Electronic Circuit Design

Book excerpt: The theme of this new textbook is the practical element of electronic circuit design. Dr O'Dell, whilst recognising that theoretical knowledge is essential, has drawn from his many years of teaching experience to produce a book which emphasises learning by doing throughout. However, there is more to circuit design than a good theoretical foundation coupled to design itself. Where do new circuit ideas come from? This is the topic of the first chapter, and the discussion is maintained throughout the following eight chapters which deal with high and low frequency small signal circuits, opto-electronic circuits, digital circuits, oscillators, translinear circuits, and power amplifiers. In each chapter, one or more experimental circuits are described in detail for the reader to construct, a total of thirteen project exercises in all. The final chapter draws some conclusions about the fundamental problem of design in the light of the circuits that have been dealt with in the book. The book is intended for use alongside a foundation text on the theoretical basis of electronic circuit design. It is written not only for undergraduate students of electronic engineering but also for the far wider range of reader in the hard or soft sciences, in industry or in education, who have access to a simple electronics laboratory.