5

227

What Next?

At this point, we can branch out in numerous directions. Here are some
possibilities:

Audio electronics
This is a field in itself, including hobby projects, such as simple amplifiers
and “stomp boxes,” to modify guitar sound.

Radio-frequency devices
Anything that receives or transmits radio waves, from an ultra-simple AM
radio to remote controllers.

Motors
The field of robotics has encouraged the growth of many online sites sell-
ing stepper motors, gear motors, synchronous motors, servo motors, and
more.

Programmable microcontrollers
These are tiny computers on a single chip. You write a little program on
your desktop computer, which will tell the chip to follow a series of pro-
cedures, such as receiving input from a sensor, waiting for a fixed period,
and sending output to a motor. Then you download your program onto
the chip, which stores it in nonvolatile memory. Popular controllers in-
clude the PICAXE, BASIC Stamp, Arduino, and many more. The cheapest
ones retail for a mere $5 each.

Obviously, I don’t have space to develop all of these topics fully, so what I’m
going to do is introduce you to them by describing just one or two projects in
each category. You can decide which interests you the most, and then proceed
beyond this book by reading other guides that specialize in that interest.

I’m also going to make some suggestions about setting up a productive work
area, reading relevant books, catalogs, and other printed sources, and gener-
ally proceeding further into hobby electronics.

In thIs chAPter

Shopping List: Experiments 25 Through 36

Customizing Your Work Area

Reference Sources

Experiment 25: Magnetism

Experiment 26: Tabletop Power Generation

Experiment 27: Loudspeaker Destruction

Experiment 28: Making a Coil React

Experiment 29: Filtering Frequencies

Experiment 30: Fuzz

No Power Experiment 31: One Radio, No Solder,

No Power

Experiment 32: A Little Robot Cart

Experiment 33: Moving in Steps

Experiment 34: Hardware Meets Software

Experiment 35: Checking the Real World

Experiment 36: The Lock, Revisited

In Closing