BOB URZ ) writes:
Sam Goldwasser wrote:

"momwithtools" writes:

Thanks for all the responses. More warnings than encouragement,
unfortunately. Can anyone think of an appliance or electronic you would
recommend the children take apart? Maybe one you consider "safe"? Sounds
like TVs are definitely out of the picture (no pun intended!).

Right, basically stay away from TVs, CRT monitors, abd microwave ovens.

The primary dangers from others devices are sharp sheet metal, and maybe
a few springs. Most equipment doesn't really have dangerous chemicals
as long as the kids wash their hands after handling the stuff. But
there may be plenty of just plain dirt and dust in used equipment.

Tape recorders and players, CD/DVD players and CD/DVD drives, boomboxes,
talking toys, remote controlled or motorized toys, and so forth should
be low risk. Things with motors will certainly be more exciting than
stuff like receivers without moving parts.

I agree that if they are too young, better to have someone do the taking
apart while explaining each part. But once they are handy with a screwdriver,
it will be difficult to prevent a curious mind from exploring....

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Mirror: http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Note: These links are hopefully temporary until we can sort out the excessive
traffic on Repairfaq.org.

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name is included in the subject line. Or, you can
contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

Sam,

Do you think someone could resurrect a company like Heath used to
be and sell electronic kits these days? I sure thought that was great
fun and educational. But i fear the nintendo generation cares more
about flashing lights than what makes them work.

But there are still companies making kits, though they may not be
as fancy as Heathkits. For that matter, Heathkits had such detailed
instructions that anyone was supposed to be able to build them if
they followed the instructions.

I think many people look at this wrong. "KIds today aren't interested,
they have other things" when maybe it's more like, "Kids aren't interested
because we haven't promoted these things".

A few years ago, I went to a few regional science fairs. And it looked
pretty much the same as when I was a kid. There were the ones who
produced a good science fair project, but it was a fairly generic
topic (what's inside makeup), or whatever the trend was, but really
well presented. But there were the ones where clearly the people doing
it had an interest in these things, and the science fair wasn't about
"doing good schoolwork" but in pursuing something they were already
interested in.

And realistically, science hobbies may never have been all that popular,
though maybe more visible (if for no other reason than that you could
find pertinent magazines on the newsstand). I was the only kid in school
who had a ham license in elementary school, I'm pretty sure I was the only
one in high school who had one, though I knew of a few who were interested
and pursued it to some extent. This was in the early seventies.

In the years since, there's been all kinds of "let's make the ham license
simpler, so more people can get involved" but very little about making the
hobby more visible. The local ham clubs don't get the notice of their
fleamarkets into the papers, they don't poster, they don't even post
in the local buy and sell newsgroups. Yet these can be useful to more
than hams, since hobbyists would be interested in the parts and books
and test equipment. If you can't even do this low level publicizing,
it's no wonder "kids today" don't find their way to the hobbies.

I can't remember whether I had an interest in electronics before
I learned of amateur radio, but I learned of ham radio because it
was in the Scout magazine I got, and in one of the children's magazines
I got, and that certainly caused an interest in electronics. IN
effect, we are talking propaganda, because if you make something sound
interesting, that will get people interested.

But it's rare to see any mention of the hobby outside it's circles.

The same applies to the other technical hobbies.

Michael