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?
https://imgs.search.brave.com/KLbQPx02Oqq9Fgsg-AzyhQo_Y_FVRA...
https://imgs.search.brave.com/ZNxGI_CJ_3QOkgR3dV2MGjIS8OQyE_...
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.
reneberlin•3h ago
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.