Forrest Mims is the author of the famous book, Getting Started in Electronics, published by RadioShack for many years. I bought the book in the 1980s, and had a blast making the projects in it. When I was editor-in-chief of MAKE, I asked Forrest to write a column for the magazine, called The Backyard Scientist. — Read the rest
Forrest M. Mims III is the Country Scientist columnist for MAKE. If his name sounds familiar it Could be from the many books he wrote for Radio Shack, including one of my favorites, Getting Started in Electronics. His computer street credit goes way back – he was a co-founder of MITS, Inc. — Read the rest

The talented engineer Star Simpson is designing circuits from in Forrest M. Mims' terrific 1980s electronics books published by Radio Shack. They look great!
Each circuit depicts an original, traced and hand-drawn schematic created by Forrest Mims for his iconic books Getting Started in Electronics, and the Engineers' Notebook series.
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In the latest issue of my newsletter, The Magnet, (subscribe here), I wrote about a book I bought in 1984 — Forrest Mims' Getting Started in Electronics, which he hand-lettered. It remains one of my favorite books. The instructional content is excellent, but the main reason I like it is because of its stupendous design. — Read the rest
Our guest on the Cool Tools show this week is Star Simpson. She is an electronics designer whose greatest joy is designing objects and tools that are useful to others, which inspire and delight. Her previous work includes research on robotics and work in drones, PLIBMTTBHGATY, an event where people convene to try new programming languages, and an electronics reference card PCB designed for Octopart, now carried in the wallets of electrical engineers everywhere. — Read the rest

When I was one of the editors at Make: Books, one of the projects I was proudest to have helped conceive of and edit was Charles Platt's Make: Electronics (which has now been a best-seller for years). Growing up being absurdly visual and suffering from mild dyslexia, I found it incredibly difficult to learn electronics using the books of the day. — Read the rest
On Make Online, I posted my audio interview with Forrest Mims, the co-founder of MITS, the company that made and sold the Altair 8800 (which many people consider to be the first real personal computer). The designer of the Altair was Ed Roberts, who died this month at the age of 68. — Read the rest
See sample pages from this book at Wink.
Encyclopedia of Electronic Components Volume 3: Sensors
by Charles Platt and Fredrik Jansson
Maker Media
2016, 256 pages, 7.9 x 9.6 x 0.4 inches (softcover)
$18 Buy a copy on Amazon
With this somewhat slim but jam-packed volume, Make: contributing editor and electronics columnist, Charles Platt (here joined by Fredrik Jansson), completes his detailed explorations of the modern, common electronics components most useful to today's electronics hobbyists and other DIYers. — Read the rest
Join Dale Dougherty, Gareth Branwyn, and me for the 3rd episode of Make: Talk, a live call in show at blogtalkradio.com. The call-in number is (646) 915-8698.

In this episode of Make magazine's Make: Talk, you'll meet our new "Country Scientist" columnist, Forrest M.
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Forrest M. Mims III, author of the world's best practical electronics primer, Getting Started in Electronics, summarizes the findings of a 2004 study on the increased likelihood of catching a cold after flying on a commercial plane.
Depending on three different flight scenarios, Hocking and Foster found that airline passengers in three different scenarios were 5, 23, or 113 times more likely to catch a cold than if they had not flown at all!
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