[ARC5] Interest in "command" sets - where is a new generation?

Fri Nov 20 10:47:19 EST 2015

I think there is a huge amount of creative activity out there. It is just
less
visible to us because everything is getting smaller :)

Look at the offerings from SparkFun and AdaFruit. Look at some of the stuff
on Hackaday. Look at the stuff from our own Hans Summers at www.qrp-labs.com
.

Speaking as a professional programmer, I have a different point of view on
what
is going on today. It is not so much 'splicing functional blocks from a
library' as
building on the huge contributions of others. This has always happened in
electronics
and it's exciting to see it happening in software also.

It depends what you want to do. But you can generally get there much faster
by
making use of available technology to handle the "boring" stuff (where
"boring"
just means "whatever I don't want to think about today") so that you can
spend
your time on the "interesting" stuff. If you are interested in teaching a
robot how
to do things, you don't have to spend time working out how to make the
wheels
move. But you can if that's what you find interesting.

My experience is that if your goal is to somehow interest or motivate a
teenager,
you are doomed to disillusionment and worse. They will find their own
interests
and aspirations. We can certainly make evident the things that we find
interesting
and worthwhile, but remember that a significant part of the job description
of being
young is to learn things the hard way.

73, ian

On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 12:21 PM, <jmfranke at cox.net> wrote:

> Good words! Now for some off the top of the head thinking to get thoughts
> moving.
> I have always noted that teenagers are attracted to doing things. Radio
> was an early way for an individual to listen to or communicate with distant
> cultures, etc. The main investment was time and handy work. That has
> changed. Amateur astronomy required the time and patience to grind mirrors,
> test optics, construct telescopes and mounts, accompanied by learning the
> sky. Working with others drew together diverse resources and progress. Now,
> inexpensive telescopes are easily acquired and even astrophotography can be
> done with reasonably priced cameras and software. When I was young, there
> was an interest in go-carts. With time and scrap parts, one, or a club,
> could assemble a go-cart and have a set of "wheels" which lead to better
> cars, etc. There is interest in robotics. But, the tools are available at a
> relatively low cost and it takes a remarkably short time to produce
> results. Similarly, the downloading of music or information was once
> fascinating, but can now be done in min
>  utes with a handheld black-box. Much of programming is splicing of
> functional blocks from a library.
> What is needed is long term goals with a path that has many turns, but
> achievable intermediate results along the way. It is important that the
> results require an investment in time and activity. It is helpful if the
> task requires or is more fun when other people are involved.
> So, the need is to find the right goals, goals that can be assisted by
> electronics, preferably goals that require multiple participants. The
> teenagers will develop interest in the tools to reach the goals. Maybe the
> teenagers would eventually partner with an elder to form a team. The elder
> would identify the needs and the teenager help meet the need through
> learning electronics. The teenagers would not only increase the knowledge
> of electronics, but also learn the science associated with the goals. I
> have always thought that this idea would breathe life into my own interest
> of science and electronics.
> Okay, so what are the goals? I think the goals have to come from others
> who have used electronics for diverse hobby interests. Perhaps if such
> persons could be identified in your own city, they could give a
> presentation at the radio club - now an electronics and science club. Ask
> around. Has anyone built or needed an electronic device to assist in their
> other hobbies? Radio control, weather monitoring, astronomy, robotics,
> microcontrollers?
>
> John WA4WDL
>
>
> ---- Leslie Smith <vk2bcu at operamail.com> wrote:
> >
> >           The next generation of engineers (or hobbyists)
> >
> > I am a member of Westlakes Radio Club.  We have few members under 50
> > years of age.  Yet 30 years ago the situation was the opposite.  The
> > club founder, Kieth Howard, was the science master at the local high
> > school, and every Saturday afternoon the train station near the club was
> > flooded with teenagers - all going to Westlakes Radio Club.  Today, our
> > club has about 200 members; but nearly every club member joined in the
> > 60s and '70s.
> >
> > I spoke with several people directly engaged in teaching science at the
> > secondary and tertiary level.  There is some interest in computing, but
> > little for physics, chemistry or maths.  You may substitute the word
> > "electronics" or "radio" for physics.
> >
> > I don't know a single reader on this list under 50 years of age (but
> > then I apologize to those whose age I estimate incorrectly!)  In the
> > recent thread about the Hallicrafters S-38 I read (or at least infer) a
> > lot of enthusiasm for radio/electronics in teen-years; I read about
> > school-teachers teaching with infectious enthusiasm.  I read accounts by
> > list-readers who caught that enthusiasm (and who made two-way radio
> > contact around the world using basic stations cobbled together from
> > "command" sets or Hallicrafters S-38 and a one-tube MOPA).
> >
> > Now, of course, we can talk around the word for a ten-cent phone call.
> > We can use Skype to do the same thing for nothing!  Has the PC killed an
> > interest in radio?  Dare I ask a question,  "Who will continue our
> > interest in these old radios?"  More than our narrow interest in
> > "command/ARC-5" radio, who will make the next generation of engineers
> > and technicians?  This is an interesting question?  Is there some way to
> > re-kindle interest in radio/electronics?
> >
> > Les
> >
> > --
> > http://www.fastmail.com - The professional email service
> >
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