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Magazine Recommendations

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phaeton

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello...

Seems this question comes up every now and again. I know this from
searching the groogle gloops archives. Problem is that I cannot find
any references newer than say, 1999, and many of the magazines cited
appear to have gone by the wayside- i.e. Circuit Cellar, etc.

Some time ago, I came across some old issues of Popular Electronics and
was blown away by the quality of the articles, the neat projects and
interesting people writing for them (i.e. Craig Anderton). I
understand that, for all intents and purposes, "Nuts and Volts" is the
modern incarnation of PE. Some posts (in 1999) indicated that Nuts and
Volts was on a decline.

True or False?

How about Everyday Practical Electronics? or Silicon Chip Magazine?
I'm in the United States, so will the circuits in these still work even
though the holes and electrons want to travel on the wrong side of the
wire, upside down?

These days, with Internet mail order and all, is it pretty easy to find
parts and supplies for projects in magazines from abroad?

What else is worth reading, and what is junk? My skill level is
somewhere between beginner and intermediate. I'm mostly interested in
audio circuits, and i *could* become interested in robotics. I'm less
interested in magazines that regularly feature computer/operating
system/programming subjects (I already get enough of that at work).
Part of my problem is that I'm eager to build *something* all the time,
I just don't know what to build, aside from guitar effects and small
amplifiers.

I'd appreciate any help, direction or flames. Thanks in advance!

-phaeton
 
B

Buddy Smith

Jan 1, 1970
0
phaeton said:
Seems this question comes up every now and again. I know this from
searching the groogle gloops archives. Problem is that I cannot find
any references newer than say, 1999, and many of the magazines cited
appear to have gone by the wayside- i.e. Circuit Cellar, etc.


That's news to me, considering that I have a circuit cellar
subscription.....

http://www.circuitcellar.com

I've heard that Servo, Nuts and Volts, and Make magazine
(www.makezine.com) are all fine publications.

ttyl,

--buddy
 
M

Matt J. McCullar

Jan 1, 1970
0
I don't keep up with new hobby mags anymore, simply because I don't have the
time and there aren't as many around. But I do know that you can still load
up on back issues of various electronics/ham radio mags very cheaply. Check
out computer sidewalk sales, hamfests, and library sales. You can find
issues of _Popular Electronics_, _73_, _QST_, _CQ_, _Hands-On Electronics_,
_Electronics Now_, etc. Much of what they handle is still useful today and
they're easy to understand. Of course, by this time you may have to make
any circuit board patterns yourself, and some oddball components may be
difficult to find. But if you're just studying theory or want to read stuff
from particular writers, that's a good way to go.
 
D

DM

Jan 1, 1970
0
I agree with Matt that older magazines are one of the best sources of both
project ideas and information on the basics. You can find vintage Popular
Electronics, Radio Electronics and Elementary Electronics on Ebay fairly
cheaply.

From my experience you can't do any better than these older publications for
timeless tutorials on things you must understand to pursue electronics
right. Many seem forget that you must understand concepts discovered over
100 year ago and devices invented over 50 years ago to build and/or modify a
project built around the latest microcontroller, MP3 player or Internet
control.

Dorian
 
S

steamer

Jan 1, 1970
0
--3 I find useful:
-Nuts & Volts
-Make
-Servo
--There's a bran new rag devoted to homebrew robotics but the
name escapes me at the moment..
 
P

phaeton

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanks for the suggestions, folks.

I'll definately have to dig up the old Popular Electronics mags. I
bumped into someone in a different forum that said he bought about 7
years worth of issues from a library sale many years ago for about $5
(and then of course ebayed them).

Makezine looked interesting for this issue, so I bit the bullet and
ordered a subscription. I'll probably do the same for Circuit Cellar
and/or Nuts n Volts.

I'm trying to avoid "digital copies" of magazines though. I'm trying
to develop something to read and do /away/ from the computer :-D

Thx

-phaeton
 
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