22 years ago I let go this familly inherited hobby for electronics , but I realized that the thing that I like the most about diy electronics is the smell of old solder with old tree resin which is very different than today's solder, feeling almost like a religious church ceremony where the priest makes fumes burning all sorts of resins and it's not like burning aromating sticks...It's very different first because it happens once a week and only for 4 or 5 times during a 5..6 hours religious ceremony..Well I barelly attended one or two in a decade , but from time to time I desolder some components from 40...60 years old pcb's and I realize how good that old resin smell feels, almost like a lost religion habit, almost like real leather, unlike today's solder or flux.If I'd do a shoe once again I'd do it for the leather smell...well the glues are pretty toxic and bad smelling, but if you ever had around at least a few meters of real leather you know what I mean.Some like contact glue though... 🙂
I should've probably been a perfume maker...As I'm mostly single for two decades now I can only remember my mother's perfumes...they were cheap and never riveled my first girlfriend perfume that was about 300 bucks for 50ml cause she had rich parents...but I wonder why I never got involved with the perfume industry.I didn't like chemistry too much yet It would have been a feast every day, unless there's a danger of getting acoustomed and saturated with those smells too...I don't see myself a seller or user of anything expensive...mostly a manufacturer and experiment addicted guy so there wasn't much chance to get into this expensive smelly bussiness...Probably the real secret in life is the scarcity of very fine essences yet If I'd be a billionaire , I could buy all the most expensive shoes in the world, but once finished they don't smell much, could have some ladies using the most expensive perfumes though...I probably need to be a billionaire cause I'd need to pay for those damn perfumes...or I could just enjoy the smell of old good solder and real tree resin...cause I don't even wear leather shoes these days...although I have a pair of Church leather shoes for very rare ocasions...
I should've probably been a perfume maker...As I'm mostly single for two decades now I can only remember my mother's perfumes...they were cheap and never riveled my first girlfriend perfume that was about 300 bucks for 50ml cause she had rich parents...but I wonder why I never got involved with the perfume industry.I didn't like chemistry too much yet It would have been a feast every day, unless there's a danger of getting acoustomed and saturated with those smells too...I don't see myself a seller or user of anything expensive...mostly a manufacturer and experiment addicted guy so there wasn't much chance to get into this expensive smelly bussiness...Probably the real secret in life is the scarcity of very fine essences yet If I'd be a billionaire , I could buy all the most expensive shoes in the world, but once finished they don't smell much, could have some ladies using the most expensive perfumes though...I probably need to be a billionaire cause I'd need to pay for those damn perfumes...or I could just enjoy the smell of old good solder and real tree resin...cause I don't even wear leather shoes these days...although I have a pair of Church leather shoes for very rare ocasions...
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I enjoy electronics from very young. I made my first solderings sbout my 14's and put in service my first AM ham radio transmitter and receiver at my 16's. Actually I am 53.
But my other hobbie is cooking myself. As example, see the food thread by Cal Weldon, my posts there. Cooking is very interesting and money and healt saver. No chemicals nor obscure substances.
But my other hobbie is cooking myself. As example, see the food thread by Cal Weldon, my posts there. Cooking is very interesting and money and healt saver. No chemicals nor obscure substances.
Indeed...but I mostly eat basic food for decades...nothing too smellu except mildly fried fish which I eat a lot lately.
My hobby......sometimes it smells like pine tree rosin. That smell comes from one of two sources, my supply of vintage solder, or the rotating blade hitting wood that should have dried a bit longer before it wound up on the shelf at the local home store. Other times it stinks of vented electrolytic goo. Occasionally it smells like burnt flesh🙁.
Another almost related thing — also smelling nice! — is here:
Unfortunately, not a hobby of mine, but still very fascinating!
Cam2 racing fuel with castor based two stroke oil……..most heavenly scent from my early scrambles/enduro racing days!
1979 suzuki PE400 was my first brand new “real” race bike. 😎
1979 suzuki PE400 was my first brand new “real” race bike. 😎
FWIW I had to MOVE because of my hobby smells, neighbours couldn´t take it, complained all the time, even denounced me to Police and City officials.
They were right of course.
Main offender was Toluene from contact cement for cabinet Tolexing, second was Car type paint Thinner for my amp panels and some speaker frames.
So I moved to La Boca, the riverside port area chock full of ship repair shops, shipbuilding docks, plus the river involved: Riachuelo was famous for its stink, water surface was iridescent oily because of Petroleum spills and such.
I was completely unnoticed 😉
They were right of course.
Main offender was Toluene from contact cement for cabinet Tolexing, second was Car type paint Thinner for my amp panels and some speaker frames.
So I moved to La Boca, the riverside port area chock full of ship repair shops, shipbuilding docks, plus the river involved: Riachuelo was famous for its stink, water surface was iridescent oily because of Petroleum spills and such.
I was completely unnoticed 😉
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you are not music addicts anymore, you became junkies 😉 ... while I agree, for me jazz music on hifi is lacking the sweat, cigar, cigarett, bad perfum and fragrance of jazz clubs after midnigth I knew as an happhy teenager living in a capital... Those smells are missing, yup ! Rosita, nope... mama Rose, yup !
Never liked tobacco smell...rock bars became really difficult to attend for me at some point so I changed music styles to accomodate less intense odours...
I turned to building speakers when I realized my Durian ice cream business was going nowhere here in Canada.
I often burn a touch of plastic here and there, who has not touched a cap edge with a solder tip or a cable when fixing a pcb, etc... I hate those smells comming from my hobby ! Also lythic caps explosion, who has not lived that once or twice...
We had a neighbor who was roasting coffee -- and quite a bit of it -- we never complained but many of the neighbors did so the town ordered him to stop.
I have a bit of "curated" rosin-core solder from the 1960's -- and can relate to George's message.
I totally agree, smell can trigger memories in a very curious way.
I just visited an electronic shop, the ones that sell resistors, transistors, and connectors, and the smell transported me to the workshop at the secondary school.
There is also the smell of fried semiconductors, I have never experienced it, of course 😉 but it must be a terrifying one.
I just visited an electronic shop, the ones that sell resistors, transistors, and connectors, and the smell transported me to the workshop at the secondary school.
There is also the smell of fried semiconductors, I have never experienced it, of course 😉 but it must be a terrifying one.
I know that smell very well.
Occasionally as a result of my duficity.
Warm semi's also have a characteristic smell as they settle in. I like that smell way better.
...oh guys and this smell of those various old brown & green pcbs from the 70s & 80s ... pouha !