If you’ve ever had a board fail on power-up, spent hours debugging a layout that “should work,” or run into a supplier problem just before a deadline - you already know this isn’t just about theory. It’s about judgment, decisions, and real-world constraints.
Designing Electronics that Work is a guide to all the practical things you won’t find in a typical electronics textbook. It’s written for people who already know a little - maybe a lot - about circuits, but want to move faster, make fewer mistakes, and ship working hardware with more confidence.
You’ll learn how to:
Define and prioritize requirements so you’re building the right thing, not just the clever thing
Design schematics and layouts to make debugging easier
Plan for manufacturability, compliance, and cost from day one
Build a lab that helps you work faster, without spending a fortune
Troubleshoot problems methodically, even when nothing’s making sense
Hunter Scott has designed electronics for medical devices, RF systems, startups, and art installations. This book reflects what he’s learned, not as theory, but as practice.
You won’t find chapter-length explanations of what a capacitor is. You will find answers to questions like: Which capacitor should I actually buy? What if the one I spec’d is out of stock? How do I avoid wasting time and money?
Whether you’re a hobbyist moving beyond Arduino, a new grad learning on the job, or an experienced engineer looking to streamline your process—this book will help you build smarter and avoid problems before they start.
Author Bio
Hunter Scott is a founding engineer at Reach Power, a startup working on long range power beaming. He’s been designing hardware for over a decade and holds an engineering degree from Georgia Tech. Scott has spoken at DEF CON, Hackaday Supercon, and Altium Live, and his projects have been featured on NPR and in The Guardian and The Chicago Tribune.
Table of contents
Acknowledgments Introduction
PART I: PLANNING Chapter 1: What to Build and How to Plan for It Chapter 2: Component Specifications and Purchasing Chapter 3: Selecting Passive Components Chapter 4: Selecting Active Components
PART II: DESIGNING Chapter 5: Schematic Design Chapter 6: Layout Design Chapter 7: Design For Excellence Chapter 8: Electromagnetic Compatibility and Immunity Chapter 9: Cost Engineering
PART III: BUILDING Chapter 10: Prototyping Chapter 11: Building a Lab Chapter 12: Fabrication and Assembly Chapter 13: Testing Chapter 14: Troubleshooting
Appendix A: How to Give a Demo Appendix B: Recommended Resources Appendix C: Example Fabrication Notes
Skip to content
