As far as this author is aware, this book blazes new ground. It covers a subject that has been much neglected in traditional electrical engineering education. As such, it may have value as a professional book, as well as serving its original purpose as a text. For such a book, it is mandatory that both the purpose of writing the book and the philosophy governing its structure be articulated.

When I was in high school, I had a home-based business of repairing stereos, radios, and televisions. The knowledge to do this was obtained by reading various technician-level books and magazines on the subject and by experience obtained in the field.

Upon beginning college as an electrical engineering (EE) major, I had eager expectations that the curriculum would teach the principles upon which the equipment worked. Alas, those expectations remained unfulfilled. The “real world” circuits, whose schematics a service technician is used to seeing, are generally far more complex than those in the electronics textbooks. I had a certain sense of having been cheated. Not until later did I realize that presenting simplified circuits in the electronics textbooks was thought of as an act of mercy by the textbook authors. It is obviously easier to understand a simplified circuit than a “real-world” one.

This led to Phase II of this book's origins. After graduation I realized that an EE education at least provided the tools needed to understand consumer electronic circuits at a more advanced level. Commencing a career in college teaching gave additional impetus. A survey of seniors showed a great deal of interest in a course in consumer electronics. This led to a search for books that would give the information needed at the level of understanding desired. This search engendered disappointment of a different sort. The available materials, without exception, fell into three categories: