Geek Civilization: Amateur Radio And First Year Projects To Improve Recruitment And Retention In An Ecet Program

This paper describes the author’s current efforts and future plans to restore the path which led many of today’s senior professionals into electronic technology. That path usually began in the teenage years with an interest in amateur radio and tinkering with electronics, followed by math and science courses in high school, then pursuit of a degree in engineering or technology. Unfortunately, that path has nearly disappeared over the last twenty-five years or so because of the evolution of electronic technology in ways that make it seem less accessible to tinkerers and amateur radio operators and because electronic technology is so pervasive in modern life that most people simply take it for granted. The author is attempting to restore the traditional path by expanding the use of hands-on construction projects which are intended to catch the interest of students and kindle their enthusiasm early in the curriculum, and to encourage an interest in amateur radio through radio-oriented projects. I. The Ancient Geeks In ancient times (mid-20 century) a technologically inclined teenager might be lucky enough to have an adult relative or friend who was an amateur radio operator (often referred to as a “ham” radio operator, or just a “ham”). He would be exposed to the nuts and bolts (or tubes and wires) of electronic technology through that person (an “Elmer”, ham slang for mentor), would learn that hams were capable of communicating worldwide via HF (“shortwave”) radio, and would also learn that hams often built their own transmitters and receivers either from scratch or from kits (those were the days of the fabled Heathkits and the lesser Knight Kits) using basic tools like pliers, screwdrivers and soldering irons. Building a Knight Kit Star Roamer five-tube shortwave receiver, easily capable of receiving broadcasts direct from distant places like Moscow, Johannesburg, and Quito, Ecuador was a powerful motivating experience for a 13-year-old, and he naturally wanted to build other things. Parts for electronic projects could often be scavenged from old TV sets or radios (available for the asking at the local TV repair shop) or purchased for a reasonable price at the local electronic distributor. This teenager, having discovered and begun to develop an interest in electronics, would usually be classified by his peers (most were boys) as a geek. He would have little opportunity for a “normal” teenage social life, which would be replaced by a circle of geek friends. These became both a social and a technological support system. Many young geeks also had access to local amateur radio clubs with members of all ages and levels of technical knowledge, which were an excellent support system. Many geeks became amateur radio operators themselves before their 16 birthday (the youngest ham on record was 5 years old when first licensed, ten-year-old hams were not uncommon), qualifying for a Federal Communications Commission license by passing a written examination covering basic electronic theory and the required demonstrating skill of receiving Morse code “by ear.” Most geeks, having been “hooked” by technology at an early age, gravitated toward math and science courses in high school. There were no “computer geeks” in those days, because P ge 11661.2 computers hadn’t been invented (or, in the later years of the ancient geeks, were too large and expensive to be available to high school students), so the young geek had few outlets for his geekness besides amateur radio. These students were quickly identified by guidance counselors, who encouraged them to pursue careers in engineering or technology. This encouragement was not really necessary, because most came to terms with their geekness before graduating from high school and naturally chose those career paths out of a love of technology. Ancient geek culture developed in this way partly because electronic technology was accessible to any curious person. The parts (resistors, capacitors, transistors, tubes, etc.) were large enough to easily see and handle, and circuits (like the classic five-tube radio) were relatively simple. Expensive test equipment could be done without, or could be borrowed from an Elmer. In his very entertaining autobiography, the geek philosopher and Nobel laureate Richard Feynman described the radio technology of the late 1920s and early 1930s as being so simple that a 12year-old boy with a screwdriver (a really big one in his back pocket, mostly for show) could fix most radio malfunctions, which were usually caused by simple things like loose wires or burnedout tubes. Feynman tells of one man who brought him a radio with a more difficult problem, which required some analysis: “So the guy says, ‘What are you doing? You come to fix the radio, but you’re only walking back and forth!’” Feynman replied “’I’m thinking’”, and continued to pace while he analyzed the problem. Before long he had a simple solution and fixed the radio. Feynman goes on to say of this customer, “He got me other jobs, and kept telling everybody what a tremendous genius I was, saying, ‘He fixes radios by thinking!’” II. The Modern Geeks In modern times, personal computers have become very cheap and widely available, so most teenagers have their own. If they want to communicate with others next door or around the world, chatrooms and instant messaging services are at their fingertips for good or ill. MP3 players (some with video capability), camera phones, and personal video game systems have become standard teenage equipment. Electronic technology is so pervasive that many young people who have grown up with it do not think about it and hardly even know it is there. Modern geeks usually become geeks by discovering that they can write software for their PCs using inexpensive or free development tools, but do not automatically discover that there is anything interesting to learn about hardware. The phrase “computer geek” might as well be one word, and teenage geeks are seldom exposed to electronic hardware technology of any sort. Geeks and those who would have been geeks in earlier times often dismiss amateur radio (if they have heard of it) as an “old man’s hobby” because they never hear about the state-of-the-art aspects of amateur radio: digital communication modes like PSK-31 Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), GPS/APRS (Automated Packet Reporting System), software-defined radios (SDR), amateur radio communication satellites, amateur Wi-Fi (802.11) networks, long-range communication via meteor scatter, and on and on. As a result, fewer young people are becoming hams in the USA, although anecdotal reports indicate that this is not necessarily the case in the developing world (Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Arabian Penninusla) where governments often see encouragement of amateur radio as one way of developing needed technical skills. As electronic technology has become more pervasive and less visible, advances in manufacturing have made it seem to be less accessible to hobbyists, tinkerers and radio amateurs. In particular, P ge 11661.3 surface-mount technology has become nearly universal. Through-hole integrated circuits and other parts which could be assembled using an ordinary soldering iron are becoming hard to find. Local electronic distributors who used to sell a good variety of electronic parts have been absorbed by mega-distributors with no local presence. Even Radio Shack hardly carries any electronic components in its stores, although some are still available through the website. These developments have made it difficult for a young person with no support system to experiment with electronics, either as an amateur radio operator or as a lone tinkerer. As a result, an important path which used to lead young people into careers in engineering technology has been lost.