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.
Dave Harbaugh
created a great many electronics-themed comics back in the 1960s for magazines
like Popular Electronics, QST, "73", and others. His
"Hobnobbing with Harbaugh" series usually depicted hobbyists and technicians in
a state of surprise and/or dismay over some event while in the act of pursuing
his passion (electronics, that is, not a woman). Although I have never run
across any evidence of it, I wonder how many of the scenarios are derived from
personal experience. Many do not have captions. I have to admit to being stumped
at what he is trying to convey in the comic where the guy is staring into the
back of the TV while his wife is watching it. Coloring of the panels is my
addition.
Hobnobbing with Harbaugh
Correspondence Schools
Hobnobbing with Harbaugh
"Fred! You passed your electronics correspondence course!
"Then it says, 'Congratulations; you have just assembled your
instructor.'"
These Technically-Themed Comics Appeared in Vintage Electronics Magazines. I
personally scanned and posted every one from copies I own (and even colorized some).
275 pages as of 5/13/2026.
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...
