Take a Video Crash Course in Beginner Electronics

In 2008 and 2009, Make: produced a wonderful series of videos, called MAKE Presents, done by the inimitable Collin Cunningham. The idea was to create a series of highly entertaining, user-friendly, and informative videos that would explain the rudiments of electronics — the basic components, tools, and processes used. Collin delivered all of that and more, making the series an early YouTube “hit” for Make:. These videos are too good to forget, and so thought we’d resurface them.

Here are ten of our favorites. You can see all of the series and some related content on this link. I also put links below to the original posts. There’s not much additional content on those links, but some of the posts have lengthy reader discussion that’s worth checking out if you want to delve deeper.

The Resistor

Simple, commonplace, and vital to our electronic world, take a closer look at the current-fighting backbone of circuitry, the resistor!

The Capacitor

Collin provides an elegant description of the capacitor, including the earliest capacitors, known as Leyden jars.

The Diode

It’s the simplest semiconductor device made. It ushered in the age of radio. The electronic valve that rectifies and regulates — MAKE Presents: the diode!

The Transistor

Collin educates us on the origins and operations of the transistor, the amazing component that revolutionized electronics, the transitor.

The LED

Take a tour through the world of the light-emitting diode (LED) and learn who invented it, how to use it, and how to make your own.

The Inductor

The simple inductor coil stores the energy in an electromagnetic field that makes transformers, electromagnets, and other components possible

The Integrated Circuit

A brief introduction to the technology that makes it possible for today’s electronics to do so much with very little space — the Integrated Circuit (aka the IC or microchip).

Ohm’s Law

Voltage, Current, and Resistance, three important electrical properties, elegantly intertwined in a simple equation; V = IR, aka Ohm’s Law.

The Digital Multimeter

Get acquainted with the Digital Multimeter, an engineer’s best friend, and learn how to test such things as resistance, voltage, current, and continuity in a circuit.

The Oscilloscope

An oscilloscope is a surprisingly easy to use diagnostic tool for electronics once you’ve learned the basics. Here are the basics.

Collin Cunningham now works at Adafruit Industries and continues to do videos, including a continuation of his Collin’s Lab series that he started at Make:. You can access that playlist here.