Maker Spotlight: Wayne Yoshida

Name: Wayne Yoshida
Home: Orange County, CA
Makerspace: San Bernardino Microwave Society (SBMS)
Day Job: Technical writer at Agility Fuel Solutions, a leading supplier and manufacturer of natural gas fuel systems for heavy duty vehicles: http://www.agilityfuelsolutions.com/

 

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How’d you get started making?

When I was a little kid, I remember spending a lot of time behind the TV set, looking at the glowing glass tubes through the ventilation holes and hearing the high pitched whine and enjoying the warmth and the smell coming from the TV. When I was about 9 or 10 years old, I subscribed to Popular Electronics. Throughout elementary and high school, I tinkered with electrical and electronic things in electric shop. I quickly became bored with making “blinking light projects” and decided I needed to find more interesting projects – and started making ham radio gadgets.

What type of maker would you classify yourself as?

I am an electrical, electronics, radio and mechanical builder, with furniture making thrown in. My current “big project” is building a racing car (a Factory Five Racing Type 65 Coupe) from the ground up.

What’s your favorite thing you’ve made?

My 10 GHz transverter (transmitter-receiver) system. I used it to break a North American distance record for making a two-way ham radio contact on the 10 GHz microwave ham band.

What’s something you’d like to make next?

I am building a pair of low power transmitter-receivers for the ham radio “low bands” – getting back to my ham radio roots of making contacts on Morse Code.

Any advice for people reading this?

Our Maker Faire mission statement is about ham radio, and how it is much more than an “old man’s hobby.” Some of us – Makers – do much more building and experimenting with advanced and modern wireless technology.

 

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