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: "Live Wire
with a Loot Locator," June 1969, "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."
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.
See answers below...
Quizzes from vintage electronics magazines such as Popular
Electronics, Electronics-World, QST,
Radio-Electronics, 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.
- RF Cafe Quiz #71:
Tech Headlines for Week of 3/13/2023
- RF Cafe Quiz #70:
Analog &
RF Filter Basics
- RF Cafe Quiz #69:
RF
Electronics Basics
- RF Cafe Quiz #68:
RF & Analog Company Mergers & Acquisitions in 2017
- RF Cafe Quiz #67:
RF & Microwave Company Name Change History
- RF Cafe Quiz #66:
Spectrum and Network Measurements
- RF Cafe Quiz #65:
Troubleshooting & Repairing Commercial Electrical Equipment
- RF Cafe Quiz #64:
Space-Time Adaptive Processing for Radar
- RF Cafe Quiz #63:
Envelope Tracking Power Amplifiers
- RF Cafe Quiz #62:
Stimson's Introduction to Airborne Radar
- RF Cafe Quiz #61:
Practical Microwave Circuits
- RF Cafe Quiz #60:
Ten Essential Skills for Electrical Engineers
- RF Cafe Quiz #59:
Microwave Circulator Design
- RF Cafe Quiz #58:
Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Electronic Packaging
- RF Cafe Quiz #57:
Frequency-Agile Antennas for Wireless Communications
- RF Cafe Quiz #56:
Tube Testers
and Electron Tube Equipment
- RF Cafe Quiz #55:
Conquer
Radio Frequency
- RF Cafe Quiz #54:
Microwave Mixer Technology and Applications
- RF Cafe Quiz #53:
Chipless RFID Reader Architecture
- RF Cafe Quiz #52:
RF and Microwave Power Amplifiers
- RF Cafe Quiz #51:
Antennas and Site Engineering for Mobile Radio Networks
- RF Cafe Quiz #50:
Microstrip Lines and Slotlines
- RF Cafe Quiz #49:
High-Frequency Integrated Circuits
- RF Cafe Quiz #48:
Introduction to Infrared and Electro-Optical Systems
- RF Cafe Quiz #47:
LCP for Microwave Packages and Modules
- RF Cafe Quiz #46:
RF, Microwave, and Millimeter-Wave Components
- RF Cafe Quiz #45:
Dielectric and Thermal Properties of Materials at Microwave Frequencies
- RF Cafe Quiz #44:
Monopulse Principles and Techniques
- RF Cafe Quiz #43:
Plasma Antennas
- RF Cafe Quiz #42: The Micro-Doppler
Effect in Radar
- RF Cafe Quiz #41: Introduction
to RF Design Using EM Simulators
- RF Cafe Quiz #40: Introduction
to Antenna Analysis Using EM Simulation
- RF Cafe Quiz #39: Emerging
Wireless Technologies and the Future Mobile Internet
- RF Cafe Quiz #38: Klystrons,
Traveling Wave Tubes, Magnetrons, Crossed-Field Amplifiers, and Gyrotrons
- RF Cafe Quiz #37: Component
Reliability for Electronic Systems
- RF Cafe Quiz #36: Advanced
RF MEMS
- RF Cafe Quiz #35: Frequency
Synthesizers: Concept to Product
- RF Cafe Quiz #34: Multi-Gigabit
Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Wireless Communications
- RF Cafe Quiz #33: Battlespace
Technologies: Network-Enabled Information Dominance
- RF Cafe Quiz #32: Modern Communications
Receiver Design and Technology
- RF Cafe Quiz #31: Quantum
Mechanics of Nanostructures
- RF Cafe Quiz #30: OFDMA System
Analysis and Design
- RF Cafe Quiz #29: Cognitive
Radar
- RF Cafe Quiz #28: Human-Centered
Information Fusion
- RF Cafe Quiz #27: Remarkable
Engineers
- RF Cafe Quiz #26: Substrate
Noise Coupling in Analog/RF Circuits
- RF Cafe Quiz #25: Component
Reliability for Electronic Systems
- RF Cafe Quiz #24: Ultra Low
Power Bioelectronics
- RF Cafe Quiz #23: Digital
Communications Basics
- RF Cafe Quiz #22: Remember
the Basics?
- RF Cafe Quiz #21: Wireless
Standards Knowledge
- RF Cafe Quiz #20: Famous First
Names
- RF Cafe Quiz #19: Basic Circuit
Theory
- RF Cafe Quiz #18: Archaic
Scientific Words & Definitions
- RF Cafe Quiz #17: Inventors &
Their Inventions
- RF Cafe Quiz #16: Antennas
- RF Cafe Quiz #15: Numerical
Constants
- RF Cafe Quiz #14: Oscillators
- RF Cafe Quiz #13: General
Knowledge
- RF Cafe Quiz #12: Electronics
Corporations Headquarters
- RF Cafe Quiz #11: Famous Inventors &
Scientists
- RF Cafe Quiz #10: A Sampling
of RF & Wireless Topics
- RF Cafe Quiz #9: A Smorgasbord
of RF Topics
- RF Cafe Quiz #8: Hallmark Decades
in Electronics
- RF Cafe Quiz #7: Radar Fundamentals
- RF Cafe Quiz #6: Wireless Communications
Fundamentals
- RF Cafe Quiz #5: Company Logo
Recognition
- RF Cafe Quiz #4: General RF
Topics
- RF Cafe Quiz #3: General RF/Microwave
Topics
- RF Cafe Quiz #2: General RF
Topics
- RF Cafe Quiz #1: General RF
Knowledge
- Vacuum Tube Quiz,
February 1961 Popular Electronics
- Kool-Keeping Kwiz, June
1970 Popular Electronics
- Find the Brightest
Bulb Quiz, April 1960 Popular Electronics
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Where Do the Scientists Belong? - Feb 19, 1949 Saturday Evening Post
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What's
Your EQ? - January 1962 Radio-Electronics
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What's
Your EQ? - February 1962 Radio-Electronics
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What's
Your EQ? - March 1962 Radio-Electronics
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What's
Your EQ? - July 1961 Radio-Electronics
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What's
Your EQ? - August 1961 Radio-Electronics
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Can You
Name These Strange Electronic Effects? - August 1962 Radio-Electronics
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What's
Your EQ? - September 1961 Radio-Electronics
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What's
Your EQ? - September 1962 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - October 1961 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - November 1961 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - March 1964 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - April 1962 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - May 1962 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - June 1962 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - April 1967 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - March 1967 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - December 1964 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - January 1967 Radio-Electronics
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Wanted: 50,000 Engineers - January 1953 Popular Mechanics
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What's Your EQ? - August 1964 Radio-Electronics
- Voltage Quiz
- December 1961 Popular Electronics
-
What is It? - June 1941 Popular Science
- What Do You Know
About Resistors? - April 1974 Popular Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - September 1963 Radio-Electronics
- Potentiometer Quiz - September
1962 Popular Electronics
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Mathematical Bafflers - March 1965 Mechanix Illustrated
- Op Amp Quiz -
October 1968 Popular Electronics
- Electronic "A"
Quiz - April 1968 Popular Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - May 1961 Radio-Electronics
-
Popular Science Question Bee - February 1939 Popular Science
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What is It? - A Question Bee in Photographs - June 1941 Popular Science
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What's Your EQ? - June 1961 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - June 1964 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - May 1964 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - August 1963 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - May 1963 Radio-Electronics
- Bridge
Function Quiz - September 1969 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - March 1963 Radio-Electronics
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What's Your EQ? - February 1967 Radio-Electronics
-
Circuit Quiz - June 1966 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - June 1966 Radio-Electronics
- Electronics
Mathematics Quiz - June 1969 Popular Electronics
- Brightest
Light Quiz - April 1964 Popular Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - April 1963 Radio-Electronics
- Electronics "B" Quiz
- July 1969 Popular Electronics
- Ohm's Law Quiz
- March 1969 Popular Electronics
-
Antenna Quiz - November 1962 Electronics World
- Color Code Quiz
- November 1967 Popular Electronics
- CapaciQuiz
- August 1961 Popular Electronics
- Transformer
Winding Quiz - December 1964 Popular Electronics
-
Audiophile Quiz - November 1957 Radio-electronics
- Capacitor
Function Quiz - March 1962 Popular Electronics
- Greek Alphabet
Quiz - December 1963 Popular Electronics
- Circuit
Designer's Name Quiz - July 1968 Popular Electronics
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Sawtooth Sticklers Quiz - November 1960 Radio-Electronics
-
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
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Electronic
Circuit Analogy Quiz, April 1973
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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
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Co-Inventors Quiz - January 1965 Electronics World
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"-Tron" Teasers Quiz - October 1963 Electronics World
- Polarity Quiz
- March 1968 Popular Electronics
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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
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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 December 17, 2021 (updated from original post on 4/8/2014)
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