
How a Diode Changed My Life - onurcel
http://onurcelebi.com/blog/how-a-diode-changed-my-life/
======
jasode
How many of us got one of those Radio Shack 150-in-1 electronics kits as a
kid?
([https://www.google.com/search?q=radio+shack+electronics+kits...](https://www.google.com/search?q=radio+shack+electronics+kits&tbm=isch))

It came with a book of projects (e.g. 150 projects and hence the toy's name)
and each page had a listing showing the wires you attach from one coiled
spring to another. Hook up different components of the board to make an AM
radio receiver, or a "lie detector", or tone generator.

Here's the crazy thing. I ran across an old one 20 years later as an adult and
the toy's brilliant idea finally dawned on me: it allows small children to
play with electronics without getting burned by a hot 700 degree soldering
iron! Instead, the child's fingers push the springs apart and he inserts the
pre-stripped wires to connect it to another spring. It was even genius that
_all_ the wires it came with were pre-stripped so that even wire cutters
weren't necessary. Everything was also low voltage (9v & 1.5v batteries) so
you didn't have to worry about a naked power supply plugged into the wall
electrocuting the kid. (E.g.
[https://youtu.be/9RMKrpzoMkE?t=2m52s](https://youtu.be/9RMKrpzoMkE?t=2m52s))

My kit had diodes on it but unlike the author, the toy didn't teach me about
them. Perhaps for others, the Radio Shack kit was a gateway drug to an
electronics career.

~~~
caf
For me it was a similar no-solder-required project book called "Dick Smith's
Fun Way Intro Electronics" (the cover project being a "beer powered radio"!),
I think at about age 6.

There was a volume 2 which introduced more advanced projects and soldering,
and a volume 3 which introduced integrated circuits.

~~~
a_thro_away
I wandered over to find Dick Smith's somewhere in silicon valley (first US
store?) at some point. Other than that, it was an Aussie thing, right?

~~~
voltagex_
It was an Australian thing, although it's (sadly) gone now.

~~~
caf
Jaycar took up the mantle of the hobbyist electronics store years ago anyway.

~~~
voltagex_
Does anyone know how Jaycar are doing these days?

~~~
caf
Apparently OK:

[http://www.afr.com/real-estate/jaycar-founder-offers-way-
out...](http://www.afr.com/real-estate/jaycar-founder-offers-way-out-for-
jittery-dick-smith-landlords-20160112-gm46ak)

------
dbcurtis
The part I love the most is that his father let him find his own answers
instead of telling him the answer. I am on the board of a small science
education non-profit. We do hands on science with kids under age 12. The
hardest part about hiring teachers is that most teachers love sharing what
they know - and thus give kids the answers. We want kids to explore for thier
own answers. We have better luck hiring story tellers and teaching them enough
science to deliver the lesson.

~~~
frandroid
When I took Calc I in school, I was hanging out with another student from
Hungary who had done the course already in the old country but somehow needed
the credit here (in Canada), so he decided to read the "additional reading"
that the professor recommended. He discovered that one of the books suggested
to instructors to make errors on purpose when demonstrating a calculation on
the blackboard. The idea is that once you reach the part where the equation
doesn't resolve, you have to go line by line and examine everything carefully
to see where the error is, and that's how as a student you better remember the
calculus strategy used.

The professor who I thought was a distracted older lady was actually a wily
teacher :)

~~~
jessaustin
It's my impression that Calculus is one of the courses most commonly taught
using this method. I'm not sure that's always on purpose, however...

------
CarolineW
It's also worth mentioning that transistors are basically back-to-back diodes,
and that understanding a diode, _really_ understanding a diode, is the first
step towards understanding semi-conductor physics, and electronics in general.

I remember well making crystal radios, firstly with store-bought diodes and
capacitors, subsequently making my own capacitors, and then diodes. Taught me
so much.

The diode - gateway drug to semi-conductor physics and electronics.

~~~
drivers99
This is somewhat offtopic, but I've tried building crystal radios over and
over again in my life, and have never gotten them to work. I've built them
from kits. I've studied them online and built them from scratch, in various
designs. I'm in a city so the signal should be strong enough. I wish I could
figure out what went wrong. I am able to build any other type of circuit that
I've attempted.

~~~
madengr
Did you connect the ground to an actual earth-connected cold water pipe? I
made that mistake when I was a kid, thinking I could ground it to any old
metal pipe.

~~~
mkarr
Either not getting a good ground, or not having a long enough antenna are two
issues I have commonly seen with some of the more basic kits.

------
a_thro_away
Not the diode here; in the 1960s electronics became interesting and available
as there was so much junk. I mean, people used to litter everywhere and there
was random junk piles (and landfills) within minutes in any direction filled
with TV and radio chassis, waiting to be hauled home with my minibike,
spending hours retrieving valuable components as there were no retail
electronics supply houses within a hundred miles and no one taught me mail
order (RS Electronics - you suck, charging a 13 yo who walked miles and his
whole weeks earnings the commercial MSRP for a single bridge rectifier). Each
component was carefully removed, curated, and possibly fitted into some
circuit from the few electronics books available to me. I cannot imagine how
much lead exposure I had. My 15th birthday was a trip to a distant town and
$100 to spend at this place called Radio Shack (and a bike), where I
discovered all this other stuff and Forrest Mims. Theory had to wait until I
went to HS and College in a larger city, but my seventh grade spanish teacher
gave me his GI bill oscilloscope because I could identify transistors and
current flow through them (Thank You prof Ludwig) and that kept me busy until
then. Looking back, where there was a will there was a way.

------
AstroJetson
Diodes are cool. One changed my life too! But I built a crystal radio set with
mine. Many nights of listening to AM stations across the eastern part of the
US. (WGN, WOR, KYW, KDKA, WABC, WSM and WBAL)

That took me to ham radio and electrical engineering. All because of a 4 cent
part.

~~~
onurcel
Nice! Looks like there's always a point of no-return experience for geeks like
us.

~~~
StavrosK
An Arduino Uno changed mine :( I feel uncool.

~~~
AstroJetson
Don't, the Arduino is the 60's crystal set diode!! Also they are about 75
cents in 1960's dollars!!! So it's all good.

------
nfriedly
I had a teacher in high school who liked to mention that "any diode can be
light-emitting, once."

Still makes me chuckle :)

------
fogleman
I, too, have a special place in my heart for diodes.

When I was a kid, I had one of those 200-in-1 electronics kits. It had a
germanium diode on it. The diode was clear. I connected a 9V battery directly
to it, no resistor or anything else. It glowed super bright bluish white for a
second or two and then burned out.

Now my EE friends tell me that no one uses germanium diodes anymore, and it
makes me sad.

~~~
a_thro_away
haha. I still keep a vintage pack of 50 around for the rare instance I have to
throw down a crystal radio set for the kids...

~~~
AstroJetson
Save them, real 1n34 diodes are hard to find. Most of the ones from HK or
China are fakes and lack the sensitivity for crystal sets.

------
pieter1976
Lovely story. Don't forgot that diodes also have a voltage drop across them
which means that they can be used to change voltages from batteries or other
sources if needed.

------
tzs
> Even nowadays, my dad and I occupy the balcony table in sunny spring days
> with electronic stuff to remember those days. Somehow, there is less magic
> in playing with Arduino and Raspberry pi than simple diodes.

It's too bad the old Radio Shack Science Fair kits are no longer available.
Here's a page from the 1975 Radio Shack catalog listing them:
[http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1975/h100.html](http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1975/h100.html)

Go on to the next page, where there is more information and some pictures.

Here's a site that has scans of the documentation for several of them:
[http://my.core.com/~sparktron/pbox.html](http://my.core.com/~sparktron/pbox.html)

~~~
ansible
Hah. I actually had the 10-in-1 Junior Electronic Lab Kit here:

[http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1975/h104.html](http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1975/h104.html)

I had an recurring fascination with electronics, but didn't really grok analog
stuff until much later. Digital stuff and programming really caught my fancy,
and has never let go.

------
jcoffland
Great article but this statement struck me as blind nostalgia.

> Somehow, there is less magic in playing with Arduino and Raspberry pi than
> simple diodes.

The lack of magic is likely due to being an adult. I'm sure certain kids still
find this stuff just as magical.

~~~
linker3000
To a degree, yes, but in my capacity as a moderator in /r/electroncis on
Reddit, my heart sinks a little when a person asks what's the best way to get
into electronics and someone replies that they should get an Arduino and a few
interface shields or a bunch of LEDs and start turning things on and off.
Programming I/O or PWM signals is considered by many to be 'electronics'.

~~~
jcoffland
It's certainly much more likely to lead to a more profitable career. Do you
wind your own transformers and use vacuum tubes? The really old guys would
look down on cheating by using transistors and store bought coils. It's all
just nostalgia. People can and should find the magic in different places than
the previous generations did.

~~~
linker3000
> Do you wind your own transformers and use vacuum tubes?

Have done in the past.

The trouble is, starting with an Arduino is a bit like wanting to be an engine
specialist so buying an engine and fitting it to a chassic and wheels, but
never digging in the opposite direction.

------
j1vms
This story is short, sweet and presented very nicely with the picture and
diagrams. Thanks for posting it for us.

> We should first awake the curiosity and teach just enough to help them solve
> a simple problem.

You should consider submitting it elsewhere online, as I'm sure teachers will
find it of pedagogical interest, and worth a look, whether or not they are
surprised by the conclusions/points you raised.

------
2sk21
Loved the story and brought back many happy memories of hacking simple
circuits with diodes and lights in almost exactly the same way.

------
uberneo
Ohh man .. this guy made me remember my all time love of hacking wth all sorts
of electronic circuits .. those NPN transistors .. those FM transmitters ..
those AM transmitters using 555 timer chip .. gang condensors .. and then on
Digital side .. my favourite Op Amp , decade counters ... ohh my ohh myy .. i
just miss those days .. :(

------
LikelyIntegral
Fantastic story! Electronics work is amazingly rewarding; beats most hobbies
out there.

------
onetwotree
Is this guy sure he's not me?

The only difference seems to be that my dad introduced me to electronics after
he got sick of me taking apart various household devices to see how they
worked, with mixed success at getting them back together in working shape.

------
import
You're such a lucky boy. My biggest challenge is making buildings from tape
and VHS cassettes in my childhood.

\-- Adam muzik seti hastasiydi, sanssizlik aq.

------
lutusp
Quote: "Of course, as you can imagine, as a little boy, that peaked my
interest."

No, it _piqued_ your interest. Should I read on and find more of the same?

~~~
tyingq
The writer is Turkish, and apparently speaks Turkish, French, and English. The
article was interesting enough for me that I didn't feel a need to pick
grammar or spelling nits.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
I think there's a need for a format of soliciting editorial corrections that
allows people to provide errata without feeling like they're being too picky?

~~~
nitrogen
I think this need extends to other areas of potential improvement, too. We
could all be much better at many things if there were widely used, polite ways
to give and receive unsolicited feedback.

~~~
tyingq
Most of the time, just couching the comment with a little kindness works
fine...

"Great article, enjoyed it. I noticed a couple of minor typos you might want
to fix..." or "I see you speak several languages. English is a little tricky
with homonyms, "peeked" in this context would be "piqued".

~~~
pbhjpbhj
Even that seems a bit like it gets in the way. Also, if you didn't like the
article does that mean you shouldn't offer a correction?

Perhaps what I'm after is a meta-thread content-thread separation in some way.

~~~
bbcbasic
Just email the author using a toastmasters style feedback that is hearty and
respectful. No need to pollute the thread or have a meta-thread.

