[Boatanchors] A moment, a day, a passing of a generation/a largequestion

[Duane Fischer, W8DBF]

1. A willingness to make recreational learning the top priority after the 
basic survival and family demands have been met.

2. A desire to learn that is stronger than the desire to play.

3. Unfaltering motivation that remains on track despite failures, 
frustrations and diversions. No matter how difficult, you must stay focused.

4. Apply what you learn from teachers, videos or books to hands on simple 
projects. Apply the knowledge, learn the path current takes and soon you 
will flow just as it does!

5. Pick a reasonable goal that lies within your abilities. Then aim just 
below what you know you can achieve. Hit your mark, build confidence, then 
move the marker up one single point at a time. Hit it for a while. Do not be 
anxious to move it higher, you are building self-confidence and fine tuning 
problem solving skills. This is not a "look at me" event, as if it is, you 
lose.

6. Perhaps the single most important item: You must want the goal so bad 
that you will do whatever it takes, provided it is legal and ethical, to 
make it a reality. Be so hungry for success that a fireplace brick looks 
tasty! For if you truly want to learn, you will. Let those who truly know 
how, teach you the way. Then slowly convert their ways over to your ways so 
that the goal is attained and the efficiency and beauty preserved!

A thought in closing: It is hard to hear the lessons of life speaking when 
your mouth is open and your mind closed.






Duane Fischer, W8DBF
dfischer at usol.com
HHI: Halligan's Hallicrafters International
http://www.w9wze.net
HHRP: Historic Halligan Radio Project
http://hhrp.w9wze.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kenneth D. Grimm, K4XL" <kgrimm at adelphia.net>
To: <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 2:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] A moment, a day, a passing of a generation/a 
largequestion


> jeff wrote:
>>
>> Short of figuring out that old time machine quandary, how does one learn
>> hollow-state practical tips?  Yes, I've read a few books, taken a few
>> things apart, attempted to build other things... but how does one learn
>> without a nun over your shoulder, slapping your knuckles with a ruler?
>>
>> How does one learn to look at a circuit and make changes to alter the
>> output?  In a tiny class-A 6BQ5 audio amplifier circuit, if I lower the
>> B+, will I lower output while retaining most of the fidelity?  I know I
>> can use a resistor to lower the B+ - where do I start?  How much can I
>> lower the B+?  Or should I keep the B+ as-is for the other tubes and
>> just lower it for the output?  A 10w resistor in the power supply gets
>> hotter than anything I've felt in a radio, yet calculations show it only
>> dissipating 2w - why is that?
>>
>> Where does one learn this stuff?  The practical info doesn't seem to
>> appear in the books.  Is it just slogging through, blowing stuff up, and
>> conversing with virtual elmers?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
> Certainly, you can get lots of good input on design questions on the 
> reflectors.  Another good source of advice is on the Usenet Newsgroup 
> called rec.radio.amateur.homebrew .  One of the best series of articles 
> that QST has ever run, in my opinion, is the one called Hands-On-Radio by 
> Ward Silver, N0AX.  Ward writes in a style and at a level that 
> non-engineers find accessible.  The articles are written as "Experiments" 
> and Ward makes sure that you don't destroy what you are playing with and 
> learning from.  If you are an ARRL member, you have access to all of these 
> articles (48 of them and still going) at 
> http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/Hands-On-Radio  If you are not a member, 
> I can only say that just to have access to these Experiments is worth the 
> price of a subscription.  Since everything at ARRL seems to turn into a 
> book, one could reasonably expect the Hands-On-Radio series to be 
> published in that form at some point in the future.
> 73,
>
> -- 
>
> Ken K4XL
> k4xl at arrl.net
>
> *** BoatAnchor Manual Archive ***
> On the web at http://bama.sbc.edu and http://bama.edebris.com
> FTP site info: bama.sbc.edu login: anonymous p/w: youremailadr
>
> _______________________________________________
> Boatanchors mailing list
> Boatanchors at mailman.qth.net
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
> ** List Administrator - Duane Fischer, W8DBF/W9WZE **   ** For Assistance: 
> dfischer at usol.com **         $$ For vintage radio info, see the HCI web 
> site $$      http://www.w9wze.org
>
>
> -- 
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.15.3/562 - Release Date: 12/1/2006
>
>