Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome
&quot;Syndrome&quot;, &quot;guilt&quot;, &quot;fear&quot;, &quot;failed&quot;, &quot;worse&quot;.<p>It&#x27;s a hobby. There&#x27;s no wrong way to do it. Have a budget and do what makes you happy. If that&#x27;s accumulating gadgets, accumulate with joy. It&#x27;s not an illness.<p>Another reason for what the article calls Gear Acquisition Syndrome, if not for Gear Fabrication Syndrome, is the nature of the learning curve for some things. For example, I&#x27;m learning electronics, slowly. Slowly because I have children and a stressful full-time job. A while ago I bought an oscilloscope. I don&#x27;t really need an oscilloscope and it&#x27;s possible I never will. I&#x27;m just hooking up 555 timers and trying to get my head round the mysteries of inductance at this stage. The machine is occasionally marginally useful, but mostly I get it out for the sake of fiddling with it.<p>Does this mean I just bought it for the thrill of owning it? I certainly felt that thrill when it arrived, but I bought it to learn how to use it, as part of the larger project of &quot;learning electronics&quot;. My slow progress means it may be a long time before I&#x27;m doing things that really require it, but if and when that time comes I&#x27;ll be ready, with the device and the knowledge to use it correctly (and not blow it up! [1]). I don&#x27;t know how far I&#x27;ll get in learning and applying this stuff, but learning the tools is a major part of it, and rewarding in itself.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;xaELqAo4kkQ?feature=shared" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;xaELqAo4kkQ?feature=shared</a>