
Make: Electronics Book Bundle - lolptdr
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/make-electronics-book-bundle
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criddell
I'm very tempted to buy this, but I know it would just be another hobby that I
don't have time for. Even if I could afford to be retired, I doubt I would
have enough time to explore all the things that interest me.

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mjfl
Yup... I have "The Art of Electronics" megatome sitting right next to this
keyboard I'm typing on. Will I have time to open it up this month? Maybe to
wistfully flip through it, right before I go to bed. Otherwise, probably not.

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lstamour
That book -- I tried reading it. It's ... well, hard to stay focused. Ended up
just now getting "Learning the Art of Electronics: A Hands-On Lab Course," its
student manual companion, in the hopes that I'll be able to follow both easier
than just one alone. :)

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tjl
I have an earlier edition of "The Art of Electronics" and I'm wondering how
different the latest edition is. That said, I rarely open it so it probably
doesn't really matter anyway.

I've done only one electronics project since my electronics course in
undergrad. I keep meaning to do more, but I never get around to it.

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Kliment
I bought the new one on the basis of the sample chapter that is available to
download at any number of places. It's a much much better book in terms of
readability and structure, and has a lot of additional content compared to the
previous edition. A lot has happened in electronics since 1989. I recommend
you go read the sample chapter and decide accordingly.

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lstamour
To be clear, though, it doesn't cover software, or what you'd need for
Arduino-based projects. But it has quite a few sections at the end for micro-
processor based projects and communication protocols, etc. I found it to be a
good starting point for definitions or ideas, and to then head to the internet
for more details.

There's also: Ladyada interview with Paul Horowitz - The Art of Electronics
... [http://youtu.be/iCI3B5eT9NA](http://youtu.be/iCI3B5eT9NA)

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tjl
Thanks for the info. I'm not worried about software. I've done enough low-
level programming for that to be not a problem. I'm knowledgeable enough about
electronics, what I need most of all is a good reference which is why I have
the earlier edition.

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alister
Can someone who has actually bought this tell us whether this is as good as
the print versions? Things like all the diagrams and photos being present,
having good resolution, etc.

I've heard so many horror stories about how great technical books get mangled
when they're made into ebook versions (frankly I'd be quite happy with a
proper PDF version).

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johnhattan
I bought one of the previous Make Magazine bundles, and the PDF's were very
high quality. Definitely recommended over the ebook versions, as there's a lot
of formatting.

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pawadu
I buy all their bundles. The PDF quality is usually good but that could also
mean that the files are too big to be read on a tablet or a phone. The mobi &
epub versions are sometimes just a dump of the PDF file.

Speaking of quality, their Android bundles are unfortunately pure garbage.
They used to be great but now they are just garbage. If someone from the
humblebundle team is reading this: what the hell is going on there?

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johnhattan
FYI, the "Making Things Talk" book is not about attaching voice circuitry to
devices. It's about making devices that can communicate with each other.

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foogered
FYI: You need a Kinect for the Making Things See book.

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dan1234
And, if you're picking up one on eBay (approx £15), be sure to get the
standalone version which comes with an external power supply.

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probably_wrong
Slightly off-topic.

I've tried to do some basic circuits, but I always strike the same issue:
resistors. Most basic books just say "add this resistor here", meaning that
whenever I've tried to make changes I either kill my circuits or don't give
them enough power (you can have hours of fun debugging electronics when you
have a dead circuit and you don't know it).

Is there a simple equation I'm missing somewhere? And perhaps more related, is
this issue covered in one of these books?

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StavrosK
There is a simple equation, Ohm's law. Resistors are usually there to drop
voltage, but there isn't enough detail in the problem you're facing to know
exactly what the answer should be.

I'm not very proficient in hardware, so I'm about as confused as you, but
clarifying your question can help. I bought these books (not the plus bundle,
though) and they explain things a lot, so there is a very nice explanation for
what resistors do in them, and hopefully why they're used where they're used.
I mean, for $2 or so, there's no question about it.

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ethbro
Ohm's law is a important starting point (and will explain a lot of the basics
if you branch off from there search terms you don't know).

However, I think the biggest problem for why resistors / capacitors /
inductors / transformers are confusing for people coming from a software
background is that they tend to (a) have to do with power circuitry, (b) be
backed by physics that are non-digital, & (c) be fundamentally
parallel/functional in nature. So a lot of intuition we have about digital
state wrt imperative languages makes analog power circuitry design / function
seem bizarre.

If you're really curious, I'd try and find an introductory text to basic power
circuitry design (good starting point: how to build a passive & active AC/DC
transformer). Most of the components get used in that context and if you can
understand them there then you can understand them anywhere.

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StavrosK
Relatedly, I skimmed one of the Make books (the encyclopedia of parts, part
1), and it goes into some detail about how a transformer works, so that seems
like a good starting point (for me as well), thanks.

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StavrosK
Is this worth it? I'm not familiar with the series, but I love hardware
hacking at a novice level.

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ageofwant
Where I live 15$US buys you 4 12 Oz (Large) flat whites - that would be
'latte's' for Americans, I think. So its probably worth it. I own (sorry,
licensed user) of a few of the books in the bundle and they are good
introduction material generally. You will get your $15's value out of them I'm
sure.

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coredog64
Starbucks sells flat whites, bringing culture to those Americans who have
never visited Australia or New Zealand.

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contingencies
Not in China! Here we mug a cino, homes. Smacks of LA.

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asimuvPR
Nice bundle. Wish each book linked to a list of components required to
complete the activities.

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ode
For the first Make Electronics book there are kits available on eBay
containing all or most of the parts to complete the exercises in the book.

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etatoby
I can second the use of eBay to get cheap component kits, or even single bags
of a specific component, usually for $0.99 posted.

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orbitingpluto
It looks like almost everything in this bundle is available on O'Reilly
Safari. Still worth it.

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alister
Their individual membership is $399/year[1] for "unlimited" books and videos,
but there's no obvious place on their website where they actually list the
books available -- very annoying.

I suppose their target audience is a manager at a large enterprise who's
buying a subscription as a perk for his employees; he doesn't really care
about a precise list of books so long as he knows that it's big.

[1]
[https://www.safaribooksonline.com/pricing/](https://www.safaribooksonline.com/pricing/)

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orbitingpluto
You can search from the main page and get a list of Maker Media electronics
books:

[https://ssearch.oreilly.com/?all=2;i=1;q=electronics;q1=Book...](https://ssearch.oreilly.com/?all=2;i=1;q=electronics;q1=Books;q2=Maker+Media+Inc;x1=t1;x2=publisher&act=pg_viewall)

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vonnik
missing a 't' in electronics

