Update from Rich Marvin, the Hobo Guy

Editor,

It was nice to meet so many new people at the SAS meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. Hats off to the SAS staff and especially to the amateur scientists who ventured from near and far to Providence.

The people we met were dedicated professionals from all walks of life held together by the common bond of sharing and pursuing scientific investigations.

Our presentation was between Sheryl McCollum's (Teaching Science Through Mock Crime Scenes) and Garry Mahon's (A Multivariate Analysis of Human Promoter Sequences), just to give you an example of the diversity of this group.

Educating and spreading the excitement of science to young people is a key focus of this group, as evidenced by their Labrats program for students that could be on the verge of an amazing funding opportunity. The group seemed to genuinely enjoy our presentation and our HOBO products, including the new Pendant G data logger. The biggest response was for the ease of use of the HOBOware software and the practical applications of HOBOs demonstrated by Forrest M. Mims III.

The biggest hits for us were the HOBO enthusiasm from this group as we begin to penetrate the home consumer markets and the CD we got in the lobby for $20. This CD has every science experiment ever published in Scientific American's "The Amateur Scientist" column since its beginning in 1928. What a gem!

The Winners of our free HOBO data logger systems were Greg Crawford, Ronald Leemhuis and Dave Culp. Congratulations to all of you.

Dr. Sheldon Greaves turned in a unique lab in the first week and won his HOBO with his "Climb up a Tree and Act like a Nut, Squirrel Monitoring Lab," nice work Sheldon!

Onset sends special thanks and acknowledgement to Forrest M Mims III and Shawn Carlson. We met Shawn at an NSTA Conference in Anaheim last spring thanks to Forrest. He invited us to come present at this conference which we happily accepted. Thanks also to Sheldon Greaves for all that he did to help support us and the "unsung hero thank you" to Shawn's brother Brent who greeted us, made us feel welcome, held down the lobby post, kept the kids quiet and tipped us off to the value of the $20 CD. We should all have a brother like that.

Rich Marvin, HoboDepot, Onset Computer Corporation

Some Thoughts About Amateur Science Books and Resources

Editor,

... These are simply a few thoughts and suggestions. As I look over this note, I had not intended it to become such a long missive, but...

1) I recently looked at my copy of the series you wrote on working with surface mount devices (SMDs). I think it is still timely, but if you are going to revisit the subject here are a couple of suggestions:
You need to say something about the smaller components now and ways to deal with them, perhaps describe a few products like "Schmartboards," and include a table that describes all of the various component standards (SOT, MSOT, etc.) because sometimes I order a part and am surprised with the package that it comes in.

2) You are undoubtedly aware of how many people have benefited from the "Engineer's Notebooks" you wrote. Maybe it is time for a new one or two. (Or at the very least, something to make up for the fact that Radio Shack doesn't seem to carry them anymore.) Since it must be a time consuming affair, perhaps you could farm out the chapters and just do the editing.

Also, since these things cost you time and effort I don't think most amateurs would object to some sort of fee for the books or downloads. Much like Dr. Carlson's science fair downloads have a nominal cost associated with them.

Basically, I'm getting a little concerned that some of the things you have produced are starting to get scarce. It's no problem for me (I already have them), but I am concerned about the young people and newcomers. They have no idea where to start and I think that is part of the reason for growing illiteracy of hands-on science and technology at this time in history.

3) In fact, I wonder if a great service SAS could provide would be to generate a series of short booklets on actually "doing" some things and focusing on general principles. (Again, I think it would be more possible if there were some sort of fee for them because that would make it easier to keep expanding the work.) I think for a lot of people, amateur science has become like buying a computer. Everyone is supposed to already know all about a mouse, window operations, etc., but they may not know enough of it. Maybe there is a need for some sort of "amateur science for dummies" resource.
For example, a booklet or short download on:

- building and using sky monitoring instruments
- principles in designing electronics to work with various kinds of sensors (op amp arrangements for sensors that output voltage, charge, frequency, etc.)
- basic chemistry techniques
- synthesizing chemical reagents from more commonly available reagents and chemicals
- getting started with a microscope
- basic electronics
- design of experiments, and data reduction
- analog to digital conversion
- proper record keeping
- how to publish
- pointers on how to write technically
- using the internet for research
- Software for amateur science use
- basic metal working
- use of a telescope
- how to use star charts and planet notes
- graphing
- how to raise micro-organisms
- Basic math for various topics (I know some math and calculus, but I still refer to Radio Shack's old "Math for the Electronics Student" booklet.)
(Like a booklet on math for calculating star positions, basic field statistics including things like multiple regression, etc.)
- etc.

Maybe it could be like the Boy Scout merit badge series. Each booklet gets you started well and then points the reader towards resources of more depth.

I think there are a lot of experienced amateurs who love their subject enough that they would be glad to help with writing such resources. You and your staff could edit and guide the writers. Maybe there could be "how-to" articles by various science fair winners on their projects.

Again, you may not want to have a fee involved, but if there is a small fee, part of it might be used to make some of the time and effort more worthwhile for the writers. Yes, it is probably true that few amateurs are only motivated by a fee. After all, most of us amateur scientists are purely motivated by the love of science. But it may make it easier for them to take time and effort to actually do the writing. It would also make it easier to insist on any needed editing.

Thank-you for your time!

Tim Kraemer

Tim, your thoughtful letter raises many good points . Many others have expressed concerns similar to yours about the absence of readily available electronics books and supplies from local sources like Radio Shack. Most of my Radio Shack books are available online, but they cost much more than when sold by Radio Shack. The web is picking up the slack left by Radio Shack, although it can be time consuming to find a specific circuit or project. Ralph Coppola does this better than anyone in his "Wanderings" column here at TCS. Parts can be quickly ordered by many good web suppliers.

The SAS goals you list are totally on target. Unfortunately, we simply don't have the resources to produce what you have suggested. The Society for Amateur Scientists would be much more effective if a subset of the hundreds of thousands of amateur astronomers, bird watchers, storm chasers, weather observers and so forth would join with us to promote amateur science. These groups have their own magazines, web sites and organizations. What is lacking is the interdisciplinary umbrella that SAS can provide.

Readers who would like to comment on Tim's third point are encouraged to send letters to "Backscatter." Editor.

Horticultural Tips from Glen Hemerick

Editor,

In 1952 I was United Nations FAO Plant Protection Officer in Rome, Italy. Before that I was a student in Plant Pathology at the University of Minnesota. Many foreign students were in my classes; and I was their friend. When I began my job in Rome, my assignment was to publish the "FAO Plant Protection Bulletin." This bulletin reported pests in all countries, methods for their control and regulations for international exchange of plants, bulbs, seeds, etc.

I wrote to my friends and they sent me articles to publish, and they also wrote to other people, who did the same. Today, I controlled two pests: I saw a white butterfly near my cabbage plants while my water hose was flowing. I squirted her, she fell down, and I pinched her.

The weatherman is predicting moisture, so I dug my potatoes, wrapped the vines in newspaper and put them in my garbage can. I did this to prevent potatoes getting infected with late blight and spreading the disease to my tomatoes. All of my tomato plants are coated with dry sulfur dust for additional protection against blight. I have tomatoes growing outdoors in field soil and other tomatoes in pots to bring into the house to avoid blight or frost. I also have tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers in a greenhouse.

There is also a pumpkin vine in the greenhouse that is threatening to smother the other plants. Outdoors in pots that can be brought into house or greenhouse are watermelon in a small pot, onions from seeds and various ornamental and flower plants.

Glen Hemerick

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