Learning electronics just got A LOT easier!

Education Technology
Learning electronics just got A LOT easier!
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I’m thrilled to announce our latest offering from O’Reilly/Make: Books, Make: Electronics, by Charles Platt. This is a book that we’ve wanted to do for awhile. Many of us at Maker Media have had an interaction that goes something like this: You’re at a talk, Maker Faire, or elsewhere, and someone spirits you aside, like they’re going to confess to a petty crime or some marital indiscretion. What they want to whisper sheepishly into your ear is that they love MAKE, all of the excitement they see over open source electronics, and the cool kits we sell in the Maker Shed, but they have NO IDEA how electronics work, and the “beginner” books and resources they look at online zoom quickly over their heads and frustrate their efforts to learn. Ultimately, they find themselves too embarrassed to admit their lack of high-tech smarts or to ask questions (which is why they’ve taken you behind a dumpster to confess their ignorance).

So we decided to make it our mission to create a book that would patiently guide readers into the world of electronics in a way that was fun, clear-spoken, graphical, and experiential. Charles dubbed it “learning by discovery.” He has you experimenting with parts right out of the gate, licking batteries (really), breaking and frying stuff, and then you learn what happened and why, the theories behind the parts and processes, and how to do the experiment correctly. For all of those would-be makers and wireheads who’ve been looking for a book that will finally let them in on all the fun, we made this one for you!

In 340+ pages, Make: Electronics takes you from the most basic aspects of electronic components and theory to essential techniques, such as soldering and using a multimeter, gathering basic tools and setting up a workshop, all the way up to working with integrated circuits, microcontrollers, and building sophisticated devices such as robots. The book is full-color, with hundreds of photos, illustrations, schematics, even fun cartoons. Charles Platt, being the true Renaissance man that he is, did all of this himself. So the book has something of a charming, handmade feel to it.

To give you an idea of what the book feels like, we’ve put together this 40-page PDF. It contains the cover, table of contents, two complete projects from the book, and the index.

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A hearty congrats to Charles and everyone at O’Reilly and MAKE who worked so hard to make this book happen, especially editors Brian Jepson, Rachel Monaghan, designer Ron Bilodeau, cover designer Mark Paglietti, copy editor Nancy Kotary, and Director of Brand Management Edie Freedman. And to the amazing Bunnie Huang, who served as our technical editor, and to Marc de Vinck, who took the awesome cover photo.

In the Maker Shed:
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Make: Electronics
Our Price: $34.99
Want to learn the fundamentals of electronics in a fun and experiential way? Start working on some excellent projects as soon as you crack open this unique, hands-on book. Build the circuits first, then learn the theory behind them! With Make: Electronics, you’ll learn all of the basic components and important principles through a series of “learn by discovery” experiments. And you don’t need to know a thing about electricity to get started.

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Check out the FREE shipping offer from the Maker Shed.
(orders of $100 or more, Contiguous US only, not to be combined with any other offers)

12 thoughts on “Learning electronics just got A LOT easier!

  1. Kirt says:

    “What they want to whisper sheepishly into your ear is that they love MAKE, all of the excitement they see over open source electronics, and the cool kits we sell in the Maker Shed, but they have NO IDEA how electronics work, and the “beginner” books and resources they look at online zoom quickly over their heads and frustrate their efforts to learn. Ultimately, they find themselves too embarrassed to admit their lack of high-tech smarts or to ask questions (which is why they’ve taken you behind a dumpster to confess their ignorance).”

    This is me. Thanks for writing this book. I will be ordering it very soon!

  2. UncleKudzu says:

    i’m excited about this book! i’m also one of those NO IDEA people, and i want to get over the hump of my ignorance and do some of the stuff y’all are doing!

    OK, then, i’ll soon be trusting O’Reilly/Make: to steer me in the right direction.

  3. Jason says:

    Make Magazine, prepare yourselves. You are going to sell one BILLION of these books. This is exactly what I have been looking for for over a decade.

    thank you

    1. Rob Roy says:

      Yes, this sounds like a godsend. I have no idea about electronics but DO want to know.

      I have a 10mA stereo transmitter kit I bought years ago and every time I open it I get overwhelmed and put it back away.

      And way back I had a timer kit for my slide projector (remember those) and I never could get it to work. Thank you MAKE.

  4. Ernst says:

    [whispering sheepishly]: “Ve-ry good idea. Very good indeed.” [more sheepishly]: “How about Make:programming?”

  5. CircuitGizmos says:

    I’ve received a lot of emails from people looking for a basic guide for electronics. This is it. Make: Electronics is clean, clear, and very informative. It covers the stuff I was itching to learn before formal engineering education.

    The contents of the book are the type of things that I’m asked to explain in detail. With the book you get great photos, clear explanations, and projects to complete.

    This is the first book that I’ll recommend to anyone asking questions about electronics.

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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

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