31–40 of 85 posts
We've all noticed that certain flies and lures have stopped working, or at least, have significantly reduced efficacy. We think it's because for at least several generations (fish have short lifespans), they haven't been exposed to those insects.
I was programming well before I was learned anything about analog electronic circuits. I had the Radio Shack 160-in-one like anyone else and I could follow the directions but I didn't understand what was happening because I was thinking of it as an orderly pipeline, almost like a conveyor belt, where each component was doing a task. It wasn't until college when we studied LRC circuits in physics that it finally click…
I just found it again yesterday at a very old-school electronics shop. The kind of delightful place packed wall-to-wall & floor-to-ceiling with stuff where each category (test equipment, passive & active components, motors, motor drivers, audio, video, hobby-everything) is either super well organized (passive "jellybean" components) or a giant pile of eclectic offerings stretching across 40 years of technological history (test equipment).
I bought it for nostalgia, and I might fix it up or even upgrade it to give to my niece when she's old enough. But looking through it confirmed something I'd long suspected:
1) Things like LRC circuits don't make sense without an oscilloscope. I have one now but REALLY wish I had one as a kid, even a crazy-cheap incredibly low quality one would have been amazing.
2) The book was VERY poorly written, seemed rushed and minimally thoughtful - there was no real explanation of fundamentals that could be used to drive creativity and exploration. I wish I'd had a book which explained concepts better. I didn't start understanding electronics in any interesting way until I took calculus-based electromagnetic physics in college.
Using the kit was mainly fun for me to blow up old-school red LED's. It gave me familiarity with electronics schematic symbols, breadboards, and some very basic tinkering. That young childhood familiarity made me much more comfortable around electrical pursuits throughout my life.
As an aside, the disappearance of insects is noticeable elsewhere. I'm a big fishing guy, have been my whole life. Many old-timers I know have commented on the lack of insects. We've all noticed that certain flies and lures have stopped working, or at least, have significantly reduced efficacy. We think it's because for at least several generations (fish have short lifespans), they haven't been exposed to those insec…
The juxtaposition between the cleanliness of the software and the absolute travesty of a schematic is jarring. But it still works! I applaud the author for wading into analog electronics. Pretty much everyone nowadays would just put a timer on a micro and be done in 2 minutes. No fun in that. There is something to be said about the minimal elegance of purely analog designs, and a special rewarding feeling for wrangli…
I haven't touch anything like this in a good while, how cheap could I get a simple Arduino style chip with a few gpio to drive a yellow LED in 2025?
For £3.50 you can get an ESP32 module with WiFi and Bluetooth (e.g. https://thepihut.com/products/esp32-c3-mini-development-boar...)
(A regular Arduino board might still be the best choice if you're just learning/tinkering though)
> I love fireflies. But in recent years, they stopped coming for reasons I don’t know. No tiny, glowing dots in the dark like they used to. I miss them more than I expected. Light pollution, and even more: pesticides. Population of all insects fall dramatically. "Three-quarters of flying insects in nature reserves across Germany have vanished in 25 years" - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/18/warning-…
I hold a BSc in electrical engineering and even I still don't fully understand how circuits work, especially the ones that involve transistors. I tried various mental models to think about the "flow" of current/electrons, but nothing works 100% of the time. Maybe that's just how my brain works: I like algorithmic thinking (A → B → C) as opposed to holding the entire circuit in my mind and solving for V or I.
This class was the hardest class I have ever taken in my life but it really gave me an intuitive understanding of analog electronics that I still have 20 years later.
I don't there there is any quick substitute for just putting in the work. All these posts about AI learning are the same. The magic isn't AI, but the motivation to learn. The AI might help some folks get more excited about the process, though.
Fireflies flash in response to lights. I wonder if a photoresistor sensitive enough to respond to his “firefly” can be found. Then he could rig it up so his fireflies communicate with each other. And maybe real fireflies as well. It would have to be pretty danged sensitive I guess. Extra points if the circuit can be rigged up to respond to changes in brightness, so that it doesn’t constantly trigger in daylight….
How small could you make this? Could you (maybe not with diy tools) make it the size of a firefly?
Much smaller. Definitely smaller than the LED itself. https://hackaday.com/2025/03/19/worlds-smallest-blinky-now-e...
I hold a BSc in electrical engineering and even I still don't fully understand how circuits work, especially the ones that involve transistors. I tried various mental models to think about the "flow" of current/electrons, but nothing works 100% of the time. Maybe that's just how my brain works: I like algorithmic thinking (A → B → C) as opposed to holding the entire circuit in my mind and solving for V or I.
I have a B.S. and M.S in EE. In undergrad, I took a class where we had to solve a different problem using a new analog circuit each week. At first, we could only use BJTs, resistors, and capacitors. Eventually, we made 555 timers from discrete transistors and "unlocked" that IC for future use. At some point we were allowed to use opamps and other ICs as well. This class was the hardest class I have ever taken in my l…