About Electronics in Meccano

	Tim at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum 'Magic of Meccano Exhibition', 1998

Welcome to Electronics in Meccano!

Electronics in Meccano aims to help Meccano enthusiasts use electronic components and circuits in their models.  Even though the word "Meccano" is in the title, anyone who wants to build electronic circuits as a hobby or uses electronics in another hobby should find the articles within this website useful.

Originally a four-page magazine produced for members of my local Meccano club, Electronics in Meccano was published quarterly from 1998 to 2001 and sold over one thousand copies to around 150 club members and subscribers from the UK and overseas.  The website that accompanied the series, Electronics in Meccano On-Line, has also been a success, with over 35,000 visits in the past three years.

The website has now been redesigned, and you will find that many of the articles published in the original magazine are here - most of them updated and extended to include additional material.  The circuits described in the articles range from simple wiring, such as reversing switches for motors, through to more complex circuits for controlling lamps and motors.

In all the articles, I have tried to place the emphasis on the use and construction of the circuits, rather than explaining in detail exactly how they work.  Of course, in some cases it essential to learn some of the technical terms and do some simple math's, but this is kept to a minimum by the provision of examples of the most likely situations you will come across.

If you like Electronics in Meccano, it is easy to stay up-to-date with all the latest developments on the website by becoming a member of yourEiM.

What's in Electronics in Meccano?

Here is a quick guide to the content and features of this website...

Electronics Articles The articles are arranged into the topics shown under the Articles tab on the navigation bar.  Click on a topic for a list of articles and a short summary of each. As you read an article, you may be directed to other articles of interest by links like the one below: Related Articles The 555 Timer - Background information about the 555 Some articles explain how to use certain Integrated Circuits (ICs), and you will find links like the one below that let you download datasheets for each IC.  Datasheets are written by the IC manufacturers and contain advanced information about each IC. Datasheets 555 Timer IC Datasheets are in PDF format, so to read them you will need the free Acrobat Reader from Adobe.  You can download this from www.adobe.com if you don't already have it. All the datasheets can also be found on the Datasheets page under the Features tab. Some articles feature video clips in Microsoft Windows Media format, which can be played using the free Windows Media Player. You can download this from www.microsoft.com if you don't already have it. Video Clips The Three Sample Mechanisms The Circuits Shop The categories shown under the Circuits Shop tab give you access to the entire Rapid Electronics catalogue. In addition to the essential components and tools you'll need as an electronics hobbyist, Rapid stock a wide range of electrical items for your home, car, computer and elsewhere. Purchasing your parts from Rapid's website via the links on Electronics in Meccano lets you support our website and does not affect the price you pay them! Message Boards Communicate with other readers using our message board system.  There is one board for each topic and also boards where you can post your comments and suggestions about Electronics in Meccano.  Find the message boards under the Features tab. Web Links In the Web Links section under the Features tab you will find links to electronics-related websites offering circuit ideas and further links to other resources.  There is also a selection of electronic component suppliers and links to Meccano-related websites and website directories. yourEiM Join yourEiM, under the Features tab, and you can take advantage of many extra features of this website, including automatic notification when articles are updated and added in topics that interest you.  It's completely free, and we promise you won't get any spam email!

Printing the articles For a printer-friendly version of an article, just click the printer icon at the end of the article.  A new page will appear with all the text in black and no large margins. Internet Explorer users will benefit from the page-break feature that stops text being broken across pages.   Doing your shopping There is a Shopping List at the end of most articles with details of parts that can be purchased from Rapid Electronics. You can print out a full Parts List / Order, or click straight though to the Rapid website page for each part.   Manage your favourites Create a list of your favourite articles and topics with yourEiM.  You can then choose which ones you would like to receive email updates about.

About this Website

Electronics in Meccano is owned, published and edited by Tim Surtell and the content is not associated with any company.

• Electronics in Meccano is an affiliate of Rapid Electronics (via Affiliate Window), and any purchases you make from the Circuits Shop help support this website (without affecting the price you pay!) Any enquiries regarding products or order status should be directed to Rapid Electronics.
• Advertisements on the Electronics in Meccano website are administered by Google via their AdWords system. To provide feedback on an advert or to advertise on the Electronics in Meccano website, please contact Google.

Website design by Tim Surtell.

Disclaimer

The author(s) and the publisher make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to the completeness or accuracy of the contents of this website and accept no liability of any kind including but not limited to performance, merchantability, fitness for any particular purpose, or any losses or damages of any kind caused or alleged to be caused directly from the content of this website.

While comments posted to the Electronics in Meccano message boards are monitored and unsuitable comments will be removed as soon as possible, the publisher takes no responsibility for the content that may be found on the message boards.

Copyright

All articles and website content © 1998 - 2024 Tim Surtell.

Article text, figures, circuit schematics and design aids on this website may be printed and copied for individual and educational use.  No part of this website may be reproduced in any way commercially without the prior permission of the publisher.

If you wish to link to this website, please click here.

Privacy

For information on how member information is collected and used by the yourEiM elements of this website, and to find out how we use cookies, please read our Privacy Statement.

Top of Page | Homepage | About | Search | Topics | Features | Circuits Shop | yourEiM	© 1998 - 2024 Tim Surtell