[NJARC] What Happened to the Electronics Hobbyist?

[john ruccolo]

Hi Rob,

"This is a reflection of the fact that stuff is too
complicated to start from scratch and too 
cheap to duplicate by building it yourself."

Excellent point. Whenever there is a large surplus of
cheap stuff widely available, a hobby will spring up.

For example:

Hot Rods after WW2, becuase so many pre-war cars were
around that nobody really wanted any more.

Ham radio also got a tremendous boost after WW2,
because of the incredible amount of surplus stuff
available at a tiny fraction of what it cost Uncle
Sam. There's no way that even most most skilled
homebrewers could have built something as good as a
BC-348, for what they sold for after the war.

Today, it seems like there are so many PC's, TV's,
VCR's, CD players, cordless phones, fax machines, etc.
that have become obsolete so quickly that it's good to
hear that *somebody* is trying to do *something* with
them.

But real radios glow in the dark!

JR


--- Robert Flory <robandpj at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Visit our web site - See http://www.njarc.org
> _______________________________________________
> News of their demise is premature.
> 
> There are whole categories out there whose
> activities are less visible to
> us than the traditional ones.  Many still call
> themselves "hackers" and are
> interested in modifying equipment to add features. 
> This is a reflection of
> the fact that stuff is too complicated to start from
> scratch  and too cheap
> to duplicate by building it yourself.  The magazine
> "Make" has articles in
> it every time about how to modify commercial
> electronics.
> 
> The DJ "Grandmaster Flash", who was recently
> inducted into the Rock and
> Roll Hall of Fame, did a bunch of hacking to
> commercial mixers etc. to
> produce unique features he wanted to practice his
> art.  Sounds like Les
> Paul in that respect.
> 
> I recently heard a story on "circuit benders" on NPR
> that described people
> who more or less just goof around with radios etc.
> to make them produce
> wierd, unpredicted effects.  
> 
> Rob Flory
> robandpj at earthlink.net
> www.home.earthlink.net/~navyradio  WWII Navy Radio
> www.home.earthlink.net/~robandpj    Les Flory
> Television and Electronics
> 
> 
> 
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> 


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