I came very close to doing Electrical Engineering as a degree. Most of my projects involve electronics somewhere. You can do some really cool stuff without spending a lot of money.

My first proper introduction to electronics was a Christmas present when I was eleven. My dad bought me one of these boards with lots of components that you could connect together using wire trapped in spring terminals. There was a book included that had a bunch of projects like water alarm, fastest finger first and a light sensor target game. It was good fun but to be honest I didn’t learn much from it directly despite my dad’s encouragement. But it was an introduction and the basic concepts where seeded.

A few years later, shopping with my mum I spotted the first issue of Real Robots Magazine. Just like any other boy at that age I loved robots (and I still do!). 50p for the first issue, £3.99 after that and there were plenty of issues! This thing wasn’t cheap. I did enjoy building it with my dad and I remember the excitement of new issues arriving (they came in pairs). A couple of years later I picked up a box of unopened magazines and parts for nearly 3 robots for £5 at the Recycling Centre (dump) where they sell stuff. Bargain!

Discovering the PICAXE microcontroller started a new wave of projects for me. It is very cheap and easy to program and there is a helpful community supporting it.