General > General Technical Chat

Is the electronics hobby dead?

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SilverSolder:
I agree with @M0HZH and other posters, This is the golden age of electronics.

To me, a good hobby project is where you make something that you can't just go out and buy - special stuff that is not available for $5 from Asia...

That, and building "test" circuits to learn something from.

When all is said and done, if you think what you're doing is interesting, keep doing it...   if not, why are you doing it?  :D

SilverSolder:

--- Quote from: mindcrime on May 12, 2021, 04:35:41 am ---

--- Quote ---(2) More and more designs require the use of SMD components. That practically means that DIY pcbs are not an option anymore (e.g. throughhole plating and solder mask).
--- End quote ---

That's a fair point, but you can machine a PCB with a $200 desktop mill that works with SMD components. Or if you can wait a few days to get your board, you can have it made by OSH Park, JLCPCB, etc. Other services that didn't exist in the past, that make this a golden era for hobby electronics in my mind. And soldering? You can often get by with just hot-air, or if you want a reflow oven you can buy a cheap T962 for not a lot of money, or do what I'm doing, and build your own reflow oven from a Black and Decker convection oven.
[...]

--- End quote ---

That is one area where modern electronics is definitely harder to do:  the small size of components makes it harder to work with.

I still hand solder all SMD components, using a fine point iron.  I only start up the hot air station if there is a chip in play that doesn't have exposed leads (there is usually a package available with exposed leads).  Overall, this is time-competitive with other methods unless you have a pick&place machine.   

I'm not saying this is the recommended or best way, I'm saying you don't need special equipment to work with it, if you play your cards wisely - like don't go with smaller than 0603 sized SMT components.

It is still completely realistic to etch your own PCBs at home, using toner transfer or photographic methods.  But why would you bother, unless you are in a hurry, or doing a very large PCB which can still become quite expensive with Osh Park, JLCPCB et al?

Sal Ammoniac:

--- Quote from: mindcrime on May 12, 2021, 04:35:41 am ---
--- Quote ---(1) Chemicals and materials are harder to get, more expensive to obtain.

--- End quote ---

Can't agree. That big bottle of MG Chemicals 99.99% IPA in the lab? The one labeled "for professional use only"? Yeah... when I was coming up, I had nowhere near me to get something like that, and if I had, they wouldn't have sold it to me. Now, I jump on amazon, click a button, and 2 days later it's on my doorstep. Fantastic.
--- End quote ---

There is much truth to the claim that chemicals are harder to get now. Sure, you can order IPA easily, but other chemicals? Not so much. When I was a kid I was interested in chemistry and could go down to the local drug store and buy a wide variety of chemicals. If they didn't have it, they could get it for me. They had no problem selling chemicals to a 12-year-old.

Today the situation is very different. Drug stores still sell IPA, but that's about it. Nearly everything else is off limits. Commercial chemical and scientific suppliers won't sell chemicals to private individuals at all--you have to be a business or an educational institution. These companies assume that private individuals buying this stuff are either terrorists building a bomb, or drug dealers running a meth lab. In some states in the U.S. private individuals can't even buy glassware like beakers and flasks.

marcelogadotti:
In Brazil the electronics hobby isn't dead. There are a lot of stores selling cheap components, Ham Radio increase the number of licenses and digital modes like DMR and FT8. Near my home and work, there are more than 3 electronics store selling PTH components and it's very easy to buy components from China.

I grew up in a TV repair service and I agree that this area has disappeared, however, the hobby is still very much alive.
Now, I am working with the development of embedded systems, which reduced my interest in the hobby in the free time.

Alex Eisenhut:
It's certainly true that the old-school "build this two-tone siren with a 556" projects are long gone... and who cares.

OTOH working on zombie 1960s electronics like my Tektronix scope beasts is so much easier now with instant access to all manuals and schematics, and in some cases even engineers that created them.

Seems to me that whatever level you pick, it's still a great time to play around with it.

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