technical obsolesence

[w4bfs]

I guess it has finally caught up with me


http://cgi.ebay.com/CB-Ham-Radio-Linear-Amplifier-No-Soldering-Wire-Glue_W0QQitemZ230500572231QQcategoryZ46413QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3907.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D8%26pmod%3D230500565254%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6939136397812346121#ht_7703wt_955

hmmm .... now iffin I can just find that ole can of antenna wax ....

[KA0HCP]

"Conducts AC & DC"    whoa, dude.

"High tech support groups suggest applying with a toothpick"   radical, man!

"Authentic Brand"   Don't say it!


What a technology head rush.  What would Mr. Zogg think of this.....

[W1IA]

I wonder if its Oxygen FREE!

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Some Amazon testimonials: http://www.amazon.com/American-Science-Surplus-WIRE-GLUE/product-reviews/B000Z9H7ZW/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Some more electrically conductive adhesives:
http://www.resinlab.com/adhesive/electrical2.html?gclid=CJ7Elfb2_6ICFSQ65Qodz0pRcw

[KC4VWU]

Actually, using it to repair carbon comp. potentiometers is an interesting idea. Somebody order some and give it a try.
     

[W2PFY]

They had a product like that when I was a kid. It came in a tube like tooth paste.

It wasn't worth a sh++. I think this is snake oil

[w1vtp]

SIGH!!

What's this world coming to.  At least they have the target customers figured out

[Pete, WA2CWA]

They have conductive paint so why not conductive adhesive/glue.

[W2PFY]

They have conductive paint so why not conductive adhesive/glue.

I don't think I would use it to solder a spice in a dipole.

[WA1GFZ]

Ever heard of Able Stick. We used it to glue thick film hybrids into metal tubs. The strongest glue I ever used and loaded with silver to make it very conductive.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

They have conductive paint so why not conductive adhesive/glue.

I don't think I would use it to solder a spice in a dipole.

Obviously, I doubt the glue has great mechanical strength.  But, in a pinch, take the two loose wire ends you're going to splice; tie them into a knot leaving an inch or two of the ends extended so that you can strip the insulation, wrap them together, and add some conductive adhesive/glue to the twisted ends.

[W2PFY]

Ever heard of Able Stick

I tried to Google that product and found nothing where it could be purchased or evaluated. Sounds like a nice product.

[K5UJ]

I've had a real eye-opener on how things in ham radio have changed over 60 years.  I got the manual for my Eldico TR-1 yesterday.  This is a kit rig, 2 open chassis, 813 modulated by pair 811s.  The assembly instructions take up all of one page. They basically say just mount everything on the chassis according to the photos, use such and such gauge for h.v., such and such gauge for low v. and so on, and follow the schematic.  The operating instructions say in one place to be careful of the high voltage and to kill it before swapping output coils etc.  That's it.  It is assumed that you have a brain and only need to be told once.  Can you imagine any of this today?  First, selling such a rig would probably be illegal now to begin with.   But the whole manual would read like you are in the 2nd grade and a complete idiot.   Well, in 1949, a ham had to actually know how a rig works just to put one on the air.   But there's money in selling something that is fast and easy.  So the obvious trend over the past 60 years (and it really got going in the 80s with no-tune s.s. PAs) has been to widen the market appeal by making rigs that are plug and play with snake oil antennas, and so on.    The unintended consequence can be heard on the bands now.

[ka3zlr]

And then the worm turned Hark, Solid What,  

Elecraft, Small Wonders, Oak Hills Research, Ramsey an on an on I guess we're all to Stupid to
build a K-2 Time has moved on Now we have Class E Mo Power  less weight  less High Current
And I'm more than willing to bet back then there was alot of Elmering an Learning just like today.

An prolly a Fair amount of Electrocutions I imagine..Today it's a little Safer.

Otherwise Why do folks spend so much time reading Their Books...Hmmmmmmm

jn's Tag line says it all same same.

73

Jack.

[Opcom]

I approve of the kits available today. Some are if nothing else, challenging to the buyers' soldering skills and somewhat painstaking or time-intensive.

There is not much left though for the skills of handcraftsmanship except outright building. The kits today do not seem to require much in the way of that, what I think I mean is the wiring is going to be tidy no matter what, as opposed to the older kits where you could really tell if the wiring was done by a human or a pig.

I'm all for kits that require a lot of care and attention to detail, as well as those that require little of either so as to accommodate the vast differences in skills one might wish to exhibit. This is not to be taken as being "inclusive" to the point where I am going to vomit up the pablum, just to be happy that there is always something a person can build that suits them.

In the '90's, I built a Heathkit AP-1800 preamp for a friend. It took forever it seemed and had 5x the amount of parts it would have had if it were tubes. The performance was extremely good, but I would never do that again, just don't have the time for it.

I want to prepare a kit for my nephew. He is not really into electronics, but he sure did like the pair of binoculars I gave him for Christmas even though they were NOT on the wish list.
All his parents seem to get him are video games, and I suppose that is what he likes. He likes cool stuff. I have been thinking about buying a laser rangefinder (a very cool item for a 15 year-old to posess) and disassembling it to board and hardware level, and then writing up some instructions with pictures (from disassembly), and giving him that as a project.
I won't care if he does not use it much, but I do care to try and get him interested in technological things that are real and meaningful. I want him to understand how commonplace things work. The ace up my sleve is his dad used to build race cars and understands what building things from parts means and will encourage him strongly to complete it.

The other side of technological obsolescence is the loss of even the basic and common skills in society today. I am amazed at the percentage of people who cannot repair a lamp much less a lawnmower, change their own oil, or other necessary home skills. There ought to be a 'home ec' in high school for guys to tech them basic repair and troubleshooting of plumbing, electrical, engines, machines, a gas range, etc. Just the basics. Instead, you have folks that don't know a phillips from a flathead.

A nation of ignorant helpess people is fit only for servitude and manual labor.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

The other side of technological obsolescence is the loss of even the basic and common skills in society today. I am amazed at the percentage of people who cannot repair a lamp much less a lawnmower, change their own oil, or other necessary home skills. There ought to be a 'home ec' in high school for guys to tech them basic repair and troubleshooting of plumbing, electrical, engines, machines, a gas range, etc. Just the basics. Instead, you have folks that don't know a phillips from a flathead.

A nation of ignorant helpess people is fit only for servitude and manual labor.

I haven't changed oil in my cars for at least 15 years. I pay people to do that. I feel no remorse.

[ka3zlr]

Well I guess if this country is So Technically challenged better hoard up on them thar fire sticks that ya'll is Sucken on. 

I don't think we're that far under the bridge yet.

73

Jack.

[The Slab Bacon]

I haven't changed oil in my cars for at least 15 years. I pay people to do that. I feel no remorse.

Pete,
       For once I gotta agree with you!! I am ASE certified, I have a list of automotive credentials longer than that which John Holmes was famous for. I have had my hands in many very fast drag race cars, and just about everything and anything automotive you could think about years ago. But...................changing oil is an insult to my intelligence!!

And, err, furthermore........................... Why piss away a couple hours on a precious saturday or sunday, when I can be in and out of one of the "quick change" places in about 10 minutes, and get all of the cigarette butts and ashes vacuumed up from my carpet too boot!! This leaves the rest of the day to do something constructive   

I still do all of my major repairs and maintenance, but to hell with a bunch of oil changes!

Speaking of which, I gotta have the YL run her buggy down for an oil change (about 1K overdue) before we leave for Berryville this Sunday!!

                                                                          the Slab Bacon

[K5UJ]

I change my oil because I buy 5 quarts synthetic and when I'm done paying for that and filter I think I have paid enough so the labor is free.  besides, it is not too hard to do on a Camry.

[k4kyv]

I used to change my own oil, before the quickie places opened up, and there is one 10 minutes from here.  It used to be I had to make an appointment and then drive across town, and still wait 45 minutes before they got to it.  It was a PITA to do my own, but it took half the time because there was no drive time or wait.  I stopped changing my own oil with the last car we had.  The oil filter was  located behind the transverse-mounted engine, and you could get to it only by jacking the car way up or using a pit.  I don't have a pit or lift, so it was easier just to let Joe do it.

I used to do all my own car repairs, but with the cars we have now, I can't tell what half the stuff is, and what I can work on is impossible to get to, and everything has a computer code.  I think the days of the shade-tree mechanic are about over, except maybe for those with older or classic cars, and then it is more a hobby than a chore. On the positive side, cars seem a  little more reliable nowadays and require less maintenance, but when something does break, you can count on it being a major expense to repair.

As far as ham radio goes, one used to need technical knowledge to get a station on the air and keep it running. Now it is simply a matter of spending the money to purchase a consumer electronics gizmo not too different from buying a computer,  flat-screen TV or a new dishwasher.  Appliance operating is bo-ring.

I have always operated a little CW along with AM.  I am less active on CW than I could be because the CW crowd has gone about the same appliance  route as the slopbucketeers.  I  rarely run into a CW station with a homebrew transmitter or even a separate transmitter and  receiver.  Most of the time they describe their station with the name Yaecomwood followed by a string of numbers/letters (the appliance model they are using) and I don't have a clue what they are talking about except that it is a 100w transceiver of some kind, and some typical hammy hambone antenna (most likely a G5RV).  Then I describe my station and they don't have a clue what I am talking about when I say I am running a pair of triode tubes in class C.  I think they still get the "homebrew" part but that's about all, except maybe for an occasional old timer who used to run a tube type transmitter and separate receiver before he got rid of it and bought a rice box.

Occasionally I run into a CW op who has some common interest with mine other than radio, and we carry on a ragchew, but often the only topic I can get out of the other station is the usual name, QTH, WX, age, length of tenure as a ham and rubber-stamp station description. If that doesn't put me to sleep I at best find it extremely boring.

It's not at all unusual even for a family who owns their own house not to have so much as a hammer or screw driver on their premises. I have run into that problem time and again when someone would ask me to stop by and help them with some problem they have with their house or some gadget in it.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Pete,
       For once I gotta agree with you!!
                                                                          the Slab Bacon

You made my day 

As Don also pointed out, with these new cars and transverse engines, much of the stuff under the hood bears little resemblance to the stuff in my cars from years ago. I have no clue how they get to the three plugs that are facing the firewall. I can't even see them.

As Dirty Harry once said, "A man has got to know his limitations".

But hey, I fixed the wife's toaster the other day and last night I repaired a 40 MHz scope without even having to review the manual schematics. I guess I'm not totally worthless.

[w1vtp]

We use this stuff at Raytheon with great success.

http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/product-group.aspx?id=19680&pn=470-791

That's a legit company that we have used for years.

There are applications where this is the only way we can make circuit connections

Al

[The Slab Bacon]

to Pete, Don, and others...........

A lot of the stuff now under the hood definately bears no resemblance to stuff from the good old days, but...............................

Since the newer electronic engine control modules have diagnostic features built in.
(The now imfamous "check engine" light) It does make engine and performance / emission troubleshooting pretty simple. Plugging in a simple scan tool will usually tell you exactly whats wrong with it. And most of the sensors and electronic BS are pretty easy to get at. Scan tools are now made by a whole host of companies and many can be had for somewhere right in the $100 range, which pays for itself the first time you use it!! And since they have standardized the interface system, they are no longer model specific!!

So there are still opportunitys for the "shade tree mechanic". And, err, furthermore, those of us who have knowledge of electronics and computers have the proverbial "leg up" over a lot of the mechanics out there!!!!

I just refuse to waste my time changing oil!!   

[The Slab Bacon]

I change my oil because I buy 5 quarts synthetic and when I'm done paying for that and filter I think I have paid enough so the labor is free.  besides, it is not too hard to do on a Camry.

Rob,
       At the retail cost of oil and filters these days, You might think about this statement   By the time you buy the oil and filter, Drive to and from the parts store, spend your time changing the oil, and then you gotta get rid of the waste oil, If you put a $ value on your time, it is definately cheaper to have one of the "quick change" places do it for you. And besides they vacuum out the debris and clean the winders  

[k4kyv]

We use this stuff at Raytheon with great success.

http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/product-group.aspx?id=19680&pn=470-791

That's a legit company that we have used for years.

There are applications where this is the only way we can make circuit connections

I wonder how it compares to the "Wire glue" described in the first message in this thread.