Make: Electronics: Learning Through Discovery

**Intro**This is a nice electronics book. It starts out basic enough that I would say an enthusiastic student in 4th grade or higher, with ample support from their parents could probably get into electronics as a hobby by beginning with this book. It is also suitable for much more advanced people if they are willing to skip the first third of so of the book where the basics are. I meet this category, since I'm a Mechanical Engineer (but importantly, not an Electrical Engineer), and I'm happy to have bought this book just the same.**Notable positive features**1.) This book is substantial. It has glossy pages, color photos, and is 325 pages long. The pictures are bright and sharp. This is the second edition, and the author described the things that have been improved from the first edition.2.) There's a lot of basic info for accommodating beginners, and a good brush-up course for more advanced people. It tells how to solder, identify resistors, install and use things like IC's and LED's without burning them out, etc. It tells the basic facts about electronic components, like what IC's, LEDs, and capacitors *are*. It recommends tools and where to get tools and equipment from. It encourages you to experiment in order to learn, like it tells you how to actually go burn up an LED just to see how much (or how little) abuse they can take.3.) It has helpful info to explain the subtle electrical engineering concepts that have always confused me, like the difference between a relay and a transistor, and what the three leads on transistors do. My college electronics textbooks didn't do a good job at this, so that's the sort of thing that I'm getting out of this book.4.) It has safety information. Soldering safety. Shock hazard safety. What you should and shouldn't be afraid of.5.) It doesn't jump into wiring diagrams instantly. It uses photos and other types of sketches for people who haven't mastered wiring diagrams yet.6.) It has little bits of electronics history in it in the form of photos of the scientists and engineers from history, and captions under the photo. This keeps things entertaining without filling the text with unwanted extra info.7.) There is information toward the end on how to program software for your own contraptions using Arduino, a fun, versatile, and cheap software that is good for programming robots and other things.8.) There are some neat example projects, including a crystal radio (a radio that doesn't need batteries).**Comparison to Hacking Electronics by Simon Monk**This book is pretty similar to Hacking Electronics by Simon Monk, and those interested in the topic at hand should consider both of these books. Both are well written, cover a similar spectrum of topics, have color photos, and have glossy pages. I would say both are equally good in writing and content *quality.* This book is slightly longer than the Monk book, and thus has more content, so I like it slightly more for that, because I'm a little more advanced, and I tend to want as much info as possible so I can use it as a reference or handbook. Finally, this book seems a little better for hardware tinkering people than the Monk book, since the Arduino part in this book comprises a smaller percentage of the whole book than in the Monk book.**Summary**If you want to get into tinkering with electronics for fun, or want to learn more about electronics via a "learn by doing" approach, this is definitely a good book. It starts out basic enough that you can probably start from the very ground level, with knowing almost nothing. I think this book would also be good if you are teaching grade school or middle school students about electronics. Finally, this book would be a good handbook for the shop of a maker, circuit bender, hobby roboticist, or anyone else that likes to tinker with electronics, and needs an occasional reminder about resister color codes, for example, or how to hook up transistors.I recommend this book with essentially no reservations!

This is the book that taught me electronics and ignited my passion for a new hobby. It is a very easy read and teaches everything through hands-on exercises. I would recommend this book without hesitation both to an adult wanting to learn fundamental electronics as well as for any parents who want their kids to learn electronics. It covers the fundamentals with just the right amount of theory and offers lots of practical advice for a beginner on things like soldering and setting up an electronics workshop. The projects that this book will have you build are a lot of fun and at the end of the book I found myself wishing there were more projects like these I could do (luckily now there are, in Make: More Electronics, by the same author). The kits available from Makershed to go along with this book are also a godsend because trying to order all the electronic components needed by this book from an electronic supplier like Mouser can be very intimidating for a beginner.I had a few nits to pick with the first edition of this book: namely the use of TTL (7400LS) logic chips, which I found very finicky, and regardless are not much used anymore. Fortunately, the author has taken reader feedback seriously and addressed my complaint and those of other readers in the second edition. Another change I agree with is the switch in focus from Basic Stamp and Picaxe to Arduino in the section on microcontrollers. Arduino has revolutionized the hobbyist microcontroller landscape and has taken the maker world by storm to the extent that it is now the de facto standard for anyone getting started with microcontrollers. Finally, I found the fact that the author explicitly mentions the feedback from his readers and integrates the lessons learned from the the first edition into his text very refreshing. The fact that he has acknowledged that making good electronic circuits is a process, even for someone experienced as him, makes this book all the more accessible and educational.

I had studied electronics on my own as a kid, wanted to be a TV repairman in the 60's & 70's, but made a career in software instead. Nearing retirement now, I started from scratch with this book after reading the sample in Kindle. I expected to get incremental gratification from completing each breadboard experiment, but I find I am getting something more valuable than that. I am getting a sort of gut-feel that had eluded me earlier, for the behavior of components that can be counter-intuitive. So the journey turns out to be better than the milestones and destination, which is a concept that has rarely been real for me except in travel and backpacking. My enthusiasm keeps growing.I've spoken with authors of tech books at conferences, and was told book sales rarely pay off except as advertising for the author's speaking and consulting income. Book prices and relatively small sale volumes don't compensate for the expended hours. This book and its successor (Make: More Electronics) embody a stunning amount of detail effort and thought, a testament to the enthusiasm Mr. Platt seems to find in tutoring us in electronics, and in the process of learning through experimentation.After reading his descriptions of voltmeter features, I upgraded from my old one to the NeoTech 4000 and I am pleased so far. I also bought the pre-packaged kit #1 of parts (resistors, capacitors, LEDs etc) from Pro-Tech traders (I think) which gave a good kick-start to my dive into the material. I will price alternatives for the equivalent kits #2 and #3 before deciding whether to buy them in kit form (very convenient, but pricey) or ordering the parts individually (for which the author offers a wealth of useful help).