Having read through many of the threads here and after a futile search in the forums I thought I would pose this question: whatever happened to electromechanical projects that did not involve the use of microcontrollers? I realize the benefits of technological advances, but the part of this hobby I enjoy the most is building a creation without relying on ICs, op-amps, microcontrollers, etc.
Are the days of creating projects using switches, relays, capacitors, etc. really over?

 

I'm glad to see that there are still people out there in this hobby, who like the discrete transistor circuit projects still.

Please see my blogs I do all circuit design and builds using only discrete components.
I enjoy this hobby at the very core of transistor circuit design, emulating IC functions using only discretes.

I built numerous robots using transistors and relays, it was fun to design from scratch.

 

I'm glad to see that there are still people out there in this hobby, who like the discrete transistor circuit projects still.

Please see my blogs I do all circuit design and builds using only discrete components.
I enjoy this hobby at the very core of transistor circuit design, emulating IC functions using only discretes.

I built numerous robots using transistors and relays, it was fun to design from scratch.

Thanks for the reply, Hobbyist. Great blog entries. I guess my question should have been phrased "non solid state" projects. I really enjoy making projects work using strictly electromech components without getting into solid state. I'm going to enjoy reading more of your blog entries however. Thanks for sharing.

 

Having read through many of the threads here and after a futile search in the forums I thought I would pose this question: whatever happened to electromechanical projects that did not involve the use of microcontrollers? I realize the benefits of technological advances, but the part of this hobby I enjoy the most is building a creation without relying on ICs, op-amps, microcontrollers, etc.
Are the days of creating projects using switches, relays, capacitors, etc. really over?

No, lots of people create electromechanical projects today. Not many people solely use electromechanical devices for control but one area where it's still used is in critical safety related systems like interlocks for doors or enclosures. Even that area is now mainly mixed electronics today.

https://www.automation.com/pdf_articles/Interlocking_Principles_and_Devices.pdf

 

Thanks for the reply, Hobbyist. Great blog entries. I guess my question should have been phrased "non solid state" projects. I really enjoy making projects work using strictly electromech components without getting into solid state. I'm going to enjoy reading more of your blog entries however. Thanks for sharing.

Your very welcome,
sorry I can't be of much assistance, however it would be interesting to see what kind of projects can still be made electromechanically.

 

Thanks for the reference, nsaspook. Interesting article. Obviously in real world applications it makes sense to go with solid state computer controlled circuits. But, I did miss the days of being able to find a wealth of projects that didn't rally on any of that to function. Thanks again for the info.

 

Terrytunes...hobbyist......have a read on this.

magnetic amplifiers.pdf

 

Hobbyist, I got into this hobby long before microcontrollers and even shortly before solid state became readily available and affordable for the enthusiast. At that time Radio Shack was still considered a Tandy Corp. company and their focus seemed to be on hobby type projects and kits. Many projects, which would be created with microcontrollers now, were strictly non- solid state.
Hence, my description in the thread title.

 

Hi,

I used to do some things like this many many years ago.

One of my most interesting projects was a 40 position switch. Yes that's right, a 40 position switch from raw materials like PC copper clad boards and guitar wire and sewing straight pins and a brass tube for the shaft, it was a 40 position rotary switch.
It's use was for a 40 channel CB radio which at the time CB radios were very popular and the transition to 40 channels (from maybe 30) was just starting to take place based on the new laws that allowed more channels.
I needed to be able to switch the crystal sets in different arrangements to get the extra channels so i would not have to buy a new radio. I did my dad's radio too but just added two channels to his because it took so long to make one 40 position rotary switch. For a month or two we had channel 40 all to ourselves because almost no one had gotten that channel on their radios yet.

The switch was amazing though. The guitar wire was used for making tiny springs that pushed on the sewing pins that were used to make the contacts, and the springs would allow the pins to ride up and down a little as the second round PC board was turned with the shaft. The PC board was etched to have 40 contacts or something like that, and the artwork was all drawn by hand. There was also a dual spring and rod that dropped into tiny indents one the edge of the round PC board and that locked the rotation into discrete positions as needed for a rotary switch.

There have been other things too but that was very intricate.

 

Hello,

Before the semiconductor technology we had the tube technology.
This page contains a lot of books about this:
http://www.tubebooks.org/technical_books_online.htm

You can also find a book about magnetic amplifiers on that page.

Bertus

 

Terrytunes...hobbyist......have a read on this.

magnetic amplifiers.pdf

Thanks BR-549. Great 'handle' by the way. Lol

 

Hello,

Before the semiconductor technology we had the tube technology.
This page contains a lot of books about this:
http://www.tubebooks.org/technical_books_online.htm

You can also find a book about magnetic amplifiers on that page.

Bertus

Thank you for the reference, Bertus.

 

Hi,

I used to do some things like this many many years ago.

One of my most interesting projects was a 40 position switch. Yes that's right, a 40 position switch from raw materials like PC copper clad boards and guitar wire and sewing straight pins and a brass tube for the shaft, it was a 40 position rotary switch.
It's use was for a 40 channel CB radio which at the time CB radios were very popular and the transition to 40 channels (from maybe 30) was just starting to take place based on the new laws that allowed more channels.
I needed to be able to switch the crystal sets in different arrangements to get the extra channels so i would not have to buy a new radio. I did my dad's radio too but just added two channels to his because it took so long to make one 40 position rotary switch. For a month or two we had channel 40 all to ourselves because almost no one had gotten that channel on their radios yet.

The switch was amazing though. The guitar wire was used for making tiny springs that pushed on the sewing pins that were used to make the contacts, and the springs would allow the pins to ride up and down a little as the second round PC board was turned with the shaft. The PC board was etched to have 40 contacts or something like that, and the artwork was all drawn by hand. There was also a dual spring and rod that dropped into tiny indents one the edge of the round PC board and that locked the rotation into discrete positions as needed for a rotary switch.

There have been other things too but that was very intricate.

Wow, MrAl. That's quite an ambitious undertaking; especially considering the time period that would have been in. I'm fairly sure it would have been tough getting any kind of support for a project like that. Thanks for sharing.

 

Terrytunes...hobbyist......have a read on this.

magnetic amplifiers.pdf

Thank you, looks like a good read.

 

In 1907 Albert Einstein was thinking about his first electronics project, his "Little Machine", a device for measuring voltages down to 1mv.

Evidently Albert Einstein was an early enthusiast as well.

Evidently, details of his design are out of print.

 

In 1907 Albert Einstein was thinking about his first electronics project, his "Little Machine", a device for measuring voltages down to 1mv.

Evidently Albert Einstein was an early enthusiast as well.

Evidently, details of his design are out of print.

Interesting article from Scientific American :https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/einsteins-only-known-expe/#

Thank you for the heads up on that, marcf.

 

Yes, I saw this link, but I cannot seem to get the details. There was an article in American Journal of Physics. But it is longer available.