A break from our usual format...

If you ever had one of those "101 Electronic Experiments" sets as a kid, you may very well relate to this episode; we hear how our host, Mark Alan Jay came to know electronics, first around the age of 5 and then into his teens and adult life.

He talks about a few key experiences involving radio - first with a crystal radio set given as a gift which he then built with his father's help, as well as a kit from Dynaco for an FM tuner for his stereo system as well as sound recording technology that changed how he saw the world around him and arguably pointed him toward electronics, audio, and ultimately, engineering. We also hear how his reading appetite led to him to pore over a series of do-it-yourself (DIY) construction projects found in a collection of books purchased by his father.

From crystal radios, to building his own loudspeakers and stereo components to a point where he decided to split his high school days between college preparatory classes in the morning, and studying electronics in the afternoon. He eventually went on to earn his degree in electrical engineering, launching him into a career in signal processing, recording, acoustics, noise, and vibration, and running the acoustics laboratory for a major automotive supply corporation before pursuing his own consultancy business.

One never knows where inspiration may strike, but in this episode he reflects upon those key experiences of building electronic kits, and how those helped to define a career path for him, and why giving kits (of any kind, really) to those with young, impressionable minds can help them flourish.

You can follow Mark's musings and efforts via his llc on instagram ( immersifi_recording_sevices ), as well as Facebook ( immersifi recording services LLC )