Lobster wrote :
Nice. I really wish I could do that stuff - but I'm afraid electronickery is
a whole area of "diy" (for want of a better phrase) which is a complete and
utter closed book to me. Over the years I've often wanted a customised
electronic gadget to do some task or other (invariably some form of timing or
switching) but wouldn't have even the first idea where to start. I've posted
here in the past for advice on stuff and have had well-meaning replies along
the lines of "Dead simple, just get yourself 1 Y65GFD87N thyroidistor and
connect it to a flipflop 567-type ICD and vary the gain on the upper pin 4
until the silicomagnet timing falls..." and it's "Whoosh!" here.

It's one of those barriers where making a start on the learning, drags
you into it, it is knowing how where to start. Tandy/Realistic used to
sell some very basic engineers notebooks, in a series magazine size
editions. They were full of quick simple experimenters circuits, which
often had little purpose other than to allow you to experiment with
devices, mixed in with a few useful items. All of that, along with much
of the supply of components has gone. Even Maplin, who seemed to take
over Tandy's market are stocking fewer and fewer components as the
years go by.

pic's and software seem to be the way to go now.



--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk