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
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.
