You can also visit auto supply stores such as AutoZone and Pep Boys for basics such as hookup wire, fuses, and switches, while stores such as Ace Hardware, Home Depot, and Lowe’s will sell you tools.
If you prefer to buy via mail order, you can easily find everything you need by searching online. In each section of the book, I’ll include the URLs of the most popular supply sources, and you’ll find a complete list of URLs in the appendix.
Fundamentals
Mail-ordering components and tools
Here are the primary mail-order sources that I use myself online:
http://www.radioshack.com
RadioShack, a.k.a. The Shack. For tools and components. Not always the cheapest, but the site is easy and convenient, and some of the tools are exactly what you need.
http://www.mouser.com
Mouser Electronics.
http://www.digikey.com
Digi-Key Corporation.
http://www.newark.com
Newark.
Mouser, Digi-Key, and Newark are all good sources for components, usually requiring no minimum quantities.
http://www.allelectronics.com
All Electronics Corporation. A narrower range of components, but specifically aimed at the hobbyist, with kits available.
http://www.ebay.com
You can find surplus parts and bargains here, but you may have to try several eBay Stores to get what you want. Those based in Hong Kong are often very cheap, and I’ve found that they are reliable.
http://www.mcmaster.com
McMaster-Carr. Especially useful for high-quality tools.
Lowe’s and Home Depot also allow you to shop online.
Figure P-2. You’ll find no shortage of parts, tools, kits, and gadgets online.
Companion Kits
Maker Shed (www.makershed.com) offers a number of Make: Electronics companion kits, both toolkits and bundles of the various components used in the book’s experiments. This is a simple, convenient, and cost-effective way of getting all the tools and materials you need to do the projects in this book.
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1. Experiencing Electricity
I want you to get a taste for electricity—literally!—in the first experiment. This first chapter of the book will show you:
How to understand and measure electricity and resistance
How to handle and connect components without overloading, damaging, or destroying them
Even if you have some prior knowledge of electronics, you should try these experiments before you venture on to the rest of the book.
Shopping List: Experiments 1 Through 5
If you want to limit your number of shopping trips or online purchases, look ahead in the book for additional shopping lists, and combine them to make one bulk purchase.
In this first chapter, I will give you part numbers and sources for every tool and component that we’ll be using. Subsequently, I won’t expect you to need such specific information, because you will have gained experience searching for items on your own.
Maker Shed (www.makershed.com) has put together a series of Make: Electronics companion kits. These include all of the tools and components used in book’s experiments. This is a quick, simple, and cost-effective way of getting everything you need to complete the projects in this book.
Tools
Small pliers
RadioShack Kronus 4.5-inch, part number 64-2953 or Xcelite 4-inch mini long-nose pliers, model L4G.
Or similar. See Figures 1-1 through 1-3. Look for these tools in hardware stores and the sources listed in the preface. The brand is unimportant. After you use them for a while, you’ll develop your own preferences. In particular, you have to decide whether you like spring-loaded handles. If you decide you don’t, you’ll need a second pair of pliers to pull the springs out of the first.
Wire cutters
RadioShack Kronus 4.5-inch, part number 64-2951, or Stanley 7-inch model 84-108.
Or similar. Use them for cutting copper wire, not harder metals (Figure 1-4).
Figure 1-1. Generic long-nosed pliers are your most fundamental tool for gripping, bending, and picking things up after you drop them.
Figure 1-2. Longer-nosed pliers: these are useful for reaching into tiny spaces.
Figure 1-3. Sharp-pointed pliers are designed for making jewelry, but are also useful for grabbing tiny components.
Figure 1-4. Wire cutters, sometimes known as side cutters, are essential.
Multimeter
Extech model EX410 or BK Precision model 2704-B or Amprobe model 5XP-A.
Or similar. Because electricity is invisible, we need a tool to visualize the pressure and flow, and a meter is the only way. A cheap meter will be sufficient for your initial experiments. If you buy online, try to check customer reviews, because reliability may be a problem for cheap meters. You can shop around for retailers offering the best price. Don’t forget to search on eBay.
The meter must be digital—don’t get the old-fashioned analog kind with a needle that moves across a set of printed scales. This book assumes that you are looking at a digital display.
I suggest that you do not buy an autoranging meter. “Autoranging” sounds useful—for example, when you want to check a 9-volt battery, the meter figures out for itself that you are
