I am about a third of the way through this book and I am loving it. This is the perfect introduction to hands-on electronics. I was an engineering student in college (although not electrical engineering) so I was always kind of upset that after spending countless nights of my life doing all sorts of crazy math problems with respect to circuits, I didn't know something as simple as how a relay works, or how to build anything except maybe a simple circuit with a lightbulb and a resistor. I could design and build an RC circuit and calculate its time-constant but why in God's name I would ever NEED to build an RC circuit was beyond me...
No more. This book lets you know that its safe to rip open a relay and see exactly why it works. It will give you a circuit design and then have you build it. It will explain why something is or isn't working, and why. This won't make you an expert in electronics, it is definitely on the simple side of things (like algebraic simplifications of mathematical models that are actually rooted in calculus or differential equations), but that's exactly what I was looking for. This book will empower you to build things. I am reading it side by side with the Electricity & Magnetism chapters of my old Physics textbook so I can make the connections with the real theory and the nastier side of the math, but I really couldn't be happier. In spite of years of college, this book is just now making me feel like I know something about electronics.
Also, I recommend buying the kit that's sold for this book because it will save you a little money and a LOT of time. Amazon has been out of stock of it forever, but I went to the closest Radioshack and they had it for $75. Other than that, you will need to buy Digital Multimeter, a pair of wire strippers that can deal with 22-gauge wire, a pair of wire-cutters, a pair of needlenose pliers, and a set of precision screw drivers. Seems steep but if you plan on making use of your new-found knowledge for the foreseeable future, you will be using these tools well after you've worked through this book.
Make: Electronics, 2e: Learning by Discovery Paperback – Illustrated, 18 September 2015
by
Charles Platt
(Author)
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Product details
- ASIN : 1680450263
- Language : English
- Paperback : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781680450262
- ISBN-13 : 978-1680450262
- Reading age : 11 - 17 years
- Best Sellers Rank: 26,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer reviews:
Product description
About the Author
Charles Platt is a Contributing Editor and regular columnist for Make magazine, where he writes about electronics. Platt was a Senior Writer for Wired magazine, has written various computer books, and has been fascinated by electronics since he put together a telephone answering machine from a tape recorder and military-surplus relays at age 15. He lives in a Northern Arizona wilderness area, where he has his own workshop for prototype fabrication and projects that he writes about for Make magazine.
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Make: Electronics | Make: More Electronics | Encyclopedia of Electronic Components: Vol. 1 | Encyclopedia of Electronic Components: Vol. 2 | Encyclopedia of Electronic Components: Vol. 3 | Easy Electronics | |
Minimum Tools Required | Wire cutters, wire strippers, pliers, multimeter | Wire cutters, wire strippers, pliers, multimeter | n/a | n/a | n/a | No Tools Required |
Other recommended Tools | Soldering and desoldering tools | Soldering and desoldering tools | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Includes Hands-On Experiments | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Includes Reference Charts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Component-by-Component Reference Circuits | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Ideal for Beginners | ✓ | No (Read 'Make: Electronics' first) | No (Read 'Make: Electronics' first) | No (Read 'Make: Electronics' first) | No (Read 'Make: Electronics' first) | ✓ |
Introductory Electronics Tutorial | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
Covers Fundamental Electronic Components | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Advanced Logic Chips | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
Covers Sensors | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |

What's New in Make Electronics - 2nd Edition
'While there are some things that have barely changed at all', says author Charles Platt, others are significantly different in this edition. The new visuals are undoubtedly the thing that readers will notice first. There's color on every page now, with over 350 images.
'A new simplified section provides detailed advice on Internet searches and purchasing components', Charles says. 'I think it's a lot easier to understand than the first book, but it's still completely hands-on. Every other book on electronics starts with theory, but I start with putting a battery on your tongue-just as with the original book.'
Upgraded Projects Throughout!
- The dice simulation now has a unique new circuit and can run two dice instead of one.
- The burglar alarm is a new circuit with additional features.
- The reaction timer is now easier to build and can be precisely calibrated.
- The sound synthesizer now demonstrates the effects of coils and capacitors.
- The audio amplifier is now much simpler to build.
- Several new electromagnetism demonstrations.
- Three completely new Arduino projects.
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Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars
222 reviews

Sammy
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the perfect introduction to hands-on electronics
14 September 2015 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
260 people found this helpful

Mich Zentner
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is awesome for anyone starting off in electronics
12 September 2017 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
This book is awesome for anyone starting off in electronics. I've been trying to learn from different sources online which got confusing. After reading this book, so many things I was struggling to understand were starting to come together and make sense.
There's a good amount of experiments to better your understanding of the basics. Which leads to the only part that sucks ... getting everything for those experiments. The kits they sell are super expensive!
I went the other route and got the components myself. This actually does save you some money and you'll end up with extras. For general components I purchased a few kits on amazon and for the chips I went onto digikey. The chips are less than a dollar each and shipping was less than 4 dollars and arrived a couple days after the order went through. So don't let those pricey kits get in the way of you learning the right way.
There's a good amount of experiments to better your understanding of the basics. Which leads to the only part that sucks ... getting everything for those experiments. The kits they sell are super expensive!
I went the other route and got the components myself. This actually does save you some money and you'll end up with extras. For general components I purchased a few kits on amazon and for the chips I went onto digikey. The chips are less than a dollar each and shipping was less than 4 dollars and arrived a couple days after the order went through. So don't let those pricey kits get in the way of you learning the right way.
44 people found this helpful

G. Nease
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun and very educational
20 February 2019 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
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).
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).
18 people found this helpful

Richard
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fast-Paced Introduction to Electronics
27 December 2017 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
I just finished Chapters 1 and 2. The best thing about this book is that you start building circuits right away. Mr. Platt gives just enough theory for you to have a basic understanding of why the circuit works. On the other hand, he doesn't really give you the opportunity to test your knowledge of the components and the interactions between components; instead, you robotically build the circuits that he has designed. It would have been nice to see exercises where you take what you have learned and apply it to solve a new problem. I think exercises like this would build confidence. By the end of Chapter 2, I felt like I had an understanding of how resistors, capacitors, and transistors work, but if I were asked to design a simple circuit of my own, I wouldn't feel confident that I could.
28 people found this helpful