Electronics Projects For Dummies

Earl Boysen is an engineer who after 20 years in the computer chip industry, decided to slow down and move to a quiet town in Washington state. Earl is the co-author of Electronics For Dummies and Nanotechnology For Dummies. He lives with his wife, Nancy, in a house he built himself and finds himself as busy as ever with teaching, writing, house building, and acting. Visit Earl at his Web site to get reviews and information about the latest components and techniques for building projects: www.buildinggadgets.com. Nancy Muir is the author of over 50 books on topics ranging from desktop computer applications to distance learning and electronics. She has a certificate in distance learning design and has taught technical writing at the university level. Prior to her freelance writing career, she held management positions in the publishing and software industries. She lives with her husband Earl and their benevolent owners — their dog and cat. Nancy’s company, The Publishing Studio, has its Web site at www.pubstudio.com.

• Introduction 1Part I: Project Prep 5Chapter 1: Exploring the World of Electronics Projects 7Chapter 2: Safety First 17Chapter 3: Assembling Your Electronics Arsenal 31Chapter 4: Running Down the Skills You Need 59Part II: Sounding Off! 85Chapter 5: Making Light Dance to the Music 87Chapter 6: Focusing Sound with a Parabolic Microphone 115Chapter 7: Murmuring Merlin 139Chapter 8: Surfing the Airwaves 165Part III: Let There Be Light 185Chapter 9: Scary Pumpkins 187Chapter 10: Dancing Dolphins 215Chapter 11: Controlling a Go-Kart Infrared Style 239Part IV: Good Vibrations 279Chapter 12: A Handy-Dandy Metal Detector 281Chapter 13: Sensitive Sam Walks the Line 301Chapter 14: Couch Pet-ato 343Part V: The Part of Tens 361Chapter 15: Ten Great Parts Suppliers 363Chapter 16: Ten Great Electronics Resources 369Chapter 17: Ten Specialized Electronics Resources 375Glossary 381Index 391

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