My relationship with drafting class goes back to before I was born. My Dad, born in 1918, took drafting class in 1936. After he died, I found a pen and ink drawing of his from that class. It was a schematic of two different crystal sets. As a teen, Dad was the neighborhood radio technician. He strung wire antennas and repaired headphones for folks.
I had that schematic framed and built one of the sets. I entered it in the antiques section of the county fair(with a note that the radio was not the antique). I won a Blue Ribbon and was considered for the grand champion ribbon. I have the drawing and the set on my mantle. At almost 80 years of age, my memories are increasing in value. 73, Dave, K4TO On Sat, Apr 24, 2021, 4:00 AM Joe K2UF <[email protected]> wrote: > In 1955 we were the cool guys with a slide rule in a leather case hanging > from your belt and india ink stains on your hands. > > 73 Joe K2UF > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Wayne Burdick > Sent: Saturday, April 24, 2021 1:09 AM > To: Elecraft Reflector > Subject: [Elecraft] OT: High school drafting class, ~1975 > > OK, I've really dated myself now. > > Anyone remember "drafting"? A favorite class in high school: blueprints, > mechanical drawings, schematics, straight edges, hand lettering, > projections > and elevations. We invented things to draw that weren't real, but looked > like they should be. Did all the math by hand -- on a slide rule, if > necessary. Day-dreamed about what we might one day build. > > 45 years later, we're using tools we couldn't have imagined. Modeling > circuits and objects with millions of parameters and vectors, realizing > them > in virtual space, manipulating them in real time. Testing finished products > before they're even assembled. > > The transformation is mind boggling. Yet the best part now, as it was then, > is the occasional burst of creative energy that propels an idea forward. > The > feeling of pieces falling into place. Or forcing them into place out of > sheer necessity. > > Most of the time, we think of our new tools and techniques as advances in > the state of the art. Things we can't live without. But those same defining > moments happened just as often in simpler times. > > Case in point -- my first real project, a rendition of W7ZOI's > Micro-mountaineer. Carefully documenting it took several sheets of > 4-squares-per-inch grid paper, which may still be in my cellar, beneath a > lifetime of such drawings. With the schematic, I took a lot of pride in > making the circuits look well-organized, as if that would somehow improve > my > odds. On the PC board, I drew large traces and pads with the etch-resist > pen, as if that would somehow appease the electrons. > > I etched the PCB, soldered two dozen parts, and connected a 12 V lantern > battery. Thanks to my paranoia about what would happen if I did it wrong, > I'd taken my time and done it right. > > I was rewarded with a hiss of band noise and a few CW signals on 40 meters. > > Here's to those moments, and to that timeless pursuit: turning abstractions > into reality. > > 73, > Wayne > N6KR > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message > delivered to [email protected] > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to [email protected] > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
