Electronics-Themed Comics
January 1954 Radio-Electronics

January 1954 Radio-Electronics [Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio-Electronics, published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

My favorite of this collection of vintage electronics-themed comics is the one from page 186. Watching someone involuntarily jump from being pranked is great fun, and I'll admit to being easily spooked by such actions. Stop me if I've told this story before, but back in my electrician days in the 1970s (before enlisting in the USAF) we were always trying to make each other jump from thinking something happened to cause a spark or some sort of electrical noise. If you've ever heard the sound a screwdriver makes when accidently bridging the main service bus and ground of a circuit breaker panel, then you know it's not always the loud "buzz" you hear when a small arc is occurring. It sounds like a hammer slammed against the wall (trust me, I know). One of the things we liked to do, especially to the new guy, was while he was installing a switch or receptacle into a wall box was to go on the other side of the wall and bang on it with a hand or pair of lineman's pliers (in a manner that wouldn't harm the wall, of course). The poor sap often would yell and fall backwards for fear that somehow the circuit had been made live and he had shorted something out. We never did anything really dangerous, though. It sure livened up an otherwise boring task. BTW, I've fallen victim to that gag more than once.

Electronics-Themed Comics

Suggested, by Gerald Drew, Sacramento, Calif.
Page 112

Suggested, by Gerald Drew, Sacramento 14, Calif.
Page 171

"Now he's experimenting with painted circuits."
Page 172

Page 175

"I use that one to keep an eye on my tools."
Page 181

"Now?"
Page 186

Posted March 30, 2022