Bernhard Holzmayer wrote:> Tom wrote: > > >>It appears that a good analogue design engineer who can design at >>IC level even can demand a hugh salary - as digital guys are ten a >>penny. (I don't mean DSP but hardware digital). The higher the >>frequency the more challenging will be the ADC conversion process >>for instance.Do they still teach analogue at a high level at >>Universities? Why the shortage? I expect in an ideal world we >>would want the whole world to be digital so we can use CMOS and >>make it cheap as hell but life just isn't like that. >> >> >>Tom > > > My first impressive experience with analogue realm was during a > thunderstorm, when the lightning rod of our house was struck by a > lightning: the earth around the location where it used to be > buried, had been exploded/vanished, leaving a crater and the rod > directing into the air instead of into the ground. > Only a smoky trace along the wall indicated that it was really work > of nature and not a bad joke of the gang of neighbour kids... > I was amazed by this power. > > Later when playing with a transformator, trying to connect it vice > versa to generate my private lightning, I got my first stroke > because I happened to touch the wrong pole... I looked around, if > this was my father slapping me, but he wasn't there. > Again, I realized the amazing power of electricity. > > It was quite obvious that I would discover more of this fascinating > world of analog electronics. When I bought my first diodes and > transistors in the late 60's and early 70's, digital electonic > parts were not available - at first, because nobody sold them > (nearby), later because they were too expensive. I had to go with > discrete analog electronics. > > Nevertheless, I was always excited in pioneering unexplored areas. > I realize that this is the same with my kids. > Only, that all areas of analog and digital electronics have been > vastly explored, so that they can hardly find corners where they > can pioneer. Computers and mobiles, right. But that's not really > satisfying them. Creating computer viruses, worms, etc. has more > potential. It's a pity that it drifts into the illegal area. > > > I guess that all starts in our childhood. There's a generation which > had been raised during the age of analog electronics, when > transistors and primitive analog ICs had been > discovered/engineered. > The kids of that age had strong interest in that stuff and therefore > decided to work in that area. > Then this age was gone, replaced by the age of digital electronics > and computers. And gone was the generation of analogue engineers, > though with a shift of a couple of decades. > > If somebody has the potential to be a good analogue engineer, is > rooted in his/her childhood - my guess is that all those which have > not this sort of background, cannot become good analogue designers. > > I agree, that this becomes a problem, because frequencies go far > beyond the GHz range, and analogue (especially HF) design aspects > gain more and more importance. > > If I am right, this will be an interesting challenge for the > gray-haired (I start to belong to them ...). > Since they cannot be replaced, they will have important work until > they retire, and beyond... > > BernhardThe last of the engineers and technicians who know how to get to the moon are now retiring. If we want to go again, we'll have to invent how all over again and repeat the mistakes along the way. A good engineer is a decent mechanic. My first full-size bicycle was a kit: frame, wheels, hubs, spokes, chain, spokes, seat post, etc.; all separately wrapped, with no instructions. At the time, it seemed quite reasonable. Thinking back, my father must have been a pedagogical genius. "American know-how" was born on farms where the same people who were midwives to livestock kept the combine (and later the tractor) and the hand-cranked cream separator working and shingled the roof. Once kids grew up thinking that milk comes from bottles, it was over in two generations. Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. �����������������������������������������������������������������������
Where have all the analogue men gone?
Started by ●August 16, 2004
Reply by ●September 7, 20042004-09-07
Reply by ●September 7, 20042004-09-07
"Jerry Avins" <jya@ieee.org> wrote in message news:413dd374$0$6903$61fed72c@news.rcn.com...> > The last of the engineers and technicians who know how to get to the > moon are now retiring. If we want to go again, we'll have to invent how > all over again and repeat the mistakes along the way. > > A good engineer is a decent mechanic. My first full-size bicycle was a > kit: frame, wheels, hubs, spokes, chain, spokes, seat post, etc.; all > separately wrapped, with no instructions. At the time, it seemed quite > reasonable. Thinking back, my father must have been a pedagogical > genius. "American know-how" was born on farms where the same people who > were midwives to livestock kept the combine (and later the tractor) and > the hand-cranked cream separator working and shingled the roof. Once > kids grew up thinking that milk comes from bottles, it was over in two > generations. >Hello Jerry, We have an experiment in the first year Physics course that involves finding the moment of inertia of several different items such as cylinders and disks and comparing the experimental to the theoretical values. At the end of the experiment, the student has to answer a set of concepts questions and in recent years I'm finding that none of my students has even heard of a flywheel. So we are having to rewrite the questions. Today's kids grow up without working on bicycles, cars, and other machines, so they are mechanically ignorant. In this digital world we already find kids who don't know the terms clockwise and counterclockwise and how to read an analog clock. It is really sad :-( Clay
Reply by ●September 7, 20042004-09-07
Clay Turner wrote:> "Jerry Avins" <jya@ieee.org> wrote in message > news:413dd374$0$6903$61fed72c@news.rcn.com... > >>The last of the engineers and technicians who know how to get to the >>moon are now retiring. If we want to go again, we'll have to invent how >>all over again and repeat the mistakes along the way. >> >>A good engineer is a decent mechanic. My first full-size bicycle was a >>kit: frame, wheels, hubs, spokes, chain, spokes, seat post, etc.; all >>separately wrapped, with no instructions. At the time, it seemed quite >>reasonable. Thinking back, my father must have been a pedagogical >>genius. "American know-how" was born on farms where the same people who >>were midwives to livestock kept the combine (and later the tractor) and >>the hand-cranked cream separator working and shingled the roof. Once >>kids grew up thinking that milk comes from bottles, it was over in two >>generations. >> > > > Hello Jerry, > > We have an experiment in the first year Physics course that involves finding > the moment of inertia of several different items such as cylinders and disks > and comparing the experimental to the theoretical values. At the end of the > experiment, the student has to answer a set of concepts questions and in > recent years I'm finding that none of my students has even heard of a > flywheel. So we are having to rewrite the questions. Today's kids grow up > without working on bicycles, cars, and other machines, so they are > mechanically ignorant. In this digital world we already find kids who don't > know the terms clockwise and counterclockwise and how to read an analog > clock. It is really sad :-( > > Clay"Analog clock" -- akin to "char coal" -- came up just this morning. My lady and I were laughing at this imagined conversation: "Incoming at three o'clock!" "No sweat. It's only 2:19." Last week, a neighbor lost the remote control for his TV and asked if I could improvise something for his bedridden wife. I showed him how to control his six-year-old set without one. He had never known it was possible and was amazed that I could operate his particular set. He wanted to know if I knew all sets on the market. I told him no, I had merely read the labels on the buttons. It's so easy to look like a genius nowadays! Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. �����������������������������������������������������������������������
Reply by ●September 7, 20042004-09-07
"axlq" <axlq@spamcop.net> wrote in message news:chis4q$7gh$1@blue.rahul.net...> Hmmm... that is to say, when you have no stock market, you have > better engineering?A lot of the public's perceptions about technology are due to public relations releases that are intended more to influence the stock market than to enlighten people in an unbiased manner. -- Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined! 615.385.8051 http://www.hyperback.com
