Looking for possibly funny, Vintage Databook, from 1990s - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2022, 06:47:18 pm
content: Feel free to post about other possibly funny/notable databooks, from the past, if you want, in this thread. I would probably enjoy them myself (e.g. A long time ago, there was the Signetics Write Only Memory (Joke) Device, datasheet, floating around the internet, which was published in a databook, but was NOT a real device).The following details are from memory, as I can't remember the manufacturer or databook name, and any/all of the details could be mis-remembered and are vague recollections as well. So don't worry if what you think might be it, is even wildly different to what I state, below.Dated around 1990..1995 (approximate year, probably no later than 2000 but could be a fair bit older).Standard databook sized, not especially thick, maybe an inch thick, and not larger than average.Probably had small/medium sized discrete, rather specialist semiconductor devices in it. Such as specialist diodes/transistors and similar. Not sure if it had any ICs in it or not. if it did, they would have been very low transistor count devices, such as specialist amplifiers.NOT a common, large or well known make. Such as TI, Motorola, and even many of the smaller, less well known ones. It was sort of tiny in comparison, a sort of rather small Silicon Valley Company, and probably recent start up, of that time era, as well.(My memory is especially vague/weak now, for this paragraph) The Main Owner(s) were hell bent on using extreme humor, in creating their databook, in a very funny way. To help it stand out and be really humorous (or I've got completely the wrong end of the stick, and although I found it really funny, it wasn't meant to be. Hopefully the humor was intentional). Possibly as a unique selling point, to make their databook and hence devices, stand out from the crowd and sell, sell sell!To be clear, it was a REAL paper databook, not a joke one, which offered for sale, real components.Each small section, about each device. Perhaps 3 to 12 pages per device. Was a detailed datasheet (in book format), reasonably professionally done, until it got to the test (fixtures) section. They then (literally), showed very high resolution, black and white photographs of the test fixtures, with the device under test (DUT), in the middle. The hilarious bit (for me), was typically each test fixture picture was a complete and utter mess. In a crazy way. As if you got someone who knows nothing about electronics, walking past the building, to make it, and gave them a blow torch and a solid bar of lead solder to make it. Each was an embarrassing mess, with solder joints which looked like rocks, and things just bent in lazy/quick ways, but it looked terrible (really funny though).I think it had matching, totally hilarious descriptions of how the test fixture, tests were performed. Such as describing how the 25 deg c (room temperature) transistors case temperature maximum dissipation tests, maintained while the transistor dissipates, perhaps 125 Watts, were done with copper tubes (shown), while bubbling liquid Nitrogen on the other end of the tube. Blowing up countless transistors, until the experimental test fixture, finally managed to give the (datasheet needed) results, with a long enough surviving transistor, while keeping the temperature at 25 deg C, during the measurement part of the experiment.Even if it wasn't supposed to be humor (if so, my mistake, and distant memory issues, plus limited time to read databook, as it wasn't mine and I don't have it). Also, it was amazingly educational, as to how the actual datasheet tests (and test fixtures) are performed.But sadly, I can't remember its (company) name. I think it was definitely US of A, and quite likely a Silicon Valley startup and/or rather small company, at that time.Stating the obvious. If someone can supply a possible name, I can attempt to seek out a PDF version of the databook (google/internet) and/or consider getting one on ebay (or similar, by long term email me when search item found), possibly. Hopefully you can see from my detailed description, I can't see how I could readily google for such an item.If I never find it, that's fine with me. Anyway, this thread may turn up equivalent gems from the past.N.B. I only need the name of the databook (I.e. Especially the Manufacturer), please don't worry about scanning anything in or sending me anything. I can always seek it out myself. I suspect it was fun at the time I read it, but potentially wouldn't be so funny today. But it is worth a try, as I sometimes wonder about the book, and wish I'd noted or remembered what it was called.