Complete Electronics Self–Teaching Guide with Projects

Follow hands–on projects so you can work with electronic circuits

Are you ready to keep up with the rapidly evolving world of electronic products? From smartphones and tablets to MP3 players and digital cameras, this resource will build your understanding of how the latest electronic circuits work. You′ll dive into hands–on projects and walk through the calculations and concepts for key circuits to get you up to speed. As you progress through the chapters, you′ll learn how to build the circuits, and then observe or measure how they work so you can apply the information on your own.

Learn how to control the flow of electric current

Design a transistor circuit, and compare the switching action of a JFET and a BJT

Explore the use of resistors, capacitors, and inductors in bandpass and band–reject filters

Use BJTs, JFETs, and operational amplifiers in amplifier circuits

Find out how an oscillator works, and then design and build one

Discover how a transformer converts AC voltage to a higher or lower voltage

Calculate the values of components that produce a specified DC output voltage for a power supply circuit

The book′s website (www.buildinggadgets.com) provides project pages that include links to suppliers and are kept up to date with supplier part numbers for components you′ll need.

Introduction xvii

CHAPTER 1 DC Review and Pre–Test 1

Current Flow 2

Ohm s Law 5

Resistors in Series 10

Resistors in Parallel 10

Power12

Small Currents 15

The Graph of Resistance 16

The Voltage Divider 18

The Current Divider 24

Switches 30

Capacitors in a DC Circuit 33

Summary 41

DC Pre–Test 43

CHAPTER 2 The Diode 47

Understanding Diodes  48

Diode Breakdown 70

The Zener Diode 75

Summary 86

Self–Test 87

CHAPTER 3 Introduction to the Transistor 91

Understanding Transistors 92

The Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) 123

Summary 129

Self–Test 129

CHAPTER 4 The Transistor Switch 135

Turning the Transistor On 136

Turning Off the Transistor 142

Why Transistors Are Used as Switches 146

The Three–Transistor Switch 161

Alternative Base Switching 166

Switching the JFET 172

Summary 181

Self–Test 182

CHAPTER 5 AC Pre–Test and Review 187

The Generator 188

Resistors in AC Circuits 193

Capacitors in AC Circuits 195

The Inductor in an AC Circuit 202

Resonance 204

Summary 207

Self–Test 207

CHAPTER 6 Filters 211

Capacitors in AC Circuits 212

Capacitors and Resistors in Series 214

Phase Shift of an RC Circuit 239

Resistor and Capacitor in Parallel 246

Inductors in AC Circuits 250

Phase Shift for an RL Circuit 258

Summary 260

Self–Test 260

CHAPTER 7 Resonant Circuits 267

The Capacitor and Inductor in Series 268

The Output Curve 286

Introduction to Oscillators 309

Summary 314

Self–Test .314

CHAPTER 8 Transistor Amplifiers 319

Working with Transistor Amplifiers 320

A Stable Amplifier 330

Biasing 334

The Emitter Follower 350

Analyzing an Amplifier 356

The JFET as an Amplifier 361

The Operational Amplifier 370

Summary 380

Self–Test .380

CHAPTER 9 Oscillators 385

Understanding Oscillators 386

Feedback 396

The Colpitts Oscillator 402

The Hartley Oscillator 414

The Armstrong Oscillator 421

Practical Oscillator Design 422

Simple Oscillator Design Procedure 423

Oscillator Troubleshooting Checklist 426

Summary and Applications 432

Self–Test .432

CHAPTER 10 The Transformer 435

Transformer Basics 436

Transformers in Communications Circuits 447

Summary and Applications 451

Self–Test 452

CHAPTER 11 Power Supply Circuits 455

Diodes in AC Circuits Produce Pulsating DC 456

Level DC (Smoothing Pulsating DC) 474

Summary 490

Self–Test 490

CHAPTER 12 Conclusion and Final Self–Test 493

Conclusion 493

Final Self–Test 495

APPENDIX A Glossary 509

APPENDIX B List of Symbols and Abbreviations 513

APPENDIX C Powers of Ten and Engineering Prefixes 517

APPENDIX D Standard Composition Resistor Values 519

APPENDIX E Supplemental Resources 521

Web Sites 521

Books 522

Magazines 522

Suppliers 523

APPENDIX F Equation Reference 525

APPENDIX G Schematic Symbols Used in This Book 529

Index 533

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.