Cybertek / TICOM 'Zine / Dystonaut
Back Issues & Information
    The Cyberpunk Technical Journal    

Introduction

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Cybertek exists because its producer feels that we are sliding downward to become more and more of a totalitarian society, and that part of the solution to this problem is to impart knowledge and information which is essential for people to have if they desire to exist as free citizens in a free country.  An ignorant populace is very easy for a tyrant to keep down, but people who are knowledgeable in the ways and means to live independently and fight totalitarianism are impossible for despotic state to have control over.  As James Madison, the father of the U.S. Constitution, once said, "A people to mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives."

Cybertek's objective is the dissemination of practical, easy to understand information about technology, security, and self-reliance.  Articles in past (as well as in future) issues dealt with such subjects as COMPUTERS, PHONES, ELECTRONICS, ALTERNATIVE-ENERGY, WEAPONS, CHEMISTRY, SECURITY, SELF-RELIANCE, FINANCIAL, and HEALTH.  Knowledge of these topics is necessary for anyone seeking self-reliance and personal independence in today's world; as well as for preparing for any "unforeseen circumstances."

Cybertek is unique from other libertarian periodicals in that it is mostly (90%) practical, how-to type information.  We feel that enough editorializing has been done in regard to how bad things are, and how "they" are going to come and take away all the gun owners, readers of controversial literature, and other people who are a threat to "the new world order."  We figure our readers have heard enough of that, and now they're ready for information on how they can do something about the rising crime rate, increasingly totalitarian government policies, worsening economy, and other problems facing them today.  Cybertek's content is intended as a powerful tool to assist its readers maintain themselves, and those close to them, in an increasingly hostile world.

Cybertek is published for educational purposes only under The First Amendment of The United States Constitution.  The subject matter, while very controversial in the eyes of some, is currently 100% legal to possess in the United States; assuming Sarah Brady and HCI haven't yet payed off enough congressmen to pass a law banning "dangerous literature."  Although some of the information presented in Cybertek could be used in an illegal manner, no illegal acts are suggested or implied.

Note the named changed to "Cybertech" in later issues:

"Cybertech used to be spelt "Cybertek", which was the name of The Cyberpunk Technical Journal from 1990-1998.  The spelling "Cybertek" is a registered trademark of Cybertek Corporation in Dallas, TX USA.  Their lawyers asked us to stop using it.  Being that 1.) They've had it trademarked since 1974, and 2.) We don't wish to be confused with a company that sells insurance software from Texas, we agreed to stop using Cybertek™.  Whether it's "ch" or "k", everyone still knows who we are anyway."


Semi-Related Files / Notes & Links

By an Order of The Magnitude

It took three years to fully research and write By an Order of The Magnitude after I decided to go ahead with the project.  At the time (1990) I thought it was a pretty good technical manual, but that was sixteen years ago.  John J. Williams actually came up with the title.  The book was going to be "by an order of magnitude" better than other survival books on the market, and we came up with the concept of this shadowy group of hacker survivalists disseminating information to help people survive the impending collapse of society.  This "group" became known as "The Magnitude," and that's how the name came to be.  Now as I was finishing the manuscript for BAOOTM, I came to realize that I'd still be acquiring technological survival information, and that there should be a means for people who've read BAOOTM to get updates.  The whole Cyberpunk thing was in full swing, and fit right in with the technological survival philosophy.  Using the old-school TAP Magazine (I had acquired a set of back issues from a fellow phone phreak by then) and The Poor Man's James Bond as an inspiration, I went about creating a magazine that Jerod Pore called, "2600 recombined with The Poor Man's James Bond."  That magazine was called Cybertek: The Cyberpunk Technical Journal.  I much later learned that the spelling "Cybertek" was trademarked since 1974 by a corporation down in Texas that does computer software for the insurance industry so I changed it to "Cybertech."

By an Order of The Magnitude  by Thomas Icom, John J. Williams, and Cliff Williams  (3.1M PDF)

Musings of a Man in Black: Prometheus

Part common sense and all sensibility, Ticom's second book Musings of a Man in Black: Prometheus, presents the reader with an alternative take on survivalism.  Unlike the illusionary "what if" scenarios theorized by many "preppers," Icom's Dystonautics is a practical here-and-now how to think for oneself guide to adapting to the current environment, preparing for future probabilities, and thriving whilst doing so.

Contemporary and applicable to anyone in any situation, Prometheus is a pragmatic guide to not being caught up in the current state of mass-media hysteria by being prepared, informed, and ready for any and all eventualities.

Musings of a Man in Black: Prometheus  by Thomas Icom  (2.9M PDF)

Wildflower's Doomsday Disks

One of our writers, the late Wildflower, made a hobby of downloading various survival, self-reliance, and preparedness info he'd find on the Net, burn the files to CD, and then pass them out at various prepper gatherings in New England.  If you attended one of them back in the day, you probably received a copy.  Over the years, he had made six of these CDs, and switched from CDs to cheap USB drives that he would find on clearance at various places.  He was very fond of Benny's (now closed), having one down the road from him, Big Lots, and Ocean State Job Lot.  Indeed, a lot of his gear was bought from those three places.

I have taken the liberty to zip up all six disks into one file, and upload it for your educational pleasure.  With many of us staying at home because of this COVID-19 thing, now is a perfect time to read and learn something new.  There is a LOT of information in this file.  Useful stuff that you will handy in the future.

Wildflower's Doomsday Disks - Complete Archive  (Google Drive Link)  (Archive.org Entry)


Cybertek

Cybertek #1  March/April 1990  (2.0M PDF)

Our first, funky, crudely slapped-together issue.



Cybertek #2  May/June 1990  (2.1M PDF)

This one was our first done with PFS:First Publisher on an 8086 AT&T PC6300 that would be the Cybertek workhorse for five years.  This one was published right after the release of GURPS: Cyberpunk, and has a short interview with Loyd Blankenship (a.k.a., The Mentor).  Cybertek fans will also recognize the article on pirate radio that Sin and I wrote which seems to have propagated all over The Net.  There was a schematic of a FM broadcast band amplifier that wasn't included in the article reprint, and is now available for your perusal.



Cybertek #3  September/October 1990  (2.4M PDF)

Phantom Writer's well-received essay "Why Cyberpunk?," Hanover Fist makes his first appearance, The Omega Man talks about economic survival, one of the first articles in a hacker magazine about data tapping, electronics improvisation information, and how TVs could be used to listen to (AMPS) cellular phones.



Cybertek #4  November/December 1990  (3.5M PDF)

This issue was more alternative medicine-focused with articles on the risks of being an organ donor, information on Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and the benefits of Ginseng.  This was also the issue with the widely-distributed "Countermeasures" article.  Countermeasures was yet another article that lost it's graphic element; in this instance schematics for "burn boxes."  Issue #4 also had schematics for a wireless TV transmitter and Hanover Fist's article on pragmatism.



Cybertek #5  January/February 1991  (2.8M PDF)

Our first "famous" issue in that an article from it was reproduced and made its way to ARPANET and USENET.  The article was Black Manta's garage door opener hacker.  John J. Williams from Consumertronics contributed an article entitled Hiding Yourself which was pretty ironic considering how the 'zine came about.  There were also "Cheese Box" plans and some other interesting schematics.  Jason Scott, who later founded textfiles.com and produced the BBS Documentary, contributed some cool artwork.



Cybertek #6  March/April 1991  (2.9M PDF)



Cybertek #7  November/December 1991  (540k PDF)



Cybertek #8  (512k PDF)



Cybertek #9  January/February 1995  (420k PDF)



Cybertek #10  March/April 1995  (461k PDF)



Cybertek #11  May/June 1995  (334k PDF)



Cybertek #12  July/August 1995  (541k PDF)



Cybertek #13  Fall/Winter 1995  (486k PDF)



First digest-sized issue.  Was also the first and only issue professionally offset print.

Cybertek #14  Winter/Spring 1996  (546k PDF)



Cybertek #15  1996  (493k PDF)



Cybertek #16  (1.2M PDF)



Cybertech #17  Tenth Anniversary Issue, Spring 2000  (71k PDF)



Cybertech #18  November/December 2001  (210k PDF)



Cybertech #19  January/February 2002  (456k PDF)



Cybertech #20  March/April 2002  (153k PDF)



Cybertech #21  July/August 2002  (828k PDF)



Cybertech #22  November/December 2002  (759k PDF)



Cybertech #23  October 2007  (699k PDF)



Cybertech #24  Winter 2007-2008  (856k PDF)



Cybertech #25  Spring/Summer 2008  (3.9M PDF)



Cybertek #26  Fall 2013  (5.5M PDF)



Cybertek #27  November 2013  (3.3M PDF)



Cybertek #28  July 2018  (10.7M PDF)



Cybertek #29  2019  (3.9M PDF)



Cybertek #30  August 2021  (62.7M PDF)

In memoriam Dave [REDACTED], a.k.a. "Wildflower" (1953-2020)


Cybertech Electric

There was also five issues of an electronic version of Cybertech.  These were done during the mid-1990s, and contained articles from the print versions released during that time-frame.


Cybertech Electric - Issue #1  December 24, 1995



Cybertech Electric - Issue #2  January 2, 1996



Cybertech Electric - Issue #3  February 2, 1995



Cybertech Electric - Issue #4  July 30, 1996



Cybertech Electric - Issue #5  May 17, 2001


The Pine Tree Journal

The New England Journal of Self-Reliance and Preparedness

Survival Planning, Contingency Kits, and Bugging Out  Version 2.1  (811k PDF)

Ticom's Newsletter for Modern Surviors  November/December 2010  (320k PDF)


The Pine Tree Journal - Issue #1  November 2003  (382k PDF)



The Pine Tree Journal - Issue #2  Winter 2004-2005  (1.1M PDF)



The Pine Tree Journal - Issue #3  Fall 2006  (2.4M PDF)


Technical Intelligence Communications (TICOM) 'Zine

    

For many years I published a 'zine called Cybertech.  It covered a combination of hacking, technology, and survivalism.  The first issue came out in 1990, and it was published sporadically until the end of 2002.  Around that time I finally had enough with the attitudes in the computer underground, and ceased publication.

Starting with the November, 2005 issue I have combined The Pine Tree Journal with TICOM 'Zine.  Now it covers both hacking and survivalism, just like Cybertech did.


TICOM 'Zine - Issue #1  February 2005  (14.6M PDF)



TICOM 'Zine - Issue #2  March 2005  (4.6M PDF)



TICOM 'Zine - Issue #3  April 2005  (782k PDF)



TICOM 'Zine - Issue #4  November 2005  (1.7M PDF)



TICOM 'Zine - Issue #5  April 2006  (870k PDF)



TICOM 'Zine - Issue #6  January 2010  (420k PDF)



TICOM 'Zine - Issue #7  January 2010  (420k PDF)


The Dystonaut

The Dynstonaut is Ticom's magazine for modern survivalists, hackers, phreaks, cyberpunks, drop-outs, hippies, disaffecteed Americans (of all kinds), neo-Pagans (and just plain Pagans - born-again or otherwise), libertarians (with a small and big "L"), Like-Minded Individuals (LMIs), fellow travelers, wanderers who are not lost, and everyone else who lives in the various assorted philosophical or physical regions known as the Fringes, Outskirts, Outback, Great Black, Interzone, or wherever.

Contrary to what many may tell you, all rivers do flow into the same ocean.

"Dystonaut" is a word I coined in 2008.  It means someone who is, or would like to be, skilled in navigating dystopian environments.  That is something all the TEOTWAWKI-type doomsday preppers seem to miss.  This particular style and philosophy of self-reliance and preparedness was known as Dystonautics, and was the basis of my book, Musings of a Man in Black: Prometheus (published 2009).

The Dystonaut was a short-lived (7 issues) experimental 'zine that built upon the book.  You will notice a lot of early versions of articles that have since been updated.  There are also some philosophical, social, and political musings.  Some of the views of the author have evolved/grown/changed since then, especially in regard to Randian Objectivism.  Prometheus was released in 2009, and the The Dystonaut ran from 2011 to 2013.  A lot has happened in the past 8-12 years, including a 2100 mile move out West and back.  Most of the technical information is still O.K., although in some cases it's been upgraded or corrected since its initial release, and reprinted elsewhere.

Do we live in a dystopia?  In some aspects we do, and in others we don't.  What is there to do?  Everything and nothing depending on what you decide.  It's really all up to you in the end.  If you decide to be a Dystonaut, I can't stop you and might even encourage you toward a certain direction.  If you get busted doing something stupid, claim you're a Dystonaut, and I wind up having to testify in court because you got caught doing something stupid and I happen to be the guy that coined the term, I'm going to derive great pleasure in telling the jury, judge, and prosecutor, and everyone else attending the trial that you are a f*cking idiot, why you are a f*cking idiot, and why I feel that they should convict you just on general principle alone.  Fortunately, the memetic protections on my work have so far kept certain types of people away, if you catch my drift.  Anyway, here is all the early "Dystonaut" stuff for your perusal.

The PDF password was: rhodes


The Dystonaut - Issue #1  January/February 2011  (8.4M PDF)



The Dystonaut - Issue #2  May/June 2011  (1.7M PDF)



The Dystonaut - Issue #3  July/August 2011  (697k PDF)



The Dystonaut - Issue #4  September/October 2011  (164k PDF)



The Dystonaut - Issue #5  June 25, 2013  (3.0M PDF)



The Dystonaut - Issue #6  August 9, 2013  (3.0M PDF)



The Dystonaut - Issue #7  August 23, 2013  (2.6M PDF)


Basement Techie

Most of us started small.  We didn't have a big budget, and our lab was the corner of a bedroom or basement.  We scrounged what we could, learned all we could, and on the weekends (if we weren't working) hacked until the break of dawn.  For many of us, our techie skill-sets kept us in groceries with enough left over to maintain a decent lab.  The rest went on to different careers, but still hacked around as a hobby when they could.

I did the first issue of Basement Techie in 2012 as an experiment with a slightly different format, and did three issues so far with the last one in 2013.

This one is still technically in production despite it being 10 years since the most recent issue.


Basement Techie - Issue #1  Winter 2012/2013  (24.1M PDF)

  1. Tools of the Trade
  2. The Rat Shack
  3. The Listening Post  - by Ed Lyle
  4. Radio Redux  - New techniques and hardware which is available to the radio hacker and a general overview of today's radio systems
  5. Getting Your Antenna Up
  6. Featured Techie Space: The Hasty Pasty
  7. The Computer Corner  - by Joshua Tower
  8. Workshop Wisdom  - by Dog Solitude


Basement Techie - Issue #2  Spring 2013  (600k PDF)

  1. Finding Parts & Stuff
  2. Listening Post
  3. Scrounge-Tek
  4. A (Mostly) Scrounged Crystal Detector
  5. A Trip to Goodwill
  6. Old-School Wireless Networking


Basement Techie - Issue #3  August 2013  (772k PDF)

  1. Believe in Tools
  2. Computers Open Possibilities
  3. Getting Started in Electronics
  4. AM Broadcast Band Reception Experiments


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