My father was an electrical engineer. We had one as soon as Amana hit the market late 60s, IIRC. Same with color TV and cable.
My father also built his own computer from plans he bought from an engineering magazine. He died in the early 80s.
Pretty smart guy your Dad. My father passed in 1978 at the age of 73. He would have been 74 that October. He was born in Holland in 1904, and came to the U.S. in 1913 with his two brothers and their parents. His mother, my grandmother died in 1919. My grandfather and the three boys were naturalized in 1920.