?

*Young people today have a multitude of interests and are often re-focused (squirrel) (TRUE )

?

*They understand their smartphone or tablet as a portal to “everything” (DEFINATLY TRUE )

?

*Audio visual orientation drives them?to blogs and YouTube presentations?

?

*Currently there are many online circuit?simulators and test equipment interfaces ( Not sure about online but many software companies started to offer hobbyist or non commercial licenses for their tools at very low cost )

?

*Many simulators include a generic Arduino board which can be used in a design

?

*Microcontrollers, like Arduino have many downloadable examples included with their IDE

?

*The new RP2040 microcontroller from?the PI Foundation runs Python and “C/C++” and costs $5.00

? ?

*Surplus Cellsite Test equipment (ex.?HP 8935) can be had for ~ $1200 with a “bench full” of usable TE ( I have seen them cheaper than this but caution has to be exercised as cell test equipment often is limited in frequency range and capabilities )

?

*Once folks have an opportunity to cheaply develop a real interest, TinySA and NanoVNA will not be enough ( definatly true )

?

*By the way, the Raspberry PI allows the use of Arduino’s IDE, so one could get in and out?for <$50

?

Which ever way we open up these experiences for young people, their choices will be the driver.

?

Larry

AC9OX

On Friday, March 18, 2022, 14:36, Bruce <bruce@...> wrote:

THANK YOU - My sentiment exactly.
Quoting Dave McGuire <mcguire@...>:

> This is an amazing story.? I wonder if it would make any sense to?
> try to get some of these kids onto this list.? Too many young people?
> fall into the trap of believing a $30 "nano" oscilloscope from China?
> is better than a real instrument because it's newer.? Given the?
> typical modern consumer upbringing, this is reasonable.? But we?
> could teach people like this why things don't really work that way.
>
>? In fact, I'd go so far as to say that we have a responsibility to do so.
>
>? ? ? ? ? ? ? -Dave
>
> On 3/18/22 09:58, William Ray via groups.io wrote:
>> Not to prolong the off-topic, but perhaps to move it in a more?
>> positive direction, I will direct your attention to recently?
>> published patent:
>>
>> WO 2022/040182
>>
>> You can find it with Google.
>>
>> There's nothing in there that most, or perhaps all of the members?
>> here couldn't accomplish, it's almost all digital (though wringing?
>> the analog gremlins out of the power supply system sufficiently?
>> well to avoid false triggering took quite a lot of time on the?
>> 'scope), and most of the work was done on a Tek scope (but a couple?
>> Agilent MSOs, and a HP 54201d and 16702a that they fixed up also?
>> participated), but...
>>
>> Essentially /all/ of the electronics design and development work?
>> described here, was conducted by a series of High School Junior or?
>> Senior research-capstone students.? ?The very first version was?
>> developed by an Ohio State University computer-science Junior, but?
>> it kept catching on fire (literally), so the first HS student who?
>> worked on it essentially redeveloped it piece-by piece from scratch.
>>
>> Dear (Brown haired) Sydney 1.0 came into the lab not knowing how to?
>> solder, and left a year later a grizzled veteran of chasing a vast?
>> amount of magic smoke, and with sufficient chops to dive into the?
>> Tek scope and fix it without being prompted when it crapped out (it?
>> wasn't a major problem - a simultaneous power supply and?
>> LCD-backlight issue, but I will be forever impressed with her?
>> tenacity and attitude - that young lady is unstoppable).
>>
>> (Green-haired) Sydney 2.0 came into the lab a year later with a bit?
>> more pre-existing electronics knowledge (high-school robotics?
>> club), and decided to scrap the entire thru-hole/point-to-point?
>> system, learned how to design multilayer PCBs (on her own), then?
>> re-developed the entire thing as a monolithic, primarily?
>> surface-mount system.? She also orchestrated another group of?
>> students to develop more useful software to perform medical?
>> neuromuscular assessments.
>>
>> I'm a physicist.? I helped the students by pointing them to?
>> resources like data sheets for shift-buffers when they had?
>> questions like "how the heck are we going to get the input from 512?
>> switches into 2 pins on an Arduino???".? And I coached Sydney 1.0?
>> through episodes of "Dr. Ray, it's hard to tell because of Taumer's?
>> (original Computer-Sci student) spaghetti wiring, but I'm almost?
>> certain this wire is a dead short between the power rail for the?
>> Hall-effect sensors and the ground on the shift buffers - what?
>> should I do?? Well, let's take it out and see what happens.? Oooh -?
>> I knew that wire over there was hot, but now it's glowing!"?
>> situations, but /they/ did this.? In High School.? ?I'm willing to?
>> bet that not many of the people suggesting that the kids are not?
>> all right, were designing and developing patentable devices when?
>> they were in HS.
>>
>> Will Ray
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
> New Kensington, PA
>
>
>