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From: bill clinton
Date: 8/8/01
Time: 10:18:17 AM
Remote Name: 32.101.162.242
From: Jim Wood, Brea, CA <woodjim@juno.com>
Date: 3/28/99
Time: 12:03:02 AM
Remote Name: 205.215.232.125
Tom,
You and I did our experimenting in the 1950s, right? Things were simpler then. What did we make? I remember a 4-tube super-regen transceiver for the "new" Citizen's Band, a 30-watt "hi-fi" power amp using push-pull 6L6s, and dozens of fun projects from the pages of Popular Electronics. Electronics back then was largely the technology of the entertainment industry... radio, TV and music. Life is not so simple now. Advanced communications systems (cell phones, modems, etc.) utilize circuitry and techniques we didn't even dream about then. And it just can't be done with CK722s and vari-loopstics. As an employer in the electronics field, I sometimes wonder where the next generation of inventors will come from. There aren't many kids out there building regen receivers and light-beam walkie-talkies. Youngsters now are playing video games, midi-sampling music and (if e-mail and the internet haven't killed ham radio completely) are buying Kenwood and Icom gear ready-built. But there's still fun to be had with the proper motivation and ambition. Thankfully, Radio Shack still stocks discrete components, and even has obscure things like tubes listed in a separate catalog for ordering. And there are surplus equipment emporiums as well. Not far from where I live is a dandy place with odds and ends to tickle the imagination and whet the appetite for building something from scratch. What you and I need to do is lend whatever support we can to organizations like the Crystal Set Society, to publications such as "Electronics Now!" and "Nuts and Volts" magazines. And we need to stimulate interest on a personal level too. I heard a sermon recently which stressed "taking interest in another person." I know that whenever I meet someone who displays even the slightest interest in electronics, I offer any assistance I can to cultivate that interest. Passing along books, magazines and photocopies of articles is the least we can do. And, for yourself, allow me to introduce you to one of my own pet interests: mechanical television. I am a member of the Narrow Bandwidth Television Association (NBTVA), a group based in Nottingham, England. We experiment with television projects based loosely on J.L. Baird's 30-line work from the 1920s and 1930s. Members build spinning-disc cameras and viewers, exercising their skills in the multiple disciplines of electronics, optics and mechanics. If you are interested, take a look: <http://homepages.wyenet.co.uk/gdixon/news/html> It's a gas!
Best regards,
Jim Wood