Digi-Key Advertisement
July 1974 Popular Electronics

July 1974 Popular Electronics Table of Contents Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Popular Electronics, published October 1954 - April 1985. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.

Waaaay back in the mid-1980s when I first became aware of Digi-Key, it was one of the relatively few electronics component suppliers that had a large on-hand stock of commonly used parts and provided fast shipping. Places like Newark Electronics and Allied Electronics also provided good service, but Digi-Key usually offered lower prices than the others. By the 1990s, I was placing orders at least weekly during circuit design projects. Digi-Key was founded in 1972 in Thief River Falls, Minnesota - the town that for many years often had the country's lowest recorded daily temperature. This 1/4-page advertisement appeared near the back of a 1974 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. By the mid-1990s, their multipage ads in electronics magazines were proliferating like today's Harbor Freight ads. Here's a bit of trivia I just learned: The company's name is a reference to the "Digi-Keyer Kit," a digital electronic keyer kit that founder Ronald Stordahl developed and marketed to amateur radio enthusiasts.

If you are a Millennial or younger, the reference to a "Reader Service Card" at the bottom might be an enigma. It was a cardboard mail-in insert where you filled in circles next to companies from whom you wanted information mailed to you (which was more often than not ignored). They were sort of the pre-Internet version of a 2-D scan code.

Digi-Key Ad

Quality Electronic Components

Digi-Key Corporation

Miniature Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors

Temp. range: -40°C + 85°C Tolerance -10 + 50% for more thon 4.7 μfd, -10 + 75 for 4.7 ufd or less

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1/2 & 1/4 Watt Carbon Comp. Resistors

5 each of the 85 standard 10% values (2.2-22M) 1/2 W Resistors (425 pcs)

Sorted by value $12/set 2-4 are $11/set 5-9 are $10/set.

5 each of the 70 standard 10% values (10-5.6M) 1/4 W Resistors (350 pcs)

Sorted by value $12/set 2-4 are $11/set 5-9 are $10/set.

Also available are TTL & Linear IC's, Silicon Rectifiers, Molex Pins, LED Readouts & Lamps, Transistors, IC Sockets, Slide Switches, Reed Relays and more!

Send for Free Catalog or Mail Readers Service Card

C.O.D. Orders Accepted for Same Day Shipment

Call 218-681-6674

Orders less Than $10.00 Add 50c - Others Postpaid

Digi-Key

Box 126 Thief River Falls, MN 56701

Posted April 21, 2020