I used to read EW in one of NYC's public libraries, but only started subscribing about 5 years ago.
We have seen the demise of many hobbyist oriented mags in the US -- Popular Electronics, Audio, Electronics Now, 73, etc. You can almost sense the imminent disappearance when they don't pay for articles, so the good stuff goes elsewhere.
It is very surprising to me that the editrix of EW allows such turgid writing in the first place.
We have seen the demise of many hobbyist oriented mags in the US -- Popular Electronics, Audio, Electronics Now, 73, etc. You can almost sense the imminent disappearance when they don't pay for articles, so the good stuff goes elsewhere.
It is very surprising to me that the editrix of EW allows such turgid writing in the first place.
I have also seen an earlier article by Graham Maynard on a Subwoofer filter in Electronics World and thought that it was a bit too winding. But then, it is just Graham's style of writing.
If the same thing was to be written by Ben Duncan or Douglas Self, no one would have complained; they have different styles but have a more persuasive appeal to the reader.
Look at some of Dean Hugh's postings on this forum. He has style and class.
So let us stop thrashing Graham Maynard around. He has already had enough on the GEM amplifier forum and he has left the forum for good, as things stand today.
Hope he returns because he has a lot to contribute to the field of Audio and the DIY community.
If the same thing was to be written by Ben Duncan or Douglas Self, no one would have complained; they have different styles but have a more persuasive appeal to the reader.
Look at some of Dean Hugh's postings on this forum. He has style and class.
So let us stop thrashing Graham Maynard around. He has already had enough on the GEM amplifier forum and he has left the forum for good, as things stand today.
Hope he returns because he has a lot to contribute to the field of Audio and the DIY community.
forr said:
short and concise writting is really hard. First of all, the author has to understand the subject matter really well. 2ndly, s/he has to write in a simple enough way to reach a wide audience and explain complex matters in a way that can be understood by others. And it is no coincidence that technical writting is actually taught in good colleges.
I often found that authors who have a superfacial understanding of a subject matter tend to hide behind techno jargons and use complicated sentences to mask their lack of understanding. Such a style of writting makes it doubly diffcult for readers to comprehend.
If Einstein can explain his relativity theories to a young jobber on the street in 30 seconds, I am sure a qualified author can explain audio theories in shorter time.
My frustration with convoluted writing and publications that allow such writings to be published is that we lack experts with real talents and writers and editors with good training in concise writing.
EW wasn't only an electronics hobby mag, it was much more. It was aimed at quite a broad target group of people interested in electronics, from hobbyist to professional. That's why it was so interesting for me, having audio and RF as hobby and working in the field of data communications for a living.
But it doesn't seem to be targeted at any particular group interested in electronics itself anymore.
Regards
Charles
Charles --
I see your point -- a mag like EW had its value in tangential kinds of ways -- sometimes out of your peripheral vision would come an idea for a different application.
Relating to journals, publishing and the popular genre -- one of the big problems which will face academia is that so many journals are no longer "published" physically -- only electronically -- you can't go to the reference room and browse when you have a free hour or so -- thus research itself is becoming more "directed" and less a liberal art -- there are some truely appalling results.
I see your point -- a mag like EW had its value in tangential kinds of ways -- sometimes out of your peripheral vision would come an idea for a different application.
Relating to journals, publishing and the popular genre -- one of the big problems which will face academia is that so many journals are no longer "published" physically -- only electronically -- you can't go to the reference room and browse when you have a free hour or so -- thus research itself is becoming more "directed" and less a liberal art -- there are some truely appalling results.
A subscription to E&WW was/is way too expensive in the US. For years I religiously bought it at the specialty news store in the city, then at the local chain bookstores like Borders or Barnes & Nobel. For a while it didn't show up at all, and about two years or more ago the content became so dismal that I didn't bother looking for it. Sadly, it appears the time of the electronic hobbyist magazine is gone. N&V is a shadow of its former self, and the professional mags like EDN concentrate on things of little interest or practicality to the home constructor. The 'net is the future, and it's a pretty good one.
It's long been a tradition for the authors of construction projects to use the articles to promote sales of kits and parts from their own businesses. SWTPC, Phoenix, Paia, US Cyberlabs, Optoelectronics, Information Unlimited, Ramsey, North Country Radio, Almost All Digital Electronics, are some of the more prolific examples.
I suspect other technical authors are willing to write for free partly so they can be published (and list that on their resumes), and also because it's free publicity which can lead to lucrative consulting work.
I suspect other technical authors are willing to write for free partly so they can be published (and list that on their resumes), and also because it's free publicity which can lead to lucrative consulting work.
Is there anyone still subscribing to this mag ? If you search for them on the internet then you will find the mag's homepage closed by the publisher.
I was alongtime subscriber to this mag but lost interest in it when it IMHO went down the drain.
Now I feel guilty that I am one of those who are responsible for its demise.
Regards
Charles
I was alongtime subscriber to this mag but lost interest in it when it IMHO went down the drain.
Now I feel guilty that I am one of those who are responsible for its demise.
Regards
Charles
Don't feel guilty, if they don't publish stuff we want it's their fault not ours. They should have seen the numbers drop off when they changed direction. If they had half a brain they would have realised they made a mistake and corrected it, instead they probably chose to blindly ignore the signs and 'reduce the cost base to bring profit back up' leading to more distance between what the buyers wanted and what they sold. Lets just hope these people got put back in the zoo.
publishing may work two ways- if you are employed in a company whose research dept has some spinoff outside their main business you may be encouraged to publish this in "better magazines" as EW and its forebears used to be - and payment is not important as you already have a salary from your company. Or if you are running a small business with no marketing budget - this may promote your name and professional merits a bit out there. Anyway Mr. Cyril Bateman received little or no payment, and if, then grossly delayed. EW changed its "format" to regurgitating industry gossip, marketing tidbits and editorial inanities. I left EW as ms Josifowska entered the scene.
Mr. Bateman kindly shared a long life of research and applied his experience to some of the "audio myths" so abused by snakeoil vendors
- if you read his stuff you´re in for some revelations
Mr. Bateman kindly shared a long life of research and applied his experience to some of the "audio myths" so abused by snakeoil vendors
- if you read his stuff you´re in for some revelations
Mike KS
Maybe Jan Didden knows more about him (so ask him).
I don't think so. Probably, he is just bored. BTW, not surprisingly if you read the BT thread for example.
Regards,
Edmond.
Maybe Jan Didden knows more about him (so ask him).
I don't think so. Probably, he is just bored. BTW, not surprisingly if you read the BT thread for example.
Regards,
Edmond.
I've had some email contact with Mike Kiwanuka about a half year ago about his power amp protection article. I think he got bored indeed and lost interest in audio engineering.
BTW I bought the previous issue of EW when I ran across a bookstore in Belgium that carried it. Horribly expensive (euro 11) and it is just like reading EDN or any of it's look-alikes. It does look though that they managed to turn it around, it looked in good shape. So, loss for us, but at least the mag survived for those who like to read that kind of stuff (and those who work there). What surprised me was that they apparently still are discussion the "Catt anomaly" if you remember that from way back when.
jd
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