Don Lancaster

Last updated
Don Lancaster
Born
Donald E. Lancaster

1939/1940
Died(2023-06-07)June 7, 2023 (aged 83) [1]
Mesa, Arizona, US
NationalityAmerican
Known forAuthor
Website tinaja.com

Donald E. Lancaster was an American author, inventor, and microcomputer pioneer. [1]

Contents

Early life

Don graduated from North Allegheny High School in Wexford, Pennsylvania. [2] He received a BSEE degree [3] from Lafayette College in 1961, and a MSEE from Arizona State University in 1967. [4] While attending ASU, Lancaster started on a master's degree in anthropology, but he never earned the degree. [3]

Career

Lancaster was an engineer, [5] at Goodyear Aerospace in Phoenix, Arizona, who also wrote multiple articles for computer and electronics magazines of the 1970s, including Popular Electronics , Radio-Electronics , Dr. Dobb's Journal , 73 Magazine , and Byte . He has written books on electronics, computers, and entrepreneurship, both commercially published and self-published. [1]

One of his early projects was "TV Typewriter" serial terminal. [1] The design was accepted by early microcomputer users as it used an ordinary television set for the display and could be built for around USD$200 in parts, at a time when commercial terminals were selling for over $1,000.

Lancaster was an early advocate and developer of what is now known as print-on-demand technology. Lancaster produced his self-published books by re-purposing the game port of an Apple II to transfer PostScript code directly to a laser printer, rather than using a Macintosh running PageMaker. This enabled continuous book production using an inexpensive Apple II, rather than tying up an expensive Macintosh until the print run was complete.

He formerly held a ham radio license (K3BYG). [6]

On June 7, 2023, at the age of 83, Lancaster died, having lived for 44 years in Thatcher, Arizona. [3]

Publications

IC books
Project books
Apple books
Programming books
Other

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Obituary for Don Lancaster". The Gila Herald. June 28, 2023. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023.
  2. ↑ Don Lancaster - Detailed Biography
  3. 1 2 3 "Don Lancaster: The Electronics Industry Lost Another Pioneer Last Year". EEJournal. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  4. ↑ Don Lancaster - General Biography
  5. ↑ McDonald, Chris (22 February 2025). "From ACS to Altair: The Rise of the Hobby Computer". Creatures of Thought. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  6. ↑ "The Way Things Were" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2002-01-24.
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