Name: Practical Electronics for Inventors
ISBN: 9781259587542

Practical Electronics for Inventors

'Here's the book for every hobbyist who wants to be an inventor, but needs to learn the basics of electronics to get there. Paul Scherz's reassuring step-by-step approach teaches the fundamentals in a way that requires no background in electronics. The ultimate inventor'sguide to the essentials of electronic basics, this book covers everything from electronics equipment, devices, components, and products, and skillfully describes each from a simple "what-it-is and what-it-is used for" perspective. Profusely illustrated with elaboratedetailed drawings, this-easy-to follow how-to book offers all the inventors-to-be the practical learning solution they need.

What Hacker News says

dgellowSep 2026

Trying to learn electronics from the bottom up, currently going through „Practical Electronics for Inventors“ (4th ed.). Great book, but not really as practical as the title implies, the base theory chapter is really, really long (but also very interesting)!

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dgellowSep 2026

That’s also what I really like about “Practical Electronics for Inventors”, the authors explains the underlying physics for each component. Though the theory chapter can be heavy if you want to follow everything. “Secrets Life of Circuits” seems to be a bit more approachable

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chunkmonke99Dec 2025

I don't think there is anything more than the standard advice. Just stay curious, make friends/build a community, keep learning, stay healthy. Why not get the AoE? you can also, check out "Practical Electronics for Inventors": AoE assumes you have some Electronics background imo. But seriously, I don't get the doom/gloom: things are going to be rough ... but maybe they won't? Many things I learned I did for their own sake! Things have always been uncertain and absurd I guess we might as well embrace it!

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hugsJun 2025

1) Get a 3D printer (or access to one). Or visit your local art supply store (for structural basswood) and hardware store (for nuts and bolts).

2) Get an electronics starter kit. (Adafruit or SparkFun are good places to start looking.)

3) Buy/borrow the book "Practical Electronics for Inventors". You don't need to read it cover to cover, but it's very useful. (Realistically, though, an LLM is probably good enough to explain basic concepts and/or help you pick parts these days.)

4) Build a toy robot with parts you printed (or purchased) and parts from the electronics kit.

5) Once you've built the toy robot, make something bigger! (or the existing one better!)

6) Optional: Find someone to buy your toy robot so you can have the funds to design and build your next one.

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tuatoruJun 2025

I have Horowitz & Hill, and they (two volumes now) are probably overkill for hobby repair. There's a large-format book called "Practical Electronics for Inventors" by Paul Scherz and Simon Monk which is a good intro to the physical side of electronics.

For troubleshooting power audio electronics Rod Elliott (sound-au.com) has a large number of useful articles both on simple theory (no poles and zeros) and on practical matters. Bob Cordell's and/or Doug Self's books on designing power amplifiers are good for a bit more "practical theory" (how the blocks are arranged, what goes wrong with poor design and/or a too-small budget for protection).

I don't have recommendations for radio frequency because I've not spent time with it. The ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League) has several books that are well regarded, I believe.

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rramadassApr 2025

AoE is not meant for people who are starting from zero. Pair it with some other "popular electronics" kind of books and it will start making better sense. One recommendation is Practical Electronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz and Simon Monk. For theory see Foundations of Analog and Digital Electronic Circuits by Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang.

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