Where to now?
NOTICE: As a courtesy, you are viewing a preview version of an upcoming book, Transistors and Semiconductors: Clearly, Simply, Intuitively, and Concisely Explained by Michael LoneWolf. Since this is just a preview, the text below has been stripped of formatting and images. I need YOUR help to have this book published. Please HELP by visiting my Funding Request page at the main website. DISCLAIMER: This is an obsolete (draft) version of book manuscript. It is not intended to be used for study or reference, but for book preview purposes only. Support the project so that you can purchase a print copy of the most up-to-date book version with all formatting and illustrations!
Thank you for having made this far. You have been patient, and you put in the effort. Now, you are on the path of a lifelong involvement with electronics.
Your most important objective right now is to surround yourself with people of the same interest. I have to forewarn you that electronics for many is a path of solitude. It should not be. Actively seek out people who are not boggled down by the noise of the pointless life. Approach those who put in the effort to bring meaning to their existence.
I have been placed on this path by a mentor, at the age of twelve. Others were saying that I was “too young” to get into electronics. My mentor did not agree.
Come on over to this book's website at
http://www.MKRD.info/SemiconductorsBook
If you have enjoyed this book, please do let others know – write reviews of this book on the major book retailers' websites. Link to the book's website. Tell others about the book.
Find local people who share your interest. I recommend the www.Meetup.com website, where you can find local gatherings.
Don't waste your money buying fancy and new electronics stuff. Do not participate in the disposable mindset.
Don't waste your time and life away on the social websites. Don't do what everyone else is doing – it is unlikely you'll do it better than others. Set some great goals for yourself, and work on those goals instead of chatting your life away on the modern life's distractions. The book you are holding is the result of six months of hard work. I could certainly have enjoyed myself doing nothing, instead.
Some recommended further reading:
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, by Robert L. Boylestad and Louis Nashelsky. 10th edition is the recent one. All editions are good even down to 4th edition, which by now should be very cheap. This excellent book has been unfortunately moving towards a traditional textbook format, which in my eyes is actually not beneficial to a non-student.
I recommend Art of Electronics: Student Manual for experimentation and practical knowledge. The main book, not so much, because it is a reference book, not a tutorial.
Few magazines are remaining for the electronics experimenter or a hobbyist. The remaining ones are:
Nuts and Volts (intermediate, too much about microcontrollers)
Circuit Cellar (advanced, not for hobby)
Silicon Chip (Australia, print version to US is very expensive)
http://michaelgellis.tripod.com/maglinks.html
http://www.dapj.net/hobby/magazines/
For engineers:
EE Times family (EE Times, Planet Analog)
Electronic Design
EDN
Forums:
EDABOARD
All About Circuits
The accompanying forum of this book
Most of these magazines are more advertising than text. Some are even free, but they will sell and trade your private information in return. Do not reveal any of your private information without a cause. Also, append your last name by the place online where you revealed your information, for example LoneWolf_DigiKey. That will allow you to easily see, from the junk mail which you'll certainly get in the future, who has sold your information. If you call and ask to be removed from an unsolicited mailing list, they will. It has also been an electronics tradition to order all the super-thick and super-heavy free catalogs from all the parts distributors, for no actual cause. And to (oh my!) page and read thru the whole thing! You have my permission to continue the old tradition.
The internet has a plethora of websites (besides my website, at MKRD.info/SemiconductorsBook), forums, and newsletters available on the subject of electronics. I only wish to warn the reader to not be distracted on crappy information sources.
Finally, there are a few pages still remaining to be read. Get to it!
Due to physical and practical book limits, I had to exclude the most fascinating circuits from this book! However, all is not lost! Those circuits and projects await the reader at www.MKRD.info/SemiconductorsBook
At the website above, you will find:
Complete schematics, explanations, bill of materials, and PCB artwork files
A forum to discuss the projects and talk with other people who love electronics
User-editable articles
Additional circuit analysis information and techniques, as well as circuits which work at high speeds or RF frequencies
Parts kits and completely-built electronic devices for sale
Errata and corrections for this book
Other books from the author
Nearly a thousand articles on many other topics
Examples of circuits you will find at www.MKRD.info/SemiconductorsBook:
Ultra-high frequency down-converter (listen to nature sounds above 20kHz)
Class-D and Class-G audio amplifiers
IC-based audio amplifiers
Light music circuits and projects
DC-DC converters
FM modulators
Complete H bridge motor controllers
High-power BTL and class-AB subwoofer amplifier
Solar-rechargeable lights and power
“Used” lead-acid car battery or deep-cycle battery to 120V AC converter with battery restoration
And many other unique or practical circuits which you will not find anywhere else!
The fun continues!
In the next electronics book from the author:
Digital Electronics for the 21st Century
It's the 21st century. It's time to get rid of the discrete logic, Karnaugh maps, ROM, Assembly language, and the like.
It's time to get into re-configurable logic, SPLDs, PLDs, and microcontrollers.
But how to choose from the insane amounts of choices available? What is important, and what isn't?
Which technologies are for the hobbyist or an experimenter to get in to, and which are to avoid?
Is a FPGA for you?
Which programming language to use? Which development board to buy? Which family of microcontrollers to go with?
It's time there was a book which would break away from the rest, and provide the information you actually desperately need.
The book is here. Digital Electronics for the 21st Century, by Michael LoneWolf.
It's time you read it!
