Introduction

Have you “caught the electronics bug,” only to grow sick with apprehension as you encountered diagrams with arcane symbols the moment you decided to build, troubleshoot, or repair something? If so, you’re holding the cure in your hands right now.

A little knowledge of electronics symbology can eliminate a lot of fear and confusion. Don’t give up electronics just because you’ve come across some spooky graphics. That would be like giving up a sport because you fear the pain of training. That’s where the coach comes in! A good coach streamlines your training in any sport and helps you get past the pain. Schematic diagrams, well drawn and clearly portrayed, can help you to design, build, maintain, troubleshoot, and repair electronic equipment.

Schematic diagrams are like road maps of electronic highway networks. These drawings can help you find your way through the elements of simple circuits, complex devices, and massive systems. Once you’ve learned what the symbols and notations stand for, reading a schematic will come as easily to you as planning a trip with the aid of a road atlas.

This book contains all the information that you’ll need in order to begin exploring electronic circuits. It can help you build a solid background for a career in electronics, whether you decide to go into design, maintenance, or repair. This book explains the rationale behind schematic diagrams, how to use or interpret each symbol, and how the symbols interconnect to reflect real-world circuits. You’ll even get a chance to diagram and perform some experiments!

Once you’ve completed this book, you’ll have plenty of information and confidence, so that you can continue your quest to enter whatever field of electronics suits your fancy, whether it’s something as humble as shortwave or amateur radio, or something as cutting-edge and exotic as bioelectronics, space communications, or mechatronics.

I welcome your suggestions for future editions. Please visit my website at www.sciencewriter.net. You can e-mail me from there.

Above all, have fun!

Stan Gibilisco