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.
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Here is a humorous "kwiz" that appeared in the June 1970 issue of
Popular Electronics magazine. Your answers to questions
will determine whether you are a truly cool technophile, or you
are just a maniacal misanthrope who happens to know something about
radios and regulations. This would probably have been more aptly
printed two issues earlier as an April Fools' joke.
Other Carl Kohler masterpieces: "The
Great Electron-Pedantic Project," "Dig That Reel Flat Response,"
"I Married
a Superheterodyne," "Unpopular Electronics,"
"Operation Chaos,"
"Thin Air, My Foot,"
"High Tide in the
Tweeter," "The
R/C Cloud," "Hi-Fi Guest List,"
"Kool-Keeping Kwiz
," "Boner Box," and "McWatts."
Kool-Keeping Kwiz
By
Carl Kohler
How well do you cope with life's bruises and abrasions?
It's a philosophical fact that into every existence a little
pain must crawl. The question is, "How well do you withstand the
pain?" To find out, take the following pseudological test, consisting
of several theoretical Life Situations no electronics enthusiast
is likely to encounter. The test does not purport to increase your
self-knowledge, but it may add to your confusion. A dubious scoring
system, found at the conclusion of the test, is based on whichever
of the multiple-choice reactions you instinctively and neurotically
selected. No cheating now-and good luck!
Supermouth
* While attending a social gathering, You hear a loud-mouthed
type bragging that his CB antenna has broken the height regulations
for years, and you realize that he is unaware that another guest
is the FCC Field Engineer. What would you do?
A. Whisper a warning.
B. Feel embarrassed for him.
C. Belch nervously.
D. Listen carefully as he prattles on.
E. Ask the lout to repeat his brag to
the FCC employee.
Hurry-I'm Double Parked
*A neighbor with more gall than most borrows you constant-current
ohmmeter. Within an hour he brings it back, asking you to repair
it so he can get on with his testing. What would you do?
A. Graciously comply with his request.
B. Coldly refuse.
C. Feel stunned.
D. Talk real dirty.
E. Brandish a soldering iron at him.
It Is Nobler to Receive
*Quite accidentally you learn that your wife is planning to give
you a costly set of living room furniture and drapes for a wedding
anniversary present. What would you do?
A. Feel pleased.
B. Try to talk her out of it.
C. Give her a bound file of Popular Electronics
project schematics.
D. Surprise her with a collection of every
other Heathkit item on the market.
E. Sulk.
I've Gathered You Here
*Having generously agreed to share your vast knowledge of solid-state
theory with an electronics club, your lecture is off to an impressive
start when your mind goes blank on the whole subject. What would
you do?
A. Admit you can't remember a thing.
B. Ask for help in getting restarted.
C. Smoothly divert their interest to a faked-out
history of electronics.
D. Sing and dance.
E. Sprint for the nearest exit.
I Gave at the Office
*Having worked long and hard to build your own specially modified
Universal Frequency Counter, you find your wife has given it to
a shut-in to take apart for the therapeutic fun of having something
to do. What would you do?
A. Consult your attorney about institutionalizing
her.
B. Report her to the Westinghouse people.
C. Stamp your foot.
D. Offer the shut-in some tools.
E. Proceed with the next project - from the
safety of another country.
Part 95 Violation
* You're a bachelor and you've finally succeeded in becoming
chummy enough with the curvy little blonde who moved into the next-door
apartment to be invited over for a friendly drink. Once there, you
discover that the delectable creature is blithely operating a CB
rig with a 250-waft linear. What would you do?
A. Reprimand her sternly.
B. Report her to the FCC.
C. Decide to meet another girl.
D. Drink your drink and say nothing.
E. Teach her how to work skip on channels 24A
and 24B.
But I Learned That in School
*By sheer accident your cable TV has gone berserk and channel
13 is showing "educational" stag films. What would you do?
A. Tune to another channel.
B. Have the cable TV send a repairman.
C. Keep the information to yourself.
D. Call the neighbors in for a party.
E. Write a protesting letter to FCC Commissioner
Johnson.
Wanted: One Anechoic Chamber
*After laboring diligently for weeks you've scratch-built a magnificent
hi-fi stereo system with speakers and a beautiful cabinet of your
own design. Just as you're ready to try it out, your mother-in-law,
who is visiting you and your wife, becomes ill, and the doctor prescribes
quietude - bordering on complete silence - for her recovery. What
would you do?
A. Wait with clenched teeth.
B. Have the doctor's credentials checked out.
C. Go on an aspirin diet.
D. Buy her a matched set of earplugs.
E. Write a complaining letter to "Dear
Abbey".
You'll Never Get It off the Ground
*A slight acquaintance lets you talk him into installing your
multi-proportional R/C system in his newly built, highly expensive
model airplane - and it crashes into splinters. What would you do?
A. Offer to replace the airplane.
B. Buy him a cup of consolation coffee.
C. Deride his flight dexterity.
D. Yawn.
E. Bill him for your ruined system.
Of Course They Could
* While casually tuning your short-wave receiver, you overhear
two stations discussing a plot to kidnap the Statue of Liberty and
hold it for ransom, What would you do?
A. Call President Nixon direct.
B. Mail an anonymous letter to the FBI.
C. Jam their radio frequency.
D. Fly United to Bedloe's Island to see
it happen.
E. Offer to sell a statue of Sophia Loren to
the Government as a replacement.
Quizzes from vintage electronics magazines such as Popular
Electronics, Electronics-World, QST, and Radio News were published
over the years - some really simple and others not so simple. Robert P. Balin
created most of the quizzes for Popular Electronics. This is a listing
of all I have posted thus far.
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-
Elementary
Radio Quiz - December 1947 Radio-Craft
- Hi-Fi
Quiz - October 1955 Radio & Television News
- Electronics Physics
Quiz - March 1974 Popular Electronics
- A Baffling Quiz
- January 1968 Popular Electronics
- Electronics IQ
Quiz - May 1967 Popular Electronics
- Plug and Jack
Quiz - December 1967 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Switching Quiz - October 1967 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Angle Quiz - September 1967 Popular Electronics
- International
Electronics Quiz - July 1967 Popular Electronics
- FM Radio
Quiz - April 1950 Radio & Television News
- Bridge Circuit
Quiz -December 1966 Popular Electronics
- Diode Function
Quiz - August 1965 Popular Electronics
- Diagram Quiz,
August 1966 Popular Electronics
- Quist Quiz - November
1953 QST
- TV Trouble Quiz,
July 1966 Popular Electronics
- Electronics History Quiz,
December 1965 Popular Electronics
- Scope-Trace Quiz,
March 1965 Popular Electronics
-
Electronic
Circuit Analogy Quiz, April 1973
-
Test Your Knowledge of Semiconductors, August 1972 Popular Electronics
- Ganged Switching
Quiz, April 1972 Popular Electronics
- Lamp Brightness
Quiz, January 1969 Popular Electronics
- Lissajous Pattern Quiz, September 1963 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Quizoo, October 1962 Popular Electronics
- Electronic Photo Album Quiz, March 1963 Popular Electronics
- Electronic Alphabet Quiz, May 1963 Popular Electronics
- Quiz: Resistive?
Inductive? or Capacitive?, October 1960 Popular Electronics
- Vector-Circuit Matching Quiz, June 1970 Popular Electronics
- Inductance
Quiz, September 1961 Popular Electronics
- RC Circuit Quiz,
June 1963 Popular Electronics
- Diode Quiz, July
1961 Popular Electronics
- Electronic Curves Quiz, February 1963 Popular Electronics
- Electronic Numbers Quiz, December 1962 Popular Electronics
- Energy Conversion Quiz, April 1963 Popular Electronics
- Coil Function
Quiz, June 1962 Popular Electronics
-
Co-Inventors Quiz - January 1965 Electronics World
-
"-Tron" Teasers Quiz - October 1963 Electronics World
- Polarity Quiz
- March 1968 Popular Electronics
-
Television
I.Q. Quiz - October 1948 Radio & Television News
- Amplifier Quiz
Part I - February 1964 Popular Electronics
- Semiconductor
Quiz - February 1967 Popular Electronics
- Unknown
Frequency Quiz - September 1965 Popular Electronics
- Electronics
Metals Quiz - October 1964 Popular Electronics
- Electronics
Measurement Quiz - August 1967 Popular Electronics
- Meter-Reading
Quiz, June 1966 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Geometry Quiz, January 1965 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Factor Quiz, November 1966 Popular Electronics
- Electronics
Math Quiz, November 1965 Popular Electronics
- Series Circuit
Quiz, May 1966 Popular Electronics
- Electrochemistry
Quiz, March 1966 Popular Electronics
- Biz
Quiz: Test Your Sales Ability - April 1947 Radio News
- Electronic
Analogy Quiz, November 1961 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Coupling Quiz, August 1973 Popular Electronics
- Electronics Analogy Quiz, August 1960 Popular Electronics
- Audio Quiz, April
1955 Popular Electronics
- Electronic Unit
Quiz, May 1962 Popular Electronics
- Capacitor
Circuit Quiz, June 1968 Popular Electronics
- Quiz on AC Circuit Theory, December 1970 Popular Electronics
- Magnetic Phenomena Quiz, February 1962 Popular Electronics
- Electronics Geography Quiz, April 1970 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Menu Quiz, August 1963 Popular Electronics
- Electronic Noise Quiz, August 1962 Popular Electronics
- Electronic Current Quiz, October 1963 Popular Electronics
- Electronic Inventors Quiz, November 1963 Popular Electronics
- Resistor Function
Quiz, January 1962 Popular Electronics
- Electronic Measurement Quiz, January 1963 Popular Electronics
- Vacuum Tube Quiz,
February 1961 Popular Electronics
- Kool-Keeping Kwiz, June
1970 Popular Electronics
- Find the Brightest
Bulb Quiz, April 1960 Popular Electronics
-
Where Do the Scientists Belong? - Feb 19, 1949 Saturday Evening
Post
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Check Your Score Here
All righty, now that you've checked the various reactions to
these dismal Life Situations, it's analysis time. If you have mostly
A reactions, it could indicate that you are Mr. Straight Arrow.
Mostly B reactions might mean that you're a flexible individual.
Mostly C reactions clearly indicate a warm, human will to survive.
Mostly D reactions show that you tend to have an enviable Kool indeed.
If you have mostly E reactions, it's a sad hint that you are an
accomplished loser. Of course, if you actually bothered to check
any choices at all, you're putting us on more than we did you with
this screwy thing.
Posted April 8, 2014
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