I thought so, too, but Jan Didden shamed me into learning how. And with the help of some glasses with magnifying lenses, I've actually managed.
Will DIY audio go the way of the dodo?
You mean like... ultimately, when we've evolved into disembodied energy patterns?
Oh, no... I see this is a much less interesting question than I thought at first. No, SM Technology won't do it. What is eating away at interest is the widespread expectation of adequate sound in consumer devices.
There are other technologies, dare I say it, more futuristic, that will probably supplant electronics for hobbyists in the mid term, although they might give it a boost in the short term. Perhaps electronics will be subsumed into 3D printing, which is set to transform the nature of products. It's a close call whether it's cheaper to buy a pair of Stax 'phones or buy a printer and a mill and make your own.
You mean like... ultimately, when we've evolved into disembodied energy patterns?
Oh, no... I see this is a much less interesting question than I thought at first. No, SM Technology won't do it. What is eating away at interest is the widespread expectation of adequate sound in consumer devices.
There are other technologies, dare I say it, more futuristic, that will probably supplant electronics for hobbyists in the mid term, although they might give it a boost in the short term. Perhaps electronics will be subsumed into 3D printing, which is set to transform the nature of products. It's a close call whether it's cheaper to buy a pair of Stax 'phones or buy a printer and a mill and make your own.
Well, except for any seriously disintegrated DNA that might still be mouldering in a museum display case, didn't the fail to survive as a species - ( thanks in no small part to Homo sapiens sapiens) - hence it's name being cited as exemplar of something quite really dead?
Of course, there are secret labs buried somewhere in the xxxxxx deserts where even as we speak scientists are working with recombinant DNA techniques to resurrect ancient species - what could possibly go wrong with that, Mr Crichton?
But DIY as a pastime dead? I doubt it
Of course, there are secret labs buried somewhere in the xxxxxx deserts where even as we speak scientists are working with recombinant DNA techniques to resurrect ancient species - what could possibly go wrong with that, Mr Crichton?
But DIY as a pastime dead? I doubt it
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It is dying rapidly - I've to order parts from the US since locally no retailer is left that has the parts I want.
Used to be a HAM operator and enjoyed morse with a straight key. Alas, hardly anyone left doing morse - the few morse stations that are heard are automated computers. Not to mention community restrictions on the erection of antennas etc.
Nowadays HAM radio is more about who has the most expensive gear and when you mention you've cobbled something together then they do not know what to say.
Noticed the dying of stereo gear in the shops and all the youngsters walking around with buds in their ears? Money gets spend on an iPhone / iPad, not on stereo. Grown up on MP3 they have not got a clue what real stereo sounds like.
At the moment there is s resurgence of tube gear but one wonders how long that will last. Many seem to like the digital amplifiers not realising they are exposing themselves to RF which has a negative influence on the T-cells in the blood (t-cells are important for the immune system). Guess how I know?
Enjoy it while you can and stock up on essential spare parts (e.g. a spare set of output tubes).
Used to be a HAM operator and enjoyed morse with a straight key. Alas, hardly anyone left doing morse - the few morse stations that are heard are automated computers. Not to mention community restrictions on the erection of antennas etc.
Nowadays HAM radio is more about who has the most expensive gear and when you mention you've cobbled something together then they do not know what to say.
Noticed the dying of stereo gear in the shops and all the youngsters walking around with buds in their ears? Money gets spend on an iPhone / iPad, not on stereo. Grown up on MP3 they have not got a clue what real stereo sounds like.
At the moment there is s resurgence of tube gear but one wonders how long that will last. Many seem to like the digital amplifiers not realising they are exposing themselves to RF which has a negative influence on the T-cells in the blood (t-cells are important for the immune system). Guess how I know?
Enjoy it while you can and stock up on essential spare parts (e.g. a spare set of output tubes).
A huge part of "DIY" these days is software. The main difference is that once you make something, you can then share it with others so it doesn't look like the traditional physical artefact that everyone needs to build and use for just themselves.
It may be that the traditional microcontrollers that were available to the OP are now subsumed into an Arduino or a Raspberry Pi, which can take the place of twenty or thirty microcontrollers just by exposing an easily programmable interface to the user.
If you want to see the future of DIY, you'd be advised to look at those communities. They're big, and getting bigger.
It may be that the traditional microcontrollers that were available to the OP are now subsumed into an Arduino or a Raspberry Pi, which can take the place of twenty or thirty microcontrollers just by exposing an easily programmable interface to the user.
If you want to see the future of DIY, you'd be advised to look at those communities. They're big, and getting bigger.
I think Microchip has always been a leader in this with the Pic microcontrollers. An aquaintance is doing a DSPic seminar, I looked up the chip, and it's a 24-or-so pin skinny-DIP, perfect for those 0.1" breadboards. This, and some cheap programming/debugging boards even way back when Pics were new, are what made the Microchip Pic so popular (so much so that I've heard Pic used as a generic term for microcontroller). But back in the (assembly language) days I never liked the instruction set (there are C compilers for every processor now, and generate code about as good as I ever wrote).
TI sells several of its MSP430 microcontrollers in DIP format too.
Like SY, I've learned to solder SMT parts, mainly lower-pin-count stuff, but I've yet to do a 100-pin LQFP ARM chip. I may have to do one soon.
OTOH, there are "thru hole" ARM controller board modules such as MBED:
https://mbed.org/platforms/
Long story short, you can get anything in a thru-hole package if you pay to have it mounted.
It's funny that "back in the day" DIY audio used resistors, capacitors and op-amps (or discrete transistors or vacuum tubes) for, say, an RIAA preamp, but now it's likely to involve coefficients for a digital filter for a multi-amped speaker crossover.
While the new stuff seems impenetrable after you lift the veil you discover that its really not that difficult. It needs to be implemented by overworked engineers in the US with no time to learn a new programming language or create crossovers in Matlab. Or implemented by engineers in China with limited English capabilities. If its hard to use it dies quickly. product design cycles are in the 6-10 month range so no room for long learning efforts.
Lifting the veil is the hard part, usually there is an annoying NDA to navigate before you get access to the controls.
Its not as DIY friendly as it should be but I think there is an opportunity for modules to build things from. Surface mount is difficult. The newest stuff may be BGA and essentially impossible for DIY however migrated to a module its all lots easier. For example Analog Devices has a good DSP platform with easy to use and powerful tools. There is an eval board that's not expensive (if $150 is not expensive) you can use to make sophisticated stuff. Most other interesting parts have similar dev boards.
MiniDSP is a good module source that was built on this concept. They have mfr. customers and a real DIY business. i'm sure there are others.
Lifting the veil is the hard part, usually there is an annoying NDA to navigate before you get access to the controls.
Its not as DIY friendly as it should be but I think there is an opportunity for modules to build things from. Surface mount is difficult. The newest stuff may be BGA and essentially impossible for DIY however migrated to a module its all lots easier. For example Analog Devices has a good DSP platform with easy to use and powerful tools. There is an eval board that's not expensive (if $150 is not expensive) you can use to make sophisticated stuff. Most other interesting parts have similar dev boards.
MiniDSP is a good module source that was built on this concept. They have mfr. customers and a real DIY business. i'm sure there are others.
I was a Microchip preferred consultant for 13 years.
We got loads of dev gear free from Microchip.
I am originally from a Z80 background so the PIC RISC was a bit of a shocker when I first used it. For some reason I had a mental block with the SUBWF instruction as it works backwards to a Z80 compare.
I did find it was amazing what you could get the PCIs to do with so little memory. For a lot of the projects we did ADC, serial port, I2C was out of the question due to price so we had to do without and bit bang it. For A2D we just charged up a capacitor and timed how long it took.
Have you seen current SMT parts ? 0402 is 1mm x 0.5mm - people with perfect eyesight cannot work with such small parts (without a magnifier).
*Everyone* needs a loupe/magnifier. (personally I favor the head head mounted ones.)
Buy a good one (minimum 3x) and your "aging eyesight" will not be a problem. With modern SMT parts, all eyes are equal.
Through hole can be a pain when it comes to removing components.
The pads or tracks come off due to the heat or suction.
I tend not to suck out solder if I can help it.
I just component leads short and solder to the top pad.
Once you have clipped the component leads, an effective way is to heat the joint and then quickly rap the pcb
on an object below it, like a small piece of wood. The solder and remaining lead will drop down right out.
Heat the side of the pad with the cut lead end that looks more likely to go through the hole, and wear eye protection
in case of solder splashing.
It depends on what draws someone to the hobby
If its speakers Well theres more drivers than ever being made now. You can build something huge from Altec via brand new GPA drivers or a nice full ranger with Mark Audio etc etc
Hifimediy, a french company that escapes me, hypex etc are making getting amp building way easier than it used to be for the average noobster.
I think the 'lead in' is now better than ever so all it takes is us, the current DIY'ers to introduce a friend or 2 to the hobby.
If its speakers
Well theres more drivers than ever being made now. You can build something huge from Altec via brand new GPA drivers or a nice full ranger with Mark Audio etc etcHifimediy, a french company that escapes me, hypex etc are making getting amp building way easier than it used to be for the average noobster.
I think the 'lead in' is now better than ever so all it takes is us, the current DIY'ers to introduce a friend or 2 to the hobby.
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Maybe DIY is entering a golden age - thanks to the sharing of information on the internet and the way it allows low cost providers to sell globally - when you can sell to DIY enthusiasts the world over you can keep some economy of scale that was not possible beforehand. The dodo might have survived if it had access to the internet.
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