Ask HN: 80s electronics book club; anyone remember this illustrator?

In the early 80's in the US, a popular DIY electronics magazine had a book of the month club that I loved. Most were small and leather bound hardback with topics like: make your own hydrophone; augmented reality (required a full room and a boom arm, sadly); an LCD model rocket launcher ignition; computer vision; lots and lots of robots.

One book I remember (large, softcover, yellow cover) featured black and white, pen and ink illustrations of fantastically complex robots and machines. One that I remember was a water-based machine with video camera eye mounted on a tripod of pontoons. Wow, these illustrations filled my dreams.

Does anyone remember this? Do you remember the name of the illustrator? Anything at all?

29 points | by codpiece 3 days ago

9 comments

  • codpiece 15 hours ago
    HERE IT IS! HERE IT IS! https://www.atariarchives.org/basicgames/showpage.php?page=1...

    THANK YOU so much for your help! I remember typing this stuff out on my TRS-80, the one that Dad totally could not afford but he took a chance on a future trend and an excited, troubled young boy. I know that this sounds silly, but I have tears in my eyes now. Thank you.

    And, thank you for providing so many interesting paths to explore as well. You are the best, and I sincerely appreciate your help.

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  • reneberlin 3 days ago
    I tried for you with google gemini:

    I'm continuing to focus on visually confirming the specific illustration of the water-based machine with a video camera eye on a tripod of pontoons. My previous research has strongly pointed to

    Edward L. Safford Jr.'s robotics books, 'The Complete Handbook of Robotics' (1978) and 'Handbook of Advanced Robotics' (1982), both published by TAB Books, as the most likely candidates for the remembered book. The descriptions of these books align well with the user's memory of complex, pen-and-ink robot illustrations.

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    • codpiece 3 days ago
      TAB books does seem to be the publisher of the book of the month series, thank you for that!
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    • ugh123 18 hours ago
      Seems to be downvoted for using AI, but ironically (or expectedly?) OP has confirmed knowledge gained from it
    • aaron695 15 hours ago
      [dead]
  • reneberlin 3 days ago
    Maybe you remember the cover, too? Is it one of these?

    https://imgs.search.brave.com/KLbQPx02Oqq9Fgsg-AzyhQo_Y_FVRA...

    https://imgs.search.brave.com/ZNxGI_CJ_3QOkgR3dV2MGjIS8OQyE_...

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    • bitpush 17 hours ago
      [offtopic]

      TIL that brave rehosts images from the internet onto brave.com, and crucially serve them universally. That cant be .. legal. If I have an image on my website, that cannot be "redistributed" without permission.

      https://search.brave.com/images?q=apple%20macbook%20pro

    • codpiece 3 days ago
      Sadly, no, but these look like pretty interesting reads! Its around that time period though. I think the book had an illustration of a robot/machine. They were very much non-humanoid, more like piles of mechanical and electronics shaped for a purpose. Cartoony, but cool.
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  • ofrzeta 10 hours ago
    I got the info on the illustrator from the other comments here, but he even has a homepage http://www.bekerbots.com
  • slackpad 3 days ago
    Forrest Mims did a bunch of interesting hand drawings like that back then but I don’t recall the specific book or image you are thinking of. I’m curious to see if you find it - it sounds up my alley too.
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  • miner1829 18 hours ago
    I don't remember the leather bound books, but popular electronics had a book club: https://archive.org/details/197911PopularElectronics/page/7/...
  • reneberlin 3 days ago
    ... and:

    I've identified several prominent DIY electronics magazines from the early 1980s in the US. The most promising candidates, based on the user's description, are 'Popular Electronics' and 'Byte'. 'Popular Electronics' was a highly circulated magazine that even inspired the founding of Microsoft, and it transitioned into 'Computers & Electronics' in 1982. 'Byte' was a leading computer magazine that often featured electronics content and was known for its distinctive cover art by Robert Tinney. Other magazines like 'Radio Electronics Magazine', 'Nuts and Volts', 'Elektor Electronics Magazine', 'Practical Electronics', 'Circuit Cellar', 'Silicon Chip Magazine', and 'Hobby Electronics' were also noted, but 'Popular Electronics' and 'Byte' seem to be the strongest fits for the US context and time frame.

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    • codpiece 3 days ago
      I loved Byte magazine! Oh, that was the best. It was likely Popular Electronics where I found the Book of the Month club, but Hobby Electronics is a good path I'll investigate, thank you!
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      • timthorn 3 days ago
        I bought a 3 year subscription to Byte with my first paycheque. The magazine ceased publication within a couple of months :(
  • bitwize 18 hours ago
    Sounds like BASIC Computer Games by David Ahl.

    Link to book's contents (Ahl released his works into the public domain): https://www.atariarchives.org/basicgames/

    Artwork example: https://www.atariarchives.org/basicgames/showpage.php?page=8...

    (Was this your pontoon bot? I think those are supposed to be ice skates...)

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  • tiahura 19 hours ago
    https://www.amazon.com/Build-phaser-working-space-age-projec...