[Elecraft] Suggestions for Introducing a 10-year-old to Amateur Radio and Electronics

[Don Wilhelm]

Excellent idea Alan!

An added advantage of that kind of approach is that you can write on the 
blocks - like the name of the component, its schematic symbol, and he 
can see how to follow the schematic to connect them.  Polarized devices 
like diodes can be marked with the anode and cathode ends and 
transistors can be marked with base, collector and emitter and the 
difference between an NPN and a PNP can be clearly indicated.
Should make learning much easier for him and he will likely retain it 
better.

Steps after that would be teaching the resistor color code and learning 
how to read the values on capacitors - capacitor values are not trivial 
these days.

Then an introduction to data sheets.  By the time he is a couple years 
older he will know more about circuits than many modern hams.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 10/17/2017 4:44 PM, Alan Geller via Elecraft wrote:
> Here is one more approach:
> 
> I took a pine 1X2 and cut it into 3” pieces ; then screwed a couple of Fahnstock clips into the
> tops of each one near the ends. I then selected an assortment of 2 node components plus a
> pile of 6” cut copper wire pieces.
> Whoopee…we could then make stuff…doorbell plus switch, simple diode rcvr, then one with a
> single transistor audio amp plus speaker (needs 3 NODE block), morse code key and buzzer
> etc etc
> Tiny stuff can be intimidating…so the blocks fit his way of playing and we were off and running.
> A regen rcvr on a board for 40M can be a jump step and its all fun.