Electronics/Computer Hobby magazines?

[Neil Cherry]

I know of "Circuit Cellar" and "Nuts and Volts" but what other
electronic hobby magazines are still around?

BTW, I don't consider EDN to be a hobby magazine, though it is
an excellent magazine. I'm looking for the DIY (do it yourself)
kind of magazines.

Thanks

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[Jinx-4]

> I know of "Circuit Cellar" and "Nuts and Volts" but what other
> electronic hobby magazines are still around?

Silicon Chip

www.siliconchip.com.au

Elektor

http://www.elektor.com/

EPE

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/

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[Neil Cherry]

Jinx wrote:
>> I know of "Circuit Cellar" and "Nuts and Volts" but what other
>> electronic hobby magazines are still around?
>
> Silicon Chip
>
> www.siliconchip.com.au

I never heard of this one before but I like what I see on the
web site. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

> Elektor
>
> http://www.elektor.com/

Ah that was the one I was trying to remember, I pick that up at
a local book store.

> EPE
>
> http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/

I'm not familiar with this one thanks.

Thanks! :-)

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[Jim Korman]

Neil Cherry wrote:

> Jinx wrote:
>  
> <snip>
>  
>> EPE
>>
>> http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/
>>    
>
> I'm not familiar with this one thanks.
>
> Thanks! :-)
>
>  

I've found EPE at Barnes & Noble, but have been getting it
in "Electronic" PDF for several years. Much cheaper!

Jim


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[CDB-3]

Sadly EPEmag is now basicly Silicon Chip 2 or 3 months behind. Since
their main contributor became ill, the projects are now mainly those
of Silicon Chip. EPE hold the distribution rights for SC in all
countries bar Australasia. However, their yearly GCSE, 'O' level
electronics courses are very good. They also have their repair manual
series as well.

Other magazines still in existence (just)  Practical Wireless,
Electronics World (a sad shadow of it's former self as Wireless World)
Practical Television, Short Wave Magazine (it does still have
circuits). There is still RSGB, but you have to be a member.

These are all UK magazines.


R.I.P

Radio Constructor
Electronics Today International
Maplin Magazine
Hobby Electronics
Practical Electronics (yes I know it is now part of EPE)

When I started being interested in electronics these magazines were
all available and cost about 25p each - horrendously expensive for a
13 year old.

Colin


:: inx wrote:
:::::: I know of "Circuit Cellar" and "Nuts and Volts" but what
:::::: other
:::::: electronic hobby magazines are still around?
::::::
:::: Silicon Chip
::::
:::: www.siliconchip.com.au
::::
:: I never heard of this one before but I like what I see on the
:: web site. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.
::
:::: Elektor
::::
:::: http://www.elektor.com/
::::
:: Ah that was the one I was trying to remember, I pick that up at
:: a local book store.
::
:::: EPE
::::
:::: http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/

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[Jinx-4]

> Sadly EPEmag is now basically Silicon Chip

I'm guessing you mean from an original article POV

They're still better value than a Woman's Weekly or a newspaper

Even with so much free material available on the web there's still
something special about a good magazine

> When I started being interested in electronics these magazines
> were all available and cost about 25p each - horrendously
> expensive for a 13 year old

Just looking at some of my old issues of EE and PE

11/76 - 35p (PE - 35p) (Practical Wireless - 40p)
02/79 - 40p (PE - 50p)
12/82 - 80p
08/84 - 90p

Inflation or what ? The UK/NZ exchange rate was closer to 1:2
then and cover price here was 75c for 35p. I haven't seen an EPE
for a while but presume the NZ$ price is more like 3x UKP

They got really sloppy with proof-reading in the 80s and I stopped
buying them. So many errors, so many errors

Good riddance Electronics Australia on that score too. I made
back in '93 what they reckoned was a video capture card. Not
particularly cheap either. 6 months after the original article the
corrections began (and corrections in the distant future were
annoyingly common for most projects too), and kept coming and
coming for almost a year. I gave up and wrote them rather a
brusque letter saying they could kiss my arse before I'd buy
another EA. They didn't so I didn't

I believe EA joined ETI, and that too went downhill, shifting
towards PCs rather than electronics

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[Apptech]

> I made back in '93 what they reckoned
> was a video capture card.

It's usually easier to just sprinkle salt on their tails.


        R

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[Ben Hencke]

I really enjoy the Make quarterly magazine and Servo. If you haven't
seen Make, you really should get all the back issues, its very good
stuff for DIY. Servo has many articles that cross over from the
robotics only department into more general stuff that is fun to read.

- Ben

On Sun, Apr 27, 2008 at 5:08 PM, Neil Cherry <ncherry@...> wrote:

> I know of "Circuit Cellar" and "Nuts and Volts" but what other
>  electronic hobby magazines are still around?
>
>  BTW, I don't consider EDN to be a hobby magazine, though it is
>  an excellent magazine. I'm looking for the DIY (do it yourself)
>  kind of magazines.
>
>  Thanks
>
>  --
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[David Meiklejohn]

Colin wrote:

> Sadly EPEmag is now basicly Silicon Chip 2 or 3 months behind.

Yes, I had noticed that (I subscribe to both EPE and SC, as well as
Elektor, Circuit Cellar and Nuts'n'Volts - paper issues since it gives me
something to read on the train...).  It means it's not very sensible to
buy both (sadly).

> R.I.P
>
> Radio Constructor
> Electronics Today International
> Maplin Magazine
> Hobby Electronics
> Practical Electronics (yes I know it is now part of EPE)
>
> When I started being interested in electronics these magazines were
> all available and cost about 25p each - horrendously expensive for a
> 13 year old.

In Australia, as a lad I used to avidly read ETI and Electronics
Australia, and (occasionally) Talking Electronics - now all gone.

I wonder why?

Ok, in the Internet age, so much is available online that there's less
need for magazines.  And young people these days are more likely to be
interested in computers or video games, than electronics as a hobby.  But
I wonder if these are the only factors, and how much each is responsible.
If a small country like Australia could sustain a few technical/hobby
electronics magazines 25 years ago, but now there seem to be just a
handful left of that quality in the whole world, something has really
changed...


David

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[David Meiklejohn]

Jinx wrote:

> I believe EA joined ETI, and that too went downhill, shifting
> towards PCs rather than electronics

They kind of had to.  PCs were taking over, and interest in electronics
was fading (or so it seems).  Both mags eventually died, and I'm sorry
they're gone.  I don't agree with "good riddance" - one poor project
doesn't overcome the many good projects that EA published over the years.


David

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[Jinx-4]

> > EA

> I don't agree with "good riddance"

We'll have to agree to disagree. My experiences (note the
plural) with EA led to a dramatic loss of trust. ETI was a
much superior magazine IMVHO. Whether or not ETI
staff were more competent or inventive is debatable but
I just personally preferred ETI's finesse

Recently the editor of Silicon Chip asked readers whether
the magazine was publishing too many microcontroller-
based projects. My response to him was that the magazine
is OK as it is, with the possible exception of needing some
basic refreshers from time to time

I think micros have helped magazines stay afloat, opening
up a whole new genre of projects. It would be foolish for
both readers and publisher not to move forward with the
times. Programming is a fairly inexpensive hobby and good
value for money time-wise

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[Alan B. Pearce]

>> I believe EA joined ETI, and that too went downhill, shifting
>> towards PCs rather than electronics
>
>They kind of had to.  PCs were taking over, and interest in electronics
>was fading (or so it seems).  Both mags eventually died, and I'm sorry
>they're gone.  I don't agree with "good riddance" - one poor project
>doesn't overcome the many good projects that EA published over the years.

I must admit that I sucked up much useful information from EA over the
years. My father started getting it when I was at primary school, and the
many projects that were presented in the time he purchased the magazine were
fuel for my young mind. The projects covered such a wide range, from
building a kitset Hammond electronic organ through their own designs of TV
set, many stereo amplifiers over the years, both valve and transistor, and
including a transistor Class A 5 watt unit, through many Ham transmitters
and receivers, many of which were world class units, to the more unusual
projects which introduced other less known concepts. Through all this they
had the backing of the local Australian electronics industry to produce
PCBs, transformers and kits, and making sure suitable components were
obtainable.

But the first read column almost every time a new copy arrived was "The
Serviceman who tells", a column written by a real serviceman who ran a
repair shop in one of the Sydney suburbs, and wrote about various unusual
faults he found, and the techniques used in fixing them. He also had a bunch
of mates in the trade, who knowing he wrote under that pseudonym, would pass
on various interesting bits they had come across as well. His style of
writing was just so right for getting across the story of the fault, and
dealing with the awkward customer who he thought was seeing or hearing
non-existent things - only to have a real fault show up on the TV set or
whatever.

It is a magazine that I was sorry to see disappear as it merged with ETI,
but then times were achanging, and their target market was rapidly
disappearing. In its heyday it really was one of the good ones.

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[David Meiklejohn]

> > > EA
>
> > I don't agree with "good riddance"
>
> We'll have to agree to disagree. My experiences (note the
> plural) with EA led to a dramatic loss of trust. ETI was a
> much superior magazine IMVHO. Whether or not ETI
> staff were more competent or inventive is debatable but
> I just personally preferred ETI's finesse

Actually I did prefer ETI myself.  EA seemed a bit "high brow" to teenage
me.
 
> Recently the editor of Silicon Chip asked readers whether
> the magazine was publishing too many microcontroller-
> based projects. My response to him was that the magazine
> is OK as it is, with the possible exception of needing some
> basic refreshers from time to time.

Yes, I saw that.  I'd said to him before that the only problem with
MCU-based projects is when the MCU is presented as a "black-box" - that part
of the appeal used to be learning some electronics techniques by reading the
"how it works" write-up, but if the workings of the software aren't
explained, then that opportunity to learn is lost.

On the other hand, I'm an extreme hypocrite, since in my only SC-published
project ("Programmable Xmas Star"), I didn't make the source code available.
Which really doesn't help anyone much...

> I think micros have helped magazines stay afloat, opening
> up a whole new genre of projects. It would be foolish for
> both readers and publisher not to move forward with the
> times. Programming is a fairly inexpensive hobby and good
> value for money time-wise

Yep, although it can be a problem for readers if they use too many different
MCUs.  If it's PIC one day, Atmel the next and Freescale on a Friday, it's a
bit much to expect the reader to be across all those and own programmers
(although for Atmels a few resistors seems to do it...) for each.


David
www.gooligum.com.au



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[John Chung]

I would like more Analog designs and FPGA stuff.
Unfortunately FPGA is an overkill for such a mag.

John


--- Jinx <joecolquitt@...> wrote:

> > > EA
>
> > I don't agree with "good riddance"
>
> We'll have to agree to disagree. My experiences
> (note the
> plural) with EA led to a dramatic loss of trust. ETI
> was a
> much superior magazine IMVHO. Whether or not ETI
> staff were more competent or inventive is debatable
> but
> I just personally preferred ETI's finesse
>
> Recently the editor of Silicon Chip asked readers
> whether
> the magazine was publishing too many
> microcontroller-
> based projects. My response to him was that the
> magazine
> is OK as it is, with the possible exception of
> needing some
> basic refreshers from time to time
>
> I think micros have helped magazines stay afloat,
> opening
> up a whole new genre of projects. It would be
> foolish for
> both readers and publisher not to move forward with
> the
> times. Programming is a fairly inexpensive hobby and
> good
> value for money time-wise
>
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> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
>

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[Alan B. Pearce]

>I would like more Analog designs and FPGA stuff.
>Unfortunately FPGA is an overkill for such a mag.

Elector has done a series on FPGAs.
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[Jinx-4]

> Yes, I saw that.  I'd said to him before that the only problem with
> MCU-based projects is when the MCU is presented as a "black-
> box" - that part of the appeal used to be learning some electronics
> techniques by reading the "how it works" write-up, but if the
> workings of the software aren't explained, then that opportunity to
> learn is lost

I guess the editors have a decision to make - if they're going to have
micro-based electronic projects, should they also be explaining the
s/w part as fully as the h/w ?

A circuit diagram is generally quite easy to follow. s/w provided with
projects is not always so. Often the text describing the s/w is just an
overview. The commenting and program structure of SC projects I've
looked at leaves a lot to be desired and even with my experience and
patience, he said humbly, it takes some time to figure out what's going
on. You actually get more of an idea from the printed overview and
I've found it sometimes easier to re-write the s/w *my* way from
scratch, keeping useful and/or well-written routines from the original

Not wishing to pick on John Clarke, but take this example

http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_105432/article.html

http://us1.webpublications.com.au/static/downloads/articles/105432_drumkit16
.ASM

Not written in my style at all (a lot of the code above could be
replaced with FSR loops, dt statements etc) and would be much
more understandable with fuller comments for each actual section
function, not just (obvious) individual instructions

However, you could say all that is really needed is the hex file to
make the project run. Having the source code available is merely
a courtesy on the part of the author. My opinion is that it should
be up to a certain standard, although deadlines may possibly not
allow complete commenting

As it is, I'm porting this to a high-speed 4550 with 15 inputs so
understanding how the original works is important. I find myself
going back to the overview in the magazine and referring to the
schematic though

> Yep, although it can be a problem for readers if they use too
> many different MCUs.  If it's PIC one day, Atmel the next and
> Freescale on a Friday, it's a bit much to expect the reader to be
> across all those and own programmers (although for Atmels a
> few resistors seems to do it...) for each.

The devices that seem to get the best coverage are the PICAXE.
Quite a little community behind PICAXE

I'm on the fence about them. The purist in me sees them as being
removed (because of the high-level language) from how a PIC
really works, but I do appreciate that they are an introduction to
micros

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[Jinx-4]

> I would like more Analog designs

SC still have many analogue projects. Amplifiers, that sort of
thing. Where micros tend to be used is replacing large amounts
of logic (instead of Boolean arrangements, timers, counters etc)
and as sensor interfaces

> and FPGA stuff. Unfortunately FPGA is an overkill for such
> a mag

That probably falls into a specialist area or one that an article
on would need some justification and appeal. It could be the
next big thing if someone got the ball rolling, you never know

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[PicDude]

On the subject of magazines, I would still like to figure out what to do about
all the years of electronics magazines I have collected, currently in boxes,
and taking up lots of space.

I don't want to dump them, because every so often I dig up a couple and learn
something interesting, and reminisce.  Scanning into a PC would take me far
more time that I have, and although some newer magazines have CD versions I
can purchase, I know I won't find CD versions for Radio Electronics, Popular
Electronics and Circuit Cellar going back to the 1980's.

Cheers,
-Neil.


On Tuesday 29 April 2008 00:21, David Meiklejohn wrote:

> Jinx wrote:
> > I believe EA joined ETI, and that too went downhill, shifting
> > towards PCs rather than electronics
>
> They kind of had to.  PCs were taking over, and interest in electronics
> was fading (or so it seems).  Both mags eventually died, and I'm sorry
> they're gone.  I don't agree with "good riddance" - one poor project
> doesn't overcome the many good projects that EA published over the years.
>
>
> David

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