In the World of the High Tech Redneck, the Graybeard is the old guy who earned his gray by making all the mistakes, and tries to keep the young 'uns from repeating them. Silicon Graybeard is my term for an old hardware engineer; a circuit designer. The focus of this blog is on doing things, from radio to home machine shops and making all kinds of things, along with comments from a retired radio engineer, that run from tech, science or space news to economics; from firearms to world events.
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Tuesday, May 30, 2017
An Oldie But A Goodie
Remember the alluring ads in the back of comic books and magazines? I found this one while going through some cleanup around here.
Definitely seems to be dated to the 70s or early 80s.
It says April 1978. If you could tell me which magazine, I probably have a copy of it around here somewheres. It looks too sophisticated for Popular Science, and I don't think Mechanix Illustrated was still going in 1978 – so I'm going with Popular Mechanics.
I'll go looking through boxes sometime. I have every issue from 1938 through 1985, courtesy of my father's habits. It's a real hoot to haul one down occasionally and see how far we've come (and how far we've fallen, given the quality of the DIY projects in the early ones).
Au contraire, I do believe I remember that one. The ads in the back of those magazines were always good for a laugh. It was known at the time that there are people who will buy anything, and the ads were cheap (I had one in a couple of magazines for selling a computer game – and I actually made back the cost of the ad). Being a physics guy, the "Quantum Mechanic" caught my eye. I think this is the real deal (pretty expensive for 1978, too).
Zip code 51106 is in Sioux City Iowa! Hmm, something's not quite right here...;^). Thanks for posting though. Hope you find and post the ads for the radio surplus house that featured the busty figurine known as "Ample Annie".
You gave me a brain worm. At first I thought Poly Paks, but a quick search for old ads showed it's not them. Then a Surplus place like Surplus Sales of Nebraska. Nope.
For a completely unrelated reason, I had recently downloaded a copy of the June 1976 issue of 73 Magazine. I started looking and quickly found "Amp L'Anny" The company was Tri Tek.
A quick search shows a couple of places by that name, so I can't be sure if it's the same place, still in business. Could be.
I wonder what the shipping costs are on the Cyclotron
ReplyDeleteIt says April 1978. If you could tell me which magazine, I probably have a copy of it around here somewheres. It looks too sophisticated for Popular Science, and I don't think Mechanix Illustrated was still going in 1978 – so I'm going with Popular Mechanics.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was Popular Mechanics.
DeleteI'll go looking through boxes sometime. I have every issue from 1938 through 1985, courtesy of my father's habits. It's a real hoot to haul one down occasionally and see how far we've come (and how far we've fallen, given the quality of the DIY projects in the early ones).
DeleteI never thought it was in PM, just a parody. I'd be rather surprised if it was there.
DeleteAu contraire, I do believe I remember that one. The ads in the back of those magazines were always good for a laugh. It was known at the time that there are people who will buy anything, and the ads were cheap (I had one in a couple of magazines for selling a computer game – and I actually made back the cost of the ad). Being a physics guy, the "Quantum Mechanic" caught my eye. I think this is the real deal (pretty expensive for 1978, too).
DeleteZip code 51106 is in Sioux City Iowa! Hmm, something's not quite right here...;^). Thanks for posting though. Hope you find and post the ads for the radio surplus house that featured the busty figurine known as "Ample Annie".
ReplyDeleteYou gave me a brain worm. At first I thought Poly Paks, but a quick search for old ads showed it's not them. Then a Surplus place like Surplus Sales of Nebraska. Nope.
DeleteFor a completely unrelated reason, I had recently downloaded a copy of the June 1976 issue of 73 Magazine. I started looking and quickly found "Amp L'Anny" The company was Tri Tek.
A quick search shows a couple of places by that name, so I can't be sure if it's the same place, still in business. Could be.
Ummm ... OK, I want to be a quantum mechanic. Do I need to buy metric or inch spanners or both? I don't want to waste my money! >};o)
ReplyDeletePhil B
No need to buy anything! The ad says your tuition includes a molecule wrench.
Delete