this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2023
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Some of mine maybe aren't that niche anymore, but:
Retro computing: no one needs more than 640k. Maybe no one needs more than 64k. Those old systems were the last time a single programmer could have control over the entire machine at a low level.
Ham radio: Oftentimes called a dying hobby, but a great foray into electronics in general, and also a pretty nice community (save for a few curmudgeons).
Analog audio: often thought of as a boutique thing, but really isn't. Lots of old equipment ready to be restored that can give you really unique auditory experiences.
Plastic modeling: especially if you start from a kit but add things to it, or if you build from scratch, or hell, even if you just build a kit as intended, there is a huge amount of personal expression and creativity.
I really want to get into HAM radio. Is it something thatcan be done on a budget? Do you have any resources for a interested beginner?
Yes it can be done on a budget, although the more you get into it, the more alluring the expensive stuff is.
Even without a license, you can get started with some listening only stuff. For me, I picked up an rtl-sdr off Amazon for pretty cheap and started listening to NOAA weather satellites.
Before you start transmitting, you'll need to get your license. Hamstudy.org is a great place to start practicing for the exam.
Study for your tech license with https://ham.study/ and learn how to use a baofeng uv5r/gt5r handheld. That's how I started on a budget. Don't overspend on the baofengs on amazon. They should realistically be around $25 not $60 and they are all almost the same.
Definitely can be done on a budget. As others mentioned, you do need a license, but study materials are free. The Technician license is the most basic.
Generally there will be an amateur radio club around most areas -- I'd do a search for your area. If there is one near you, and especially if they hold physical meetings, just get involved!
An SDR (software defined radio) is likely the cheapest way that you can start listening (not transmitting), and that can be helpful to hear how people communicate. Again, do a search and see if there are radio nets local to your area. The most basic antenna is a long strand of wire!
And finally, just a heads up: ham, not HAM. Contrary to popular belief, it isn't an acronym for anything.
I'll always have a place in my heart for my first computer, the TI-99/4A. (If you really need more than 4k, you can get the 32k expansion!) I eventually progressed to writing programs in 9900 assembly and even sold a few, it was fun.
I got one a few years back. Such a unique machine! The CPU is 16-bit iirc, but the rest of the system is set up as 8-bit. And some kind of strange scheme with shared RAM that makes the whole thing ultimately very slow.
I never got too far into it since I didn't have a disk drive for it. I hear there are kits available now, since the originals are somewhat expensive.
Yes! They were originally going to use an 8-bit CPU but had to change the design for some reason. It had 64k of addressable memory space, some of which was mapped to I/O and video and whatnot, I'd guess the memory scheme you're talking about is how it took two clock cycles to read or write a 16-bit data byte on the CPU.