Getting Started In Electronics Mims

What You're Actually Buying

The Mims electronics books are a series of reference guides that have been around since the late 1970s. They are not tutorials in the traditional sense. They are closer to field manuals. Each book covers a specific area — basic circuits, semiconductors, integrated circuits, microprocessors — and presents information in a stripped-down format with minimal equations. You will find simple schematic drawings, component tables, and short paragraphs explaining how each circuit works. That is the whole approach. I picked up the original Mims getting started in electronics title at a surplus store in 2003 for three dollars. It had yellowed pages and a cracked spine. I used it to build a basic power supply for a project that kept failing because I did not understand transformer isolation. The book had a section on center-tapped secondaries that explained something my college textbook glossed over in two sentences. I rewired the circuit and it worked. That was the value — specific, practical information without the academic padding.

Getting Started In Electronics Mims Format

The format is what makes these books useful and frustrating at the same time. Circuits are drawn as block diagrams with component values called out directly on the schematic. There is almost no theory about why things work, only what works. A typical entry shows a circuit, lists the parts needed, and gives a one-paragraph explanation. You get about five circuits per page. The writing assumes you already know what a resistor is and will not tell you Ohm's law from scratch. If you want to understand the underlying physics, you will need another source. The Mims books are reference material, not textbooks. They are best used alongside a more thorough resource when you need to verify a circuit or find a practical configuration quickly. I keep the semiconductor edition on my bench next to my oscilloscope. When I need to check how a particular transistor bias arrangement behaves in real life, I flip to the relevant section and get an answer in about thirty seconds.

Which Book To Start With

The core getting started in electronics book by Mims covers basic components, simple test equipment, and fundamental circuits like amplifiers, oscillators, and power supplies. The companion books go deeper into specific areas. The integrated circuits volume is probably the most useful after the basics book. It covers op-amps, timers, logic gates, and voltage regulators with actual working circuits rather than abstract descriptions. There is a common mistake beginners make with these books. They try to read them cover to cover like a novel. That does not work because the structure is deliberately non-linear. Each circuit entry is self-contained. You are better off browsing by topic, finding circuits that match what you are trying to build, and reading those sections. The index is decent but not comprehensive. The table of contents gives you a general map of the territory covered. I once spent two hours looking for a voltage divider calculation because I misremembered which chapter it was in. The book does not have a dedicated math section. Component calculations are embedded within the circuit descriptions. If you need to do calculations, you will need a separate reference like the Schaum's outlines for electronics. These books complement that kind of resource rather than replacing it.

Building From the Schematics

The schematics are the main draw. They are drawn in a simplified style that shows the signal flow clearly. Component values are given for standard parts available through distributors. You can typically build most of the circuits on perfboard or a breadboard without modifying the component values. The circuits are designed to be practical, not theoretical perfection. One issue I encountered regularly was that some component values assume a certain tolerance or temperature range that is not stated. A circuit that works fine at room temperature might drift noticeably when the board warms up during extended operation. I learned to add decoupling capacitors near IC power pins even when the schematic does not show them. The original Mims books were written before surface-mount technology became common, so the layouts assume through-hole components and longer leads. This matters for high-frequency circuits in particular. The power supply circuits in the basic book are functional but not optimized. A linear regulator circuit shown for a fixed output will dissipate significant heat if you are stepping down from a high input voltage. I built one of these circuits to power a microcontroller project and had to add a heatsink after the regulator got too hot to touch. The book mentions power dissipation in passing but does not warn beginners about it explicitly. Factor in thermal management before you commit to a design.

Where to Find Them

The original Mims books are out of print. You will find them on eBay, Amazon marketplace sellers, and used book sites. Prices range from five dollars for a worn copy to thirty dollars for a near-mint edition. The paperback versions are more durable than the hardcover summaries because they lie flat on a workbench. I prefer the spiral-bound reprints that some publishers have released, though they are not as widely available. There are also newer books that follow the same approach. The "Electronics For All" series by various authors uses a similar stripped-down format. If you cannot find an original Mims edition, those are reasonable substitutes. They do not have the same depth in certain areas, but the circuit selection overlaps significantly. PDF versions exist on file-sharing sites, but the image quality is poor and the schematics are difficult to read at small sizes. If you go that route, make sure the resolution is at least 300 DPI. Reading a blurry resistor color code chart is not helpful. Physical copies are worth the money for this type of reference material.

What They Do Not Cover

These books predate modern PCB design tools, simulation software, and surface-mount assembly methods. You will not find SPICE models, Gerber file instructions, or SMD component packages in the original editions. If you are learning modern electronics design workflows, you will need additional resources for PCB layout and simulation. The semiconductor physics coverage is minimal. You will learn how to use a transistor in a circuit but not deeply understand the junction behavior that makes it work. For that level of detail, look at texts like Sedra and Smith or Gray and Meyer. The Mims books are a starting point, not an endpoint. They get you building things quickly, which is valuable for maintaining motivation. I have seen beginners get stuck because they treat these books as complete education. They build every circuit in the book and then feel lost when faced with a real design problem. The gap between following a schematic and creating one is significant. Bridge that gap by experimenting with modifications — change a resistor value, swap a component, see what happens. The book gives you the foundation. You build the understanding through doing.

The getting started in electronics Mims books are still worth reading if you approach them correctly. They are compact references for people who want to build circuits without wading through hundreds of pages of theory. Buy a used copy, keep it on your workbench, and refer to it when you need a practical circuit solution. Do not expect it to teach you everything about electronics. It was never designed to.