Gizmos!
Entered: 2010-01-05
Edited: 2010-01-05
Type: workshop

A couple of weeks ago I ordered Make: Electronics with the intention of actually learning a thing or two about building electronic gizmos, basic circuit design etc... The book is very well written and teaches in a way I find very easy to follow - a mix of theory and practical at the same time. Each chapter includes several experiments / projects that teach practical at handling components and dealing with electricity while explaining the science behind why everything is doing what it does. I've skimmed through most of the book now and am about to start working my way through the first projects. I just ordered all the supplies I'll need for everything in the first two chapters. About a $100 split between Mouser, All Electronics and Radio Shack I was actually surprised at how much hobby electronics Radio Shack still carries. I probably could've just gone to my local Radio Shack and picked up a lot of this in person and saved some on shipping but since the book lists part numbers it was just too easy to search for the part number and add stuff my cart online. Plus Radio Shack was usually missing one or two components needed for each experiment so I would have had to wait for the Mouser or All Electronics orders to arrive to get very far anyway.

I'm really looking forward to getting a decent practical foundation in working with electronics, as it will open up a lot of new project opportunities that I really can't tackle right now. I wish this book had been published about five years ago when I tried - and failed - to build a simple serial port IR receiver that would let me use a regular remote with my first HTPC box. Oh well, at least from that misadventure I acquired most of the tools I'll need to get through this book.

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