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Electronics, a dying hobby/job?

Ever since I can remember, I have been addicted to science and technology.

My favourite area of technology has always been electronics but when I was young, it was a very, very expensive area in which to work -- if you went beyond the simple "one transistor radio" and other elementary projects.

I recall the first job I had in the world of radio communications -- the workshop was filled with really expensive test-gear such as a Marconi 995 RF generator, AVO-8 multimeters, fabulous dual-trace oscilloscopes and (one of my favourites) a frequency counter that used those old neon nixie tubes.

The total value of all that test gear would have equated to a king's ransom.

My, how things have changed!

Over the past year I've shopped very carefully to build myself an electronics lab that has a good array of test and development gear -- for a total price of under US$1,000.

The list of gear I've bought for that price is quite astonishing and puts the professional workshop I first worked in to shame.

I have a dual-channel 100MHz digital storage oscilloscope, a 2.5GHz frequency counter, a Fluke DVM, a 16-channel logic analyzer, a 1Hz to 5MHz signal generator and another that stretches up to 150MHz, a 2.4GHz spectrum analyzer and a bunch of other equipment, all of which works extremely well.

Yes, much of it has come from China -- in fact virtually all of it is (although the spectrum analyser is US-made).

I did also spend US$100 on a top-quality Hakko 888 soldering station -- something that quickly reminded me of the benefits of good quality tools.

Of course all this gear is not much use without the raw materials from which electronic devices are crafted -- and that's also got a whole lot cheaper.

I cringe when I see the prices that hobby electronics outlets like Dick Smith used to charge and which the likes of Jaycar still charge. These days, I only buy a very occasional component locally -- it's just so much cheaper and just as convenient to buy from overseas sources via the internet.

For about $200 I was able to totally stock my component bins with a good range of diodes, transistors, capacitors, resistors, voltage regulators, op-amps, LEDs and microcontrollers. Shop locally and you'd be lucky to get more than a handful for your money.

Then there's the inspiration and technical documentation that's so essential to any design or repair work -- yay for the Net again!

Back in the "good old days", my bookshelves were lined a seemingly endless number of weighty tomes, each filled with datasheets, application notes and a raft of other tech reference material. Every year I'd get a pile of addendums that were added to the bookcase, each containing the newer devices that had recently come onto the market. What a lot of dead-tree flesh!

Today I just download the datasheet for any device "on demand" -- leaving my shelves free for the careful placement of my lunch or coffee cup.

When I look around I am just chuffed to bits at what I have been able to get for a pittance.

Forty years ago, when I started working in the electronics industry, much of this gear simply didn't exist and the equivalent stuff was certainly beyond the reach of all but a well funded business.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that I don't see very many kids taking an interest in electronics as a hobby or as the path to a valuable career.

The fact that DSE has dropped electronic components from its product line and that there are so few alternatives at a retail level is perhaps a clear indicator that we're losing (or have lost) a valuable hi-tech hobby.

I wonder how many readers are actively involved in electronics -- as a hobby or as a career.

Why is it that (as far as I can tell), electronics has lost a lot of popularity as a hobby?

Even those who do engage in a bit of electronics seem to be more inclined to simply buy ready-made modules like the Arduino and focus more on software than actually designing and building circuitry -- or am I wrong?

Is there anything we can do to turn this around?

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