From The Editor's Desk

The high level of technology now associated with consumer electronics products has forged a new breed of home entertainment electronics technician almost overnight. In addition to being young, aggressive, and ambitious, this new breed of technician has been "brought up," as it were, in the fast moving world of modern electronics. He is equally "at home" working on digital or analog circuitry, he understands basic microprocessor theory and he is willing to learn more about the ever changing electronics world which surrounds him.

Those who hesitate to follow in his footsteps will find their days are numbered indeed.

To those in the latter group, I believe this issue of ET/D may be particularly significant. For one thing, it carries the seventh, and final installment of Joe Carr's excellent series on digital electronics basics. It is the second such series he has done for ET/D. If you haven't yet "picked up" on earlier installments you may do so by obtaining back copies beginning with the May issue.

Beyond this, the November issue offers the first installment of another series, I believe a tremendously significant series, on the microprocessor. Written by Bernard Daien, it may well be the last chance, for those who have hesitated in learning about the new technologies, to "jump in" and start swimming.

While we will run other more advanced stories about microprocessor-controlled products concurrently with this series, the latter is specifically designed for the novice in this area who has no prior experience-even insofar as the terminology is concerned. In effect, this series will take you from "day one," up to the present and then point you toward the proper resource material to continue your education.

And in case you haven't noticed it, continuing education has indeed become the name of the game in modern electronics.

In this issue also you will find an article dealing with the reception and demodulation of television signals from satellites in space. For several years now the major networks, as well as others, have used these devices for the intercontinental transmission of television programming. Now, however, there is a new wrinkle in that economically feasible earth receiving stations are within reach of the individual. While they aren't cheap by any means, there are "home receive" stations in existence today in the United States. Their owners enjoy the convenience of program selection beyond anything offered to date by anyone else.

Is this a wave of the future? Who knows? The point is it could be and in this regard ET/D feels a responsibility toward keeping you informed as to just what is going on in the area of satellite transmission and reception.

(source: Electronic Technician/Dealer, Nov. 1979)