Bryan Bergeron - Teardowns: Learn How Electronics Work by Taking Them Apart Teardowns: Learn How Electronics Work by Taking Them Apart

TEARDOWNS

Bryan Bergeron (Brookline, Mass.) is editor of Nuts & Volts Magazine and Servo Magazine and the author of several hundred articles, two dozen books, and several patents. He teaches in the HST Division of Harvard Medical School and MIT. His company, Archetype Technologies, Inc., develops intelligent systems for the military.

Learn How Electronics Work
By Taking Them Apart

Bryan Bergeron

Copyright 2010 by Bryan Bergeron. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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For Fred Marshall, my first mentor in the world of science.

Most electronics books for novices and hobbyists either teach the basics or present a set of do-it-yourself projects. This book breaks the rules by reverting back to what most of us did long before we even read an electronics magazine or book. We took things apart to find out how they worked. And thats precisely what Bryan Bergeron, the editor of Nuts & Volts magazine, has so expertly done in this remarkably interesting, nicely illustrated, and fun-to-read book.

While Teardowns is appropriately subtitled How Electronics Work by Taking Them Apart, the book is much more than this. It begins with an introduction that summarizes the keys to working with basic electronic circuits in only 13 fast moving pages, each of which is packed with practical tips and advice based on the authors extensive experience with hands-on electronics. The book then jumps straight to a series of commercially available electronic products that the author opens, pries into, disassembles, and photographs one step at a time.

The text is written as if Dr. Bergeron, who is a highly experienced electronics practitioner, is speaking directly to the reader with a point-by-point commentary about each teardown, complete with clear explanations of the operation and function of every component. By the time the product is completely disassembled, the reader understands the design tricks, component selection, and packaging choices that enabled the product to reach the market.

The teardowns are divided into three sections. Electronic products commonly found around the home are disassembled first, including a smoke alarm, motion-activated light, digital scale, ultrasonic humidifier, and five others. A section for tinkerers includes an intriguing teardown of an analog volt-ohm meter that effortlessly teaches more about Ohms law than most college textbooks. A closing section on electronic music takes the reader inside a Fender guitar, an effects pedal, and even a vacuum tube audio amplifier. Along the way, Bergeron suggests various improvements, modifications, and enhancements that can be added to many of the products. He also explores the operation of the various sensors in many of the products he investigates, including those that detect light, pressure, sound, and the vibration of a metal guitar string.

The high quality of the many close-up photographs and circuit diagrams greatly enhances the value of this book. Considerable time was obviously devoted to the photographs, which are crystal clear with excellent lighting and depth of field. Want to know if your solder connections are well done? Just compare yours with the examples of sloppy and good connections in the photos. Want to see the different layout methods manufacturers use to install surface-mount components and conventional parts equipped with pins and wire leads? Just browse through the crisp photos of exposed product circuit boards in the first section.

In the end, the authors top-down approach to explaining electronics provides a unique learning experience and a user-friendly reference for both novices and experienced circuit builders. The book is also a useful teaching tool for electronics instructors. Old timers will wonder why we didnt think of this terrific book idea before the prolific Bryan Bergeron arrived on the scene.