MOTM

>Forget ham magazines, it's the databooks I can't live without. I do 
still have all my old issues of BYTE, Model Railroader, etc.<

Me too, though I didn't hold onto my issues of Model Railroader. 
Still have my trains (not set up) some of which were old when I 
received them as a kid in the early 60s. Also have two huge boxes of 
Lionel track, accessories, etc. that haven't been opened in 30 years. 
One of these days...

Went to the first (and only?) BYTE convention in San Diego when the 
Altair 8800 was king! Big draw at the show was an ASCII "terminal" 
that featured a B/W TV on a pole. Price was something like $2,000.

As for old electronics magazines, I still have a Radio Electronics 
mag with Bob Moog's theremin design in it and the Popular Electronics 
with Craig Anderton's first article (I believe). I once read a very 
interesting article that stated the reason guys hang on to magazines 
such as Popular Electronics for years and years is because of the joy 
of *mentally* building the kits.  "Some day I'm gonna build this here 
[fill in blank]."  It also stated that when technology makes a big 
change, readership often drops off.  For example, people who had the 
enjoyment of mentally building tube projects could no longer do so 
when transistors took over.  By the same token, when the move was 
made to microprocessors, people who enjoyed mentally building 
transistor projects were left out (that's pretty much when I 
stopped). Of course, some are able to go with the flow!  :-)

johnm