Old Dick Smith Kits: browsing catalogues 1981 - 2001

[vk3yedotcom]

Just uploaded is this look at Dick Smith's range of kits - from 20 years of old catalogues



There are also recent related videos on 20 years of computers & 20 years of amateur radio gear.

Also found is this review of the pictures in Fun Way 1  http://www.confusereviews.com/?p=117  (!)

[AmmoJammo]

2010 Jaycar catalogue! Whats going on there! 

It was good to see a few old kits I'd bought, generally once they were discontinued :p

DSE used to list which stores had stock of their discontinued items on their webpage.

[Zad]

Thanks for that! It is interesting to compare Dick Smith with Maplin Electronics here in the UK. They seem to be selling very similar ranges (but obviously not exactly the same) and Maplin have almost ended up as a consumer electronics store too, although they still sell some components and Velleman kits.

I really wish I had kept my original Maplin catalogues, the covers were more like superb sci-fi ELO album sleeves than electronics catalogues. I wish I had kept the Tandy ones too, but they were nowhere near as good as Maplin:





http://www.pinterest.com/maplinonline/maplin-catalogue-through-the-ages/

[urbis]

The original designs were great.

[mikerj]

Thanks for that! It is interesting to compare Dick Smith with Maplin Electronics here in the UK. They seem to be selling very similar ranges (but obviously not exactly the same) and Maplin have almost ended up as a consumer electronics store too, although they still sell some components and Velleman kits.

I really wish I had kept my original Maplin catalogues, the covers were more like superb sci-fi ELO album sleeves than electronics catalogues. I wish I had kept the Tandy ones too, but they were nowhere near as good as Maplin:

  Not only were the covers great, they also listed all the specifications for the components they sold so it was a very useful reference book.  Sadly they are now just another peddler of poor quality Chinese tat.

[lowimpedance]

I don't remember paying $399 for my Super-80 Z80 computer kit. It was originally the Nova-80 but apparently Tandy used Nova as a brand on a range of headphones so they had to change it. Has anyone still got a Super-80 computer they built? I wish I had kept mine. 

A question for those who may remember. What sort of keyboard was it they sold for the kit? Not Cherry, although I can't be certain?

I do have a super 80 still !! plus the documentation too. Probably still works, but alas all my cassette tape drives have long gone.
Was it 300 baud for loading programs?. Will have to dig it out for some pics this weekend.

[EEVblog]

I had a quick browse through the video, I spotted the EA EPROM programmer, horrible design (not mine), but I sold thousands of copies of the software for that. And my DSOA scope is probably in there somewhere...

[lowimpedance]

If you're not nostalgic about keeping it they have been known to fetch over $200 on EBAY. The one I saw a couple years ago wasn't in good condition. If you used the cheapo Dick Smith supplied socket set then yours might need help too.

I'd like to see the pics if you want to post them.

Does yours have any graphics/display upgrade? I remember having to get a train and two buses to travel clear across Brisbane to buy a graphics upgrade kit.

Here are a few pic's of the Super 80.
I put it together for my brother who bought it. I remember all I had at the time to test it was a logic probe and multimeter  , luckily it worked .
 As for the graphics I cannot recall any upgrades to this unit!.
Cannot tell who made the keyboard assembly (had to assemble it from a kit though)

[lowimpedance]

The manual covers, (Also have more documentation relating to programming in basic and some news letters of a user group!!).
I can also post the schematics if there is interest.

[vk3yedotcom]

Due to a fortuitous recent find (on the street of all places) we can now go back 40 years, to 1974.

That year started with optimism, with colour TV and FM radio just around the corner after the earlier short-lived dalliances with 8-tracks and quadraphonic sound.

However it ended poorly, with reduced tariffs, a strong dollar and a wages break-out sending local electronics manufacturers to the wall.

The 1974 catalogue reviewed here is possibly one of the last ones containing many long-lost Australian component brands.



One of the highlights is Dick Smith selling Jaycar products (as explained this was when heavy use was made of local distributors, before the 'direct import' days).


Post script: 1974's prime minister who presided over this potent, sudden and ultimately disasterous policy mix (lowering tariffs overnight in order to lessen the then
rampant inflation) passed away last week.  While he could and did claim various policy achievements, all sides acknowledge that economic policy was not one of his interests.

[Tandy]

I wish I had kept the Tandy ones too, but they were nowhere near as good as Maplin

We will be scanning the old UK Tandy catalogues and putting them on-line, the first ever catalog 1974 is on-line, others will follow http://www.tandyonline.co.uk/catalogues

[Tandy]

Oh and for our USA cousins you can find RadioShack catalogs at http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com

[Shock]

Colour TV Tuner Cleaner
Improves colour, cuts resistance!

[miguelvp]

Colour TV Tuner Cleaner
Improves colour, cuts resistance!

At least it's not a pseudocolor filter that will turn your black and white tv to a color one

[EEVblog]

You mean this? I just happened across it today.
Is it a collectors item now that you're famous on the Internet?

Holy floppy batman!
Yep, that stamp would have my saliva on it.

[Alex Eisenhut]

I really wish I had kept my original Maplin catalogues, the covers were more like superb sci-fi ELO album sleeves than electronics catalogues.

Yup:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terran_Trade_Authority