Wireless World
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Wireless World was the pre-eminent British magazine for radio and electronics enthusiasts. It was one of the very few "informal" journals which were tolerated as a professional expense.
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[edit] History
The Marconi Company published the first issue of the journal The Marconigraph In April 1911 . It was the first journal written especially for wireless communication and circulated largely among engineers and operators.
In 1913 the name was changed to The Wireless World and in April the first issue was seen in the news-stands.
From April 1922 it was known as The Radio Review. This journal was first published October 1919 and ended as part of The Wireless World.
[edit] Target audience
It was also aimed at home constructors, publishing articles on building radio receivers and, after the BBC started regular 405-line TV programmes from Alexandra Palace in 1936, complete details on building your own TV set - including the winding of the high-voltage CRT deflector coils (not a task for the faint hearted). A similar series was published after 1945 utilising the then ubiquitous EF50 RF amplifier valve (tube).
[edit] Famous articles
In 1945 it published a famous article by Arthur C Clarke (then of The British Interplanetary Society) which foresaw the coming of communications satellites in synchronous orbit around the Earth.[1]
[edit] Audio
As well as being a place where many famous audio pioneers shared ideas, with articles on the 'Dinsdale Amp' and the 'Linsley Hood' power amp, it also published articles on building the famous "Williamson amplifier" by D.T.N Williamson - using a pair of triode connected KT66s (very similar to the American 6L6) in push-pull to give 15 Watts output. In 1955 it published the design of the popular Mullard 5-10 audio amplifier using two EL84s in ultra-linear push-pull configuration. Later, in 1975/6 it published a design for the decoding of broadcast TV Teletext information before the first commercial decoder became available in the marketplace.
[edit] Computers
In 1967-1968 a series Wireless World Digital Computer by Brian Crank was published. This described how to build a very simple binary computer at home. It was constructed entirely from reject transistors (to keep the cost down) and was intended for teaching the basic principles of computer operation.
In 1977 a series of articles was published based on the design of the NASCOM 1 computer.[2]
Around 1979 they published a design for a "scientific computer" which was sold as the PSI Comp 80 in kit form by the company Powertran.
[edit] Spoof
In the 60s or 70s a spoof article was submitted to "Wireless World" which described the performance of a pair of devices—an emitter and a receiver in the form of a resonant cavity—each of which were mounted on bipods. The article described how the 'receiver' could be prepared for good reception by using a pair of circular tuners mounted somewhat above the resonant cavity. The system was named the "4Q2". In today's more sexually open society, such a parody would seem extremely thinly veiled indeed. However, the article passed review and was published. Copies of the magazine were hastily withdrawn from the shelves by the publishers when the secret leaked out.
[edit] Contributors
Contributors included M.G. Scroggie, who also had an anonymous column cleverly entitled "Unbiased" by "Free Grid", exploiting the British skill at punning. Scroggie also contributed articles of an educational nature on subjects such as applied mathematics and electronic theory using the pen name "Cathode Ray". Amongst the early editors was W.T. Cocking (designer of the WW television sets); the last four editors were Tom Ivall, Frank Ogden, Martin Eccles, and Phil Reed. The current editor is Svetlana Josifovska.
[edit] Recent times
In September 1984 the title was changed to Electronics and Wireless World. The magazine is still published, but under the title Electronics World, and is available from major magazine stores or by subscription.
A sister publication was "Wireless Engineer" which was more of a learned journal than a popular magazine, featuring high quality articles.
[edit] References
- ^ Kavan U. Ratnatunga. The 1945 Proposal by Arthur C. Clarke for Geostationary Satellite Communications.
- ^ 1980s Vintage Computers - Wireless World Magazine
