2 ms·

At some point you need tools like an oscilloscope and back then it was out of reach. You can hack away basic stuff, sure, but it's not really possible to do mor

At some point you need tools like an oscilloscope and back then it was out of reach. You can hack away basic stuff, sure, but it's not really possible to do more advanced stuff. Also when you spend time "reverse engineering" the basics, privileged people already can research more complex things. You are always way behind and usually end up as a tech fixing laptops, while privileged kids go to NASA.

jacquesm 5y ago
I ended up getting into software (I saw it as infinite parts) and the 'rich kids' ended up becoming doctors and lawyers. I'm really happy I didn't end up like them, though, of course we do need doctors (lawyers: not so much). Electronics was - and is - an engineers game and I personally don't care about whether someone came from a wealthy background or a poor one, jealousy is only going to get you so far, grit, perseverance and smarts will count for at least as much as pedigree in a somewhat meritocratic environment. For the start-up lottery it's a different thing, there your parents will pretty much determine the outcome because if you are already rich you can take much bigger risks. But having a scope or wanting a scope so badly that you'll build your own (I recall hand-drawing the scale for my first VOM, and converting a small BW TV to a low frequency scope) isn't going to make huge difference and building your own test gear (at least, the basic versions of them) will give you a huge degree of insight into how it all works. Fixing laptops doesn't require electronics knowledge beyond replacing units, much like being a car mechanic. BTW, when I eventually did get a 'proper' scope (a nice dual beam 60 MHz Tek from a surplus store) I found that the difference between 'no scope' and 'crap scope' was a lot larger than between 'crap scope' and 'good scope'. I still have the Tek :)

jacquesm 5y ago

I ended up getting into software (I saw it as infinite parts) and the 'rich kids' ended up becoming doctors and lawyers. I'm really happy I didn't end up like them, though, of course we do need doctors (lawyers: not so much). Electronics was - and is - an engineers game and I personally don't care about whether someone came from a wealthy background or a poor one, jealousy is only going to get you so far, grit, perseverance and smarts will count for at least as much as pedigree in a somewhat meritocratic environment. For the start-up lottery it's a different thing, there your parents will pretty much determine the outcome because if you are already rich you can take much bigger risks. But having a scope or wanting a scope so badly that you'll build your own (I recall hand-drawing the scale for my first VOM, and converting a small BW TV to a low frequency scope) isn't going to make huge difference and building your own test gear (at least, the basic versions of them) will give you a huge degree of insight into how it all works. Fixing laptops doesn't require electronics knowledge beyond replacing units, much like being a car mechanic. BTW, when I eventually did get a 'proper' scope (a nice dual beam 60 MHz Tek from a surplus store) I found that the difference between 'no scope' and 'crap scope' was a lot larger than between 'crap scope' and 'good scope'. I still have the Tek :)