The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Teach yourself electronics...

Occasionally I receive a request for a good beginning electronics book or at least one which will allow the reader to understand electronics more fully. This book is available in downloadable pdf format and has been one of my favorites since it was introduced in 1983:

https://www.pdfdrive.com/getting-started-in-electronics-e158550505.html

It is available on the above mentioned download site and on other similar pdf download sites. The author (or somebody representing him and using his name) is selling it on Amazon also. Originally it was written for and sold exclusively by Radio Shack along with other specialized mini-booklets and I suspect there may have been something about Radio Shack's legal troubles that freed this up and left it available to distribute following those problems. Because the author is (as am I) registered with The Library of Congress, I don't want to step on any toes. A month or so ago I wrote to the author asking him for clarification, but I haven't received a reply. If he does reply, I'll let you know. By my count this has been downloaded over 10,000 times, however so it would seem it is being freely used and I have no idea when the download sites got it.

The Forest Mims books are the BEST!

I bought my first copy of "Getting Started in Electronics" at my local Radio Shack back in 1992? Gosh that was a long time ago...

I must warn all of you, once you start playing with electrons, it can become a real addiction!

Thanks for sharing that Jon!

David

Hi David,
Yes...it can become a real addiction all right. And I think it can be a lifelong affair for curious people. I began in late 1957 and am still at it. The old gent who was teaching me would invite me to sit on his back porch in the evenings and tear apart mercury batteries while he drank coffee, chain smoked and told me about all sorts of things and sometimes put on radio shows. He'd save the mercury in a jar. Once a month or so a fellow would come through our village and buy the jar from him...which I figured was helping to fund his cigarette purchases. Imagine my surprise when later I learned mercury was dangerous and could cause dain bramage.

Another fun study is watchmaking. Sadly there isn't an interesting and clever book explaining it, but the study of fine jeweled spring-driven movements is still worthwhile...possibly more today than in past years as fewer and fewer young people are involving themselves in it.

I did a science report in the 5th or 6th grade about a 6 volt light bulb circuit.
The teacher gave me an A+ then said, devote as much interest in your other subjects (History, Geography, English etc.) and you will become an A student.
Well that did it. It cemented my interest on the electrical/electronics world and later Electronics Engineering.

Thumbing through the pages of this PDF book brought up some good memories.
It also reminded me of the progression into advanced circuit design and theory.
After this came Boolean Algebra and after this came the horror of the Quine—McCluskey algorithm.
Totally warped my brain. Today it is counteracted by a liberal dose of AD truck information.

1965 Chanute Field USAF basic electronics course was taught to a bunch of us non-electronics savvy E1s and E2s before we were taught B-52 autopilots, compass systems and star-tracking heading systems. When some of us couldn't understand a concept, one of the instructors would explain it to us as hydraulics instead of electronics. Really worked for me. The instructor said he could "build" a complete radio in hydraulics except to the antenna.


Ooooops! This post needs the word "truck" in it to appease the forum police.

I also remember the Forrest Mims books. The battery a month club would draw me down to the store.

Anyway, for working on our old trucks I think all people need is a bit of understanding of basic DC electricity.

After many years of being an amateur electronics hobbyist, and letting the smoke out of WAY too many components, I can now say I can safely play with electrons without the risk of burning the place down.

Another book that has been super helpful for me is the "Art of Electronics" by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill. This book is not cheep, but super helpful when you need answers. The "Internet Archive" has a version you can download for free. I personally prefer to have a physical book open on my workbench.

Here is a great video of Lady Ada (co founder of Adafruit Electronics) interviewing Horowitz: Lady Ada interviewing Horowitz

I buy most of my components/parts from Adafruit (New York City), and from SparkFun (Boulder Colorado). Of course, Mouser and DigiKey as well when I need individual parts in larger quantities.

Did I mention already this hobby is addictive? I guess I did.

David

Thanks for mentioning The Internet Archive. I've supported it since the beginning. Sometimes I forget they also have books. I've been out to see the Mouser folks a lot over the years. That place has become huge.

If you want some fun, listen to some of the Old Time Radio programs The Internet Archive has. "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar" from 1955 forward is one of my favorites.

I just noticed the book "Getting Started in Electronics" is also available on The Internet Archive. Please feel free to download it. These folks would not have it on their site if it was not in the public domain. There are also many other good electronics books on their site.

Back in the 1970s, I bought several of the Peterson books like Basic Ignition and Electrical systems No 4. I have found these books useful; so much so that they are falling apart. I'm thinking of scanning them. If I scan them, can I share them? I'm not sure when (or if) the copyright expired.

This is more of a greasy spoon post, isn't it?
1. What we do to wire up an old truck is electrical, not electronics.
2. Always "download" things from the internet at your own risk. Especially when reported to be an unknown source for this had written document.
3. This person was not a trained scientist or electronic or electrical engineer. He was a "publisher", a writer.
4. The info being shared here is great, just posted in the wrong place.

Many of us don't frequent the Greasy Spoon as we are only interested in keeping old trucks going.

I don't think so. Over 200 people have found it interesting enough to read and in the Greasy Spoon it takes an eye-catching or controversial topic to draw over 200 posts. Bottom line is electronics is a very interesting subject...or hobby or whatever label anybody might think it needs. And I believe people of all ages constantly need to keep their minds working. Otherwise their little gray cells are wasted.

And here's another thought...vehicle electrical problems are certainly not as shade tree as just grabbing some wire and connecting things together. Example: For a working and accurate fuel gauge, you must understand (a) variable resistance (b) electromagnetism and also ferromagnetism (c) measurement of resistance in ohms (d) electrical flow. To evaluate a generator or voltage regulator you must understand current...amperage plus its old pal voltage and also resistance. To evaluate an alternator you must understand all those things plus the concept of diodes. And to rewire any vehicle you must understand the basic difference between series and parallel circuits. This began as the mention of a book titled "Getting Started in Electronics". If I wanted to bamboozle people I'd have directed them toward a book titled "Quantum Electodynamics in a Superconductor-Isolator Application".

Forrest Mims on the other hand...
Consulting clients have included the National Geographic Society, the National Science Teachers Association, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Forrest also teaches experimental Earth science once or twice a year at the University of the Nations at their campuses in Kona, Hawaii, and Lausanne, Switzerland. In 1993, he was named a Laureate in the Rolex Awards for Enterprise competition for his efforts in establishing a global ozone measuring network that used instruments of his own design.

In 1975, Forrest wrote The Altair 8800 Operator’s Manual, the manual for the world’s first personal computer. While he was writing the Altair manual, a couple of young programmers named Bill Gates and Paul Allen were creating a version of BASIC for the Altair. (That was the start of a company called Microsoft.) Thus, Forrest holds the honor of having written the very first book about personal computers.

Today, Forrest simultaneously carries out a variety of scientific and technical projects. He recently worked with the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin to compare measurements of atmospheric water vapor made from satellites and the surface. From 2000-2006 he was a co-principal investigator for GLOBE, a network of 8000 schools in 83 countries that involves students in scientific research projects.

Yes, he really isn't very qualified is he?

Jon, calm down.
1. The determination as to where a subject is placed has nothing to do with how many views it may or may not get. It has to do with relevance to the general description of the forum.
2. You do not need to know that stuff you listed to keep an old truck going. There are several here who do know the theory of how those items work. They also know the tests to perform. Others may suggest just buying a relative cheap part or switching to a more simpler system. Either way it's NOT a "must understand" situation al all. In my 17 years here, I have noticed that folks just want to know how to fix a wiring or electrical malfunction. No theory, just get it fixed.
3. Nothing about fixing up an old truck is "shade tree". Stovebolt is here to share information on how to fix an electrical/wiring problem. Among other things. None of it is beyond anyone. With a little help, we get them on track. No need to study electrons. DIY with some help is not shade tree. Connecting things together with wire is basically all there is to it. When problems are encountered, we help find and fix.
4. No one is accusing you of bamboozle. The book is for those who want to go far beyond "getting an old truck going". Logic circuits and solid state design will not help that.
5. The post has 250 views. Curious folks. The post has 14 responses. Only 4 are unique. The others are you, me and "repeat customers".
6. I don't know how qualified the author is, just stating his education. He is a very smart man.
7. As I said, the sharing of a book to read is great. "Quantum Electodynamics in a Superconductor-Isolator Application" might be interesting to some also. The book you recommend and it's contents is very hard to comprehend. We just need to keep our old trucks going. Automotive Electrical wiring, troubleshooting and repair is much easier.

P.S. The gas gauge issues have hundreds of posts. It's not hard to understand how it works just hard to find the problem. Sometimes it's a mechanical issue. Sometimes a ground issue. As far as generator and voltage regulator, there is lots of info on how they work in Keith Hardy's "Old Online Chevy Manuals" Pick the year and read. Then post the question in the "Electrical forum".
Sorry to ruffle the feathers.