Update:  2021-FEB-02
I just learned today of my dear friend Günther Stabe‘s  passing on 2020-AUG-19 at the age of 76.  We had last corresponded in June of 2020 and he gave me no indication of acute illness.

A brilliant engineer who worked at IBM for many years, Mr. Stabe made numerous and significant contributions to the Lectron System history research over the last several years. He built numerous circuits of his own design and used the Lectron System for extensive prototyping in project development. 

In 2015, he designed and developed the first FM Stereo radio prototype for the 50th Anniversary Model development project.

He was also my primary research colleague for multiple reasons including a professional level fluency in English and he helped me to resolve many research mysteries of the Lectron System history.

Mr. Stabe, at my request, wrote and  shared his auto-biography in 2014 and illustrated it with photos over the years from his personal collection.

I was born in the last months of WW II, in a city whose downtown was destroyed to 97% – not easy for my mother, who also lost even her husband in Belorus (and to this day – like many – was not found). In these first years of my life, it was impossible to have any toys. Even a halfway normal life (housing, food) was a problem.

So was improvised play in ruins, with primitive means tinker simpliest things for the amusement and wait until it gets better …

An old gifted metal construction set from the company Walther & Co. (brand STABIL) held for many years and allowed constructing cars, cranes and simplest machines. This increased my understanding of mechanical problems.

A fleet of boats made from color cartons!

Listen to the radio a radio detector was created with a gift of headphones (oh wonder of the waves – some wire, sheet metal and a diode!).

Quickly as possible to stand on my own feet and to make money, I learned the profession of a bank clerk. Later, I moved to a data processing company (IBM). I was full of enthusiasm – but no more regular working hours was thus possible, and so little time for the pursuit of hobbies.

It was only much later that I began to make up the missed time – and so I came, among other things, to the Lectron System. I followed its own developments (ie blocks with “my” content) for special projects, such as a superheterodyne receiver for shortwave.

To the unique way without soldering, wiring or terminals, a circuit constantly change, expand and improve, has impressed me from the beginning! The photo below includes my ‘homebrew’ and replica blocks that I made using Lectron System blank blocks and covers.

The FM Stereo block #2488 (shown below on the right of the SW-Receiver) was created by Gerd Kopperschmidt during 2015 but Mr. Stabe created the first prototype of the FM Stereo receiver which he demonstrated to Mr. Steffen Pohl back in December of 2014. 

The photo below shows one of Mr. Stabe’s Lectron System creations made in 2014: A Shortwave receiver block. Both blocks were gifted to the Lectron.Info museum. 

Mr. Stabe also had a great sense of humor as exemplified by the video below which he created in June of 2020 (just a short time before his passing) showing Mr. Greger ‘talking’ to Lectroneers and thanking them for their continuing interest in the Lectron System and wishing them good luck with their future endeavors that he would watch with great interest.

Another amazing creation was his Lectron System block tester.  This was an extremely useful device to assess the well-being of legacy blocks.  Even the Ausbausystem 3 blocks could be tested!  This capability is particularly important as these blocks have a reputation for ‘going bad’ after so many years.  The 70 page manual as a PDF can be reviewed/downloaded here.

Lectroneers may view more information and see the digital LCD block tester on the Lectron.Info forum post.  Both units are now a part of the Lectron.Info museum’s permanent collection.

If all of the above was not enough, his most expansive contribution to the Lectron System world was his comprehensive card catalog of every block and pivotal model set created during the years of 1965 – 2020.  Blocks that were created by Mr. Stabe, Mr. Max Gürth and others are also catalogued.  The catalog is hosted on Lectron.Info and may be accessed here.

Thank you Mr. Stabe for all that you have done to further the advancement and development of the Lectron System!  You will be greatly missed by those who were fortunate in having your friendship and association.