# Forrest M. Mims III on Reddit (u/Forrest_Mims)

Part of Scientists on Reddit, researched with Autumn (https://www.autumn.ai) from public sources. Updated 2026-11-07. Interactive version: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/scientists-on-reddit/forrest-m-mims-iii

Forrest M. Mims III: Amateur scientist, author of Getting Started in Electronics.

- Reddit account: [u/Forrest_Mims](https://www.reddit.com/user/Forrest_Mims/) (AMA only)
- How we know it's theirs: [The 2016 r/science AMA, posted from this account](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/5b3a09/)
- Where they post, in the records we retrieved: r/science (50)
- Known activity in the posts we found: 2016 to 2016
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_Mims

## Moments

### u/Forrest_Mims in r/science, Nov 4, 2016 · Personal story

Replying to a redditor:

> Hi Forrest! Thank you for writing those little Engineer's Mini Notebooks . For young people excited about electronics, as I was, these are terrific bite sized introductions to the field. My question: How did these books come about? Did Radio Shack approach you to write them, or…

> Radio Shack editor Dave Gunzel was familiar with my hand-lettered lab notebooks, and at he asked if I could do an entire book the same way I prepared the notebooks. This became the first "Engineer's Notebook," which sold 650,000 copies. The first few pages were prepared with a Selectric typewriter. I then inserted a signature to ease the reader into the hand lettered concept Dave wanted. After several pages, the book shifted to entirely hand-lettering and illustrating. The book was written/drawn with India ink on toothed Mylar, which meant a single error required redoing an entire page. This was a very tedious project, which drew blood from the middle finger of my right hand.

(Excerpt.)
Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/5b3a09/comment/d9liqcj/ · 20 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/Forrest_Mims in r/science, Nov 4, 2016 · Personal story

Replying to a redditor:

> Not a question, but a thank you. I got started in electronics when [this book](https://www.amazon.com/Archer-Engineers-Notebook-Integrated-Applications/dp/B000OZ93JU) came out around 79. I was 13 and biked to my Radio Shack, took examples from the notebook, started jamming 555's…

> You mentioned biking to Radio Shack. That reminds me about dictating my earliest Radio Shack books into a portable tape recorder while riding my bike 20 miles every afternoon.

(Excerpt.)
Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/5b3a09/comment/d9m28i7/ · 8 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/Forrest_Mims in r/science, Nov 4, 2016 · Explains things

Replying to a redditor:

> Hi! I had your Getting Started in Electronics book as a kid and still own it! I'm a biochemist now, and I'm curious how ozone detection works - what is special about the ozone molecule that allows you to track it specifically?

> Ozone efficiently absorbs UV-B and UV-C wavelengths. It also absorbs in the visible, with peaks around 590 nm and 610 nm (the Chappuis band), I detect ozone with a 2- or 3-channel instrument that measures sunlight at 300 nm, 305 nm and 311 nm. Since ozone absorbs more effectively at the lower wavelengths, the ratio of any two of these wavelengths is directly proportional to the amount of ozone between an observer and the sun (when corrected for the intervening air mass, pressure, etc.). The principle also works for detecting ambient ozone. I employ the Chappuis band to detect the height of the main stratospheric layer of ozone during twilight. This works surprisingly well, and the twilight result is usually within 5-10 percent of the height measured by balloon-launched ozonesondes. The UV instruments must use very expensive filters. The twilight method uses a 50-cent orange LED that detects at 600 nm.

Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/5b3a09/comment/d9ljar2/ · 10 points as of Nov 7, 2026