Popular Electronics Magazine

This is the place for any magazine-related discussions that don't fit in any of the column discussion boards below.
tonybackache
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 1:01 am
Location: AR
Contact:

Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by tonybackache »

Has the Popular Electronics Magazine been combined with Popular Science? :confused:
User avatar
Edd
Posts: 885
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2002 1:01 am
Location: Dallas Tx
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by Edd »

Tony ? :
Certainly wouldn’t think so…you can find some past history, to some extent, at this site on all the sidebar links at:
http://www.poptronics.com/forums/index.php
Plus I’m sure the “Deanster” will be popping in soon with ‘mo info…..(pending he hasn’t experienced incapacitation via a severe blood blister or a looong wood splinter)…..<p>73's de Edd
[email protected] .........(Interstellar~~~~Warp~~~Speed)
[email protected]........(Firewalled-Spam*Cookies*Crumbs)
;)
Dean Huster
Posts: 1263
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2001 1:01 am
Location: Harviell, MO (Poplar Bluff area)
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by Dean Huster »

Edd, splinters and blood blisters are few and far between. However, the ol' knees are in trouble from all the baseboard installation, deck projects and floor tiling ... and knee pads aren't much help, either.<p>Here's the magic URL for the big magazine blurb. Look toward the bottom of the entire thread for the information:<p>http://206.131.241.58/ubb/ultimatebb.ph ... 1&t=000451<p>Dean
Dean Huster, Electronics Curmudgeon
Contributing Editor emeritus, "Q & A", of the former "Poptronics" magazine (formerly "Popular Electronics" and "Electronics Now" magazines).

R.I.P.
ajc-28
Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2003 1:01 am
Location: New Jersey
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by ajc-28 »

It's too bad that magaznes such as Popular Electronics and Modern Electronics went out of business. They were great. I wish they would come back.
tonybackache
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 1:01 am
Location: AR
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by tonybackache »

What magazine currently in publication that deals with electronic repair/technology would you recommend for a person who only has a eletrician background? I have looked at Nuts & Volts and it seems a little over whelming for this laymen. Did I make a hasty opinon? :confused:
Dean Huster
Posts: 1263
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2001 1:01 am
Location: Harviell, MO (Poplar Bluff area)
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by Dean Huster »

Yeah, you missed out on the Golden Age of electronics magazines of the 1960s where you could find stuff for the beginner (e.g., Elementary Electronics) or more advanced stuff (e.g., Electronics World). These days, Nuts and Volts is it for the U.S. There are other magazines published in Europe and Australia, such as Silicon Chip down under and Everyday Practical Electronics in the U.K. Elektor Electronics, published on "the Continent", had a U.S. version a few years ago, but they ceased publication of that version. You can get any of those magazines, but the subscription price, especially if you desire premium shipping, is a bit steep for us on this side of the pond.<p>You might try a big city library (or better yet, an engineering college library such as that at the University of Missouri - Rolla) and see what they have for bound back issues of magazines. I remember that the library at UMR (above) had QST in bound form from the 1930s to the present. They must have started collecting back when the school was Missouri School of Mines (hence the current sports team name "Miners").<p>Some of us (I'm one) have kept all of the old magazines we've ever bought. I have copies of most of those "Golden Age" magazines dating back into the mid- to early-1960s. Wish there was some way we could share those with guys like you.<p>Dean
Dean Huster, Electronics Curmudgeon
Contributing Editor emeritus, "Q & A", of the former "Poptronics" magazine (formerly "Popular Electronics" and "Electronics Now" magazines).

R.I.P.
herod
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Nov 05, 2003 1:01 am
Location: Esto, Florida
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by herod »

I have purchased, subscribed, borrowed over the years magazines for electronics such as Radio-Electronics, Popular Electronics, PopTronics and most recently Nuts & Volts. Also Byte, but thats another story. Anyway some of the companies are now defunct I believe. Didn't Gernsback Publications do Radio-Electronics and others? I know Hugo Gernsback did a radio station and science fiction. Anyway where I'm going with this; what happens to the Intellectual property rights when the company is no longer around. And if it becomes somewhat public domain (such as some software when the company is no more, called orphan software), could we band together and digitize the eligle magazines so those without access can benefit? It would be a major undertaking to scan each magazine and either make a CD for cost or post on a website somewhere. But seems like a worthwhile pursuit. What do you think? Much of the information is not time dependant. Obviously some of it would not be useful, such as projects using extinct ICs, but the basics would be educational. I remember Popular Electronics had very good articles dealing with basics using transistors, ICs and such that are still available today.<p>Anyway what do you think, or has somebody already posed the question and answered it?<p>Wade (now in the hinterland with no access to a tech library or even a good public library). :D
Wade in Florida
rfpowerdude
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2003 1:01 am
Location: Concord, New Hampshire
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by rfpowerdude »

I used to have copies of Popular Electronics all the way back to the late 50s. Stacks and stacks, boxes and boxes. This is when I was in voc-tech high school in 1981. My electronics teacher gave them to me as the school wanted to get rid of them. Filled up my dad's truck with'em. They got lost over the years. I kick myself all the time when I think about how much info was contained in those magazines. To reply to Wade, I have thought about this as well. Ya know, when I was just outta high school (1983), I would go to the local public library and search their periodicals microfilm of Popular Electronics magazines. I would look at the ones I was missing for particular construction articles and how-tos. I wonder if that still exists in the public libraries...<p>I am up for helping an archive building project that gets all the Popular Electronics material onto CD or other media if there is any way to do it. I have thought about it for a long time and didn't really know the best way to approach it.<p>--
joe (aka RFpowerdude)<p>[ November 11, 2003: Message edited by: rfpowerdude ]</p>
User avatar
CeaSaR
Posts: 1949
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2003 1:01 am
Location: Phoenixville, PA USA
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by CeaSaR »

I have been wondering what it was that finally closed the doors to Gernsback Publications after 90+ years in business. Does anyone know? <p>As far as to how to archive the old mags, you would have to find a format to fit most all computers out there. IE, a low version of a generic Windows wordpad or something that would allow pasting of pictures into the body of the document or even as a web page. You would want something that saves the overall file in a small format. I know I hate to download a huge file, only to find the current computer I am on cannot read the file. <p>On the tech side, a decent scanner and regular software to save the pics as jpg's (good quality) and paperport or some other OCR software to make quick work of the text. A little cut -n- paste and there you go! One article down, thousands more to go.<p>Of course the point would be moot if there were rights issues.<p>CeaSaR
Hey, what do I know?
Dean Huster
Posts: 1263
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2001 1:01 am
Location: Harviell, MO (Poplar Bluff area)
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by Dean Huster »

Yes, Gernsback published Radio-Electronics, later renamed Electronics Now. They also had Hands On and changed that name to the old Popular Electronics after getting the rights from (I suppose) Ziff-Davis Publishing. Then Electronics Now and Popular Electronics were merged into Poptronics, named for the popular shortening of the original magazine's name by readers.<p>The merging of the two magazines were most likely the result of a dwindling subscriber and advertising base and by combining the two magazines, the publisher was hoping to cut their losses and put all their efforts, resources, etc. into one title. Trouble is, there wasn't enough readership to keep the advertising rates up. A lot of that is assumption, but it makes sense.<p>It is a trend. Electronics programs in schools, especially vocational schools supported by school districts and state voc-ed departments are dropping like flies. The students just aren't enrolling in them, preferring instead computer courses having to do with software, networking, troubleshooting, A+, etc. When you look for electronics-related jobs, there aren't a lot. They're mostly stuff like cable installing. the age of the repairable electronics consumer product is all but over. The only repairable stuff is the high end audio and TV stuff. Who's going to fool around with repairing a $60 VHS, DVD or TV when you can just buy another for less than the repair cost? Few folks fix a computer unless it's really new and upgradable and even then, use the broken machine as a reason to upgrade.<p>One would think that with all the electronics going into cars and trucks that there would be openings in that area for electronics technicians to work on computers, metal-halide lights, electro-servo power steering, etc. But no. They're sending auto mechanics to schools instead.<p>Electronics as a hobby was on the rising edge of the curve back from 1950 through 1974. It peaked around 1974 or so and then the curve started heading downhill. I picked 1974 as the peak date, not because of actual facts, but because that was when the MITS Altair 8800 was introduced, marking the beginning of the time when magazines started to gradually shift their emphasis from electronics to microcomputers.<p>Oops! The reason for the edit: I forgot about the copyright question. Gernsback owned the majority of the copyrighted material. I'm pretty sure that the ownership reverted to either Larry Steckler, former publisher and CEO of Gernsback or to Poptronix, the electronic version of the magazine. Even at that, copyright in those various magazines was often retained by the authors, so permission to copy articles had to be on a case-by-case basis. I know this because I tried getting blanket copyright permission for our school for educational purposes, which the publishers were willing to do, except for that little flaw about the variations in ownership.<p>
Dean<p>[ November 12, 2003: Message edited by: Dean Huster ]</p>
Dean Huster, Electronics Curmudgeon
Contributing Editor emeritus, "Q & A", of the former "Poptronics" magazine (formerly "Popular Electronics" and "Electronics Now" magazines).

R.I.P.
jbsteele
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2003 1:01 am
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by jbsteele »

I've been doing this sort of CD archiving for some of my old magazines. A friend of mine found me slightly broken scanner with an auto document feeder. It's fairly easy to slice the spine off the magazine and run it through the scanner. I've been storing them as 150dpi jpegs. That's probably too low for finely detailed schematics or board layouts. But it's fine for reading and lets me fit a couple thousand pages onto a CD. I'm farily sure that the OCR would have problems with that resolution too. 300dpi would be better, at the cost of image size.
That stack of CD's is a lot smaller than the big pile of dead trees now recycled.. :-)
toejam
Posts: 253
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2001 1:01 am
Location: n.c.
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by toejam »

It seems to me that the sponser of this bulletin board is doing a fine job of presenting the type of material that was contained in the now defunct electronic publications.If old publications are public domain,I think it would be fun to see articles previousally in them as a feature in Nuts and volts.If you are interisted in finding out about a specific subjuct ther's always the READERS GUIDE TO PERIODACLE LITERATURE at the libriay if it still is available.
Dean Huster
Posts: 1263
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2001 1:01 am
Location: Harviell, MO (Poplar Bluff area)
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by Dean Huster »

Actually, toejam, there is no comparison to the material that Nuts & Volts has now to what the out-of-print magazines of yesteryear had. That's not a slam, just a matter of subject material that you can't get anywhere else. And even the projects of one of the old magazines weren't just "clones" of the others. I remember a little solid-state oscilloscope that was presented over two or three issues of Electronics Illustrated that was absolutely incredible for it's time: solid state with a calibrated attenuator and timebase and triggered sweep. Back then, most folks didn't even know what triggered sweep was. And I've never seen an oscilloscope construction article like that one before or since. So, having all those old mags on CD and thoroughly indexed would be a really wonderful thing. But just because the mags are out of print doesn't mean that they're in the public domain. Those copyrights are still valid, sometimes for as long as 50 years if they aren't renewed, so even the magazines of the 1950s and 1960s may still be untouchable without authorization. Trouble is, finding out who has the rights could be impossible. Then again, if you can't find them, they probably won't worry about infringement anyway. Who knows?<p>Dean
Dean Huster, Electronics Curmudgeon
Contributing Editor emeritus, "Q & A", of the former "Poptronics" magazine (formerly "Popular Electronics" and "Electronics Now" magazines).

R.I.P.
User avatar
jollyrgr
Posts: 1289
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2002 1:01 am
Location: Northern Illinois
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by jollyrgr »

The old magazines were the best and covered all sorts of subjects simply not available to most hobbyist today. I remember reading Radio-Electronics when they had a section dedicated to diagnosing problems with television sets. They would describe a symptom then take you through the troubleshooting steps needed to fix the problem. Just TRY and troubleshoot most problems to the component level on a modern TV! (Yes some of the more basic problems like the HOT or power supplies can be resolved but most "tune up" specs are hidden in service menus not readily available.)<p>When my high school library WITHDREW bunches of old magazines from the stacks, I bought every ELEMENTARY ELECTRONICS magazine I could get.<p>The OLD "Popular Electroncis" magazines (from the 50's and 60's) were real interesting to read in the mid 80's. A neighbor was cleaning out his garage and asked if I wanted a bunch of old magazines about science and electronics. Of course I accepted. These old magazines (the size of a modern "TV GUIDE" magazine) were great. <p>To read about people seeing color TV for the first time. There were actually KITS to build a color TV way back then. And adjusting color was quite a bit more difficult than adjusting TINT, BRIGHTNESS, and HUGE! And how many remember the old Carl and Jerry stories? These were before my time but because of a nice neighbor, I got to read most of them. The sad thing was finding circuits I wanted to build but could not because the parts were long obsolete!
No trees were harmed in the creation of this message. But billions of electrons, photons, and electromagnetic waves were terribly inconvenienced!
jbsteele
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2003 1:01 am
Contact:

Re: Popular Electronics Magazine

Post by jbsteele »

Jolly Roger spake:
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>
And how many remember the old Carl and Jerry stories? These were before my time but because of a nice neighbor, I got to read most of them.
<hr></blockquote><p>I remember those stories also.. they were before my time too, but the electronics lab in my high school had a big stack of back issues... well, they weren't so "back" when I was there. :-)
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot], Semrush [Bot] and 23 guests