[sdiy] OT: Reed Switches and Magnets - where it all leads....

[Ray Wilson]

Scott, that was excellent future journalism! LOL. You are definitely "a
little out there Jerry" but of course... so am I. But why did you have to
spill the beans about the magnet business I thought that was our little
secret! :-)). Now I'll have to come up with a new billion dollar idea.

Anyhow... I did order the reed switches from All Electronics who has a nice
hermetically sealed reed switch with pre-bent leads (.75 inch centers) for
$0.50 (2 for a buck). And I'm going with the magnet link from Thomas Holley
(now that is my idea of cheap). Thanks

Cheers All

Ray




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scott Stites" <scottnoanh at peoplepc.com>
To: <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 2:16 PM
Subject: [sdiy] OT: Reed Switches and Magnets - where it all leads....


> I've got an uncle who has actually constructed a time machine - you may
have
> heard his interview with Art Bell.  Anyway, he takes the occasional trips
to the
> future and brings back financial publications that we use to base our
investments
> on.  You can imagine my surprise when I opened up Business Week, December
2024,
> and found this article.
>
> Cheers,
> Scott
>
> =========
>
> Business Week Tycoon of the Year, 2024
>
> Refrigerator Magnet Magnate Ray Wilson
>
> Ray Wilson's humble beginnings in the refrigerator magnet business sprung
from an
> unlikely source:  his past interest in building obsolete sound equipment.
>
> "I'd pretty much immersed myself fairly deeply into building synthesizers,
the
> type based on old designs from long-gone manufacturers", recounts Wilson.
"One
> day, in the midst of this misery, I hit upon the idea of building a
keyboard that
> used magnets and reed switches, instead of membranes or J-wires.  Man, was
I off
> the deep end!  Anyway, there was a group of people just as deranged as I
was that
> corresponded on this list on what was then called 'the internet'.  Come to
find
> out, I was going to have to do a lot of research into different magnets
and reed
> switches.  I finally came up with the right combination, but not before
I'd
> accumulated a garage full of magnets of nearly every size imaginable."
>
> "Well, one day, as a lark, I made this little panel printed with a slogan,
(I)
> can't really remember what it was, but it was funny yet pointed, and glued
it on
> the magnet.  A neighbor saw it lying on my kitchen table, and immediately
offered
> me $5 for it - (he) said he wanted to put it on his refrigerator.  I made
a dozen
> more, went to a flea market, and sold every one of them. In a flash, it
struck me
> - no one before had made the leap from gritty bumper sticker slogans to
gritty
> refrigerator magnet slogans.  I took out a small business loan, started a
magnet
> mill, and the rest is, well, history.  Or the future, depending on which
year
> you're in while reading this quote."
>
> "I rolled my magnet business into several investments, diversified into
other
> fields, and it was life in the fast lane.  After I forced Gates out of
business,
> I'd pretty much done it all, so I retired.  My plans for the future are to
kick
> back, take it easy, and maybe learn a bit more about those new-fangled
molecular
> mount components.  I figure there's got to be either a musical or magnet
based
> application."
>
> Not everyone is as thrilled with Ray's success as Ray is.  Business Week
looked
> up some of Ray's old acquaintences.
>
> "I originally was happy for Ray", says Harry Bissell from his rocking
chair at
> the Old Curmudgeon's Home in Snow Bird, Arizona, "But when he bought the
> semiconductor fabrication plant and started pumping out BBD's by the
truckload,
> that pretty much changed."
>
> John Mahoney, now vice president of the Volkswagon Jetpack Division, takes
a
> similar dim view of Wilson.
>
> "I gave Wilson one of the first tips on where to get magnets.  Without
that
> information, Wilson would probably be painting center lines in the
Eisenhour
> tunnel.  What did I get out of it?  Not one red cent.  You'd think he
could have
> at least handed me control of the BBD operation."
>
> Loved or despised, Wilson holds the honor of Tycoon of the Year, 2024.
>
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