On 2007-06-27, Larry Dighera wrote:
To the general public, that is probably true, but to one who
appreciates and understands the physics of either of the examples you
cite, the magic will always be there.

However, those people will be more drawn to things like software these
days - the barriers to entry are so much lower. You can get all the
tools you need, from the computer (a cast-off business machine) to the
software - from the operating system on up - for free, complete with
source code. If you want your program to communicate, you don't need a
license to open a TCP connection over the internet. For a young person
with limited funds, getting into radio has much higher barriers to
entry.

Personally, I find radio and electronics interesting, indeed, only last
night I laid out the PCB, etched it, and added the components for a 170
volt switch mode power supply for one of my projects. But radio? I find
writing some software to communicate over the internet very satisfying,
and I don't need to take exams to do it, and I don't risk being dragged
to court if I make a mistake (the amateur radio police over here delight
themselves in turning you in to the authorities). If I need one of my
electronics projects to communicate, well, a CP2200 IC and a
microcontroller will do the job and I still don't need a license, nor
worry about if I'm doing something that might upset the ham radio
police.

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