Not the diode here; in the 1960s electronics became interesting and available as there was so much junk. I mean, people used to litter everywhere and there was

Not the diode here; in the 1960s electronics became interesting and available as there was so much junk. I mean, people used to litter everywhere and there was random junk piles (and landfills) within minutes in any direction filled with TV and radio chassis, waiting to be hauled home with my minibike, spending hours retrieving valuable components as there were no retail electronics supply houses within a hundred miles and no one taught me mail order (RS Electronics - you suck, charging a 13 yo who walked miles and his whole weeks earnings the commercial MSRP for a single bridge rectifier). Each component was carefully removed, curated, and possibly fitted into some circuit from the few electronics books available to me. I cannot imagine how much lead exposure I had. My 15th birthday was a trip to a distant town and $100 to spend at this place called Radio Shack (and a bike), where I discovered all this other stuff and Forrest Mims. Theory had to wait until I went to HS and College in a larger city, but my seventh grade spanish teacher gave me his GI bill oscilloscope because I could identify transistors and current flow through them (Thank You prof Ludwig) and that kept me busy until then. Looking back, where there was a will there was a way.