Special Exhibit:
Prototype Astromite
(Click on any of the images
on this page to see a larger version)
This is the
prototype Astromite VI, autographed by its designer Jack
Lemon. This was preserved for decades by Robert Schmidt,
one of Min-X’s top executives who ultimately took over the
company.
This prototype was in near-production finish with the
following differences from the actual production units:
Externally:
The trim controls used ball tip rods like Min-X’s then-current Pulsemite line.
The cuts for both trim and auxiliary controls were rounded like Pulsemite.
The levers for auxiliary controls had no curved “hole-filler” backing. Thus, you can see into the case above and below these levers. This is the same as other early proportional systems (e.g. Kraft and Logictrol).
There is no meter activation button.
The position of the charging jack and on-off switch is slightly different.
A simple decal was used to represent the final silk screen label.
Internally:
To be completed later
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Here are two
pictures of Jack Lemon at the May 1965 DCRC Symposium. The
DCRC brought the best and brightest together annually for
these events and pushed the state of the art ever forward.
The Astromite VI was the long-awaited, full-house
proportional system from Min-X. It debuted in February
1966. Min-X had been promising a proportional system since
1963 but its analog “Astron” proportional, although
advertised, was never put in production. By the time the
reliable Astromite VI came along the competition was
formidable.
