Corrections, Updates, and Additions
to
Robust Electronic Design Reference Book
Volumes I and II

This web site is being maintained by John R. Barnes, who was the President and Chief Engineer of dBi Corporation from 2002 to September 30, 2013, when we closed because ObamaCrap made it too expensive for us to remain in business.

John R. Barnes KS4GL, PE, NCE, ESDC Eng, SM IEEE
February 6, 2012
jrbarnes@iglou.com

Researching and writing the Robust Electronic Design Reference Book, Volumes I and II took me over 4,200 hours work, putting in 8 to 16+ hours per day, 7 days per week, for over 11 months preparing the camera-ready manuscript. So despite my best efforts, and the help of nine peer reviewers, there are probably still some errors in the:

To date, we have found 17 errors in these books. I've also added European and Japanese battery designations to one table in the Batteries chapter. The locations of these errors, and the corrected text, are listed below the summary table. Please send any critiques, corrections, and/or suggested additions to either volume of Robust Electronic Design Reference Book to me at jrbarnes@iglou.com. Please include (this list can also be found on page 46-8 of Volume I):

Many of the standards, directives, and regulations referenced in the book are still evolving, and the dates at which they become applicable or are withdrawn may change. Thus, as printed, the following appendices may or may not not contain the very latest information:

There are also a few topics that I wanted to discuss in the books, but didn't trust the published information that I could find on them. I will continue to research these topics, and from time-to-time will have additional useful information to include in the books.

Therefore this web page contains, referenced by page number:

VOLUME I   Pages Tables Figures Errors
Found		 Updates/
Corrections
front matter   48 0 0 0 0
Chapter 1 Introduction to Robust Electronic Design 6 0 0 0 0
Chapter 2 Preparation for Robust Electronic Design 4 0 0 0 0
Chapter 3 Developing Products and Equipment Using Robust Electronic Design 30 0 0 1 1
Chapter 4 Noise Sources, Noise Coupling Paths, and Noise Victims 22 3 8 0 0
Chapter 5 Selecting Passive Components 8 0 1 0 0
Chapter 6 Resistors 22 8 13 0 0
Chapter 7 Fuses 6 0 1 0 0
Chapter 8 Capacitors 40 13 5 1 1
Chapter 9 Inductors and Transformers 30 1 27 0 0
Chapter 10 EMC Ferrites 18 1 23 0 0
Chapter 11 Crystals and Ceramic Resonators 24 4 9 0 0
Chapter 12 Switches, Controls, Indicators, Displays, and Relays 32 4 5 0 0
Chapter 13 Batteries, Fuel Cells, and Solar Cells 42 8 8 1 2
Chapter 14 Connectors and Sockets 32 1 11 0 0
Chapter 15 Selecting Active Components 24 13 8 0 0
Chapter 16 Diodes 30 1 33 0 0
Chapter 17 Transient Suppressors and Surge Suppressors 16 1 12 0 0
Chapter 18 Transistors, FET's, and Thyristors 34 0 30 0 0
Chapter 19 Optoelectronics 24 5 9 0 0
Chapter 20 Integrated Circuits 90 24 15 1 1
Chapter 21 Designing Digital Circuits 24 0 18 0 0
Chapter 22 Designing Analog Circuits 18 0 22 0 0
Chapter 23 Designing Interface Circuits 16 0 14 0 0
Chapter 24 Designing Power Supply Circuits 30 0 25 0 0
Chapter 25 Designing Microprocessor and Microcontroller Circuits 18 0 3 0 0
Chapter 26 Partitioning 6 0 4 0 0
Chapter 27 Grounds and Returns 18 0 20 0 0
Chapter 28 Bypassing, Decoupling, and Power Distribution 42 2 7 2 2
Chapter 29 Wires, Traces, and Planes 8 1 5 0 0
Chapter 30 Transmission Lines 28 0 24 1 1
Chapter 31 Designing Printed Circuit Boards 102 3 58 2 2
Chapter 32 Designing Cables and Backplanes 20 0 7 0 0
Chapter 33 Bonding 10 4 2 0 0
Chapter 34 Shielding 20 9 13 0 0
Chapter 35 Filtering 14 0 8 0 0
Chapter 36 Enclosures and Mechanical Design 8 2 0 0 0
Chapter 37 Software 12 0 0 0 0
Chapter 38 Watchdog Timers 8 0 3 0 0
Chapter 39 Thermal Considerations 28 3 26 0 0
Chapter 40 Finding and Fixing Problems 18 0 0 0 0
Chapter 41 Desk Checks 18 0 4 0 0
Chapter 42 Lab Tests 30 0 15 0 0
Chapter 43 ESD Testing 6 0 0 0 0
Chapter 44 Approval Testing 22 0 10 0 0
Chapter 45 EMC/EMI/ESD and Safety 8 1 0 0 0
Chapter 46 Some Parting Thoughts 8 0 0 2 2
acronyms Acronyms and Common/Trade Names 8 0 0 0 0
bibliography Bibliography 82 0 0 0 0
conversion Conversion Factors 10 8 0 0 0
glossary Glossary 10 0 0 0 0
schematic Schematic Symbols 2 0 1 0 0
units Definitions of Units and Symbols 10 1 0 0 0
index Index, Volumes I and II 106 0 0 0 0
             
VOLUME II            
front matter   28 0 0 0 0
Appendix A A Refresher on Circuit Analysis 10 0 14 3 3
Appendix B Taylor Worst-Case Design 6 2 7 2 2
Appendix C Important Properties of Conductors and Ferrites 24 3 0 0 0
Appendix D Important Properties of Insulators and Semiconductors 38 3 0 0 0
Appendix E Galvanic and Triboelectric Series 18 2 0 0 0
Appendix F Important Properties of Wires and Cables 40 31 6 0 0
Appendix G Important Properties of Printed Circuit Boards, Hybrid Modules, Flat Cables, and Busbars 52 10 38 1 1
Appendix H Wire Gages 18 8 0 0 0
Appendix I Sheet Metal Gages 6 4 0 0 0
Appendix J Bergeron Diagrams 36 0 80 1 1
Appendix K Electromagnetic Field Theory 14 0 9 0 0
Appendix L International Power, Plugs, and Languages 10 1 1 0 0
Appendix M International Safety Requirements 6 0 0 0 0
Appendix N International EMC/EMI/ESD Requirements 8 0 0 0 0
Appendix O Miscellaneous International Requirements 6 0 0 0 0
Appendix P Finding and Buying Standards 10 0 0 0 0
Appendix Q Glossary 10 0 0 0 0
Appendix R Acronyms and Common/Trade Names 8 0 0 0 0
Appendix S Definitions of Units and Symbols 10 1 0 0 0
Appendix T Conversion Factors 10 8 0 0 0
Appendix U Schematic Symbols 2 0 1 0 0
index Index, Volume II 16 0 0 0 0
    1736 194 663 18 19

Corrections/Updates/Additions to Volume I

Page 3-16, 4th paragraph, last sentence, found by Richard Georgerian on 6/7/2004.
Change "what it was we was looking for" to "what it was we were looking for".

Page 8-29, 1st paragraph, last sentence, found by John Barnes on 2/6/2012.
Change "HP 3195A" to "HP 4195A".

Page 13-26, Table 13-5, update by John R. Barnes on 1/4/2004.
Added IEC (European) and JIS (Japanese) names for common battery shapes and sizes.

Table 13-5. Common Battery Shapes and Sizes
ANSI/IEC/JIS Name Shape Height, in m (inches) Diameter, in m (inches) Width, in m (inches) Thickness, in m (inches)
6F22/6F22/006P
9V Transistor-Radio Battery		 rectangular 0.0484 (1.91) — 0.0262 (1.03) 0.0167 (0.657)
AAAA/?/? Cell cylindrical 0.0442 (1.74) 0.00965 (0.380) — —
AAA/R03/UM4 Cell cylindrical 0.0445 (1.75) 0.0104 (0.409) — —
AA/R6/UM3 Cell cylindrical 0.0500 (1.97) 0.0142 (0.559) — —
C/R14/UM2 Cell cylindrical 0.0496 (1.95) 0.0254 (1.00) — —
D/R20/UM1 Cell cylindrical 0.0611 (2.41) 0.0341 (1.34) — —
F/R25/? Cell cylindrical 0.0914 (3.60) 0.0333 (1.31) — —
N/R1/UM5 cell cylindrical 0.0297 (1.17) 0.0112 (0.441) — —

Page 13-38, 2nd paragraph, 4th line, found by Robert Barnes on 11/28/2008.
Change "can operate can operate" to "can operate".

Pages 20-52, 20-58, found by John R. Barnes on 9/2/2004.
"Thevinen" is supposed to be spelled "Thevenin".

Page 28-10, third paragraph, found by John R. Barnes on 1/28/2005.
"DRAMS" is supposed to be "DRAM's".

Page 28-13, Figure 28-7, found by John R. Barnes on 5/29/2004.
The leftmost figure, with large vias in the pads, should be labeled "best". The rightmost figure, with long skinny traces connecting vias to the pads, should be labeled "poorest".

Page 30-17, found by John R. Barnes on 9/2/2004.
"Thevinen" is supposed to be spelled "Thevenin".

Page 31-26, 2nd paragraph, line 3, found by Richard Georgerian on 6/7/2004.
Change "(Tables 21-2, 21-5, 21-8, 21-11, 21-14, 21-17, 21-20)" to "(Tables 20-3, 20-6, 20-9, 20-12, 20-15, 20-18, 20-21)".

Page 31-87, Figure 31-56, found by John R. Barnes on 1/7/2004.
The bottom arrow on the right side of the figure should be labeled "barrel".

Page 46-6, first paragraph, line 5, found by Bill Burwell on 3/31/2004.
Add the word "times" between "debugging the same problem two or three" and "before he finally got it fixed".

Page 46-8, first paragraph, line 4, found by Sean Dooley on 7/4/2005.
Change "an mistake" to "a mistake".

Corrections/Updates/Additions to Volume II

Pages A-3, A-4, A-9, found by Clayton Paul on 8/10/2004.
"Thevinen" is supposed to be spelled "Thevenin".

Page A-4, second paragraph, line 3, found by John R. Barnes on 9/2/2004.
"Rthrevinen" should be "Rthevenin".

Page A-4, first paragraph, lines 3 and 4, found by Bill Burwell on 5/21/2004.
Add the word "much" between "We pretty" and "just walk through the circuit".

Page B-4, found by John R. Barnes on 9/2/2004.
"Thevinen" is supposed to be spelled "Thevenin".

Page B-5, Figure B-7, found by Bill Burwell on 4/12/2004.
Add "Ioffset" and "-0.15uA" to the right-end current source.

Page G-28, Figure G-21, found by Richard Georgerian on 8/19/2004.
Add "Unacceptable" under the top-right portion of the figure.

Page J-3, 3rd paragraph, second line, found by Richard Georgerian on 6/7/2004.
Change "(Figure F-4)" to "(Figure J-4)".

dBi Corporation was a one-man test house (testing laboratory) based in Lexington, Kentucky, testing a wide variety of commercial electronic products for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), electromagnetic interference (EMI), and electrostatic discharge (ESD) under its ISO 17025 accreditation. dBi was founded in Winchester, Kentucky in 1995 by Donald R. Bush, shortly after he retired from 30 years service with IBM Lexington's/ Lexmark's EMC Lab. John R. Barnes, who'd worked with Don at IBM Lexington and Lexmark, bought dBi in 2002 after Don's death, and moved the company to Lexington, Kentucky. John closed dBi at 11:59pm EDT on September 30, 2013, because ObamaCrap had increased operating expenses to the point that we could no longer afford to remain in business.

We'd like to thank all of the clients who chose dBi to test their products from 1995 to 2013. Below is a brief summary of our accomplishments during the 18 years we were in business.

From 1995 to 2001, under Don Bush's ownership and operation, dBi:

From 2002 to 2013, under John Barnes' ownership and operation, dBi:

Go to Main Web Site Index Go to Full Standards Index Go to ITE Standards Index Go to Residential/ Commercial Standards Index Go to Industrial Standards Index
Go to Lab Equipment Standards Index Go to Audio/ Video Equipment Standards Index Go to Lamps/ Luminaires Standards Index Go to Appliance Standards Index
Last revised February 6, 2012.