On 3/20/2011 5:31 AM, William Sommerwerck wrote:
I'm looking for an online electronics forum (web-based)
where I can post some questions.

Get a ham license. Then you can find people who actively
design and build things, like to talk about them and would
gladly help you.

Amateur radio has largely become a plug 'n play hobby. Hams still build
antennas, and sometimes high-power finals, but other than small projects and
accessories, they mostly buy things. Don't expect to walk into a shack and
find a home-brew receiver these days.

I think that is a matter of simple economics. You can buy
finished, tested, "legit" product for less than you can
purchase the components needed to build same. And, often,
getting those components is tedious -- unless you have a
business account to which you can add the order (or, buy
THAT SORT OF COMPONENTS in big enough quantities that a
sales rep will sample you a few pieces). Most electronic
suppliers don't want to deal with small orders. And, the
places that *will* have hefty markups (or don't carry the
more exotic components).

One of the purposes in licensing amateur radio operators was to build a base
of people with both theoretical and practical knowledge of electronics. It's
not clear that it still does this.

I think dropping the code requirement was a clear acknowledgement
of this. Now they're just trying to hold onto their frequency
allocations. :-/

And, in practical terms, there are fewer and fewer things that
even a motivated ham can design or repair in a modern household
(contrast this with how "capable" he/she would be in a 1960's
household)