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Open Circuits – No Starch Press [pdf]

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Re: Open Circuits – No Starch Press [pdf]

#11

Post by csours »

geerlingguy wrote: post #5

Bought this book the second I found it. It's incredibly well-put together, and I can't wait for the print edition. I have already read through the PDF, and there are so many beautiful illustrations that help show what is actually happening inside a component.

I'm getting into electronics again. I really wish that younger me had access to this book. I remember taking apart a VCR and seeing the knobs inside (potentiometers) and wondering why there were knobs INSIDE where the user couldn't do anything? Was there some secret function that I could unlock by changing the position? Alas, the secret function was "eat the VCR cassette tape".

Re: Open Circuits – No Starch Press [pdf]

#15

Post by tubetime »

csours wrote: post #14
tubetime wrote: post #12

co-author here, feel free to ask questions.

I just ordered the book - do you talk about how you made the cutaways in the book? Very cool! I wish younger me had access to this.

yes, there is a "behind the scenes" chapter that goes into some of the methods we used, including photographic techniques.

Re: Open Circuits – No Starch Press [pdf]

#17

Post by geerlingguy »

tubetime wrote: post #15
csours wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just ordered the book - do you talk about how you made the cutaways in the book? Very cool! I wish younger me had access to this.

yes, there is a "behind the scenes" chapter that goes into some of the methods we used, including photographic techniques.

If there's ever a new edition to this book (it's so thorough, not sure if that's possible), I would sit and watch any video footage of the process for hours :)

Re: Open Circuits – No Starch Press [pdf]

#18

Post by CamperBob2 »

kens wrote: post #16
Koshkin wrote: post #8

I wish Ken Shirriff [1], too, published a book like this. Such a treasure. [1] http://www.righto.com/

Maybe someday :-) If I ever focus on one subject long enough for a book...

Just print your blog to .PDF or .PS and send it to these guys for printing. I'm in for a copy!

Re: Open Circuits – No Starch Press [pdf]

#19

Post by JKCalhoun »

Big fan of Windell Oskay and his stuff. I wandered into Evil Mad Scientists Laboratories many years ago (in Sunnyvale, as I recall) and I believe I met him but it was a decade ago....

Over the years I picked up a clock that used LED shadows cast onto a gnomon to create the clock's "hands".

Picked up a Peggy — giant LED display board.

And then some weird plywood thing with marbles and chutes that was a kind of mechanical adder..... I think that was when I went in and chatted.

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