--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Villeneuve <andrewmv@...> wrote:
>
> Though I don't suspect many of the present of future generations are going
> to be building DIY CRT TV receivers, I do think there's a growing passion
> for homebrew engineering - a backlash against the vacuum of homebrew culture
> that's persisted most of my lifetime (I'm 29).
>
> MCUs are becoming cheaper, more powerful and more accessible to enterprising
> tinkerers, Internet sites like hackaday, makezine, and sparkfun are helping
> to bring ideas to the mainstream, and remarkably sophisticated components
> can be salvaged from modern electronic "junk".
>
> Google will show you clever young engineers attaching graphic LCD modules
> and SD memory cards to their Linksys wireless routers, making DIY digital
> photo frames out of old PlayStation parts, and streaming their RSS feeds to
> vintage teletype machines.
>
> Homebrew engineering is out there, it's just changed shape a bit.
>
> -Andrew
>
>
I'm in about the same generation as you, so I missed the "golden age" but in a sense there is a new one, as you say, some really amazingly sophisticated bits can be harvested from modern junk.
There's another area I forgot to mention where there is still a lot of DIY engineering, and that is audio. I've built several pre and power amplifiers and a lot of others are doing the same. All mine have been solid state but I've been wanting to build a tube amp at some point just because I've never had the opportunity to build anything with vacuum tubes.