If you're planning to build any of the add-ons for the Pinscape
controller, it'll help to know a little about electronics. The next
few chapters will try to get you up to speed on the basics. This
isn't by any means a complete introductory course in electronics; it's
more of the Cliff's Notes version. I've tried to keep the focus on
the practical aspects of building the Pinscape projects.
I've tried to organize this material to be useful both as a tutorial
and as a reference. If you want to bring yourself up to speed on some
basic electronics before embarking on a big project like assembling
the Pinscape expansion boards, hopefully the following chapters will
help. On the other hand, if you want to get straight to the assembly
process, you can dive right in, and come back here to look for answers
if you run into any questions. To help navigate this as reference
material, the
Field Guide to Components chapter provides a quick visual guide
to many common electronic parts (including most of the parts used in
the Pinscape projects), with pointers to the relevant chapters. That
should help you identify any mysterious parts you have on hand and let
you find out more about them, as well as help you figure out what a
particular schematic symbol means.
