Last of the Incas. This old Canon PowerShot G1 from the J-School was dysfunctional beyond repair (not to mention antiquated to the point of unusable), so I brought it home for Miles. Took us 45 minutes to remove nearly every screw, pry apart nearly every surface, snip every wire. Turned out the inverting lens barrel made a very good hat for R2D2. Even when something has no remaining value, feels wrong to tear it apart. Wrong but fun.
Music: Elementales :: Camino De Pan Bendito
Taking things apart is a fine hobby for a young mind. Especially old, junk things. And I think the Canon did have value: entertainment value. Of course, I was the little boy with a screwdriver who my grandfather said they’d be lucky to keep out of jail, so my advice might be a little suspect. :)
When the lil’ guy starts showing an interest in electronics, pop me an email. I’ve got bunches of sites to point you at to start from crystal radios and single tube radios and go nuts from there. :)
-JIm
Scot, I just saw one of old Birdhouse artworx as you Image from Nowhere! Sweet!
Taking stuff apart is fun. I used to do that all the time when I was a kid, and I’m glad I did in the long run, as it helped me become adept with hand tools.
This of course doesn’t compare with the secret thrill of taking something that does work and making it not work any more. :-)
Thanks for the offer Jim! Will do. Electronics unfortunately isn’t one of my strong points. I want Miles to gain the skills there that I never did, but I’m not sure I’ll be the best guide.
Larry – Heh! I knew you’d stumble upon that one one of these days (it’s been in rotation since forever).
I remember that camera! First digital camera I ever used! I took all of my masters project photos with that camera. An excellent end to a useful life, I hope Miles had a blast.
I’m not great in electronics either. Stuff I do with solid state tends to die of either being fried/having the traces burnt off the circuit boards by my soldering, or ESD. Vacuum tube electronics are simpler, hardier beasts, and a tube that lives with its plate at 90v and 10mA, just laughs at static electricity when exposed. Of course, if you drop them, they’ll break. :)
But I have to say I’ve had more fun in the last 4 years tinkering with and learning about vacuum tube electronics than I have with computers in a long time. (Pretty much since the last days of Be)
Tubes especially are pretty much the realm of hobbyists these days, so the monopolistic, controlling jerks have mostly left the game or died. (Notable exceptions for some of the folks in the uber-expensive vacuum tube hi-fi and guitar amp worlds, which are strange little ecosystems, but which don’t really factor in to the radio thing. Much. )
There are some good books on the subject, but my impression is Miles is still well served by Dr. Seuss, so it might be a trifle early. If YOU are interested, email me. :)
-Jim
Heh – You got that right! He does like to take apart and build, but we’re still talking scissors and glue, cardboard and tape. But thanks for the offer – as he gets older I’ll want to ramp up to stay one step ahead… for a while anyway :)