| General > General Technical Chat |
| Is the electronics hobby dead? |
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| Karel:
http://blog.fh-kaernten.at/ingmarsretro/2015/03/07/experimentierkasten-philips-ee/ |
| FuzzyOnion:
A lot of differing perspectives to digest. I find those opinions of folks from different countries intriguing. Growing up in the 1960s (born in the mid 50s) here in the US, I thought there was only one other country - USSR. I had no idea there were other hobbyists like me elsewhere in the world - such was America at that time. If you lived in the US and can remember when a 1 year subscription to Popular Electronics cost $3.00, it's clearly a generational thing. Post WWII advances, booming economy, the space race - science and technology could solve anything. As a kid I would read anything I could get my hands on that had to do with science and electronics. I knew a couple of other kids who shared the same appetite. It seemed almost infectious. But as with all things, it changed. One of the things I noticed most was how the level of precision changed. Using 20% carbon resistors, 25% capacitors , etc just wasn't going to cut it anymore. Projects got more complex, more precise, often requiring expertise outside of electronics to complete. As these levels of precision and complexity increased, I found myself less and less engaged. Surface mount just about killed it for me. It didn't help that I was getting older and the parts kept getting tinier. Given all the other changes -economics, education, policies, etc, the face and content of the hobby is entirely different than it was during my early years. It has become quite wide, but not very deep. I feel the frustration when trying to help younger folks - I'm always asking myself "how can they not know this?" But I bite my tongue and press on. Digging deep was what my generation of tinkers did, but not so much now. Then again, it was a much smaller field to till. I think that what we older gents experienced is essentially dead. It was a time and place that won't be coming around again. I think we have to realize that a new version of what we did has emerged - perhaps not as fascinating to us as what we did, but at least it still keeps the experimenter spirit alive. So as an old guy, I will lament - because that what we do. I still have a stockpile of 7400 TTL and 4000 series CMOS chips and somewhere in the house is a dog-eared copy of Forrest Mims' book - I can relive the glory days if I need too. Anyway, the best to all and I enjoyed the previous comments. |
| julian1:
--- Quote ---I'm afraid that this also applies to modern industry. The large electronics/comms company I work for has introduced various H&S rules/restrictions along these lines. Basically, the modern corporate types have jumped on the bandwagon and introduced all kinds of rules and restrictions and I have to be trained for everything. I even had a (compulsory) 30 minute training session showing me how to safely operate the controls on my office chair so that I don't injure myself. This may seem absurd but engineers are now not supposed to have any sharp objects in their toolkit anymore, (so no knives or scalpels, ESPECIALLY scalpels) and RF/HW engineers are not supposed to have a soldering iron on their workbench anymore. It all has to be carried out at a communal/safe workstation. The idea is that you do your soldering change/repair and then walk back to the bench to test the change. If you want anything cut you either get an approved technician to do it or you go for training and book out the tools to do it. You aren't allowed to keep the sharp tools and nobody is allowed to own or use a regular scalpel anymore. Only special/safe equivalents are allowed and only if you fill in a form and book it out for an allotted timeslot. PCB cleaning products and strong/smelly adhesives are also banned from ownership and this all has to be done by an approved operator using materials locked away in a secure cupboard. --- End quote --- Meanwhile jobs and entire industries get exported to China because of their superior economic competitiveness. Not to say that all OHS is misplaced effort, but it feels like something has gone wrong with work and business culture. |
| Synthetase:
--- Quote from: homebrew on July 10, 2016, 09:15:21 am ---... HIFI stuff ... --- End quote --- Haven't thoroughly read the whole thread, but I can tell you hobby hi-fi is very much alive and kicking. The fundamentals haven't really changed much in a long time and any hobbiest worth his/her salt can, with a relatively modest outlay, produce a hi-fi system that easily eclipses most commercial offerings. In fact, given that I don't have to be commercially competitive, I can over-engineer the crap out of my system (and have) so it will also last longer. No more transistors running at the ragged edge of their ratings because some bean counter told the engineer to scrimp on the heatsink. Extremely low ripple supplies; ultra fast, ultra low distortion opamps if that's ya poison; electronic crossovers with filters perfectly matched to the desired loudspeaker; clipping/distortion indicators (when was the last time you saw one of those on a commercial amp?) - all of these things can be yours. My system is built using through-hole parts on single sided boards and it sounds better because I made it myself :P On a similar note, I built my guitar amplifier and all my effects units. My amplifier cost me a couple of hundred dollars to build and has features you won't see on models costing more than double that (how many cheap amps have Burr Brown opamps in them? :) ). It will also drive a four ohm load at full volume all day every day without melting. |
| strangersound:
One area that still shows promise is the guitar amplifier sector. Guitar tone junkies all pretty much agree that the only way you can get the holy grail of guitar tone is from a hand crafted circuit using point to point wiring and typically tubes (valves). Guitar effects being the same, with 'boutique' products popping up all over the place. It's a seriously growing niche market. I personally love point to point wiring and find it to be one the most beautiful art forms. Old Hammond organs and the like being examples of craftsmanship that are amazing to look at. Post Apocalyptic Inventor got hold of an old tube Tektronix 551 Dual Beam Oscilloscope and it's innards are incredible. I'm sure a lot of you have seen it, but if not take a look, it's worth your time: |
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