“Reference Circuits, Volume 0” Is an Interactive Book for Learning Electronics Fundamentals

I’ve been messing around with DIY electronics for something like 25 years. But though I can usually get things to work, my understanding of the fundamentals is shaky at best. If you’re like me and could benefit from a good set of lessons, you should check out this Kickstarter campaign for Ian Dunn’s Reference Circuits, Volume 0.

Textbooks are great repositories of reliable knowledge and the internet is full of accessible information of variable veracity, but so many of us are hands-on learners. We need to figure things out by poking and prodding at them, deciphering their secrets through experimentation and real-world use. Reference Circuits, Volume 0 is a guided approach to that kind of learning in the form of a “book” full of interactive PCBs.

Each page of this book is a functional PCB with circuits that explain the purpose and function of their components in an intuitive way. The page on specialty resistors, for example, contains a photoresistor circuit that causes an LED to light up in darkness. The pages build on each other and by the end, you should have a good grasp of the most common and useful components used in the world of electronics.

This isn’t Dunn’s first volume, either. He previously released volumes 1 and 2, and now he wants to launch this prequel. To do that, he has to raise enough money to fabricate a production batch of PCBs and that’s why he created the Kickstarter campaign.

The Kickstarter campaign has already raised more than enough funds for that batch. But if you want to get in on the fun, you have until February 9th to become a backer. Once copy of Reference Circuits, Volume 0 will set you back $43 and should be delivered in May.