I agree with Bill generally -- but would add that the term "cost" means both
time as well as money. More and more parts are only available in SMT size
but for the most part that's not a major limitation where time almost always
is.
I've put uPs in a lot of my stuff and the build time or the expense to do it
is not really very significant. The flexibility and capability is amazing.
On the other hand writing the code - and importantly getting it to actually
do what you want it to do in actual use - is a time-sink of a magnitude that
is just hard for the uninitiated to comprehend.
73/jeff/ac0c
www.ac0c.com
alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Turner
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2017 3:38 PM
To: Amps group
Subject: Re: [Amps] Decline of homebrewing?
I believe people don't homebrew their radios for the same reason they
don't build their own cars: While it can be done, and some people do,
it is not cost-effective.
Many decades ago you could homebrew a receiver or transmitter that was
nearly as good and maybe even better than what you could buy. That is
no longer true. The science of electronics has progressed to the point
where the fellow in the basement with a soldering iron is all but
obsolete.
The only real exception to this is homebrewing a high power amplifier.
Even there it is not likely that anyone will homebrew a legal limit
fully autotune amp. Again, it cold be done but is not really
cost-effective. Been there, done that.
Even so, my hat is off to those who homebrew and do a truly
outstanding job. Check out some of the projects in any ARRL Handbook
for some examples, especially in the amplifier section. I hope their
spirit never dies.
73, Bill W6WRT
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