Encyclopedia of Electronic Components: Vol. 2

Good overview of discretes and general topics in electronics: how these work, what they are used for, and more. A great 3-volume set - highly recommended!

nice colored pictures learn new technology part 1/2

We finally got this book after it sat pre-ordered in our Amazon cart for a year and a half! Check out the extensive preview in the product description to see if it is what you are looking for. Platt gives a very good description of the purpose of the book when he writes that "...this is a reference book, not a tutorial.," and explains that each entry is made to stand on its own so information may be repeated in other sections. He also states that it is "oriented toward practicality rather than theory."Typical chapters include sections telling you (with words, diagrams, and photos):"What it Does""Symbol Variants" (diagrams showing different schematic symbols used)"How it Works""How to Use it""Variants" (Similar components and also if it comes in surface-mount, etc)"Values" (Numbers associated with it such as amp rating, etc.)"What Can Go Wrong" (Things you might screw up when working with the component. Very helpful!)Some entries also have information telling you the pros and cons to using one component over another.We use the book as an educational source for me (Non-Science degree) and as a refresher for my husband (Electrical Engineering degree) and it helps us to figure out the best components to use in our own electronics projects. Lots of pictures and figures to reference.Excellent reference book and I will again be waiting for the third book! I used to poke fun at all the people who would moan about George R.R. Martin doing anything except finishing his series, but I had to check myself when I had thoughts of doing a Google Alert for this author to make sure he was still writing books!

If you are a beginner, a hobbyist, or just someone who is interested in learning about different electrical components, you will absolutely enjoy this series. In this book, you will find that it provides the most essential information as to what a particular component is, how it is used, and what to expect from it. It is extremely easy to look up any component within the realm of the volume. Instead of having to go to a computer or potable device each time, I find it much easier to go to this book first. Being that this book is one of many volumes it's very easy to flip through its pages, and if you wish, write notes for yourself inside as well. Upon purchase, you will be amazed at just how much useful information there is for each component in each volume. This is volume 2 of an ongoing series. You don't need to buy all the volumes, but I'm a firm believer in such reference books that if you need something from one volume, you'll definitely need something from the others as well. I purchased volumes 1 & 2 at the same time, I just wish that volume 3 would had been available at the same time, but I can appreciate that there is always information being added too. I highly recommend this book series!

The book was good and very well written, but I would not recommend it for beginners because it has a lot of complicated stuff.

I purchased all of Charles Platt's Make: books in the series and they are all just packed with knowledge and beautifully laid out. I highly recommend these books for anyone looking to get into the world of electronics. Another wonderful feature about these books is, if you have any questions about any of the content in these books, Charles will personally reply to answer your quarries. Be sure to check out all the books in this series!!!Make: ElectronicsMake: More ElectronicsMake: Encyclopedia of Electronic Components Vol 1,2,3

I invent. So I need to know about my parts. LED's in particular.This book has my data.

Same as stated about part one.