Complete Electronics Self-Teaching Guide with Projects

Earl Boysen is a veteran engineer who maintains two technology-focused websites, www.buildinggadgets.com and www.understandingnano.com. He is coauthor of the first edition of Electronics For Dummies as well as Electronics Projects For Dummies and Nanotechnology For Dummies, all published by Wiley.The late Harry Kybett wrote the bestselling first and second editions of Electronics Self-Teaching Guide. He was director of engineering operations at Columbia Pictures Corporation. He built many studios and video systems for the broadcasting industry, and created training programs for Sony Corporation of America.

• Introduction xviiChapter 1 DC Review and Pre-Test 1 Current Flow 2Ohm’s Law 5Resistors in Series 10Resistors in Parallel 10Power 12Small Currents 15The Graph of Resistance 16The Voltage Divider 18The Current Divider 24Switches 30Capacitors in a DC Circuit 33Summary 41DC Pre-Test 43Chapter 2 The Diode 47 Understanding Diodes 48Diode Breakdown 70The Zener Diode 75Summary 86Self-Test 87Chapter 3 Introduction to the Transistor 91 Understanding Transistors 92The Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) 123Summary 129Self-Test 129Chapter 4 The Transistor Switch 135 Turning the Transistor On 136Turning Off the Transistor 142Why Transistors Are Used as Switches 146The Three-Transistor Switch 161Alternative Base Switching 166Switching the JFET 172Summary 181Self-Test 182Chapter 5 AC Pre-Test and Review 187 The Generator 188Resistors in AC Circuits 193Capacitors in AC Circuits 195The Inductor in an AC Circuit 202Resonance 204Summary 207Self-Test 207Chapter 6 Filters 211 Capacitors in AC Circuits 212Capacitors and Resistors in Series 214Phase Shift of an RC Circuit 239Resistor and Capacitor in Parallel 246Inductors in AC Circuits 250Phase Shift for an RL Circuit 258Summary 260Self-Test 260Chapter 7 Resonant Circuits 267 The Capacitor and Inductor in Series 268The Output Curve 286Introduction to Oscillators 309Summary 314Self-Test 314Chapter 8 Transistor Amplifiers 319 Working with Transistor Amplifiers 320A Stable Amplifier 330Biasing 334The Emitter Follower 350Analyzing an Amplifier 356The JFET as an Amplifier 361The Operational Amplifier 370Summary 380Self-Test 380Chapter 9 Oscillators 385 Understanding Oscillators 386Feedback 396The Colpitts Oscillator 402The Hartley Oscillator 414The Armstrong Oscillator 421Practical Oscillator Design 422Simple Oscillator Design Procedure 423Oscillator Troubleshooting Checklist 426Summary and Applications 432Self-Test 432Chapter 10 The Transformer 435 Transformer Basics 436Transformers in Communications Circuits 447Summary and Applications 451Self-Test 452Chapter 11 Power Supply Circuits 455 Diodes in AC Circuits Produce Pulsating DC 456Level DC (Smoothing Pulsating DC) 474Summary 490Self-Test 490Chapter 12 Conclusion and Final Self-Test 493 Conclusion 493Final Self-Test 495Appendix A Glossary 509Appendix B List of Symbols and Abbreviations 513Appendix C Powers of Ten and Engineering Prefixes 517Appendix D Standard Composition Resistor Values 519Appendix E Supplemental Resources 521 Web Sites 521Books 522Magazines 522Suppliers 523Appendix F Equation Reference 525Appendix G Schematic Symbols Used in This Book 529Index 533