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Attn: Former EA Contributors

D

David L. Jones

Jan 1, 1970
0
Have any former contributors to EA received a rather mysterious cheque
from the Federal Publishing Company recently?

Dave.
 
B

Bob Parker

Jan 1, 1970
0
Have any former contributors to EA received a rather mysterious cheque
from the Federal Publishing Company recently?

Dave.

Nothing here ...
 
P

Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
0
"David L. Jones"
Have any former contributors to EA received a rather mysterious cheque
from the Federal Publishing Company recently?



** Don't tell me it could be long delayed conscience money for all the
insulting nonsense that went on after even the very beat contributions were
published ??

Or that abominable puke called " EAT " ???





......... Phil
 
D

David L. Jones

Jan 1, 1970
0
"David L. Jones"




** Don't tell me it could be long delayed conscience money for all the
insulting nonsense that went on after even the very beat contributions were
published ??

Do tell...
Or that abominable puke called " EAT " ???

I just knew it was EATing them up inside...

Might also have something to do with the recent takeover of FPC by
News Limited, perhaps I was a glitch in the Matrix.

Speaking of EAT, what ever happened to the esteemed editor Graham
Cattley I wonder...

Dave.
 
G

Gingre

Jan 1, 1970
0
Yes, didn't they just *wreck* that mag! IMHO a very good read was Roger
Harrison's Australian Electronics Monthly. He was ex EA and had a very good
writing style. So was Jim Rowe, who went on to work for Dick Smiths and is
now retired (I think) and still very active in eg Silicon Chip.
 
P

Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
0
"Gingre"
Yes, didn't they just *wreck* that mag!


** EA mag changed to EAT because the publisher demanded that change.

IMHO a very good read was Roger Harrison's Australian Electronics
Monthly.


** Shame how he was in the habit of not paying contributors.

He was ex EA ...


** Roger never worked for EA or its relatives.

He was the editor of Electronics Today for many years.

So was Jim Rowe, who went on to work for Dick Smiths


** No, Jim Rowe was originally a technical writer for EA magazine, left to
join DSE for a few years in the early 1980s and then returned to edit EA mag
in the late 1980s after a major staff walk out.

The staff that left included Leo Simpson, who then set up Silicon Chip.

Jim resigned his editorship of EA when the publisher wanted it to become
EAT.



......... Phil
 
S

swanny

Jan 1, 1970
0
Phil said:
"Gingre"


** EA mag changed to EAT because the publisher demanded that change.




** Shame how he was in the habit of not paying contributors.

I'll second that. AND also the habit of not returning contributor's prototypes.
 
P

Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
0
"swanny"
I'll second that. AND also the habit of not returning contributor's
prototypes.


** LOL !


EA magazine returned my prototype of the Low Distortion Oscillator ( EA
Feb / Mar 89) badly burned and covered inside and out with black soot in
April 1989 - after the * BIG * fire at Federal Publishing in Alexandria.

Apparently, the staff kitchen went up in flames in the wee hours and damn
near took the whole building with it.

EA lost most of their archive of magazines - like RTV&H .

However in my case, Jim made sure I got an additional payment to cover the
loss.

I salvaged the parts that were still OK, cleaned them up as good a possible
and fitted the lot, plus many new parts, into a new instrument case some
years back.

It is now my main workbench oscillator.



........ Phil
 
S

swanny

Jan 1, 1970
0
Phil said:
"swanny"


** LOL !


EA magazine returned my prototype of the Low Distortion Oscillator ( EA
Feb / Mar 89) badly burned and covered inside and out with black soot in
April 1989 - after the * BIG * fire at Federal Publishing in Alexandria.

Apparently, the staff kitchen went up in flames in the wee hours and damn
near took the whole building with it.

EA lost most of their archive of magazines - like RTV&H .

However in my case, Jim made sure I got an additional payment to cover the
loss.

I salvaged the parts that were still OK, cleaned them up as good a possible
and fitted the lot, plus many new parts, into a new instrument case some
years back.

It is now my main workbench oscillator.



....... Phil

Is that the oscillator with the RA53 thermistor in it?
 
P

Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
0
"swanny"
Is that the oscillator with the RA53 thermistor in it?


** Lotsa oscillators use one of them.

My one used two NE5532s wired as all pass filters plus a NE5534 wired as a
Schmitt trigger for square wave.

It also used four diodes in an optional, instant settling, amplitude
stabilisation network.



........ Phil
 
B

Bob Parker

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'll second that. AND also the habit of not returning contributor's prototypes.


I'm sure that I saw Roger interviewed on The Investigators or a
similar program many years ago, in trouble for doing something like that
again.
Anyone remember the details?
 
S

swanny

Jan 1, 1970
0
Phil said:
"swanny"


** Lotsa oscillators use one of them.

My one used two NE5532s wired as all pass filters plus a NE5534 wired as a
Schmitt trigger for square wave.

It also used four diodes in an optional, instant settling, amplitude
stabilisation network.



....... Phil

OK, I have an older one I think, maybe 1986. It's just about falling out of its
cracked zippy box and I was about to put it into a more durable instrument case
for use on the bench. Is there a reference or circuit available for yours? It
sounds a bit more refined and might be a better one to build for the bench.
 
G

Gingre

Jan 1, 1970
0
Just my luck that after killfiling Phil for his incessant foulmouthed
rantings at anyone who dared to disagree with him, I missed his informative
post (but saw it repeated here). I defer to his more detailed knowledge but
I daresay he agrees with my first concurrence that EA got ruined briefly
before expiring (no doubt assisted greatly by the rejig).
 
D

David L. Jones

Jan 1, 1970
0
Just my luck that after killfiling Phil for his incessant foulmouthed
rantings at anyone who dared to disagree with him, I missed his informative
post (but saw it repeated here). I defer to his more detailed knowledge but
I daresay he agrees with my first concurrence that EA got ruined briefly
before expiring (no doubt assisted greatly by the rejig).

EA slowly died over quite a few years, so it was far from "briefly
before expiring". This was commented on in this group many times
during the course of it all.

Hard to pin down when the demise actually started, but a lot of people
seem to think it was when the first DVD product review made front
cover news. If memory serves me correctly it had started during the
reign of Jim Rowe at the insistence of the publishers.

Now, if I had my EA DVD PDF collection to hand (nudge, nudge SC) I'd
be able to get a fair date for it all instead of having to go into my
roof and break into the dusty archives...

Dave.
 
P

Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
0
"Bob Parker"
I'm sure that I saw Roger interviewed on The Investigators or a similar
program many years ago, in trouble for doing something like that again.
Anyone remember the details?


** I definitely recall seeing the item, it went on for quite a while.

Roger the Dodger got his 15 minutes of fame - BIG TIME .

A 20 something guy who had his micro computer related project published
without payment was the complainant.

Roger came across with all the panache of a slinking dingo caught in the
headlights .....




........ Phil
 
B

Bob Parker

Jan 1, 1970
0
Roger came across with all the panache of a slinking dingo caught in the
headlights .....

That's a very good description!
 
K

kreed

Jan 1, 1970
0
EA slowly died over quite a few years, so it was far from "briefly
before expiring". This was commented on in this group many times
during the course of it all.

Hard to pin down when the demise actually started, but a lot of people
seem to think it was when the first DVD product review made front
cover news. If memory serves me correctly it had started during the
reign of Jim Rowe at the insistence of the publishers.

Now, if I had my EA DVD PDF collection to hand (nudge, nudge SC) I'd
be able to get a fair date for it all instead of having to go into my
roof and break into the dusty archives...

Dave.

It would have been around 1999-2000, I remember that review.

I would say without doubt that converting to EAT killed it faster than
anything else could.
Relatively speaking, a couple of product reviews in each issue, made
little difference, as the mag still had plenty of substance to it.

I also will admit to buying the Kodak DC-4800 digital camera following
a review in EA, still have it, still use it and still works great :)
 
D

David L. Jones

Jan 1, 1970
0
It would have been around 1999-2000, I remember that review.

I would say without doubt that converting to EAT killed it faster than
anything else could.

For sure.
I remember it getting really bad about 6 months before EAT, it was
obvious a very serious direction change was underway, and I think
there were a few calls for it to simply fold as an electronics
magazine. EAT of course accomplished that very quickly indeed, but
without the grace everyone wanted. The biggest gripe being that there
was no "thanks for all the fish" acknowledgment from the staff.
Relatively speaking, a couple of product reviews in each issue, made
little difference, as the mag still had plenty of substance to it.

Guess that depends on who you talk to. Many people had already
switched to SC and other mags many years before all this started
happening. I know a few that ditched it way back when EA was loath to
get into microcontroller designs etc.

Dave.
 
P

Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
0
"swanny"
OK, I have an older one I think, maybe 1986. It's just about falling out
of its
cracked zippy box and I was about to put it into a more durable instrument
case
for use on the bench. Is there a reference or circuit available for yours?
It
sounds a bit more refined and might be a better one to build for the
bench.


** That's what it is for.

Get in touch with Bob Barnes are RCS Radio.

He can supply the PCB and include photocopies of the two articles, if you
ask nicely.

The pattern is called " 89 ldo 1 " .




......... Phil
 
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