100th Ann Issue of Wireless World

[kasey197]

I havent been reading this magazine for a while. This issue look interesting however:

Anyone read it ? Worth getting ? They're not available on newstands and I am reluctant to order unless they have some of the seminal audio articles of old in there as well.....



"This April is a special edition of Electronics World, where we celebrate 100 years of publication. Electronics World started life as Wireless World when it was first published in April 1913.

Now in its Centenary year we remain one of the very few magazines in the world that can celebrate a 100 years of publication in print.

The special expanded issue is designed to celebrate and entertain you with all that is great about electronics innovation and design over the past 100 years, with a retrospective on past articles through to the latest electronics design ideas.

Part of this issue will feature a report on a readership survey we have undertaken over the past 12 months, designed to get feedback from you, our readers, on what you think have been the greatest achievements in electronics design. After all, without our dedicated and loyal supporters, subscribers and contributors, we could never have reached this milestone.

Overwhelmingly voted for inclusion by our readers, was the world famous Arthur C Clarke’s Extra Terrestrial Relays article from October 1945, which we are honoured to feature amongst our Centenary content. This article was recently featured in the BBC2 Genius of Invention programme, broadcast on the 7th of February 2013.

This article was the first to suggest the use of geo-stationary satellites to assist in global communications, something that is ubiquitous today in every aspect of our lives, and has helped to shape the world we live in.

We have already received many congratulatory messages, as well as contributions from several of the industry’s largest and well-known electronics companies. In this issue they share their views of how electronics, and the work of the electronics engineer, have changed over the decades, and how they see them evolve in the years ahead.

So join us in celebrating this milestone, our first hundred years!"

 

[mlloyd1]

i used to read it when i worked at a company that used to have a technical library. (guess i'm showing my age again). i could never find WW at any newstands (although they had other mags from the UK) and didn't want to fork out the bucks for a subscription back then. i am surprised it has survived.

thanks for the update ...

mlloyd1

 

[kasey197]

well it has indeed survived but is no longer running any articles of relevance to audio anymore afaik.... pity really...

maybe the survey they speak of above might change their views.

 

[DF96]

WW was a good magazine in the 1970s (I can't comment on times before that) and through to the early 2000's (when I had a set of articles in it), apart from some silly relativity-denying which belonged elsewhere. Since then it had a change of editor and direction and has become just a news comic for electronics industry insiders and has virtually disappeared from newstands in the UK so it is now difficult to buy even for those who want to.

The role it played for hobbyists has largely been superseded by the internet, and (for audio) more specialist publications like Jan's Linear Audio.

 

[kasey197]

Agree.... I love Linear Audio too Jan has done an absolutely invaluable job(and some might say unenviable too ) of keeping the flame alight. I am just wondering if it's worth ponying up the do$h for this particular issue of WW- by the sounds of it, maybe not.....

 

[SY]

WW was a good magazine in the 1970s (I can't comment on times before that) and through to the early 2000's (when I had a set of articles in it), apart from some silly relativity-denying which belonged elsewhere.

I always liked the fellow who denied the existence of electrons.

 

[DF96]

Do baking magazines ever have contributors who deny the existence of flour and eggs? Or knitting magazines who have never heard of sheep? Maybe in California?

 

[nigelwright7557]

Some of the readers letters were way beyond my technical know how.
Some of it was hairy fairy stuff.

They sometimes had some good circuits. I picked up a valve type SS distortion circuit which worked very well.

My boss used to get WW and pass it on to me when he had read it.

 

[kasey197]

Lucky you..... The mags my boss passed to me had pages that were often stuck together.

But seriously .... Knitting magazines ? Surely they don't exist, but if they did, they wouldn't need the outsides of a mutton chop given the first class synthetics we have nowadays eh ?

 

[DF96]

Knitting magazines certainly used to exist, so I assume they still do although perhaps more of a specialist hobby these days. When I was a kid it was quite normal to wear home-made jumpers; sometimes made from reclaimed wool from old jumpers!

Most modern women don't/can't knit but it was a standard female skill in previous generations.

 

[nigelwright7557]

In the 1980's there were many electronics magazines.
Everyday Electronics, Practical Electronics, Electronics Today International, Maplin magazine etc etc

Even the Maplin catalogue had quite a few electronics projects in it.
I built their 50WRMS amp, 75WRMS mosfet amp, 225WRMS class AB amp, sound to light, disco pre amp and mixer.

 

[kasey197]

Nigel your making me tear up thinking about the days. Wonder whatever happened to RA Penfold, and the others from that era. More than anything I wanted some of what the artists who did Maplins covers were smoking.

Some things I really don't miss however from the UK hobby mags like some of their really daft projects .... Like this one : http://www.epemag3.com/lib/free_projects/general/0500 - Pir Light Checker.pdf

Maybe that's why they died..... It is called progress. I still think the editors liked to have a laugh "what's the silliest thing we could make people build "

Later on HIFi World decided to have a good go at audio but the DIY segments folded later though I haven't a clue why. I met Nigel Keywood a few times and visited their offices and always thought they were onto something. I think there's still a 300B kit with transformers designed by Tim da Pravacini for sale somewhere. I have a solid state single ended class a design from Andy grove somewhere on my drives as well.....

 

[DF96]

HiFi World is still one of the better magazines, although not what it was. It now has little DIY, but spends time reviewing expensive cables instead. I still have most of their DIY inserts in a box somewhere.

 

[jackinnj]

i could never find WW at any newstands (although they had other mags from the UK) and didn't want to fork out the bucks for a subscription back then. i am surprised it has survived.

It was available at Hotalings News on 42nd St in NYC -- but this shop disappeared in the late 1990's as the area became "officied". I susbcribed for a dozen years, but they really went off the tracks 5 or 6 years ago.

Perhaps they should have done a reader survey of lapsed subscribers.

EDN does a good job of web and print, so does the ham radio mag QST.

 

[M Gregg]

I used to read Practical Wireless in the 70's..

That used to have some good articles...anything from clocks and timers to SW Dxing...Valve circuits and even central heating controllers...

Sigh...I used to look forward to reading it..a topic of discussion with school friends..Nothing like a BC109...LMAO..it can do anything...

EEK..that ones hard its got a chip in it......Oh look wind your own IFT's ..Give that one a miss...The ZN414 EKK a chip its only got 3 legs and dosen't need IFTs...OHHH give that one a try then..because it looks like a BC109...how hard can it be.. BF194<<<won't fit in vero board..

Yes its a shame you can't get a lot of magazines now..

Regards
M. Gregg

 

[M Gregg]

Later on HIFi World decided to have a good go at audio but the DIY segments folded later though I haven't a clue why. I met Nigel Keywood a few times and visited their offices and always thought they were onto something. I think there's still a 300B kit with transformers designed by Tim da Pravacini for sale somewhere.

Yes, I went to a HIFI convention and WAD were playing the Tim D 300B..

Yes those interstage Tx's that were encapsulated with ball bearings to stop people opening them up! What were the special windings inside?

They sounded quite good as I remember...I have the circuit..the pull out DIY supplements..

Regards
M. Gregg

 

[Mr. dB]

It was available at Hotalings News on 42nd St in NYC -- but this shop disappeared in the late 1990's as the area became "officied".

I loved Hotalings so much. My three favorite newsstands were that one, the one at the top of the escalator between Grand Central Station and the PanAm Building, and Nico's Cigar Shop. And there was a Japanese book store that had MJ and Stereo Sound.

I occasionally still have dreams about newsstand-hopping in Manhattan.