limited by sampling rates, or reductive numerical displays that struggle to keep up with rapidly changing readings.
• Whether or not you're using the latest high end Fluke multimeter, and digital or software oscilloscope, the process for testing (at least, in general) is nigh on identical, so this book is still relevant if you have newer gear.
• When it comes to electronics, the components may have become smaller over the years, but the basic concepts of the various stages (power supply, inputs, processing, and output) of most devices have been largely unchanged for decades. Ok, there are some definitely dated parts to this book. Most people don't use vacuum tube voltmeters (VTVMs) or analogue volt-ohm-milliammeters (VOMs) anymore, and of course, modern devices have features that didn't exist back then. The book's relevance is still very good "general overview" to testing modern electronics, particularly the "failure prone" sections of most appliances and other common equipment.
• Where Jay gave you the "broad strokes" and "tips and tricks" to diagnosing issues with particular appliances, Delton delves into greater detail, including specific variants of stages. For example, differing styles of power supplies, amplifiers, and displays/screens where, once you learn to identify the exact type you're working with, it will make diagnosis and repairs faster and easier.
• This book also includes the importance of maintaining your test equipment, and some basic instructions on how to do that. Interestingly, that's something you won't find in the previous books listed here.

This book in the context of other electronics books available:

At 316 pages, compared Jay's 366 page book (immediately above) it seems smaller. Part of this is the inconvenient lack of a glossary. Also, the title states that it's for testing circuits, and as you might imagine, the book skips much of the actual repair side that Jay's book outlined. Thinking that way, a smaller page count is expected. Having said that....

It would not surprise me in the least if those 316 pages had more material than Jay's book. The text is smaller, and there are fewer pictures. Also, I find that the lack of blank lines between paragraphs (arguably correct and spatially efficient) makes it harder to read for me. In short, this is definitely more dense, more wordy, and in some places, quite, quite, dry. If you're using it as a reference, that's fine. But if you're reading it start to finish... things are a little more complex.

So what is it like, reading this book from cover to cover?

I thought the first 100 pages of Delton's book to be much closer in reading ease to Jay's structure... but as it delved deeper into numerous testing processes.... I'll admit it became harder to read. While I genuinely believe that the material is generally helpful, you have to keep in mind, that some things (in electronics, and in book publishing technologies) have changed in the last 30 years. The way books have been written since digital cameras and illustration software came about, show a greater amount of pictures compared to older generation books like this one. As the book progressed and Delton delved deeper, pictures became more sparse. In fact, I started to see more drawings, then drawings became the odd mathematical formula or wiring diagram, then as it got deeper still.. text reigned supreme. Which of course, slowed me down. But hey, maybe your imagination and attention span is better than mine, and you read incredibly quickly. In which case, enjoy!

That said, a few more photos of actually testing a real-world circuit board would certainly have helped. Also, perhaps a brief outline of the thought process with each step. I didn't really see that as often/clearly as it could have been.

It's not just the layout and editing though...

Also, Delton's book shows its age in certain parts. There's 50-odd pages explaining the use of 90s era oscilloscopes. While it gave a lot of great advice for those using that kind of gear, there are automatic features in modern, entry-level scopes which make the "dual sweep" and other "old-timer" functions of yore seem inexact, and extremely limiting (which they can be in certain circumstances). I cannot stress the importance of using your newer gear effectively, and this book just isn't up to that task.

Knowing this, reading the manual to a newer scope will help you more with modern gear than reading this book, particularly when discussing features like mathematical functions, storing, and replaying signals back for later analysis, decoding serial signal protocols like I₂C, SPI, RS-232/485/UART, USB, Ethernet, CAN, SPMI, and Spacewire (just to name a few). Scopes back then... rarely if ever had these capabilities.

Comparing it to the range of bigger electronics books:

I don't want you to think that this is a bad book. In fact, it's much more manageable than many larger, more expensive, and often more theoretical electronics tomes. Compared to those, Delton has written a much more practical and manageable book at a more affordable price point. However, a basic level of electronics knowledge is assumed. So this can't replace a more introductory electronics book. That said, you can easily watch enough YouTube videos and move forward with this book.. if you want that. In fact, the mix of text and multimedia might complement each other quite well.

That said, comparing this to the direct testing/repair alternatives. Delton's book here is more "in depth" than Jay's book. So if you're looking for an easier entry, then Jay's book is probably better suited. However, if you find yourself looking for more detail, then this is the better choice.

This isn't necessarily and either/or situation. By combining this book with Jays, this augments the general framework provided by Jay's book and builds upon it in a number of useful ways.

The book is a little dry, but that is common for a reference book.

While I have read this book like a novel, it's not actually designed to be used that way. Even once you've read it, you will probably come back to it and use it as a reference. This is the way I believe it's intended. Got a problem with an H-bridge rectifier, or motor controller? Look that up!. Got a dodgy D class amplifer and you're used to testing A class types? Skip to that section. It's not an "Encyclopedia Electronica", because there's too many options. But the general differences in design and testing procedures are included.

Conclusion.

Overall, I think this book has a lot to offer, but you need to have some knowledge in order to start with it. While this book pairs well with the other books mentioned above, I found it particularly good with the Learn Electronic Repair channel on YouTube.

So if you're looking to get into electronic repair, or if you're using test equipment to aid in your circuit designs, then this might not only help with the testing, but also offers a reference that outlines some of the key differences between common circuit types and help you implement them more selectively, rather than just "going with what you know".

I'm slowly adding book reviews. However, between renovations, contract work, and my other hobbies, it's a little hard to get it "up and online".

If you have suggested books, I'd happily add them to my "night table" and put them on my "to do list". However, I won't promise a "deadline". If that's ok? Please let me know via the contact page.

In any case, I hope this helps you to buy/borrow, (and of course, read) the right books for you to learn this really useful hobby, and perhaps turn it into something amazing.

All the best in your electronics-related endeavours.
Ham.