Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks

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E

References

If you’ve been hacking hardware for a while, you know the importance of

finding good reference material. There are a lot of good books out there, but

one of the best books I’ve read on basic electronics is The Art of Electronics

by Horowitz and Hill (Cambridge University Press). It was written for a

course I took at Harvard. If you’re ready to dabble in electronics hacking,

be sure to hunt down a copy of this book.

Another aspect of hardware hacking you’ll need information about is data

sheets. When I started hacking, the Web did not exist and data sheets were

printed in huge volumes called “data books.” I used to have several hundred

pounds of these books that I would cart around when I moved. With the

advent of the Web, data sheets for almost every component you will use are

available at the web site of the manufacturer.

Another great source of introductory information is the magazine Circuit

Cellar (http://www.circuitcellar.com/). The articles are clear and there are

lots of example circuits. Nuts and Volts (http://www.nutsvolts.com/) is also

a good publication for robotics and basic electronics.

Materials

Throughout this book, I have tried to specify parts suppliers that are reli-

able and stock a wide variety of components. The one I use most often, as

you may have discovered from reading a hack or two, is DigiKey, but you

can find most any part you need from the vendors listed here:

• DigiKey: http://www.digikey.com/

• Radio Shack: http://www.radioshack.com/

• Jameco: http://www.jameco.com/

• Halted Specialties: http://www.halted.com/

• Mouser Electronics: http://www.mouser.com/

E. Resources

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