My friend Jon Oxer (Freetronics) contributed to a short film by Karl Moller (State of Electronics) about how different people (including well knowns such as Dick Smith) first became interested in electronics. Beautifully done, it’s a worthwhile watch.

Jon also writes about his first electronics experience:

When I was in primary school, we all went on a visit to a local community radio station somewhere around Northcote. They let each of us speak on the radio for a moment, which was very exciting for a little kid!

However, the really significant thing was that one of the staff found out I was interested in electronics so he drew the circuit diagram of a crystal receiver on a scrap of paper for me to take home with me. I later scrounged up the various parts required to assemble it, and spent hours listening to stations such as 3RPH.

It blew my mind that something as simple as a crystal set could receive radio signals without even needing a battery, so it would just sit there playing the sound 24/7 and never go flat. It was like having magical powers to cast a spell on an inanimate object and make it do something interesting.