In Electronic Design magazine, Louis Frenzel wrote an article, “Whatever Happened to the Electronics Hobbyist?”
Electronics used to be one of the greatest hobbies ever. There were literally hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of people who used to play around with electronics as an avocation or part-time interest and activity. There were at least a dozen magazines supporting this group and plenty of parts and kits suppliers to keep them happy. Kids learned electricity and electronics in school. As a result, when they ended up getting the bug, they ended up not only adopting electronics as a hobby, but also made it into a career. You don’t see too much of that going on anymore. So what the devil happened to the electronic hobbyist?
Louis goes on to say that electronics tinkering at the component level has largely disappeared but that the “Systems Hobbyist” is alive and well. This is a good article, with insight into the electronics hobby, including ham radio. Worth reading…click here.
73, Bob K0NR