http://www.omron.com
On Semiconductor
Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC
http://www.onsemi.com
Optek
Subsidiary of TT Electronics plc
http://www.optekinc.com
Panasonic
Panasonic Electric Works Corporation
http://pewa.panasonic.com
PanaVise
Panavise Products, Inc.
http://www.panavise.com
Parallax
Parallax, Inc.
http://www.parallax.com
Pep Boys
Pep Boys-Manny, Moe and Jack
http://www.pepboys.com
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
http://www.usa.philips.com
PICAXE
Revolution Education Ltd.
http://www.rev-ed.co.uk
Piedmont Plastics
Piedmont Plastics, Inc.
http://www.piedmontplastics.com
Plano storages boxes
Plano Molding Company
http://www.planomolding.com
Pomona test equipment
Pomona Electronics Inc.
http://www.pomonaelectronics.com
RadioShack
RadioShack Corporation
http://www.radioshack.com
Sears
Sears Brands, LLC
http://www.sears.com
SparkFun Electronics
Sparkfun Electronics
http://www.sparkfun.com
Stanley tools
The Stanley Works
http://www.stanleytools.com
STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics Group
http://www.st.com
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated
http://www.ti.com
Tower Hobbies
Tower Hobbies
http://www.towerhobbies.com
Twin Industries
Twin Industries
http://www.twinind.com
Tyco
Tyco Electronics Corporation
http://www.tycoelectronics.com
Vaughan
Vaughan & Bushnell Mfg.
http://hammernet.com/vaughan/
Velleman keyboards
Velleman nv
http://www.velleman.eu
Vishay
Vishay Intertechnology Inc.
http://www.vishay.com
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
http://www.walmart.com
Weller
Division of Cooper Industries, LLC
http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/weller/
X-Acto
Division of Elmer’s Products, Inc.
http://www.xacto.com
Xcelite
Division of Cooper Industries, LLC
http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/xcelite/
Xytronic
Xytronic Industries Ltd.
http://www.xytronic-usa.com
Acknowledgments
My association with MAKE magazine began when its editor, Mark Frauenfelder, asked me to write for it. I have always been very grateful to Mark for his support of my work. Through him I became acquainted with the exceptionally capable and motivated production staff at MAKE. Gareth Branwyn eventually suggested that I might like to write an introductory guide to electronics, so I am indebted to Gareth for initiating this project and supervising it as my editor. After I wrote an outline in which I described my idea for “Learning by Discovery” and the associated concept that cutting open components or burning them up can be an educational activity, MAKE’s publisher, Dale Dougherty, uttered the memorable phrase, “I want this book!” Therefore I offer special thanks to Dale for his belief in my abilities. Dan Woods, the associate publisher, was also extremely supportive.
The production process was swift, competent, and painless. For this I thank my editor at O’Reilly, Brian Jepson; senior production editor Rachel Monaghan; copyeditor Nancy Kotary; proofreader Nancy Reinhardt; indexer Julie Hawks; designer Ron Bilodeau; and Robert Romano, who tweaked my illustrations. Most of all I am indebted to Bunnie Huang, my technical advisor, who reviewed the text in detail and knows a bunch of stuff that I don’t know. Any residual errors are still my fault, even though I would prefer to blame them on Bunnie.
Thanks also to Matt Mets, Becky Stern, Collin Cunningham, Marc de Vinck, Phillip Torrone, Limor Fried, John Edgar Park, John Baichtal, and Jonathan Wolfe for helping out with some last-minute project testing.
Lastly I have to mention the genius of John Warnock and Charles Geschke, founders of Adobe Systems and creators of the very beautiful PostScript language, which revolutionized all of publishing. The horror of attempting to create this book using graphic-arts tools from…some other company…is almost unimaginable. In fact, without Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat, and InDesign, I doubt I would have attempted the task. I am also indebted to the Canon 1Ds with 100mm macro lens, which took many of the pictures in this book.
No free samples or other favors were received from any of the vendors mentioned herein, with the exception of two sample books from MAKE, which I read to ensure that I was not duplicating anything that had already been published.
Colophon
The heading and cover font are BentonSans, the text font is Myriad Pro, and the code font is TheSansMonoCondensed.
About the Author
Charles Platt became interested in computers when he acquired an Ohio Scientific C4P in 1979. After writing and selling software by mail order, he taught classes in BASIC programming, MS-DOS, and subsequently Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. He wrote five computer books during the 1980s.
He has also written science-fiction novels such as The Silicon Man (published originally by Bantam and later by Wired Books) and Protektor (from Avon Books). He stopped writing science fiction when he started contributing to Wired in 1993, and became one of its three senior writers a couple of years later.
Charles began contributing to MAKE magazine in its third issue and is currently a contributing editor. Make
: Electronics is his first title for Make Books. Currently he is designing and building prototypes of medical equipment in his workshop in the northern Arizona wilderness.
Make: Electronics Page 44