Øyvind Nydal Dahl - A Beginner’s Guide to Circuits: Nine Simple Projects with Lights, Sounds, and More!

NINE SIMPLE PROJECTS WITH LIGHTS, SOUNDS, AND MORE!

BY YVIND NYDAL DAHL

SAN FRANCISCO

A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO CIRCUITS. Copyright 2019 by yvind Nydal Dahl.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher.

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ISBN-10: 1-59327-904-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-59327-904-2

Publisher: William Pollock
Production Editor: Riley Hoffman
Cover Design: Mimi Heft
Cover Illustration: Josh Ellingson
Interior Design: Beth Middleworth
Developmental Editor: Zach Lebowski
Technical Reviewer: John Hewes
Copyeditor: Rachel Monaghan
Compositor: Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Proofreader: Paula L. Fleming

Circuit diagrams made using Fritzing (http://fritzing.org/).

For information on distribution, translations, or bulk sales, please contact No Starch Press, Inc. directly:

No Starch Press, Inc.
245 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
phone: 1.415.863.9900;
www.nostarch.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Nydal Dahl, yvind, author.
Title: A beginners guide to circuits : nine simple projects with lights,
sounds, and more! / yvind Nydal Dahl.
Description: San Francisco : No Starch Press, Inc., [2018].
Identifiers: LCCN 2018032664 (print) | LCCN 2018033886 (ebook) | ISBN
9781593279059 (epub) | ISBN 1593279051 (epub) | ISBN 9781593279042 (print)
| ISBN 1593279043 (print) | ISBN 9781593279059 (ebook) | ISBN 1593279051
(ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Electronic circuits--Juvenile literature.
Classification: LCC TK7820 (ebook) | LCC TK7820 .N927 2018 (print) | DDC
621.3815--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018032664

No Starch Press and the No Starch Press logo are registered trademarks of No Starch Press, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark.

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor No Starch Press, Inc. shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in it.

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE, PILI.

yvind Nydal Dahl is a maker, programmer, writer, speaker, blogger, author, tech enthusiast, guitar player, and more. He has a masters degree in electronics from the University of Oslo, helps companies develop new products, and travels the world while teaching electronics workshops. He is the founder of the beginner-friendly blog https://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/ and the membership site https://ohmify.com/.

John Hewes began connecting electrical circuits at an early age, moving on to electronics projects as a teenager. He later earned a physics degree and continued to develop his interest in electronics. John has taught electronics and physics up to an advanced level in the United Kingdom and ran a school electronics club, setting up the website http://www.electronicsclub.info/ to support the club. He believes that everyone can enjoy building electronics projects, regardless of their age or ability.

Thanks to the whole team at No Starch Press, especially Riley Hoffman and Zach Lebowski, for helping me create yet another book Im proud of. Thanks to John Hewes for finding my errors and giving great feedback on how to improve things throughout the book. And a special thanks to Josh Ellingson and Mimi Heft for an awesome book cover!

This book will help you improve your electronics skills. Ill teach you how to interpret circuit diagrams and use breadboards. Then Ill show you, step-by-step, how to build a simple circuit on a breadboard. After that, youre on your own: youll rely on parts lists and circuit diagrams to build your circuits. Building circuits from diagrams is an essential skill for anyone interested in electronics, from beginners to experts.

The circuits become more and more difficult to build as you progress through the book. Heres a brief description of each circuit project:

• : The Steady-Hand Game With this super-simple circuit, youll create an Operation-style game where you need a steady hand to win.
• : The Touch-Enabled Light Using a touchpad, youll build a touch-enabled light switch to turn on a light with your finger.
• : The Cookie Jar Alarm Keep your cookies safe with this cookie jar alarm, which will scare any cookie thieves away with a buzzing noise.
• : The Night-Light Here youll build a light that turns on in the dark to help you see things at night.
• : The Blinking LED In this project, youll learn some of the basics of digital electronics and use an integrated circuit to blink an LED.
• : The Railroad Crossing Light Add to your model train set with the railroad crossing light, a classic circuit that everyone should build at some point.
• : The Party Lights This string of blinking lights is a perfect project to prepare for an upcoming party.
• : The Digital Piano Build your own musical instrument from scratch and entertain your friends and family!
• : The LED Marquee In this final circuit, youll use your new skills to create an awesome LED light show.

You can find resources for the circuits through the books website at https://nostarch.com/circuits/.

All of the materials youll need to build the circuits in this book are inexpensive and easy to find. Heres a list of all the electronic components youll need.

NOTE

The part numbers shown here are for Jameco Electronics (https://www.jameco.com/). These components should be available from any electronics supply store.