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

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

1. Maximzodal

   Rated 5 out of 5

   October 5, 2024

   Great resource for learning electronics

   If you're trying to learn electronics on your own, you can really use this.

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   Dale Ianni

   Rated 5 out of 5

   September 25, 2024

   If you want to learn electronics and Learn by doing this is the book for you

   Mr Platt does a wonderful job of explaining a complex topic and through the exercises takes the concepts and clearly helps them come to life so you le...More

   Mr Platt does a wonderful job of explaining a complex topic and through the exercises takes the concepts and clearly helps them come to life so you learn from doing.

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   Gary Whitney

   Rated 5 out of 5

   September 21, 2024

   The book delivered the ability to learn electronics without complications and unnecessary expenses.

   When I learned electronics in school 50 years ago. It was a lot of math and theory. This book made it fun. I was able to follow along on a breadboard...More

   When I learned electronics in school 50 years ago. It was a lot of math and theory. This book made it fun. I was able to follow along on a breadboard until the digital logic circuits. Then, I wasn't willing to buy another kit to get those chips. The subject was explained clearly, and I didn't feel the need to build the circuits.
   The introduction to microcontrollers and programming languages was a good way to end the book.

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   Federico Camacho

   Rated 5 out of 5

   September 18, 2024

   Very informative electronic book for hobbyist

   Need it for starting my electronic hobby..

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   Eli Clark

   Rated 5 out of 5

   June 1, 2024

   Great beginners book BUT...

   This has been a great way to get into electronics for me. I have pretty close to 0 background and so I wanted to start from the absolute beginning, an...More

   This has been a great way to get into electronics for me. I have pretty close to 0 background and so I wanted to start from the absolute beginning, and this book has been excellent for that. BUT, a word of caution. I will say that if you want to follow along exactly with this book, you should get the book first, and then buy one of the two kits from different companies that has the specific parts the author is talking about. They are listed in the back of the book. I purchased a kit before this book that has probably 70% of the parts he uses, but some resistors are rated slightly differently than what he uses for instance, and if you truly are starting from the beginning like I was, then all of the sudden I'm trying not only to learn what the author is saying, but also worrying about whether or not something will work because I have the wrong part or if it's because I did something wrong. That being said, at the end of the book there is an appendix so you can buy individual parts which is what I'm looking at, but in hindsight, even though the kits aren't cheap, it would have been so much easier and probably not much more expensive to just buy the kits pre-made. So, in summation, I recommend the book, but I wish I would have also bought the kit the author recommends. If you don't have that kit, you won't be able to dive right in and it'll take some extra research and extra time to get the parts to really get into the book and follow along exactly.

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   Albert

   Rated 5 out of 5

   February 29, 2024

   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 ...More

   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!

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   Mayhem

   Rated 5 out of 5

   February 11, 2024

   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 cours...More

   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!

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   James B. Crawford

   Rated 5 out of 5

   December 4, 2023

   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...More

   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.

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   VM

   Rated 5 out of 5

   October 17, 2023

   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...More

   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.

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   GCG3

   Rated 5 out of 5

   June 2, 2023

   Wonderful book by a gifted teacher

   Concise, even elegant. Clearly written and illustrated in a casual, accessible manner. It's progressive in method, building on prior learning in sma...More

   Concise, even elegant. Clearly written and illustrated in a casual, accessible manner. It's progressive in method, building on prior learning in small increments. The reader's understanding is the goal
   
   The book is also supported by retailers selling kits that vary from just parts to parts and tools, this is nice, but unnecessary, as the author provides part lists and guidance for selecting tools adequate to the task.
   At this writing, I am about half way through the experiments and thoroughly enjoying the experience.

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   Ryan

   Rated 5 out of 5

   April 18, 2023

   Excellent and entertaining explanations, beautiful illustrations

   I'm a couple of chapters into this book and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Charles Platt has not written a run-of-the-mill, cookie-cutter For Dummies ty...More

   I'm a couple of chapters into this book and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Charles Platt has not written a run-of-the-mill, cookie-cutter For Dummies type of a book, but stands on his own as a unique author, joining you as a mentor and giving you insider tips on how to buy the inexpensive parts that you need. He teaches you the science behind the electronics, teaching you terms such as amperage, voltage, resistance, capacitance, etc. in a fun way with analogies, such as a water pump. The book is very well organized. It's a terrific book for anyone who is curious about electronics and wants to have some hands-on fun.
   
   There's enough content in this 300 page book to satisfy someone's curiosity for months or even years. And if you finish this book, he has a few sequel books to continue the journey.
   
   There's a 20 page section on soldering that has helped me to improve my technique.
   
   I would say that this book is for middle school, high school students at the youngest.

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   Chuck E

   Rated 5 out of 5

   February 17, 2023

   Never too old to learn

   I have always wanted to learn electronics, and now that I am in my 50's I finally have time to study. This book has helped demystify IC chips, and ho...More

   I have always wanted to learn electronics, and now that I am in my 50's I finally have time to study. This book has helped demystify IC chips, and how to connect them in circuits. It also has a good primer on basic electronic parts which was good refresher since I have not looked into electronics in a while. If you have meters and other equipment, look in the back of the book(Sources) to find where you can order individual parts for the experiments instead of the kits which might have more than you need.
   
   Now, its time to order Make: More Electronics.

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   Kathryn Wickware

   Rated 5 out of 5

   November 5, 2022

   This author is one of the best educators I have encountered.

   This book is really well written. I cannot find an electronics class to attend to learn this stuff, so, I am having to teach myself. Not the way I w...More

   This book is really well written. I cannot find an electronics class to attend to learn this stuff, so, I am having to teach myself. Not the way I would prefer to do it. I have read a couple of other popular, introductory texts on this subject and they are nowhere near as well written as this book. I do not think I will find better than this. The explanations are clearer, more complete and much easier to understand. Also, the descriptions and evaluations of the tools the reader will need to progress in this area is much more thorough. There are a lot of useful hints in this book I have not seen in other books. I will be buying more of the Make books.

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   Freiday

   Rated 5 out of 5

   March 23, 2022

   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 ...More

   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).

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