I'm 38 and been tinkering, repairing and collecting tv's, radio's and record players since i was 6. Unlike other kids that age that managed to take them apart, i was able to get them working and put back together. When other kids were mowing grass or gathering up bottles or cans for spending money, i was fixing stuff for the neighbors instead. I got out of it for awhile in my teens when i started messing with cars and the local shops and parts houses were starting to close down. I rediscovered my passion for electronics in my 20's when the internet came to be and i found that parts were available again and have been back into it ever since. I originally had the goal of owning and operating my own tv shop but the times changed that. I ended up being a mechanic instead. In those early years i read every book about electronics i could get my hands on. Regular books bored me but anything having to do with electronics i was like a sponge and absorbed everything. Christmas and birthday presents were easy for my family as all they needed to look for was either electronic books, tools, or testing eqipment for me to work on stuff with. My first two sets that i remember having was a set of bakelite 16 inch tv's. One Motorola and one Admiral, both made in 1950. Most kids my age bedrooms were loaded with posters and toys, mine looked like a tv repair shop
-Tony