Daniel Meyer (February 6, 1932 – May 16, 1998) was the founder and president Southwest Technical Products Corporation. He was born in New Braunfels, Texas and raised in San Marcos, Texas where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics in 1957 from Southwest Texas State. After college he married Helen Wentz, moved to San Antonio and became a research engineer in the electrical engineering department of Southwest Research Institute.
He soon started writing hobbyist articles. The first was in Electronics World (May 1960) and later he had a two part cover feature for Radio-Electronics (October, November 1962). The March 1963 issue of Popular Electronics featured his ultrasonic listening device on the cover. The projects would often require a printed circuit board or specialized components that were not available at the local electronics parts store. Readers could purchase them directly from Dan Meyer.Dan Meyer saw the business opportunity in providing circuit boards and parts for the Popular Electronics projects. In January 1964 he left Southwest Research Institute to start an electronics kit company. He continued to write articles and ran the mail order kit business from his home garage in San Antonio, Texas. By 1965 he was providing the kits for other authors such as Lou Garner. In 1967 he sold a kit for Don Lancaster's "IC-67 Metal Locator". In early 1967 Meyer moved his growing business from his home to a new building on a 3-acre (12,000 m2) site in San Antonio. The Daniel E. Meyer Company (DEMCO) became Southwest Technical Products Corporation (SWTPC) that fall.The concept of selling a kit based on a magazine article had been around since the early days of radio. Daniel Meyer perfected the process. In 1967, Popular Electronics had six articles by Dan Meyer and four by Don Lancaster. Seven of that year's cover stories featured kits sold by SWTPC. In the years 1966 to 1971, SWTPC's authors wrote 64 articles and had 25 cover stories in Popular Electronics. (Don Lancaster alone had 23 articles and 10 were cover stories.) The San Antonio Express-News did a feature story on Southwest Technical Products in November 1972. "Meyer built his mail-order business from scratch to more than $1 million in sales in six years." The company was shipping 100 kits a day from 18,000 square feet (1,700 m2) of buildings.In the first ten years, SWTPC's most popular products were audio kits followed by test equipment. There was also typical 1970s products like color organs that would synchronize colored lights with music as well as strobe lights. Dan Meyer developed a series of very low intermodulation (IM) distortion audio power amplifiers known as Tigers, many still in use today. Don Lancaster developed a series of decimal readout counters and voltmeters that used the latest technology.
In mid 1975 Dan Meyer asked one of his engineers, Gary Kay, to design a computer based on the Motorola 6800 design kit. The first deliveries were in November 1975. In June 1976 SWTPC introduced the AC-30 Cassette Interface for data storage and the PR-40 printer. One could now purchase a complete computer system for about $1500.Many of the early hobbyist computer companies were founded by engineers who did not know how to run a business. They would fold in a year or so. SWTPC had been successful in the kit business for over a decade so they could deliver working products.
Floppy Disk systems, full feature terminals, and many peripherals were added in 1977. The bus structure was called the SS-50 and soon many other vendors were making add-in cards and complete systems. In 1979 SWTPC introduced a new line based on the Motorola 6809 processor. These systems were produced until the mid-1980s. By then, the IBM PC was dominating the personal computer world and SWTPC shifted to point of sale (POS) systems.
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Some of their strengths
Daniel Meyer has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Energetic, Courageous, Independent, Analytical, Innovative, Easygoing, and Artistic.
Idealistic and Altruistic
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Daniel Meyer is someone who is an idealist and an altruist who possesses an innovative, intellectual, and analytical mind, and who approaches life in an optimistic and easygoing manner. A person who is ambitious and motivated.
Passionate and Intense
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Daniel Meyer well know them as someone who can be passionate, proud, and intense, like the sun or a blazing fire.
Active and Ambitious
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Daniel Meyer as someone who is active, ambitious, bold, and courageous.
A person who is driven and organized, is wise with money, who knows how to tell a good story, likes physical activity, and who loves learning.
Exacting and Achievement-oriented
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Daniel Meyer is someone who has very high expectations for people, and who can be extremely focused on achieving goals and objectives.
They are also someone who is altruistic, tolerant, and sophisticated, and who tends to be a perfectionist who is always working to try and make everything and everyone better.
Altruistic and Innovative
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Daniel Meyer tends to be someone who sacrifices things for the good of others and wants to do "good" in the world. Who is often thought of as an innovator or rebel who thrives when trying to chase a breakthrough of some sort, who has a clear and sound mind, and who can be charming and sociable.
Some of Daniel Meyer's challenges
While Daniel Meyer has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Daniel Meyer can be Rebellious, Stubborn, Emotionally Distant, Idle, Impulsive, Aggressive, and Non-confrontational.
Rebellious and Emotionally Distant
One of Daniel Meyer's key challenges is that they are someone who can be rebellious and emotionally distant.
Daniel Meyer must also exercise caution as they can be short-tempered and aggressive, and can be excessive and unrealistic.
Impulsive and Aggressive
Daniel Meyer is someone who can be impulsive, aggressive, and confrontational, can have difficulty listening to others, be moody and high strung, have conflict with authority figures, be too judgmental of others, and who can be overindulgent and extravagant.
Serious and Callous
Finally, Daniel Meyer also can be too giving, come across as too "high and mighty", and can have a hard time expressing feelings.
