Input and Output

[stringsthings]

good morning, my fellow DIY enthusiasts!

... i borrowed a cool book from a local library ... ( Electronics Constructors Guide / P. Cuthbertson ) .... here's an excerpt that i thought the forum would find interesting:

"... Reading this book is probably a learning experience for you.  You probably want to retain the information in it and have access to it on a moment by moment basis.  My aim in this short section is to show you a few tips which will allow you to retain information more easily, use the working environment in a productive manner and stay motivated when faced with adverse conditions.  Sometimes successful engineering depends more on these factors than anything else ... The role of silicon is to crystalise the results of your imagining, at most, to assist with your powers of visualization.  It does not replace your imaginative powers.  Too many people expect to wind a handle and that some solution will pop out of a machine with no mental effort on their part.

I'll repeat myself:  design is a human activity whose end product is itself destined for use by human beings ... "

i'm curious to know what the forum thinks about some of the points that the author brings up.  For myself, I like figuring out stuff that I didn't know before.  And I'm fascinated with the "idea of electronics". 

( and I like working without a fume extractor    )

[LucifersTrip]

role of silicon is to crystalise the results of your imagining, at most, to assist with your powers of visualization

sounds like an excerpt from a new age spiritual/handbook

[familyortiz]

or maybe the writer didn't use a fume extractor either!

[PRR]

Appears to be both different and interesting.

Is available under $10 on the used-book markets.

Please post a review.

[stringsthings]

cool ... i haven't read the entire text yet ... but a formal type review is a good idea!

.... i'm off to the library to bury my nose in a good book 

[R.G.]

The author may have read "The Sensuous Gadgeteer" by Bill Abler. I notice it has been reissued as "Shop Tactics".

I highly recommend this to any tinkerer beyond the stage of paint by numbers. It's a very good book about how to *think about* building things.

[stringsthings]

(what i did over spring break ... by Bugs Fuzzy )

the following is a short review of the book, "Electronics Constructors Guide" by P. Cuthbertson:

who is this book for?

"The book is initially written for the enthusiastic amateur or student, although it may equally be used by the professional engineer ... "

Contents:

1:   Introduction
2:   Design Activities
3:   Documentation and other Boring Topics
4:   Tools for Design
5:   Design Principles and Techniques
6:   The Behaviour of Real Components
7:   Design Examples
8:   Power Supplies, Earthing, and Noise
9:   Design for Reliability and Serviceability
10: Tools for Construction
11: Tools for Fun
12: The Mechanics of Electronics
13: How to Appear Busy While Goofing Off
14: Further Reading

... being the busy beaver that I am, i enjoyed reading this book and did not see myself as wasting any time away from the workbench ... the afternoon super, unfortunately, disagreed ... hence, this review:

Cuthbertson writes very well ... the math is kept at a reasonable level and there are many, many real world examples ... one of my favourite passages is in the exciting chapter on documentation:

" ... by being organized in the ways I have outlined above you will lose in the short term but gain in the long term.  Someone who is not well organized may look as though they are working hard since the bench or indeed the entire premises is quickly littered with all kinds of drawings and half finished bits and pieces.  Well, maybe they are working hard - but working smart is better."

( i like amplifiers that work smart and gain in the long term )

Sir Paul also interjects the occasional funny bit:

"To avoid cluttering up Figure 3.1, I have not mentioned feedback" ( especially recursive feedback

but all puns aside, the book is extremely good ... it's not too long and can be read and understood by anyone interested in DIY ... there's lots and lots of good practical advice ... tips and tricks from someone in the know ...

i give it a 9 out of 10

[PRR]

Electronic Constructors Guide
Author:   Paul Cuthbertson
Format:   Hardcover
Publish Date:   December 1995 
ISBN-10:   0750622113 
ISBN-13:   9780750622110
RRP:   £30.00

Seriously accessible book about the construction of electronics. Chock full of tidbits that newcomers don't know, details that never get written down. Some stuff for old-hands to chew on also.

> i'm curious ... about some of the points that the author brings up.  ...  And I'm fascinated with the "idea of electronics".

I wondered if this were another Zen and the Art Of.... book; more philosophy than practical. No. There's a few meta-thoughts, a few thin jokes, but mostly very practical stuff.   

Writing is very-very good. VERY clear. Probably 9th-grade reading level (not counting necessary jargon), yet Cuthbertson says what he wants to say. (Beats heck out of documents which need a 23rd-grade reading ability when a 3rd-grade level would have worked.)

Emphasis is general small electronics with a bias toward digital and computer (hot stuff when the book was written), but most of it applies to stomp-boxes just fine.

Technical accuracy is very good, but no book should be trusted 100%. There's parts I would have said differently. Read everything you can find, from many authors. Then, as Cuthbertson says: Use your wits.

Like many such books, there's unevenness. Some passages go on and on about small things, others skip quick over large areas. This is short deadlines and low pay. The time it takes to first-draft a book, the rate publishers pay, the author works for about 5 bucks an hour. A 2nd and 3rd re-write means more time for the same payment, it gets to $3/hour.

List price £30.00 ($50) is a bit steep even for hardcover. Used copies can be found for 10-20 bucks, it's worth that much for-sure. There's one on eBay today for $6 shipped. I'll probably sell my copy about that price.