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Old 9th Feb 2017, 10:55 pm   #19
Phil G4SPZ
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Bewdley, Worcestershire, UK.
Posts: 4,748
Default Re: Attracting younger members to Vintage Equipment

Quote:
Originally Posted by threeseven View Post
There is a growing interest in making, repairing, creating etc, known generally as the maker movement... It wouldn't take much to introduce vintage electronics of all sorts to these inquisitive minded, creative young people via the maker door...
There's another possible route, and that's via the Repair Cafe movement. I volunteer at my local one every month, and there's a steady stream of radio and electronics gear coming through, nothing from the valve era (yet!) but lots of portable radios, clock radios, stereos etc. amongst the clocks, table lamps and vacuum cleaners. People are always amazed when they see how relatively easy it can be to bring a defunct item back to life, and our 'success rate' is over 75%.

We recruited one young-ish person (20 years younger than me) as a new repairer as a direct result of my showing him how to identify and replace a bulged electrolytic on a radio's SMPS board. Result - a £140 radio restored to working order for under a pound.

Many younger people are also unfamiliar with analogue test equipment, which is why I always bring a selection along!

Phil
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