Authors: Charles Platt
Make: Electronics (89 page)
Fundamentals
Unexplored territory
If you’ve taken the time to complete most of the projects in this book with your own hands, you have gained a very rapid introduction to the most fundamental areas of electronics.
What have you missed along the way? Here are some topics that remain wide open for you to explore. Naturally you should search online if they interest you.
The informal, learning-by-discovery approach that I have used in this book tends to be light on theory. I’ve avoided most of the math that you’d be expected to learn in a more rigorous course on the subject. If you have mathematical aptitude, you can use it to gain a much deeper insight into the way in which circuits work.
I didn’t deal much with computer architecture, either. We didn’t go very far into binary code, and you didn’t build a half-adder, which is a great way to learn how computers function on the most fundamental level. Perhaps you should think about assembling one.
I avoided going deeply into the fascinating and mysterious properties of alternating current. Here again, some math is involved, but just the behavior of current at high frequencies is an interesting topic in itself.
For reasons already stated, I avoided surface-mount components—but you can still go into this area yourself for a relatively small investment, if you like the idea of creating fascinatingly tiny devices. This may be the future of hobby electronics, so if you stick with it, you’ll probably end up in the world of surface-mount.
Vacuum tubes were not mentioned, because at this point, they are mainly of historical interest. But there’s something very special and beautiful about tubes, especially if you can enclose them in fancy cabinetwork. In the hands of a skilled craftsperson, tube amplifiers and radios become art objects.
I didn’t show you how to etch your own printed circuit boards. This is a task that appeals to only certain people, and the preparation for it requires you to make very neat drawings or use computer software for that purpose. If you happen to have those resources, you might want to do your own etching. It could be a first step toward mass-producing your own devices.
I didn’t cover static electricity at all. High-voltage sparks don’t have any practical applications, and they entail some safety issues—but they are stunningly impressive, and you can easily obtain the necessary information to build the equipment. Maybe you should try.
Other Controllers
If you want something more powerful, a BASIC Stamp is the logical next step after a PICAXE. the BASIC Stamp is so called because it originally looked like a postage stamp. The BASIC Stamp has a larger vocabulary of commands and a bigger range of add-on devices (including displays with graphical capability, and a little keyboard that is specifically designed for use with the controller). The BASIC Stamp is shown in Figure 5-149.
Figure 5-149.
The BASIC Stamp controller consists of surface-mounted components on a platform that has pins spaced at 1/10-inch intervals, for insertion in a breadboard or perforated board. This component uses a version of BASIC that is similar to the programming language of the PICAXE, but has many more extensions. The BASIC Stamp is available for use with a wide range of peripheral devices, including many alphanumeric dot-matrix displays.
On the downside, you’ll find that everything associated with the BASIC Stamp is a bit more expensive than in the PICAXE world, and the download procedure isn’t quite as simple.
One of the more recent developments in the world of MCUs is the Arduino, which is both sophisticated and powerful. It does require programming in the C language. This language is a little more difficult to understand, and has only the vaguest similarity to the syntax that is used in the PICAXE and BASIC Stamp. On the other hand, because C dominates the larger world of computing, learning it might not be such a bad idea—and the Arduino offers some truly amazing capabilities. Because it is so popular, there are also many software tools, documentation, user forums, and many enthusatic hobbyists to help you. Two other Make: Books titles that I mentioned previously,
Getting Started with Arduino
and
Making Things Talk
, provide a great introduction.
In Closing
I believe that the purpose of an introductory book is to give you a taste of a wide range of possibilities, leaving you to decide for yourself what you want to explore next. Electronics is ideal for those of us who like to do things ourselves, because almost any application—from robotics, to radio-controlled aircraft, to telecommunications, to computing hardware—allows opportunities that we can explore at home, with limited resources.
As you delve deeper into the areas of electronics that interest you most, I trust you’ll have a satisfying learning experience. But most of all, I hope you have lots of fun along the way.
Appendix.
Online Retail Sources and Manufacturers
This appendix contains URLs for companies mentioned as retail sources or manufacturers, along with the commonly used name of the source and the company name.
Colloquially used name | Actual corporate or company name | URL |
3M | Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. | |
Ace Hardware | Ace Hardware Corporation | |
Advanced Micro Circuits | Advanced Micro Circuits Corp | |
Akro-Mils | Myers Industries, Inc. | |
Alcoswitch | Division of Tyco Electronics Corporation | |
All Electronics | All Electronics Corporation | |
All Spectrum Electronics | All Spectrum Electronics | |
All-Battery.com | Tenergy Corporation | |
Alpha potentiometers | Alpha Products Inc. | |
ALPS pushbutton | ALPS Electric Co., Ltd. | |
Amazon | Amazon.com, Inc. | |
Amprobe | Amprobe Test Tools | |
Arduino | No corporate identity | |
ArtCity | ArtCity | |
AutoZone | AutoZone, Inc. | |
Avago | Avago Technologies | |
BASIC Stamp | Brand owned by Parallax, Inc. | |
BI Technologies | BI Technologies Corporation | |
BK Precision | B&K Precision Corp. | |
Bussmann fuses | Cooper Bussman, Inc. | |
C&K switch | CoActive Technologies, Inc. | |
Chicago lighting | CML Innovative Technologies | |
CraftAmerica | Cardinal Enterprises | |
Darice | Darice Inc. | |
DeWalt | DeWalt Industrial Tool Company | |
Digi-Key | Digi-Key Corporation | |
Directed switches | Directed Electronics Inc. | |
Doctronics | Doctronics Educational Publishing | |
eBay | eBay Inc. | |
Elenco | Elenco Electronics Inc. | |
Everlight | Everlight Electronic Co. Ltd. | |
Extech | Extech Instruments Corporation | |
Fairchild | Fairchild Semiconductor Incorporated | |
FTM | FTM Incorporated | |
Fujitsu | Fujitsu America, Inc. | |
GB wire strippers | Gardner Bender Inc. | |
Hobbylinc | Hobbylinc Hobbies | |
Home Depot | Homer TLC, Inc. | |
Ideal wire strippers | Ideal Industries Inc. | |
Jameco | Jameco Electronics | |
K&J Magnetics | K&J Magnetics Inc. | |
Kingbright | Kingbright Corporation | |
Kobiconn | No web page found; use mouser.com | |
KVM Tools | KVM Tools Inc. | |
Lowe’s hardware | LF, LLC | |
Lumex | Lumex Inc. | |
McMaster-Carr | McMaster-Carr Supply Company | |
Megahobby | Megahobby.com | |
Meter Superstore | Division of SRS Market Solutions Inc. | |
Michaels craft stores | Michaels Stores, Inc. | |
Mill-Max | Mill-Max Manufacturing Corp. | |
Mitutoyo | Mitutoyo America Corporation | |
Motorola | Motorola, Inc. | |
Mouser electronics | Mouser Electronics, Inc. | |
Mueller alligator clip | Mueller Electric Company | |
Newark | Subsidiary of Premier Farnell plc | |
NKK switches | Nihon Kaiheiki Industry Co. Ltd. | |
NXP semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | |
Omron | Omron Corporation | |
On Semiconductor | Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC | |
Optek | Subsidiary of TT Electronics plc | |
Panasonic | Panasonic Electric Works Corporation | |
PanaVise | Panavise Products, Inc. | |
Parallax | Parallax, Inc. | |
Pep Boys | Pep Boys-Manny, Moe and Jack | |
Philips | Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. | |
PICAXE | Revolution Education Ltd. | |
Piedmont Plastics | Piedmont Plastics, Inc. | |
Plano storages boxes | Plano Molding Company | |
Pomona test equipment | Pomona Electronics Inc. | |
RadioShack | RadioShack Corporation | |
Sears | Sears Brands, LLC | |
SparkFun Electronics | Sparkfun Electronics | |
Stanley tools | The Stanley Works | |
STMicroelectronics | STMicroelectronics Group | |
Texas Instruments | Texas Instruments Incorporated | |
Tower Hobbies | Tower Hobbies | |
Twin Industries | Twin Industries | |
Tyco | Tyco Electronics Corporation | |
Vaughan | Vaughan & Bushnell Mfg. | |
Velleman keyboards | Velleman nv | |
Vishay | Vishay Intertechnology Inc. | |
Wal-Mart | Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. | |
Weller | Division of Cooper Industries, LLC | |
X-Acto | Division of Elmer’s Products, Inc. | |
Xcelite | Division of Cooper Industries, LLC |