Chuck Colby

Lore & Background

Colby's inventive career began early: at 12 he designed the Colby TR-2 transistor radio, selling it to family, friends, and customers on his paper route. At 15, for a high school science project, he built what is described as the world's first home earth satellite station capable of receiving signals from the Russian satellite Sputnik. As a college student, he and a friend built their own TV stations to broadcast video to each other over the airwaves, which brought him attention in the LA Times. He later built a video security system for use by NASA.

Colby helped design the original prototype of Atari Pong, built into a suitcase for portability to demonstrate to potential investors. On July 10, 2003, he donated that prototype to the DigiBarn Computer Museum. In the 1980s, his company created and marketed the first PC clone motherboard and was among the first to market portable, expandable DOS-compatible computers such as the Colby PC-1 and PC-5, while most other companies were producing portable computers running CP/M. Colby Systems also produced early portable Macintosh conversions, including the ruggedized MacColby and the WalkMac laptop, which could be purchased with a 68030-based SE/30 motherboard.

Colby is mentioned in Steve Wozniak's book iWoz as having introduced Wozniak to early satellite television, which Wozniak cited as the impetus for leaving Apple to design and market the first programmable learning TV remote, the CL 9. Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters, wrote that Colby 'is a fountain of ideas and represents the best of a creative person one that thinks of things and then can build them.'

Reader's Guide

Chuck Colby's significance lies in his role as a prolific inventor who repeatedly brought first-of-their-kind products to market. His early transistor radio and home satellite station demonstrated a precocious talent for practical electronics. By creating the first DVR-based video surveillance systems and the first MS-DOS and Mac portable computers, he helped shape the trajectory of personal computing and security technology. His portable DOS machines, such as the Colby PC-1 and PC-5, were notable for offering expandable systems with a full megabyte of addressable memory at a time when CP/M systems were limited to 64Kb, enabling more powerful applications. His portable Mac conversions, including the WalkMac, continued to generate sales even after Apple's first laptop because Apple's Macintosh Portable used the slower 68000 microprocessor. Colby's influence extended beyond his own products: his introduction of Steve Wozniak to satellite television led directly to Wozniak's departure from Apple to create the CL 9 remote. His long list of inventions—ranging from a cantaloupe grading machine to an underwater TV camera and a police hostage phone—reflects a career of broad and practical innovation. The donation of the original portable Pong prototype to the DigiBarn Computer Museum preserved a key artifact of early video game history.

Did You Know?

• Colby designed the Colby TR-2 transistor radio at age 12 and sold it on his paper route; it is possibly the first pocket transistor radio.
• At 15, he built the world's first home earth satellite station to receive signals from the Russian satellite Sputnik.
• He helped design the original Atari Pong prototype built into a suitcase for portability.
• Steve Wozniak credited Colby with introducing him to early satellite television, which led Wozniak to leave Apple.