We get special training in it at school. It's to stop us blending in when abroad...
I don't know where or when I first saw the name Richard Marsh. It might have been in the pages of Audio magazine back in the 1970s (where I also read articles by Nelson Pass, John Curl, and some other greats of our generation). Somehow I came to know that name and regard it as significant a long time ago. Richard you have been making important contributions to audio electronics since long before i ever heard of you. Happy birthday!
Thank you for the wishes and the acknowledgement. During this era, audio was in a crude state and not getting better. I/we introduced many important considerations and circuits which had not been addressed up until then. Soon they were in all better audiophile gear and now it is mainstream accepted practices. One only need to look at DIY articles prior to those times and the existing products. Now we are into Gen X and HD audio/video. Same practices and quality care we brought out are being used in new HD designs..... not universally, but most high-end made anywhere uses these once new ideas for audio apps.
Since that time, I settled into management career work and kept contact with audio designers but only by phone or email and not publishing. Until I decided to build my own headphone Amp. After trying several kits and build units. Now I am back in the game.... but retired. I did a lot of design for Monster's SOTA various multi-channel power amps (Current mode feedback and FET output stage etc as well as for a brand in Asia (Thailand). Never published.
The latest commercial build will be the power amp developed by DADod here. A superior CMA. The custom machined chassis is arriving now in pieces.... dribbling in...... in 2 months they will all be done and into pcb assembly etc and ready for my testing. As long as I was not building and was employed in government R&D, I didn't mind telling what I found/learned. Starting in The Audio Amateur magazine in the 1960's. Now I cant publish like I used to. But there is still a lot I can point people to so they can research it themselves.
THx-RNMarsh
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Damir: DIY is not dying. I think in fact it is more healthy than it has been for sometime. It's just continually evolving and morphing. The internet has re-awoken it. The sad part is that fighting the fight against snake oil and BS is harder than ever (witness all the capacitor sound threads), but still there are good things happening.
But of course the young Turks do things differently, much to the annoyance of the old guard
But of course the young Turks do things differently, much to the annoyance of the old guard
Damir: DIY is not dying. I think in fact it is more healthy than it has been for sometime. It's just continually evolving and morphing. The internet has re-awoken it. The sad part is that fighting the fight against snake oil and BS is harder than ever (witness all the capacitor sound threads), but still there are good things happening.
But of course the young Turks do things differently, much to the annoyance of the old guard
But not to much young people here in this forum, SMD and Class D requires special and expensive tools, old good TH devices (semiconductors particularly) no more.
There are a good number of young people here. After all, back in the days of concrete horns and williamson kits how many under 35*s actually built those? DIY was a Dad thing even then. SM is a challenge, but given some of the TH DIY boards I have been given to fix is it so bad if the critical stuff is pick and place? A lot of DIY efforts are more enthusiasm than skill after all . For example I am happy to buy Jan's silentswitchers for pre-amp projects as no way could I solder that, but I still consider it a DIY effort.
*Yes I know to you, even I am young
. For example I am happy to buy Jan's silentswitchers for pre-amp projects as no way could I solder that, but I still consider it a DIY effort.*Yes I know to you, even I am young
There are a good number of young people here. After all, back in the days of concrete horns and williamson kits how many under 35*s actually built those? DIY was a Dad thing even then. SM is a challenge, but given some of the TH DIY boards I have been given to fix is it so bad if the critical stuff is pick and place? A lot of DIY efforts are more enthusiasm than skill after all
*Yes I know to you, even I am young
I sincerely hope you are right. I still remember my excitement when I, for first time, heard radio station via my self made crystal detector. I think I was at age of 11 or 12.
It's 72. But after stress testing my heart... a cardiologist said my heart was of a 50 year old. So, now I say I am 50. 70 is the new 50.
I think audio hobby is dying a long slow death. yet, some of the best, maybe last, good designs are happening at this very mature time.
-Richard
Happy Bday to you RM, many more too I hope.
I pray I can make it to 72 and even more some. Mom is 87 and counting.
I think all electronics as a hobby, is dying a long slow death. Sign of the times.
"SM is a challenge", it always has been a challenge, skills that need to be developed with patients and hours of practice. Have good tools goes a long way as with any trade.
I pray I can make it to 72 and even more some. Mom is 87 and counting.
I think all electronics as a hobby, is dying a long slow death. Sign of the times.
"SM is a challenge", it always has been a challenge, skills that need to be developed with patients and hours of practice. Have good tools goes a long way as with any trade.
Hi Daniel,
Take a look at BASCOM-AVR compiler, it is a very good place to start to learn programming for the Atmel mcu. You can still use the Ardunio H/W, since it is a simple AVR implementation.
https://www.mcselec.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=3&id=67&Itemid=41
IMO and experience, there is so much more help in using this BASIC compiler. The user forum is very well moderated by the owner, Mark, he is a swell guy. Many contributors.
Sure, eventually it is good to learn and use "C", but to start off with, it is a steep learning curve.
I found online a BASCOM-AVR course documentation, by a New Zealand teacher to tecah his high school students, it is excellent.
Arduino dev environment does add a extra level of abstraction in order to make the gcc compiler a bit easier to use but in the end one should understand the inner working of the mcu and get to know assembler at some point in time.
I built as a hobby, a complete media player using the xmega mcu as the brains. It includes a multi-band radio chip (Si4735), USB codec (PCM2902B), Rohm (BU9458) media processor, MAX9729 as a pre/headphone amp, TPA3100 as a class "D" audio amp. A great learning experience, works like a charm.. Also Elektor Mag. has lots of articles on BASCOM-AVR.
Take a look at BASCOM-AVR compiler, it is a very good place to start to learn programming for the Atmel mcu. You can still use the Ardunio H/W, since it is a simple AVR implementation.
https://www.mcselec.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=3&id=67&Itemid=41
IMO and experience, there is so much more help in using this BASIC compiler. The user forum is very well moderated by the owner, Mark, he is a swell guy. Many contributors.
Sure, eventually it is good to learn and use "C", but to start off with, it is a steep learning curve.
I found online a BASCOM-AVR course documentation, by a New Zealand teacher to tecah his high school students, it is excellent.
Arduino dev environment does add a extra level of abstraction in order to make the gcc compiler a bit easier to use but in the end one should understand the inner working of the mcu and get to know assembler at some point in time.
I built as a hobby, a complete media player using the xmega mcu as the brains. It includes a multi-band radio chip (Si4735), USB codec (PCM2902B), Rohm (BU9458) media processor, MAX9729 as a pre/headphone amp, TPA3100 as a class "D" audio amp. A great learning experience, works like a charm.. Also Elektor Mag. has lots of articles on BASCOM-AVR.
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Daniel, yes this is quite OK similar button or hobby, but that is playing with software and that is present and future.
Most of my working life I worked in telecommunication and mostly with software (trouble shooting and software repairing). Still I feel very exciting when I build something with my hand, and that is now less possible, requiring special tools.
In near future robots (of different kind) will build hardware projected by humans, and what is next step, projected and built by robots (artificial intelligence)?
We humans have to find new hobbies.
Nonsense, you are actually scaring people away from this hobby.
I do not agree, that it is less possible to build electronics as a hobby these days. I still today, hand soldered all my smt projects, ( I find it actually easier in many cases) some with 0.5mm pitch. Stencils are cheap if you decide to do paste. Okay DFN is a PITA, but it is doable, I have done so by hand. BGA is well of course specialized, but if you are doing BGA designs at the hobby level you are very advanced.
I first learnt smt assembly at Motorola back in 1985. It is the experience and skills that you develop over time that really matters. I do smt soldering on a shoe string budget. If you need help, in acquiring these techniques, just ask.
If anything, assembling pcb's is so much easier these days, tools are cheap, I can get a 100x100mm pcb made at pcbway 10 for $5, I only wish this was available when I went to school in the 70's. We had to endure making our own pcb's, very time consuming and expensive. Parts are now very easy to get, thanks to Mouser and Digi-Key, man we have it made these days.
Many THT comps are still available, if that is what you are limited to. I am amazed that there is so many THT still available knowing that mass production is mostly smt or at least mixed tech.
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Indeed. There's even kits designed to younger kids to use!
It's up to us as the "old guard" to keep the torch burning.
Kids also love the real hardware, even VERY simple things that the elders take for granted.
Building powerful electromagnets (including winding the coil!) that launch paperclips and singing into a microphone connected to a scope or touching battery contacts to LED leads in your hand.
When my grandson comes over, he runs straight into the basement looking for me to see what he can "tinker with today".
Just like I want him to. The audio will come with time.
mlloyd1
It's up to us as the "old guard" to keep the torch burning.
Kids also love the real hardware, even VERY simple things that the elders take for granted.
Building powerful electromagnets (including winding the coil!) that launch paperclips and singing into a microphone connected to a scope or touching battery contacts to LED leads in your hand.
When my grandson comes over, he runs straight into the basement looking for me to see what he can "tinker with today".
Just like I want him to. The audio will come with time.
mlloyd1
Hi Daniel,
I think you should take a look at this. I think she could benefit much more of learning Python and now that micropython, which is a variant of python for smallish embedded devices, although it does require some amount of memeory. But, it runs well on an ARM Cortex M0 with 32 KB RAM.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/3333
Also, Adafruit has a nice bunch of videos.
Just, my $0.02
Btw. If you are interested then you could also take a look at the ESP8266 based boards for small WiFi enabled devices. It's also able to run micropython.
Mogens
I think you should take a look at this. I think she could benefit much more of learning Python and now that micropython, which is a variant of python for smallish embedded devices, although it does require some amount of memeory. But, it runs well on an ARM Cortex M0 with 32 KB RAM.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/3333
Also, Adafruit has a nice bunch of videos.
Just, my $0.02
Btw. If you are interested then you could also take a look at the ESP8266 based boards for small WiFi enabled devices. It's also able to run micropython.
Mogens
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