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Familiar Farces - by Carl Kohler
May 1956 Popular
Electronics
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January 1960 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. |
We have all known at least one of these guys in our lives. Truth is, some of us - myself included - might have been considered to be one (or more) of these guys by someone else at some time. Carl Kohler produced these kinds of comic/real-life pieces for Popular Electronics magazine for many years. They usually featured a technohobbyist husband frustrating his mostly-accommodating wife (aka "wife-friend") with wild-haired inventions and projects. I am always open to someone else offering an idea or opinion, so long as it is not delivered in an obnoxious manner. On more than one occasion, a person without even specific technical knowledge will toss out a great idea that had not occurred to me (at the time, anyway), so I graciously acknowledge the input.
Dig That Reel Flat Response!
By Carl Kohler
The world is full of characters whose main joy is derived from "bugging" their fellow beings, and the electronics enthusiast seems to meet more than his share of these types. Cartoonist Kohler presents a brief casebook of the exceptionally outrageous varieties still roaming around loose . . .
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Apologetic destruction on two feet, this clown could be armed with a powder puff, released near any major electronics installation, and make the place a shambles within minutes - to his great astonishment and shame, naturally.
No matter what kind of fascinating difficulties you may be having with a project, this boy can top them with colorful problems he's having that - make your little items, sound childish by comparison. He hasn't actually built anything since 1927, but he has mastered the techniques of "One-Upmanship."
This wretch is a chronic talker. He will only descend upon the peace and quiet of your workbench when you are having a mental tussle with an especially complicated piece of trouble-shooting or when you are trying to solder a particularly tricky connection. Then he will drop by and drive you out of your mind with his rapid-fire stock of banalities. |
Somehow, this joker has gotten the idea that you will be only too relighted to Spend your precious project time repairing his assorted beat-up electrical appliances (gratis, of course) when you would rather be having a ball with your own favorite projects.
The basic trouble with this guy is that he doesn't know an astigmatism control from an L-pad, but he never allows mere ignorance to deter him from giving you advice. Since none of his theories are likely to lead to anything more exciting than a short-circuit, you better lock the work-shack door if you are fortunate enough to see him coming.
Har-de-har-har. When and if you ever see his happy face again, he'll con you out of still more components-which he finds cheaper to "borrow" from you than purchase a+ his local parts store. You might get him off your back by lending him some burned-out tubes. Dirty pool, perhaps -- but effective. |
Other Carl Kohler Masterpieces:Readers of Popular Electronics magazine in the 1950's through 1970's (including me) looked forward to Carl Kohler's many humorous electronics-related stories and illustrations a few times each year. Carl's leading man was one of print media's first DIYers, and his wife suffered his often less than successful escapades in a sporting manner. Christoverre Kohler, Mr. and Mrs. Carl and Sylvia Kohler's son , contacted me to provide some amazing additional information on his parents. Be sure to read Carl Kohler's Life & Times per Son, Christoverre. |
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Copyright: 1996 - 2026 |
About RF Cafe RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived... |
Copyright 1996 - 2026 All trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other rights of ownership to images
and text used on the RF Cafe website are hereby acknowledge My Hobby Website: My Daughter's Website: |
