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Practical Electronics for Inventors cover

Engineering

Engineering

Practical Electronics for Inventors

Paul Scherz; Simon Monk

A hands-on introduction to electronics that explains how components and circuits work and how to build them. Scherz and Monk combine basic circuit theory with practical guidance on choosing parts, prototyping and testing, so readers move from voltage and current to working analog, digital and microcontroller-based projects without needing advanced mathematics.

Prerequisites: School algebra; no previous electronics experience is needed, and the theory chapters introduce the basic physics.

Difficulty Level
Beginner
Academic Level
Undergraduate
electronicscircuit componentsanalog circuitsdigital electronicshands-on

01 / Reading Guide

Reading Guide

Citation

Scherz, P., & Monk, S. (2016). Practical Electronics for Inventors (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Chapter Summary

The fourth edition has about a thousand pages in seventeen chapters, arranged in three parts (Theory, Devices, Design) with three appendices. The parts are very uneven in length: a chapter list with page numbers, posted by a reviewer on the DigiKey TechForum, shows the theory chapter running from page 5 to page 252, the components chapter from 253 to 400, and digital electronics from 717 to 842, while several design chapters are under twenty pages. The publisher presents the book as a guide to selecting components, designing and building circuits, using microcontrollers and integrated circuits, and testing and adjusting the results.

Chapter 1: Introduction

A four-page opening to Part I, "Theory".

Chapter 2: Theory

The longest chapter in the book, nearly 250 pages of circuit theory. The DigiKey reviewer, who found the components section the most helpful, describes the theory as condensed: good for review, or for showing a newcomer which topics to study more thoroughly.

Chapters 3–6: Basic Electronic Components; Discrete Semiconductors; Optoelectronics; Sensors

Part II, "Devices", is a guide to parts. The publisher's list of coverage includes resistors, capacitors, inductors and transformers; diodes, transistors and integrated circuits; optoelectronics, solar cells and phototransistors; and sensors, GPS modules and touch screens. The reviewer singles out the explanation of what each component is for and how its types differ, for example the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of resistor.

Chapter 7: Hands-on Electronics

An eighty-page chapter that closes Part II and turns from devices to the practical work of building circuits. The publisher's description emphasises step-by-step instructions, schematics and the testing and adjustment of finished projects.

Chapters 8–11: Operational Amplifiers; Filters; Oscillators and Timers; Voltage Regulators and Power Supplies

Part III, "Design", begins with the analog building blocks: op amps, filters, oscillators and timers, and regulated power supplies. Each of these chapters is short, between about fifteen and thirty pages.

Chapter 12: Digital Electronics

The longest chapter in Part III, at about 125 pages. The publisher lists digital electronics, logic gates and LCD displays among its contents.

Chapters 13–14: Microcontrollers; Programmable Logic

Microcontrollers and prototyping platforms, followed by combinational and sequential programmable logic. The publisher's description names programmable logic among the topics with new instruction in this edition.

Chapters 15–17: Motors; Audio Electronics; Modular Electronics

Shorter design chapters on DC motors, RC servos and stepper motors; on microphones, audio amplifiers and speakers; and on modular electronics.

Appendices A–C: Power Distribution and Home Wiring; Error Analysis; Useful Facts and Formulas

Brief reference material at the end of the book.

Key Concepts

Part I: Theory (Chapters 1–2)

  • Circuit theory: the laws and methods used to analyse circuits, gathered in one long chapter for reference and review.

Part II: Devices (Chapters 3–7)

  • Passive components: resistors, capacitors, inductors and transformers, with the types of each and their trade-offs.
  • Discrete semiconductors: diodes and transistors as individual devices.
  • Optoelectronics: devices that emit or detect light, including solar cells and phototransistors.
  • Prototyping: the practical skills of building and testing a circuit.

Part III: Design (Chapters 8–17)

  • Operational amplifier: the general-purpose analog building block used in amplifiers and filters.
  • Regulated power supply: a circuit that delivers a stable voltage to the rest of a design.
  • Microcontroller: a small programmable computer that controls a project.
  • Programmable logic: digital hardware configured to implement combinational and sequential logic.
  • Motor control: driving DC motors, RC servos and stepper motors.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

  • Component knowledge. About 150 pages on basic components and nearly a hundred on discrete semiconductors give a depth of practical information about parts that circuit-analysis textbooks do not try to provide. This is what the DigiKey reviewer valued most.
  • From parts to working projects. The publisher describes step-by-step instructions, schematics and illustrations, and guidance on choosing components, building circuits and testing them. The book covers the practical side of electronics that a theory course leaves out; a second DigiKey commenter wrote that it deals with things not usually covered in classroom teaching.
  • Wide coverage, including modern topics. Microcontrollers, programmable logic, sensors such as GPS modules and touch screens, and modular electronics sit alongside the analog and digital fundamentals.
  • Written by practitioners. The publisher's description presents the authors as experienced engineers and dedicated hobbyists; Scherz trained in physics, and Monk is a prolific author of hobby-electronics books.

Limitations

  • Theory is condensed. The DigiKey reviewer notes that the theory sections are condensed; they suit review or orientation, and students taking a circuits course will still need a proper circuit-analysis textbook with graded problems.
  • Very uneven chapter sizes. Some design topics, such as filters, oscillators and timers, regulators, motors and audio, get roughly ten to thirty pages each, while theory and digital electronics take hundreds. Readers should treat the short chapters as introductions.
  • A reference rather than a course. At about a thousand pages, organised by topic rather than as a sequence of lessons, the book is built for consultation; the publisher's material does not mention exercises or end-of-chapter problems.

Where It Fits in the Course

In this circuits and electronics course, Scherz and Monk is the practical, hands-on book. Neil Storey's Electronics: A Systems Approach is the other introductory text, a structured course with worked examples and self-assessment questions that works from systems down to circuits; Alexander and Sadiku's Fundamentals of Electric Circuits is the standard circuit-analysis text with emphasis on problem solving. Either is the main text for learning to analyse circuits, and Scherz and Monk is the companion for knowing what real components are and how to build with them.

The other books in the course go deeper in specific directions: Agarwal and Lang's Foundations of Analog and Digital Electronic Circuits and Howe and Sodini's Microelectronics: An Integrated Approach develop device models and circuit design rigorously; Hayt's Engineering Electromagnetics treats the field theory behind circuits; Patterson's Computer Organization and Design continues from digital logic to processor architecture. Scherz and Monk's chapters on digital electronics and microcontrollers give a practical starting point for that last direction.

How to Use This Book

The book suits students, hobbyists and inventors who want to build working circuits, and engineering students who want a practical reference to sit beside their theory courses. The DigiKey reviewer notes that it is written so that readers unfamiliar with electronics can still follow it.

A practical plan:

  • Start with Chapter 1 and skim Chapter 2. Treat the theory chapter as a reference to return to, not as a block to finish first.
  • Core: Chapters 3–4 on components and semiconductors, then Chapter 7 on hands-on electronics. Together they cover what parts do and how to build with them.
  • Choose by project: op amps and filters (Chapters 8–9) for analog signal work; power supplies (Chapter 11) for almost any project; digital electronics, microcontrollers and programmable logic (Chapters 12–14) for control and computing; motors and audio (Chapters 15–16) as needed.
  • Reference: the appendices on home wiring, error analysis and useful formulas.

Build alongside reading: for each component type, put a simple circuit together on a breadboard and measure what the text describes. When a circuits course reaches the same topic, compare the textbook's analysis with the practical guidance here.