McWatts Comic Strip
December 1956 Popular Electronics

December 1956 Popular Electronics

December 1956 Popular Electronics Cover - RF CafeTable 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.

s from Popular Electronics.

McWatts was an electronics-themed comic that appeared in Popular Electronics magazine back in the 1950s. Artist Carl Kohler's main character is a stereotypical "Joe Sixpack" type of electronics hobbyist who dreams up unique ways to deal with situations. This edition shows McWatts in a scenario where, presciently enough, he experiences having his radio controlled airplane treated to what modern day "drone" pilots are experiencing on a more and more frequent basis - being shot down. In this case the hostile fire came from some kids with slingshots. Fast-forward to 2015 and we are now seeing reports of people using shotguns and rifles to down the privacy-invading craft being piloted by unqualified pranksters. Back in the McWatts era, getting "shot down" was much more likely to occur when non-protected frequency usage (27 MHz band intermixed with the CB radio band) caused death-inducing interference that resulted in loss of control. Nearly all modern systems use bullet-proof spread spectrum modulation in the 2.4 GHz ISM band.

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." Also, be sure to read "Carl Kohler's Life & Times per Son, Christoverre."

McWatts Comic Strip

McWatts comic from the December 1956 Popular Electronics - RF CafeBy Carl Kohler

 

 

 

 

Posted February 10, 2022
(updated from original post on 3/30/2015)


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