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Forrest Mimms Has Done Much More Than Most Engineers Know (hackaday.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the seeing-the-forrest-for-the-trees dept.

szczys writes: If you've been anywhere near the field of electronic design, the name Forrest Mimms (the 3rd) is familiar. He wrote the book on electronics, and is heavily associated with the publications found in every Radio Shack. His entire life has been one prolific science experiment after another, which is why the title of Citizen Scientist fits so perfectly. For example, he invented and has used on a daily basis a device to measure ozone in the atmosphere. It worked so well he discovered and reported a calibration error in NASA's measurements, which are made with satellites.

14 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. Not that Radio Shack, the OTHER Radio Shack... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Radio Shack that the summary is referring to is your granddaddy's Radio Shack, where overpriced electronic parts, kits and tools were available just around the corner. If you had a battery card, you could pick up a free 9-volt battery every month for your transistor radio.

    1. Re:Not that Radio Shack, the OTHER Radio Shack... by p51d007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Last winter, we had need for a replacement electrolytic cap for the driver board on a hall effect motor on a gear drive assembly, since the old one had a bad design. I walked into a RS store (city population around 200,000). I told him I needed a 100uf 25v electrolytic capacitor. The teenage looking (to me) genius looked back at me, like I was talking a different language. "Back in the day" (early 70's), say the same thing in an RS, and they would walk you right to it, probably ask you what you were using it for, discuss circuits, talk about electronics, ham radio (since I am one), SW radio and all sorts of things. Now, the only thing they know are phones, phone cases and the like.

    2. Re:Not that Radio Shack, the OTHER Radio Shack... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Last winter, we had need for a replacement electrolytic cap for the driver board on a hall effect motor on a gear drive assembly, since the old one had a bad design. I walked into a RS store (city population around 200,000). I told him I needed a 100uf 25v electrolytic capacitor. The teenage looking (to me) genius looked back at me, like I was talking a different language.

      Ah, yes. RS's motto - "You have questions, we have blank stares."

    3. Re:Not that Radio Shack, the OTHER Radio Shack... by Dog-Cow · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'd stare too, if a ham radio entered my store and asked me a question.

    4. Re:Not that Radio Shack, the OTHER Radio Shack... by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

      and they would walk you right to it, probably ask you what you were using it for, discuss circuits, talk about electronics, ham radio (since I am one), SW radio and all sorts of things. Now, the only thing they know are phones, phone cases and the like.

      Yep, I used to enjoy talking to the RS employees- they were mostly hobbyists and enthusiasts and they knew stuff. They were into the gear they sold and would happily debate the difference between the NE555 and the LM555CN timer.

      Now I would bet that not one out of a thousand of them knows what Ohm's Law is, or has even heard of it. They can barely tell you the differences between the different shitty phones they sell.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    5. Re:Not that Radio Shack, the OTHER Radio Shack... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I did that for a while as a teenager until my best friend and his friends broke into one of the Radio Shack store. They used a glass cutter to cut the glass out from the frame at ground level without setting off the alarm. Two were skinny enough to crawl through. The third was too fat and used the glass to cut an opening to unlock the front doors. Needless to say, the cops were waiting for them when they came out. Although I had nothing to do with the heist (except die from laughter when I heard the details), I was no longer welcomed at that store.

  2. Re:RadioShack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What's puzzling is they either missed or ignored the rise of the whole maker/hacker space movement that's happening right now. Kids are getting back into building and tinkering with stuff, but RadioShack is DOA. Their whole business model is completely incoherent. They should have dominated this space.

  3. I consider Mims a mentor by srone · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I was introduced to Forrest Mim's books, by browsing through a Radio Shack about 1974. I was into model rocketry and trying to learn basic electronics at the time and found his material very instructive. I consider him a gift to anyone trying to gain insight in electronics, from the level of a hobbyist all the way to a professional.

    --
    "Endeavour to persevere"
    1. Re:I consider Mims a mentor by nbauman · · Score: 2

      I was introduced to Forrest Mim's books, by browsing through a Radio Shack about 1974. I was into model rocketry and trying to learn basic electronics at the time and found his material very instructive. I consider him a gift to anyone trying to gain insight in electronics, from the level of a hobbyist all the way to a professional.

      Me too. My father started out as an airline mechanic in World War II. He used to repair the instruments in the cockpits of supply planes and bombers, and (after the war) commercial airliners. They were like electromechanical cuckoo clocks. I used to play with electromagnets in my playpen.

      They were constantly retraining him in the new technology, but after a while, the integrated circuit boards came in, and the transistors, and he couldn't keep up with the kids who just got out of the Air Force. So (thanks to his union) they gave him an easy job until he retired.

      Also about 1974 I was working for an organization that was developing some 8086 products, and out of curiosity, I wanted to learn more about these new IC chips. I went to Radio Shack, picked up a few of Forrest Mimms' books, bought a breadboard and a few components, and tried some of his projects. The first non-trivial one was a 555 timer circuit. I had it flashing LEDs, and beeping a speaker, with the rate controlled by a variable resistor. That was my first IC circuit. Pretty impressive for those of us who programmed with punch cards and made radios with solder and electron tubes.

      I didn't always get along too well with my father, but this was too much. I took it over to show it to him. I've never seen him look at something with such fascination before. It blew his mind. It was a father/son combination of wanting to one-up him and wanting to give him back what he gave me. It went back to the days when I would watch him at his workbench fixing a toaster or TV. I'll never forget it.

      I've heard musicians say that some of the happiest moments of their lives were playing music. Well, a lot of us could say the same thing about electronics.

      So I consider Forrest Mimms a mentor too. And he gave me something that I could give back to my father. I owe Mimms a debt of gratitude for that. He was one of the greatest science educators this country has ever seen.

      P.S. We won the war.

  4. Re:RadioShack by ThatsDrDangerToYou · · Score: 2

    What's puzzling is they either missed or ignored the rise of the whole maker/hacker space movement that's happening right now. Kids are getting back into building and tinkering with stuff, but RadioShack is DOA. Their whole business model is completely incoherent. They should have dominated this space.

    ^--This. What happened, apparently, is they tried to be everything. You want cellphones? Sure, we've got that. Computers? Sure. Electronics? Well, we'll see what we have left in terms of shelf space... The suits want profits, and don't want to miss out on whatever the next big thing is. I'm sure their electronics hobbyist business generates very small profits compared with, for example, smartphones. I think their business model just played itself out.

  5. Is hero worship common among engineers? by erice · · Score: 2

    As a practicing electrical engineer, I know just six names*:

    Thomas Edison
    Alexander Graham Bell
    Nikola Tesla
    Steve Wozniak
    Jay Miner
    John Mashey

    I don't mean to belittle Forrest Mimms or his contribution. It just never seemed important to know who did things if they were not people I was ever going to interact with.

    *Yes, I'm sure I could expand this if I spent time trying to come up with names and researching who wrote certain books but this is the full list that immediately comes to mind where I know just as immediately what they all did.

  6. It is Mims, not Mimms by Beezlebub33 · · Score: 2

    Seriously, the summary is basically a link to an article, and you still get the name wrong?

    Mims is an odd guy, since he is (historically) important in his promotion of electronics education, but is also a creationist / IDer, which is odd for anyone with a brain.

    --
    The more people I meet, the better I like my dog.
    1. Re:It is Mims, not Mimms by lowen · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Whether or not you believe in young-earth creationism or intelligent design has nothing to do with your aptitude in non-biology sciences and in engineering. I know a number of rather bright electronics and computer folk who are also YE creationists.

  7. His books never worked for me by marcle · · Score: 2

    I've got 4 of his circuit cookbooks. There's precious little explanation of how the circuits work, why particular component values were chosen, etc. If you want to duplicate his circuits, fine, but the books sure don't teach anything about how to design your own. The hand drawn and lettered graphics are cool, but the information content is minimal.