Hobnobbing with Harbaugh: Biocells Revisited
September 1964 Popular Electronics

September 1964 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.

"Hobnobbing with Harbaugh" was a regular comic feature in Popular Electronics magazine in the 1960s. Creator Dave Harbaugh chose topics ranging from husband-wife relationships where the husband is a technophile of some sort and the wife either purposely or unknowingly challenges his efforts to participate in his hobby, to contemporary (at the time) subjects such as this month's treatment of biocells. Like solid state electronics back in the day, bioengineering was a mysterious field few understood. It received a great deal of attention by comedians and sci-fi film makers who got a kick out of scaring people over the possibility of an alien contamination (a la "The Andromeda Strain") or some secret government laboratory brewing up a deadly contagion and releasing it upon the world to affect societal domination. Hmmm... sounds a little like the Wuhan Virus scenario, but it didn't quite work out as planned.

Hobnobbing with Harbaugh: Biocells Revisited

by Dave Harbaugh

Hobnobbing with Harbaugh: Biocells Revisited, September 1964 Popular Electronics - RF Cafe

Biocell, space ships will generate electric power - RF Cafe

With the help of the biocell, space ships will generate electric power through the use of their own waste material.

Mutations of common electronic components - RF Cafe

Here are a few mutations of common electronic components after attachment to a biocell.

Biocells become more sophisticated - RF Cafe

As the bacteria in biocells become more sophisticated, they may eventually begin to look like this.

Biocells are hungry little devils - RF Cafe

Biocells are hungry little devils. Here is a flashlight with fuel to run it for a week (20,000 calories).

HOW THE BIOCELL OPERATES

1 Fill left side of container with either sewage or garbage.

2 Feed hydrogen to electrode "A."

3 Hydrogen molecule "M" is unable to stand smell and rushes to oxygen electrode "B."

4 Movement of molecule "M" causes ion exchange paddle wheel "C" to revolve.

"5 Paddle wheel is" gear connected to electric generator "D" and the output wired to oxygen electrode "B."

Note: For best results, fill to level "L."

How biocells operate - RF Cafe

Hobnobbing with Harbaugh: Biocells Revisited

These Technically−Themed Comics Appeared in Vintage Electronics Magazines. I personally scanned and posted every one from copies I own (and even colorized some).

Posted September 23, 2020
(updated from original post on 8/14/2013)

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Kirt Blattenberger,

BSEE - KB3UON

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Hobnobbing with Harbaugh: Biocells RevisitedSeptember 1964 Popular Electronics

Hobnobbing with Harbaugh: Biocells Revisited
September 1964 Popular Electronics