This is a compendium of practical wisdom concerning real world aspects of electronic circuit design gathered during years of experience in industry. The Companion enables circuit designers to produce more effective working circuits. Valued by linear and digital designers alike, this guide explains and outlines solutions that take into account the imperfect behavior of real components, interconnections and circuits.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Best Practical Handbook Comment: Excellent book. Well-written and full of practical examples and advice -- not just what to do, but what not to do, as well.
Everything from avoiding ground-loops and calculating transmission-line effects on a PCB, to transistor characteristics and how to build a proper biasing two-transistor buffer. I found the transmission-line rules of thumb especially insightful.
The clever use of a length of wire to turn a rising edge into a short pulse is representative of the little tidbits that convey not just theoretical, but practical understanding.
Easy to read with plenty of diagrams, but no fluff here -- everything is concise and to the point. Introductory descriptions of components and their uses are followed by a discussion of their limitations and considerations for use in a circuit.
There's even a 17 page discussion of the limitations and design considerations for those considering using a microcontroller in your design. Excellent overview for circuit designers and those not yet intimately familiar with the capabilities of the latest microcontrollers. Although he calls assembler language "the microcontroller's own code" (which, in actuality, contains a superset of the microcontroller instructions that get mapped by the assembler), this section is otherwise accurate and shows a deep understanding of the issues involved, including a thorough discussion of the importance of a watchdog timer and how to add one, if not included in the microcontroller.
The end of the Analog IC section (Op-Amps, Comparators, and Voltage References) contains warnings about modeling op-amps. For example: "Models cannot capture a device's every sensitivity to supply variations..." and "slew rate and overshoot are especially difficult to model." He gives good advice on how to do initial rough modeling, but to always breadboard/prototype and take advantage of the embedded knowledge already contained in an evaluation board from the manufacturer. Customer Rating: Summary: A great and practical guide Comment: This book are a great help in theory and practice for circuit designs.
Covering all aspects of the field, with a strong enphasys in solving the real circuit
problems and nuissances. Customer Rating: Summary: Practical Circuit Info Comment: Haven't finished reading it, but so far appears to have practical info that you likely won't learn in school untill you get some experience in the field. Customer Rating: Summary: Great source of practical knowledge and rules of thumb Comment: As other reviewers have already pointed out this book is a great source of practical design information that is not covered in engineering theory courses. One can read and re-read chapters highlighting great rules of thumb that apply to every-day design challenges. The book is really a must-have reference for any circuit/PCB/product designer.
That said, I have to suggestions to improve the book:
1. Analog domain is covered very well in this book, but the chapter on digital circuits is lacking in several important areas in my opinion.
a. I2C and SPI interfaces should be included alongside RS232, CAN and USB interface descriptions. Trade-offs of using I2C and SPI should be highlighted.
b. Digital interface timing parameters like setup, hold, edge rate, etc. should at least be mentioned. Here's why:
c. A discussion of digital bus topologies as it relates to timing parameters and PCB layout should be discussed. How to connect a multi-device bus, and make sure it satisfies interface timing specifications? Discuss star and daisy-chain topologies for layout. Fan-out and loading are already covered, but add examples of how those derate timing parameters on a shared bus.
2. The book is called a "companion". Unfortunately, in my experience the book's construction does not stand up to even moderate use. Sections of pages in my book have separated from the binding.
For someone thinking about buying the book these criticisms should not be taken alone. I chose not to cover all the wonderful parts of this book because other reviews here do a great job of it. I would not hesitate to recommend this insightful and well-written reference to anyone looking to improve their practical electronics design knowledge or to refresh skills lost to memory. Customer Rating: Summary: Solid & Diverse PCB layout information - Info is a bit scattered Comment: If you are like most of us and don't have a really seasoned high frequency PCB layout guy, this book will likely pay for itself with your first new PCB design. Tim has done a great job jotting down a lifetime of experience and knowledge in designing PWB's, but the information could use some organization. Still, it provides a ready reference to get you away from some fairly common pitfalls in RF design and gives you enough info. to understand why - which is the real value of this book to me and my colleagues.
For those wanting more design level info on RF electronics see Chris Bowick's "RF Circuit Design". If you need more basic, but more diverse info see Jon Hagen's "Radio Frequency Electronics", and if you are in need of some testing guidance you won't be dissapointed in Joseph Carr's book "Practical Radio Frequency Test & Measurement", or if you are more into the magnetics/ TEM side of things Jerry Sevick's book "Transmission Line Transformers will be a sound investment. Lastly, if you need some PCB layout advice, your money will be well spent on Tim William's book "The Circuit Designers Companion".
