??? ??? 6L6 , 12AX7 , if a kid knows what those are for he's got
a chance . Like ya mentioned? robotic's seem to get kids
interested . The Arduinos & Raspberry pi's seem to be getting
more & more popular with? kids today . I've been trying to
teach my self arduino for a couple of years now & if I was
graded I'd be taking Arduino all over again & again . I think
Nixie tubes are a gateway to electronice for some . They see a
Nixie tube clock that they think is bitchin but their expensive ,
so they watch some youtubes & get a kit & build one , then
they think hmm maybe I'm on to something here . I never had a new
computer till @ 7-8 years back , I always made ours . I also made
several? for several other familys & some folks that could
never afford one back in the late 1990's early 2000's . One of my
sons was always lookin over my shoulder as I built them askin
questions & finally by the time he hit Hi school he had built
several for himself & friends . He decided he wanted to learn
to be a programmer for his career , He had one teacher that didn't
like him & constantly ignored him in class would tell him he
was askin stupid questions & after a semester he said screw it
& walked away from programming . I guess what I'm trying to
say with the last part of my rant here is that without a solid
foundation that a kid can ask & learn from some of them don't
have a chance .?
I still have a tube tester in my garage . I have my dads stereo
that he built when he came back from Korea , been thinkin bout
re-capping it & seeing how it sounds as a acoustic guitar amp
, yea one of these days....
animal
On 1/15/24 10:43 PM, Chris Albertson
wrote:
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Rhetorical question (don¡¯t answer)¡ What decade was it when you
were 9? ? I bet it was back in the days when manual lathes with
hand wheels were still used in manufacturing.
I am subscribed to another forum that deals with vacuum tube
electronics and we sometimes see posts about how to get kids
interested in vacuum tubes. ? ?The answer is ¡°You can¡¯t¡±. OK,
there are some exceptions but mostly you can¡¯t. ? ?The reason
the old guys are on that forum is that this was the electronic
technology of their youth, Some of them never got around to
understanding transistors or digital stuff or computers.
I hate to say it but many people who are using manual machine
tools are like the vacuum tube guys, this was the technology
when they were young.
Kids don¡¯t have this background, they don¡¯t remember a time
when vacuum tubes and gears and electric motors were called
¡°high tech¡±. ? ?To them the way you make a widget is you design
it on a computer screen and then send the design files off to
some automation. ?It makes the part and FedEx drops it off at
the house.
Nothing is wromng with being a fan of mid-20th-century
technology. ?I¡¯m subscribed to forums on machine tools and
vacuum tubes and I¡¯ve owned sailboats. ?A couple of people I
know even own horses.?
With the vacuum tubes, the way to interest a 15-year-old is
with guitar amplifiers. ?That is something they can relate to.
?In other words, the tubes are a means to something else, not an
end in itself. ? ? With machine tools, the way to go is to get
them into making mechanical stuff and a lathe is just one of the
tools they will need. ? So, how would you get a kid interested
in hammers? ?You don¡¯t, you introduce him to carpentry.
Robots and other things that move are interesting to some
kids. ?It is easy to find kids who a fanatically interested in
robots and other kinds of robot-like machines.?
I used to teach at a high school (as a second career after
retiring from engineering) so I have some background with kids.
?Most are into other things but a few were pretty darn serious
about robot competitions and building and designing these
machines and because of this they were motivated to learn the
tools. ?Tools were the basic shop tools from the 1950¡¯s like a
drill press, metal brake, mill,¡ ?and so on. ?But also modern
tools like 3D CAD, 3D printing, and CNC. ? Get a smart kid
motivated to a goal and he or she will learn the tools. ?Yes
¡°she¡±, ?many more girls then you¡¯d think were there. ?In fact
they tend to be the smart ones who can use computers and do
math. ? High school is an interesting age span. ? They start
with just basic elementary school skills and some of them by the
time they are seniors have completed physics and calculus
classes and have some elementary computer programming skills. ?
So in short, ypu have to find a way to connect the mid 20th
century tools with the interst of earth 21st century kids. ? It
can be done. ? But if they don¡¯t see the connection, it will not
work.
I was 9 running a lathe.?
Great fun making a canon too.
Dave?
