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A supply store for people who want to build robots, electronic gadgets, kinetic art or anything else that moves, beeps or flashes. | |
What is Hobby Engineering?Can I really build a robot?How do I get started?Do I have to learn how to solder?What is Hobby Engineering?Hobby Engineering is the name of this website and is a Service Mark of Biznode Inc.Hobby Engineering alludes to the process of creating high tech inventions, toys and art while developing leading edge knowledge and skills and having fun! Visitors to this site are students and adults who have an interest in creating "stuff" using technology. Some of that "stuff" will be practical such as advancing in school or building a device to reduce human drudgery. Some of that "stuff" will be purely for entertainment such as a dancing robot. All of this "stuff" will require thought, creativity and initiative. And we do it all to challenge ourselves and have fun. And maybe improve our little corner of the world in the process. Can I really build a robot?Absolutely!Technology has advanced to such a point that it is practical for almost anyone to get involved in robotics. What you can accomplish is determined by your own maturity, initiative, interests and (unfortunately) budget. The fact that anyone can be involved does not mean it is easy. That is part of what makes this activity interesting. Technology enthusiasts are constantly challenged and often frustrated by the technology. Success requires developing a significant level of inquisitiveness and doggedness. Younger hobbyists in particular will require help managing the challenge. The key to success is picking an appropriate starting point and developing one new skill at a time. It is amazing what can be accomplished with the right attitude and personal motivation. We will do our best to help you succeed in your chosen activity! How do I get started?We will be publishing age and skill appropriate recommendations in the next few days.Do I have to learn how to solder?You don't have to do anything! This is supposed to be fun. On the other hand, soldering is an extremely useful skill when working with electronics. And its not really very hard once you get started. It is important to think of soldering as a challenge of its own and to develop a reasonable level of skill before starting to use it in your projects. You wouldn't put a child into his or her first baseball game without first teaching the individual skills of batting, catching and learning the rules of the game. Don't try to learn soldering by attaching an expensive component to a critical circuit! Practice with wire scraps and inexpensive kits until you have the skill and confidence to advance to ""real"" projects.In the next few weeks we will be adding soldering tools and supplies and soldering practice kits to our product line. We have many solderless electronics products, so you can delay learning this skill if you choose. |
The content on this page was updated on 07/26/2006