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Make: Electronics: Learning by Discovery: A hands-on primer for the new electronics enthusiast

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Description

The first edition of Make: Electronics established a new benchmark for introductory texts. The second edition enhanced that experience, and now this third edition includes all-new diagrams throughout, new photographs, and completely rewritten text. Learning by Discovery is a system developed by Charles Platt to enable an experience that is fascinating, fun, and memorable. You learn by building your own circuits--and by making your own mistakes. In fact, mistakes are an important part of the experience. The book encourages you to "burn things out and mess things up" to find out for yourself the limits of electronic components. You'll blow a fuse and watch an overloaded LED, and you can cut open a relay to see how it works inside. Affordable Component Kits are available from independent suppliers (on Amazon), or the book explains how to shop online yourself. Illustrations are in full color throughout, so you'll see exactly what you need and how to use it. While Make: Electronics minimizes the amount of theory that you need, it does show you how to figure out Ohm's Law and do the simple math to calculate the time constant of a capacitor. A buying guide shows basic tools ranging from pliers to a low cost multimeter. A simple "finger test" demonstrates how transistors switch or amplify current. You can solder wires, if you wish, to build a permanent circuit, although soldering is not necessary to build all the circuits in the book. You'll see how to use integrated circuit chips to create a simple circuit that tests the speed of your reflexes. Other circuits include a combination lock for a computer, or a game in which players compete to be the first to press a button. All the basic concepts are demonstrated quickly and simply with affordable components. You'll discover resistance, capacitance, voltage, amperage, inductance, and the relationship between electricity and magnetism. Ideal for Beginners This book assumes that you have no prior knowledge. It explains each concept in meticulous detail, and is friendly, patient, and fun. Positive reader feedback has been received from people ranging in age from 8 to 84. If you only buy one book about electronics, this should be the one. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Make Community, LLC


Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 26, 2021


Edition ‏ : ‎ 3rd


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 325 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1680456873


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 75


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 17 years


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 0.68 x 9.75 inches


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Great starting point for beginners!
Book is very well-written and although it is very informative, author’s style is easy-going and down to earth, so it reads easy and doesn’t overwhelm you. Provides plenty of examples using basic concepts to help you grasp electronics easily…wish I had this book back when I was a kid, it would have made electronics MUCH easier for me! I would say this book is best targeted to young adult readers and adults alike, but perhaps a curious kid may understand it as well! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2024 by Albert
    • Outstanding Clarity, Illustrations & Teaching By Charles Platt - This is the Starting Book you want!
For many years I have been interested in learning electronics, and I have purchased what feels like over a dozen different books, kits or online courses. The material in nearly all of them were written by engineers and it felt like for engineers. Just could not get into them. Additionally, many of the other kits and courses force your to learn Arduios, which I am not against at a future date, but for right now, I want to understand the basics of schematics and working with breadboards. I want to learn the components, what they do and how to plan to use them. I want instruction using a basic multi-meter. Happy to learn about Arduino's later. Just not what I am still wrapping my mind around the basics. Determined, I decided to just start buying all of the beginner books out there until I found an instructor whose style resonated with me. THIS IS THE BOOK! Just WOW! Such clarity and simplicity to understand. Charles Platt clearly understands how to take a complex subject matter and make it palpable for a beginner like me. That is also not to say his understanding is surface level, he has a very DEEP understanding of electronics and has many additional books on the subject. Suffice it to say, I study his book EVERY MORNING now and am LOVING it. There are some things I need to re-read, but I definitely am having much more success with Make:Electronics 3rd Edition. (Always get the latest editions!) Also, there is an electronics component kit that comes with this book. I highly, HIGHLY recommend getting this kit as well, so you can physically create the breadboards and learn hands on as you go. You will be at a huge learning disadvantage if you do not do these experiments. Thank you Charles Platt! As a teacher myself, I appreciate the effort you have taken to make this difficult subject matter so accessible- I appreciate you! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2024 by Mayhem
    • Helpful for all those with interest.
I consider myself as a beginner with semiconductor operations. This book explains very well how to approach the subject. I'm very pleased with the way it teaches the subject. I feel that I have learned a lot with this book and the breadboard kit that I purchased. So, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about this subject. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2023 by James B. Crawford
    • A whole new world opened for me
I ordered this book after buying a "build your own digital clock kit" because I wanted practice soldering (I am an electrician and its one skill that I never tackled). I obviously do have a background in electricity but I feel he explains it very well for someone who does not, it may not be a good book for someone under the age of 12 though. Anyways I ordered it after being curious of the components in the kit I had made, very glad that I did because I ended up reading the book in two days, then ordered the this third edition as soon as it came out. Everything is extremely well explained, also with some interesting history of things mixed in. I felt most of the projects were useful and made most of them myself. After this book showed me the things I could actually do (never thought it was in my ability to make electronics) I have been doing a lot of little projects for myself and learned about Arduino (which is also talked about in the book). Bottom line: If you are interested in making (or modifying) electronics this is the best book I have read to get going on it (I have got other books since that seem to focus too much on the math to get someone interested). ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2022 by Freiday
    • Good book for absolute beginners.
The media could not be loaded. If you have any knowledge of circuitry and soldering, parts of this book will be very boring for you. However, there’s a whole lot of good information as far as actually understanding the way that electricity works and learning by building several circuits. They want you to buy their premade kit. This will be the cheapest way to get started, but you’re not going to get everything that they promised and it’s not going to be properly labeled. Watch my video, zoom in and take down the list of necessary supplies. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2023 by Jackson Gohn
    • Simply awesome.
Review Image by Aaron Aaron
Electrical Engineering is all calculus based which takes years of study. This book is great because it takes you through the process of building circuits without needing to understand advanced math. The author clearly explains some of the phenomena of electricity. Introduces some of the basic linear circuit concepts, and even some nonlinear transistor circuits. It's also not completely watered down like a lot of beginner engineering texts. It is a great inspiration to children and adults to pursue electrical engineering by providing realistic results. Definitely an excellent book. 10 stars. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2023 by Aaron Aaron
    • Electronics minus all the boring stuff!
If you've ever wanted to learn about electronics by actually engaging with the real stuff and not just reading a bunch of boring theory, buy this book and the kit (or shop around to make one yourself using the guide in the book) and just start doing the projects. This book pretty much will bring you from knowing barely anything to having a solid foundation that will allow you to explore the awesome world of electronics after completing most if not everything. You can think of Make: Electronics as like taking an electronics class if every class were a lab. Not a single part of this book will be without some sort of fun project or demonstration you can try out to get an understanding of the concept right in your own house. Of course, you won't become an electrical engineer or professional electrician by any means, but it will give you the knowledge you need to branch out into whatever part of electronics you want to learn more about (the book has resources for that as well!). You will also gain an appreciation for the innovations and intricacies in modern electronics. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2023 by VM
    • Great resource
Love the way this book explains electronics
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2024 by Brooks

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