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What were your first steps into creating?

cstanton

 

Mine was when I first visited Leeds Hackspace, and I worked on a system to monitor the temperature/humidity of the Hackspace - how did you get started?

  • The thing that got me back into electronics was the Netduino. (It's a .NET Microframework based microcontroller. Not a product I would recommend now, but suited me as a gateway drug then.)

     

    The thing that got me into the rest of the "making" realm was a small CNC mill for making PCB. This then lead to a 3D printer, laser cutter, etc. (I also wouldn't recommend milling PCBs. I later moved to UV exposure and then just ordering from the usual board fabs.)

  • For me it was the 89C51 and PIC micro-controller programming. They were very popular in the university

  • Not sure I ever left, it was simply the materials that changed ..

  • A book on electricity and magnetism a battery, a length of wire and some torch bulbs as a child.

    A meccano robot, watching Professor Heinz Wolf, tomorrows world, and I'm sure there was a tv series in the UK called video and chips, but I can't find a reference to it.

    I think there were other kids tv programs with robots in like small wonder and there was one involving computers and kids.

    And in the UK we had the electronics kits, and then the LM3909 and 555 timer example circuits in the Maplin catalogue. 

    It all went down hill from there. image

  • in reply to danielw

    the Maplin catalogue.

    Daniel, you are so right there. This was mentioned in the past, but there have been many of us who learnt some of our electronics from the Maplin Catalogue and it inspired us to make stuff. I used to browse the IC section scrutinising the circuit schematics - gleaming information and knowledge along the way.

     

    Rod

  • Hi Christopher,

     

    My first steps into creating were probably preceded by the destroying stage. I used to take the fixings out of many of my toys to see how they were made, and arguably creating was putting them back together....as I tried to mix and match the parts of my Matchbox cars. Making with electronics came much later for me at college and the inevitable projects.

     

    Rod

  • What intrigued me was the discovery of the Ham Radio and the CB world back in the 80's! Getting your hands dirty trying to tweak electronic components and build your "special" antennas to try to go that extra mile was inspiring. I spent a little fortune buying Radio and Electronics magazines! I'm sure I must still have some old magazine stored at my mum's...

     

    Fabio

  • I think I was born to be an engineer.  My toys growing up were all pieces of broken things that I would explore and/or fix.  As a kid, all of my spare money went to buying kits or parts in order to build things.  When it came to college, the choice was hardly a choice and I when into electronics (after an unbelievably great high school electronics/radio program).

     

    Gene

  • Ah - if we're talking first steps then my mum tells me that I took apart all the clocks in the house when I was 3. Apparently I'd asked for a stepladder for my 3rd birthday and used that to reach them.

  • I was into making long before I really discovered electronics. I grew up in the jungle and we made our own fun - toys, boats, planes, kites, slingshots, etc. I recall my first experience making electronics - in a grade 2 class we got to play with an electronmagnet. I decided to make my own by winding some wire around a nail. I was surprised that the nail got very hot when I connected a 6V lantern battery. The teacher put an end to my experiments and we didn't get to play with electricity again .... but I always wanted to continue.... now I can, and do...