As most of you know, I’ve been tinkering with electronics as of late. My interest was piqued due to my exposure to them in Ham radio. There is also a computer science angle with microcontrollers. I’ve built several kits, and have a few in the queue to build, but I also want to work my way toward being able to design my own circuits.
After checking out the reviews on Amazon I settled on Getting Started in Electronics by Forrest Mims. It has glowing reviews, many reviewers crediting Mims for jumpstarting their career in electronics. It’s also very short, at 128 pages.
I’ll be honest, I was disappointed. I’m probably a little more experienced than the target audience for this book, but not by much. While I did learn a few things, I found it to be way too high-level and not at all hands-on.
My next attempt at gaining an intuitive understanding of some electronic concepts will be via Make: Electronics. It’s a relatively new book by the guys at Make Magazine, of which I’m a subscriber. I read an interview with the author and editor a few days ago, and they actually mentioned that their intent was for it to be a modern day replacement for Getting Started in Electronics. (GSiE was originally published in 1983.) From reading about the book, it is decidedly more hands-on. While I’m sure some of it will be repetitive for me, I expect to learn quite a bit as well.
While I’m waiting on that to arrive, I’m going to read a couple of Sherlock Holmes short stories. I hope to see the new movie in the not too distant future, and I don’t want my image of Holmes’ world to be tainted by Hollywood.