Lost generation?

[Paddy]

Quite. I used to do electronics as a hobby, repaired things and even made my own add ons for ZX81s, Spectrums, QLs that worked at about 1.2mhz but near impossible to repair or modify later stuff, apart from just replacing boards. One issue is tiny size of the boards and the other is far higher frequency which makes layout critical.

I am not a wizard with electronics but I have replaced a screen on a smart phone.
Replaced an on/off switch for a GSM phone.
Mended broken tracks on various PCBs using thin wire and solder.
Refluxed and mended a PCB in an oven.
Res-soldered numerous LEDs and USB sockets onPCBs.

[BrilloPad]

I am not a wizard with electronics but I have replaced a screen on a smart phone.
Replaced an on/off switch for a GSM phone.
Mended broken tracks on various PCBs using thin wire and solder.
Refluxed and mended a PCB in an oven.
Res-soldered numerous LEDs and USB sockets onPCBs.

I take my punctures to Halfords....

[TestMangler]

I read that yesterday and partly agree, however there is a world of difference between fixing an old valve radio and an iphone. You can't even get the back off the damned iphone.

The shoebox/magnifying glass projector for your phone sounded like a good wheeze - blue peter should be doing stuff like that. Assuming it's still going.

IPhones are piss easy to take apart, caveated with the fact that I've never done a '6', but have replaced screens on 4's and 5's and iPod touch. (One of the 'benefits' of having a teenage son who breaks phones).

If you can't get it apart, cover it with sticky backed plastic and wrap a tinsel covered coat hanger round it, in the best Blue Peter traditions

[barrydidit]

IPhones are piss easy to take apart, caveated with the fact that I've never done a '6', but have replaced screens on 4's and 5's and iPod touch. (One of the 'benefits' of having a teenage son who breaks phones).

Yeah ok, i'll give you the screens thing, i was more thinking if something hardware related inside the thing failed. Have you mended one that's been down the bog?

[TestMangler]

Yeah ok, i'll give you the screens thing, i was more thinking if something hardware related inside the thing failed. Have you mended one that's been down the bog?

Erm yes, but only by putting it in a bowl of rice :-)

But, point taken, I can't imagine many people would be replacing board components on an iPhone

I'm currently fixing up an old early 90's Korg i3 synth which has a problem that, once they get a bit old and are badly stored, the capacitors on the pre amp board burst, so currently tring to find and replace all the burst ones. That's about as 'micro' as I can go and may need to get 'a man in' to redo some of the soldering cause I solder like an unqualified arc welder

[VectraMan]

Blue Peter is still going strong. Current incumbents Barney Harwood, Lindsey Russell, Radzi Chinyanganya.

There has never been any hint of wrong doing by Peter Purves. Though apparently he and Valerie Singleton did have an affair. As far as I know no presenter has been caught doing anything really wrong. John Leslie's been accused of rape a few times but never prosecuted.

Richard Bacon taking cocaine springs to mind. And there was the
Konnie Huq Snatch Video.

[NickFitz]

well if you are going to create a world where kids are mollycoddled, spoilt little sh!ts who are told from an early age that all they need to do is shout and 'someone' will come and solve their problem why do we think it is a shock to find we have a generation who cannot solve a problem?

doooooomed I tell the

They don't all fit that stereotype though. Earlier this year I was at a tech conference (also at the RI, as it happens) where one of the speakers was Amy Mather, a young girl who has been programming for several years and also designs and builds hardware to work with the Raspberry Pi:

15 year old Amy Mather, a.k.a. MiniGirlGeek, has been making and coding for two years with the guidance and support of the community that she found at Manchester's MadLab and hackspace. Amy was the closing keynote speaker at the world's first Raspberry Jamboree event, speaking alongside Professor Steve Furber and Pete Lomas of the Raspberry Pi foundation. Amy also presented at the inaugural event RSA FutureMaker event at London's Somerset House, where she also ran a workshop introducing attendees to the world of sewable electronics.

Here's her talk:

[original PM]

that is good to hear...

faith in humanity restored etc!

[SpontaneousOrder]

Ah, the good old days when labour was less divided and everyone could do almost everything - and wealth production was massively lower. What a tragedy

[original PM]

Ah, the good old days when labour was less divided and everyone could do almost everything - and wealth production was massively lower. What a tragedy

Yeah I think the problem is we are talking about the generation who would struggle to replace a fuse in a plug (in fact who would actually say what is a fuse) or those that cannot do the basics like cook an omelette - generally a huge swath of people who would probably starve to death if left alone for more then 4 days.