Once upon a time in America, in a tech era far far away, there were
electronic hobbyists and ham operators and kids excited over the space
program and hi-fi enthusiasts building their own loudspeakers and
amplifiers. Phones still had rotary dials then and there was no
Internet, not even personal computers. It was easier to focus on a
weekend construction project. This was the 60’s and we had magazines
like Popular Electronics, Electronics Illustrated, Radio-Electronics
and four ham radio magazines all chocked full of cool projects to
build. This was my era and I miss it! So what is left now? See below:Hobbyist Magazines:
Star ratings are based on bang for the buck and how broadly they cover hobbyist electronics topics.
Circuit Cellar ****–
Great construction articles, strong on digital and embedded designs,
not analog. There are some articles and white paers free online.
Otherwise it’s $38/yr for the digital subscription.
Nuts and Volts *****–
Very much like Circuit Cellar in content. The online digital
subscription price is only $20/yr – great bang for the buck.
Make **–
This is a unique blend of crazy DIY and electronic construction
articles. Not all are electronic. Also, the magazine is not monthly,
more like 4-5 times a year. The digital online edition is 4 issues for
$10.
Silicon Chip ***–
An Australian magazine, with projects much like Popular Electronics
would have done. There are analog, digital and vintage electronics
sections. The online subscription rate is $57/yr.
Everyday Practical Electronics *****–
Excellent hobbyist magazine with a good range of analog/digital
projects with in-depth construction details, from the UK. The online
subscription is $20/yr.
Elektor (UK) ****
– Great German hobbyist magazine but they have a UK version in
English. They have some pretty advanced projects and a very
comprehensive website with sourcecode and pcb files for many projects.
The subscription is $40/yr or $54/yr which is for both printed and
DVD-ROM. You can also buy Elektor credits and just buy certain
articles for a dollar or two.
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Electronics Magazines for Engineers and Advanced Hobbyists:
This category is supported by part manufacturers advertising and
most all are available on-line for free, which makes them valuable for
hobbyist and professional alike. I didn’t rate them because all are
free (except printed copy of IEEE Spectrum) and some are
topic-specific.
Electronic Design -
#1 reason to read this magazine: Bob Pease (staff scientist at
National Electronics) column on analog. The magazine site has very
good coverage of news on the industry.
Electronic Design News (EDN) –
my favorite free magazine for engineers. Over the years, I’ve gotten
more good design information from EDN than any other free magazine.
Their articles are downloadable in pdf format too.
Electronic Component News (ECN) – definitely targeting component news. Sometimes the ads for new parts seem to blend with the articles.
EE Times –
This is more news on the industry than news on components and design
methods. It used to have the most sensational dirt on industry issues.
IEEE Spectrum –
Official journal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers, not actually free for a printed copy ($30/yr) but all the
online content seems to be free. Excellent general interest articles
on the latest in Electronics advancement and much free aggragated
material from IEEE partners.
Electronics Weekly – UK magazine – great worldwide industry news plus some really unique pages such as Made By Monkeys.
Test & Measurement – targets test and measurement industry. We all measure things and you might find a better way to do it here.
Printed Circuit Design & Fab –
targets printed circuit board layout designers and has some great
articles on best layout methods, changes in the industry, best deals
on proto board fabrication.
Compliance Engineering –
targets the EMI engineer, especially safety compliance testing for
UL, CE, etc. Online standards papers are NOT cheap so at least you can
get direction here before asking your boss for $120 again for a 10
page standard paper.
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Paces to Buy Parts and Browse Datasheets:
DigiKey – Best supplier for having datasheets on everything they sell online.
Mouser – best price and availability, compared to DigiKey.
Parts Express – more hobbyist oriented, especially for loudspeaker projects.
Jameco – another good site for techs and hobbyists to buy parts.
Other Online Resources:
Electronic Hobbyist Links – lots of links to hobbyist resources.
ePanorama – great resource of technical know-how articles.
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In the Ham Radio arena, QST Magazine and CQ Magazine are still around, although CQ doesn’t run construction articles any more.
Deceased:
Electronics Illustrated - 1972
Popular Electronics – 1990
Electronics Australia - 2001
Radio-Electronics – 2003
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Ham Radio Magazine - 1990
73 Magazine – 2003
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