I've started a cookbook on my blog, basically as an experiment. It is in the early stages, I'm trying to figure out how to lay it out.

http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/blog.php?b=381

I'm still trying to get AAC to have an open ended cookbook. It may never happen, but I figure I can lay some ground work for it.

Basically I'm looking for feedback and suggestions, what do you think something like this should have?

I'm starting with 555s because I know them pretty well, but I'll be branching out into other areas over time.

 

If it takes off, I can add some PIC stuff for basic robot or sensor/feedback control.

Simple logic/Frequently Asked Questions as well, with complete diagrams, how it works, and both simple source and .hex files for the uC parts

 

I think a cookbook is a great idea and have stated that before. There are lots of projects on the Internet today, some are by reliable sources and others are not much more than someone's dream. It is hard, even impossible for a newbie, to tell the difference without actually building it and seeing whether it works.

One approach around that issue is to have projects validated by one or two reviewers. I have seen that done in real cookbooks for food. In chemistry, there is also a cookbook of procedures that are similarly validated. The validators have to put their name down as validators.

The value of validation is not so much a matter of credibility in the present case, but rather is one of being sure there are not unintentional ambiguities. It is quite different to look at a schematic and conclude it looks about right versus actually building the circuit as described and showing it works. I think validation would add value to a cookbook here that is lacking elsewhere.

John