[GreenKeys] Learning electronics

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "tony j. podrasky" <tony.podrasky at gmail.com>
To: "John Whitney" <john at johnwhitney.com>
Cc: <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 4:04 PM
Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Learning electronics


> Hey John;
>
> I know the thread is off-topic but I think that it won't 
> get
> out of hand, and it could encourage some young ones into 
> the
> electronics field.
>
> My thought is to either get them to each build a crystal 
> radio
> or for the instructor to build one in front of them.
>
> That was the first thing I built - and that's about as 
> close to
> "magic" as you can get: look - the thing has ALMOST 
> NOTHING in
> it and it receives radio!
>
> And it was cheap to build!
>
> And, once the kids build it, then the next thing is to 
> make an
> amplifier (couple of transistors/caps/resistors/speaker) 
> so you
> can listen to it with your friends.
>
> Then, morph it into a regenerative receiver - and add the 
> shortwave
> bands.
>
> You'll see soon enough which kid is drawn to the love of 
> electronics.
>
> 73,
> W6ESE - tony
> NNNN
> ZCZC

     Almost the same here, my dad took a night course in 
electronics and another in photography. Somehow I am the one 
who took up both. We built a crystal radio, real breadboard 
with hand wound coils. The photography started with a Kodak 
darkroom in a box he brought home. So Moi set this up in the 
basement and developed and printed a roll of film from a 
Brownie. I got bit hard by both.


--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dickburk at ix.netcom.com