Description
So, how much electronics do you need to know to be able to create something interesting, or creatively modify something that already exists? Well, that depends on where you start in the creative process. It also depends on your willingness to seek out new knowledge and acquire new skills as you go along.
The primary purpose of this book is to give you a reference for some of the more arcane (and possibly mundane) but essential aspects of electronics. These include things you would typically learn on the job and from years of experience, such as how to read the datasheet for an electronic component, determining how many things can be connected to an interface pin on a microcontroller, how to assemble various types of connectors, how to minimize noise and interference on a signal interface circuit, how to determine the resolution of an analog-to-digital converter, how various types of serial and network interfaces work, and how to use open source tools for schematic capture and PCB layout. And, of course, we will also cover the tools used in electronics work and how they are used, and we’ll examine what’s available in terms of test equipment beyond the garden-variety digital multimeter.
We’ll start off with an introduction to the underlying physics of electricity that dispenses with the water-flowing-in-a-pipe analogy and gets right to the heart of the matter with a look at how atoms pass electrons around. We’ll then examine the basic concepts of voltage and current. For those readers who might need or want a more detailed discussion of basic electrical theory, it can be found in Appendix A.
I should point out that this book is not intended to be an in-depth tutorial on electronics theory. There are already many excellent books on that topic, and to repeat that
here would just be a pointless exercise in killing trees. So, while there is some introductory material to set the stage, so to speak, the primary intent of this book is to provide you with a reference for topics that aren’t usually covered in an electronics text or a step-by-step project book.
With this book, perhaps one or two of the suggested reference works in Appendix C, and your own enthusiasm and ambition, you should be able to create that gadget or system you’ve been wanting to build and have it work as you intended. And remember, it’s not the end of the world if you accidentally convert an electronic component into charcoal. It happens all the time; it’s called learning.
Who This Book Is For
This book is for anyone with a desire to build an electronic device of some sort, but, to the maximum extent possible, I have made no assumptions about your skill level. What I have assumed is that you might not be familiar with the hardware, components, tools, and techniques that are used in electronics, or perhaps you already know something about electronics but could use some help with some of the more arcane aspects of the craft.
With this book as a workbench reference and guide to more detailed sources of information, you should be able to get started on building a nifty gadget and avoid some (hopefully, most) of the pitfalls that await the unwary. I’ve made the assumption that you will follow the pointers given to learn more about the various topics this book covers, and it covers a lot. It’s simply not possible to cover all the topics presented in this book at more than just a surface level; the resulting tome would be huge. In lieu of a lot of details, I’ve tried to provide enough information to give you a basic understanding of the topics and a foundation to build upon.
So, if you’ve been thinking about something you’d like to build but aren’t sure how to go about it, or you already know a fair amount about electronics but perhaps need some help putting it all together, then this book is for you.