Learning Electronics as a kid......

I got into Electronics at a very young age. I was tearing apart radios and military surplus stuff when I was 14.

My first job at 16 was in a small TV and Radio shop.....back in the tube days (1964).

I swept the flours, cleaned the bathrooms, and did the front counter and sales while the old guy in back fixed the TV's.

He taught me how to test tubes, because half of our business was folks bringing tubes to be tested. Then he taught me how read schematics.....and how to use an old Simpson Meter. He taught me how to use an oscilloscope. He even helped me build my own crude oscilloscope by modifying a small black and white TV.

But I am digressing.

I have met many Engineers in my lifetime......and always found that the best Engineers (and Technicians, for that matter) always started out at a young age.

How about you guy's? When did you start?.............

Yes, young for me too.... Playing with bulbs, batteries and motors from ~7 yrs old
Made my first crystal set radio when I was around 11 or 12 with the help of my granddad
Friends and family always gave me things to play with and pull apart. Through my teens was building all sorts of circuits out of various electronics mags like electronics Australia, everyday electronics and practical electronics
My parents, although they encouraged me, had no electronics interest or knowledge themselves. So to a great extent I was self taught... Reading lots and just experimenting

I think one of the things that annoys me the most these days, and you see it constantly on the various electronics forums, is that so many young ones are using various simulation software packages to experiment but they seem reluctant and rarely just build the circuit and experiment that way in the real world.
I find it really weird.

Dave

I have learned that there two types of people that want to learn electronics. those who are fascinated by the technology and love designing and building, and those who are just trying to pass a class so they can get a job.

Well I never went to school for electronics training. Wish I had though, because as a kid my grandfather and grandmother where the ones who really got me interested in mechanical things. My love of electronics didn't come in till I was a little older. Computers where my fascination from about 16 on till present day, which I have been doing electronics self-taught for past 2 years.

All the same, I like "machines" that do something. Whatever it is, working with my hands feels good at the end of the day when I have accomplished something.

Are these the people who have an electrical engineering degree but still work in sales?

I mentioned in a previous post, I started picking the neighbors trash bins for broken
electronics. Oftentimes I found I could look at the old high-heat related parts, and could
tell by looking at them what was wrong. I was in gradeschool at the time. I was surprised
that nobody else I knew could see what I could see once you took the cover off the item.
I guess I could've been killed often enough, but what's that saying. What don't kill you,
makes you stronger.
My first table fan repair, I made one of those fireworks pinwheel displays when I
plugged the thing in not knowing the laminations on the windings were burned through.
I swapped a 9" B&W picture tube, and got a surprise when my belly (through my
shirt) recieved the remaining discharge of the anode plug from the picture tube as
I was taking it out to the trash.
I got interested, because it seemed like I had a gift in seeing electronics damage,
when nobody else I knew could see it.

Electronics has been a very fulfilling hobby for me and has also kept me employed all my working life in a variety of jobs.

It's amazing that even doing service work all day, I can still enjoy electronics as a hobby

Gosh, I'm no expert and can get bogged down in theory periodically. But it hasn't stopped me just experimenting with real components.

The worst thing for me and some of you would be the same... The older we have got, the worst our eyesight has got and also the smaller components have got.
When I started dabbling, carbon resistors in valves radio gear were ~2 inches long and a quarter inch in diameter compared to SMD ones these days that are down to a millimeter in length!!

The young ones these days don't seem to appreciate the value in stripping parts off trashed boards. It's a fantastic source of parts either normal size or SMD.
You can build up a substantial spare parts supply very quickly.

Cheers
Dave

Tried that with my kids.
The electronic toys I made for $20 were nowhere near as interesting (to them) as
one of those hand-held do-hicky toys for less than half the price. Plus the cheap
do-hicky toys have a lot of interesting functions.
Ya gotta wanna do things yourself pretty bad, to do what us old guys do.

I used to do that on through-hole boards. But I haven't done it for ages.

I really should try with SMD. Heat the board in the SMD oven, then just knock them off. Part numbers can be a bit of a bitch though.

The SMD stuff I tend to keep on the board.... Well particularly the resistors and caps
Easier to identify values with a quick scan across the board. The stuff I take off would usually be limited to some IC's v-regs etc

A couple or so cheap plastic bins from woolies/ buntings etc
1 for digital boards, 1 audio stuff and one for RF boards
They stack nicely and don't take up too much space

Cheers
Dave

PS... I am so sick of being in hospital, after a week, I'm going totally stir crazy
If it wasn't for the iPad and internet access I think I would have already gone over the edge. Hahahaha

Sorry you aren't doing well Davenn. Get better bro!

I know what you mean about hospitals though....spent a full year in one when I got wounded in Vietnam. Got down to 102 lbs after three solid monthn in a hospital bed!