What's your background?

I am a free lance since ever, studied electronic engineering in the 1976 – my firts patenet don with 13 year old .. — later also work as educator at the university of augsburg and later at Ansbach. Beside this doing a tv series on computer sience since around 1984 till 2004 in public german television (BR, NDR) also with a tv sereis on computer build ing up the NDR KLEIN computer. then moved into a youtube channel … currently working on medical project on the non invasiv glucose monitoring and doing satelite projects (2 cube sats using 2x transceiver, on move II still transmitting since 5 years).

I’m mostly a Software engineer. I have no background in electronics beyond a small study back in my school days as part of a “Technology O-Level”. So, everything I do and see here is a learning opportunity.

I have spent most of my career in the finance sector, working in low-latency trading systems. I left direct employment in 2018, taking a severance package to work as a freelance consultant. I do a mixture of coding (C++, python mostly), technical writing, and teaching (I use that term rather than training as I’ve told people I was a freelance trainer in the past, and they assumed I was running gym classes in the local park!).

I enjoy the freedom freelance gives me; the opportunity to do things I love. I used to run a couple of code clubs for primary school kids (under-11s) but one stopped for lack of in-school teacher support, and the fact that my son moved up to high school, the other was at the local library and was closed by the council 🙁  I hope to start another sometime this year.

I also volunteer at my local repair café (mentioned elsewhere here); this is one day a week of waving soldering irons and multimeters at any manner of things that turn up. This has massively boosted my knowledge, confidence, and interest in the hardware end of things. 

Finally, I also volunteer as a medic and instructor for a marine mammal rescue charity here in the UK, ( https://www.bdmlr.org.uk)

Eclectic and mostly useless for questions that will arise here I am sure 🙂

I got my technician last March general month later and extra January 29. I don’t have an electronics background and I’m very weak in math so I’m taking some remedial stuff online specifically on YouTube. My background is Medical; I was a paramedic for 45 years I did some radio work so I had a basic knowledge that helped me pass tech easily, but general and extra came a lot harder. I have an Elmer I’ve known for many years who’s helping me learn electronics. I watched Paul’s YouTube videos every day. I’ve applied for vanity call sign haven’t heard back yet. Should be about another two weeks.

@clintr55 I posted in the power supply section about the navy’s Neets modules (24 books covering a multitude of topics). If you google Neets modules you will see them. I used them to bone up on basics and formulas when getting ready for the rating exams.

I have many hats, as I started out on the farm where we did all of our repairs.

I have held many jobs over the years and never really out of work, and took whatever there was out there.

My dream was to be a radio/TV engineer, but never made it.

As a teen, I worked as a helper at radio and TV shops.

I was an apprentice machinist, where I learned welding and ended up in the shipyard.

I have dug ditches and truck driver, milkman, bus driver, a Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), and retired as a (A/P) Airframe and Powerplant mechanic.

You name it I most likely have done it and always wanting to learn. Maybe I just get bored at what I was doing.
Ham Radio has always been on my mind since the baby crib as my Dad was SWL for many years.
I have taken the FCC commercial license, but failed the rules and regulation, but did work at a CB shop also.

Now I am just to old to do much these day, but I still do all my mechanical work and home repairs.

I’m a manufacturing engineer in machining/CNC programming. Rediscovered the CB hobby of my youth and have collected a bunch of SBE radios and a few Tram D201’s. Don’t know much about electronics. Watched alot of Bob Andersen and Mikes Radio Repair videos. 

@larry_n7luf Wow, that’s quite a number of…jobs you’ve got under the belt Larry ! Truly impressive.

@larry_n7luf 

Never, too old mate! 

Looks like this is as good a place to say “Hi” as any other. Started out reading Radio Electronics/Popular Electronics as a kid and high school (early 1970s) and joined the US Air Force, retired (1994). Spent the first 5 years in electronics maintenance on F-111 counter measures. Cross-trained into the weather career field and picked up quite a bit of computer programming as well.

Another 17 years working for “a major aerospace company” before retiring for good in 2017.

Currently fixing a couple of old computers as well as an old Emerson AM radio.

Jim Korman

The Bench

@jrkorman Welcome

@jrkorman Memories. I used to use that same Wavetek. And the 425. Former Navy ET1.

Posted by: @gbfreeman123

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@jrkorman Memories. I used to use that same Wavetek. And the 425. Former Navy ET1.

That reminds me, add another project. Last time I used the Wavetek I noticed that the waveform symmetry is a bad in the [Normal] position.

Where to start?  I have had a variety of jobs now; learned welding on the job with structural steel; I did get very good at that, worked as a fitters helper in a boiler works, worked on a city street crew planting trees, mowing public land, using a wood chipper.  For a short time worked for an electrician pulling wires.   

For the past 40 years have been working at a university as a main frame computer operator for 30 of those years, and am now a Tech III in the Network Engineering area supporting electrical and environmental in five data centers along with supporting nearly 1,000 uninterruptable power supplies (UPS’s) for network switches. 

Was a ham operator for a while – my brother got me into that because I go to the forest by myself so much.  He said “What are you going to do if you get snake bit?”  So I got my novice, then Tech license.  That started me into electronics.  I have always been fascinated with tube equipment, and got jolted a few times…  Lucky for me I actually survived those.  I do know what the “taste of copper” is from being jolted.  

But never have formally studied in a classroom or lab setting for electronics. I just take it kind of slow.  I like to understand the “how it works” as much as making something.  Not much of a kit builder really though have done my share of those too.  

MCL has helped me put a lot of what I have learned into a coherent body of knowledge.  But I watch other peoples videos too.  What MCL had really done is get me experimenting; burn a few components on purpose, see how much abuse something can take, try a different component in that spot, understand the electrical flow within the device.  Why does that turn on at this time?  How does that work internally?  What range of capacitance will this work with?  How critical are the parameters of components for it all to work?  What does that look like on a scope?  Can I inject a signal and trace it through this somehow? Things like that.

Closing in on my retirement within the next several years.  Between hunting, fishing, trapping, photography, and electronics, I don’t think I will be bored being retired.  But first, I have to clean up the basement and the garage.  🤣 

I started playing with crystal radios in 1963 at the age of 11.   By the time I turned 13 I was a licensed ham.  I have been active, both on the air and with electronics, for the last 60 years.  Heathkit first got me on the air, while introducing me to the joys of handling hot soldering tools.  I studied electrical engineering at the University of Illinois in the late 60’s, then, moved into other venues – law enforcement, broadcasting – both as an ass’t engineer and news director, and, finally, into underground coal mining.  I served in many capacities in that industry, including electrician, chief electrician, master electrician and maintenance superintendent.  Now that I’m retired, I like to restore older ham rigs, more specifically, Drake and Hallicrafters gear.