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

by codpiece on 6/28/2025, 2:46:18 AM with 9 comments
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?

  • by reneberlin on 6/28/2025, 3:43:36 AM

    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_...

  • by slackpad on 6/28/2025, 3:40:19 AM

    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.

  • by reneberlin on 6/28/2025, 3:52:39 AM

    ... 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.

  • by reneberlin on 6/28/2025, 3:39:13 AM

    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.