I'm new here, but...

[MarkS]

Would it be possible to have a forum dedicated to the electronics aspect of this hobby? I'm a budding electronics hobbyist, and it sure would be nice to be able to ask detailed questions about robotic-related electronics projects. I'm working on a MC68000-based robot controller, more as an educational exercise than anything else, and need help occasionally. There seems to be a real shortage of electronics hobbyists message boards on the net.

Thanks,
Mark

[franklin97355]

What's wrong with asking your questions here?

[MarkS]

Nothing, but electronics is too specific for a general purpose forum. There are just too many aspects to cover and topics will quickly get lost in the other posts. Its better to be able to seperate "How do I make this leg move" from "How do I build this circuit."

[HarryBotter]

Nothing, but electronics is too specific for a general purpose forum. There are just too many aspects to cover and topics will quickly get lost in the other posts. Its better to be able to seperate "How do I make this leg move" from "How do I build this circuit."

Mark, when this forum was first established we had many more categories than at present but we found that some of them had almost no activity. Even now several categories get very little action.

If a subject warrants it's own forum heading because of high activity in the subject we'll be happy to add one.

Why not try a question to test the waters?

[MarkS]

Fair enough.

[MarkS]

Mark, when this forum was first established we had many more categories than at present but we found that some of them had almost no activity. Even now several categories get very little action.

If a subject warrants it's own forum heading because of high activity in the subject we'll be happy to add one.

Why not try a question to test the waters?

I've been on message boards for years, many from the start. One in particular, ReefCentral, went from a very small aquarium board to the largest aquarium message board and one of the largest message boards on the net. However, it took several years. As the robot hobby grows, and as Robot magazine increases its readership, this board will grow. Just expect it to be almost painfully slow for quite awhile, maybe even a few years.

[HarryBotter]

Right on! Membership growth on the forum is strong but participation is dragging a bit. I'm sure one day it will strengthen too.

[MarkS]

Right on! Membership growth on the forum is strong but participation is dragging a bit. I'm sure one day it will strengthen too.

That's why I mentioned a new forum. I was unaware that there were more forums in the past, but forums are cheap. Giving new/current members more options to post in will ultimately drive membership. There is just so many different areas of this hobby, that the few forums available kind of pigeon hole all topics into whats available, even if the forum is not truly suitable. You must expect low forum thread counts, especially when there are several forums covering a broad selection and the board is new. That WILL change with time.

And just so our terminology is in line...

By forum, I mean Q&A, FIRST League, Combat Robots, etc.
By board, I mean www.botmag.com/forum