Editing Don Lancaster

{{Short description|American writer and engineer (died 2023)}}
{{Infobox person
|name         = Don Lancaster
|image        = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] -->
|caption      =
|birth_name   = Donald E. Lancaster
|birth_date   = 1939/1940
|birth_place  =
|death_date   = {{Death date|2023|06|07}} (aged 83)<ref name="obituary1">{{cite web |title=Obituary for Don Lancaster |url=https://gilaherald.com/obituary-for-don-lancaster/ |publisher=The Gila Herald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629185744/https://gilaherald.com/obituary-for-don-lancaster/ |archive-date=June 29, 2023 |date=June 28, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|death_place  = Mesa, Arizona, US
|burial_place = <!-- may be used instead of resting_place and resting_place_coordinates (displays "Burial place" as label) -->
|nationality  = American
|other_names  =
|alma_mater   =
|occupation   =
|years_active =
|employer     =
|organization =
|known_for    = Author
|spouse       = <!-- Use article title or common name -->
|partner      = <!-- (unmarried long-term partner) -->
|children     =
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|family       =
|website      = {{URL|http://www.tinaja.com/|tinaja.com}}
}}

'''Donald E. Lancaster''' was an American author, inventor, and [[microcomputer]] pioneer.<ref name="obituary1"/>

==Early life==
Don graduated from [[North Allegheny Senior High School|North Allegheny High School]] in [[Wexford, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="DL-DetailedBio">[https://www.tinaja.com/glib/waywere.pdf Don Lancaster - Detailed Biography]</ref>  He received a [[Bachelor of Engineering|BSEE]] degree<ref name="eejournal/2024/lancaster">{{cite news |title=Don Lancaster: The Electronics Industry Lost Another Pioneer Last Year |url=https://www.eejournal.com/article/don-lancaster-the-electronics-industry-lost-another-pioneer-last-year/ |access-date=6 March 2025 |work=EEJournal |date=3 January 2024}}</ref> from [[Lafayette College]] in 1961, and a [[Master of Engineering|MSEE]] from [[Arizona State University]] in 1967.<ref name="DL-GeneralBio">Don Lancaster - [https://www.tinaja.com/glib/donbio.pdf General Biography]</ref> While attending ASU, Lancaster started on a master's degree in [[anthropology]], but he never earned the degree.<ref name="eejournal/2024/lancaster"/>

==Career==
Lancaster was an engineer,<ref>{{cite web |last1=McDonald |first1=Chris |title=From ACS to Altair: The Rise of the Hobby Computer |url=https://technicshistory.com/2025/02/22/from-acs-to-altair-the-rise-of-the-hobby-computer/ |website=Creatures of Thought |access-date=6 March 2025 |language=en |date=22 February 2025}}</ref> 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)|73 Magazine]]'', and ''[[Byte (magazine)|Byte]]''. He has written books on electronics, computers, and entrepreneurship, both commercially published and self-published.<ref name="obituary1"/>

One of his early projects was "[[TV Typewriter]]" serial terminal.<ref name="obituary1"/> The design was accepted by early microcomputer users as it used an ordinary television set for the display and could be built for around [[United States dollar|USD]]$200 in parts, at a time when [[ADM-3A|commercial terminals]] were selling for over $1,000.

Lancaster was an early advocate and developer of what is now known as [[Print on demand|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 printing|laser printer]], rather than using a [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] running [[Adobe PageMaker|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 [[Amateur radio|ham radio]] license (K3BYG).<ref>https://www.tinaja.com/glib/waywere.pdf</ref>

On June 7, 2023, at the age of 83, Lancaster died, having lived for 44 years in [[Thatcher, Arizona]].<ref name="eejournal/2024/lancaster"/>

==Publications==
;IC books
* ''[[Resistor–transistor logic|RTL]] Cookbook'' (1ed, 1969) (3ed, 2010, {{ISBN|0-672-20715-X}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20220612204949/https://www.tinaja.com/ebooks/rtlcb.pdf ''archive''])
* ''[[Transistor–transistor logic|TTL]] Cookbook'' (1ed, 1974, {{ISBN|0-672-21035-5}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20190311005416/https://www.tinaja.com/ebooks/TTLCB1.pdf ''archive''])
* ''[[CMOS]] Cookbook'' (1ed, 1977) (4ed, 2019, {{ISBN|0-672-21398-2}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20220424022435/https://www.tinaja.com/ebooks/cmoscb.pdf ''archive''])
* ''[[Active filter|Active Filter]] Cookbook'' (1ed, 1975) (2ed, 1995, {{ISBN|0-75062986-X}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20210904121431/https://www.tinaja.com/ebooks/afcb.pdf ''archive''])

;Project books
* ''[[TV Typewriter]] Cookbook'' (1ed, 1976) (3ed, 2010, {{ISBN|0-67221313-3}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20220328163610/https://www.tinaja.com/ebooks/tvtcb.pdf ''archive''])
* ''Cheap Video Cookbook'' (1ed, 1978, {{ISBN|0-672-21524-1}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20210310181359/https://www.tinaja.com/ebooks/cvcb1.pdf ''archive''])
* ''Son of Cheap Video'' (1ed, 1980, {{ISBN|0-672-21723-6}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20220121053719/https://www.tinaja.com/ebooks/socv1.pdf ''archive''])

;Apple books
* ''Assembly Cookbook for Apple II/IIe'' (1ed, 1984) (3ed, 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-882193-16-5}})
* ''Enhancing Your Apple II - Volume 1'' (1ed, 1985, {{ISBN|0-672-21846-1}})
* ''Enhancing Your Apple II and IIe - Volume 2'' (1ed, 1985, {{ISBN|0-672-21822-4}})
* ''Applewriter Cookbook'' (1ed, 1986, {{ISBN|0-672-22460-7}})

;Programming books
* ''The Hexadecimal Chronicles'' (1981) {{ISBN|0-672-21802-X}}
* ''Don Lancaster's Micro Cookbook'' (Sams, 1982) {{ISBN|0-672-21828-3}}

;Other
* ''The Incredible Secret Money Machine'' (1978) {{ISBN|0-672-21562-4}}
* ''The Incredible Secret Money Machine II'' (1978) {{ISBN|978-1-882193-12-7}}
* ''Book-On-Demand Resource Kit''
* ''The Case Against Patents: Selected Reprints from "Midnight Engineering" & "Nuts & Volts" Magazines'' (Synergetics Press, January 1996). Paperback {{ISBN|1-882193-71-7}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.tinaja.com/ Don Lancaster's Guru's Lair] (official site)
* [https://archive.org/details/don_lancaster Don Lancaster article archive] @ [[archive.org]]
* [https://www.tinaja.com/glib/tempmbib.pdf List of Don's magazine articles]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, Don}}
[[Category:American technology writers]]
[[Category:Amateur radio people]]

[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]