Digital Signal Processing Demystified (Engineering Mentor Series)
James D. Broesch is a staff engineer for General Atomics, where he is responsible for the design and development of several advanced control systems used on fusion control programs. He also teaches classes in signal processing and hardware design at the University of California-San Diego.
· Integrated book/software package allows readers to simulate digital signal processing (DSP) situations and experiment with effects of different DSP techniques.
· Gives an applications-oriented approach to DSP instead of a purely mathematical one.
· The accompanying CD includes a DSP "calculator" to help solve design problems
Why Read This Book
You should read this book if you want a practical, low‑math introduction to core DSP concepts and common algorithms — explained in an approachable, example-driven way. You will get intuitive explanations of sampling, filtering, and FFT techniques plus a bundled simulation tool that helps you experiment with real DSP problems.
Who Will Benefit
Early-career engineers, technicians, or students who need a practical, hands-on introduction to DSP concepts and basic implementation issues.
Level: Beginner — Prerequisites: Basic algebra and comfort with complex numbers; no advanced mathematics required, though elementary calculus and linear algebra help.
Key Takeaways
- Explain the basic principles of sampling, aliasing, and quantization and their practical implications.
- Apply DFT/FFT for spectral analysis and basic frequency-domain processing.
- Design and evaluate simple FIR and IIR digital filters using common design methods and windows.
- Use the supplied simulation/calculator tools to prototype and visualize DSP algorithms.
- Understand implementation issues such as fixed‑point effects and basic optimization for DSP hardware.
- Interpret common DSP application examples (audio, control, communications) and adapt techniques to simple projects.
Topics Covered
- Introduction to Digital Signal Processing — motivations and overview
- Signals and Systems — discrete‑time concepts
- Sampling, Aliasing, and A/D–D/A conversion
- The z-Transform and Discrete-Time System Analysis
- The Discrete Fourier Transform and the FFT
- Spectral Analysis and Windowing Techniques
- FIR Filter Principles and Design Methods
- IIR Filters and Practical Implementation Considerations
- Practical Implementation: Fixed‑Point Arithmetic and Scaling
- Simulation and the DSP 'Calculator' — using the CD tools
- Applications and Case Studies (audio, control, communications)
- Appendices: tables, quick references, and further reading
Languages, Platforms & Tools
How It Compares
Less mathematically rigorous than Oppenheim & Schafer's Signals and Systems/DSP texts and more application-oriented (and more beginner-friendly) than Steven W. Smith's The Scientist and Engineer's Guide to Digital Signal Processing.
