PW makes an appearance at WH Smith

Until recently Practical Wireless was only available on the newsstand at larger branches of WH Smith. Getting hold of a copy proved useless at smaller branches unless you had it reserved in advance, infact I gave up many years ago asking why it wasn't present every month?  In the end I got a local corner newsagent to reserve it for me, I guess he has been grateful of the business ever since.

However could the tide of policy changed it's direction at my local small branch of WH Smith and others? PW is once again available on the shelf, forefront, alongside with it's sister magazine Radiouser.

Practical Wireless is the only independent magazine representing the amateur radio hobby in the UK, it is good to see someone has finally done something to get it back where it belongs, so a new generation can peruse and purchase it along with us old timers.

Carrying On The Practical Way - Follow up

Since making it known to the world last weekend about the release of "Carrying on the Practical Way" from PW, written by G3RJV since August 1996. That particular Blog was proved to be the most eye catching article I have written so far, with Hundreds of hits over the first couple of days of it's issue. I also guess the tills have been busy ringing down at Practical Wireless HQ, at one stage it was marked as SOLD OUT but they soon pressed the restock button and reset this. Does this mean I get a Christmas card from them this year, or George gets a few extra Royalties to help his pension along?

What it does prove though is what I have said before and made well known to PW several years ago, that G3RJV's series is very popular, and well liked in our circles, and will always be the anchor for the Novice to find a good reference point and solid footing into our hobby. Another way of putting George's work, is like a fine Wine that matures with age, or a Matt Monro recording that never fades, that is of course if you appreciate Matt Monro?
 
I have now printed some of my missing early parts out and bound them up into a folder, allowing me to read it when I have a boring moment:

One or Two contacted me to ask if this will be available as a book? I just don't know, but judging by the intense interest of traffic, over to you Practical Wireless!

Carrying On The Practical Way - Practical Wireless - G3RJV

When anyone says QRP they always relate to the Low Power side of our hobby and the GQRP Club  founded by the Rev George Dobbs (G3RJV), over 40 years ago. Some may not know that George has written columns and many pages for technical radio hobby magazines over the years.

One being is Practical Wireless which he has written on average a two page monthly article for the last 20 years or so, called "Carrying on the Practical Way". The series consisted of simple electronic projects which could be built up out of a scrap box of components on a dark Winters evening. The projects have always proved to be very useful and popular, whether just a simple Colpitts oscillator, amplifier, low Pass filter. Or  maybe something a bit more technical to  get you on the air! A Receiver and a QRP Transmitter along with some simple test equipment to help you prove what you had built was functional, accurate and even transmitting a carrier. All which were covered by his simple designs in the series.


I had wrote to PW several years ago, asking them to collate the pages together and release this as a book, as it had been one of the most useful and methodical technical series, I thought this had fell on deaf ears?

 However, recently G3RJV retired from writing for Practical Wireless, and they have now decided the time was right to release the entire series on disk in PDF format.

Mine arrived in the post this morning, and it's something I will be busy looking over in my spare time, as some of the articles I have missed as I have a hole in my PW collection.
 
Carrying on the Practical Way is available from PW publishing LTD for £15 plus postage. Click on this Link for further details. Please note! I have no connection with PW so please don't contact me.

I recommend this series to the novice and those just starting out in electronics, or even the mature converted like myself. There is something in it for everyone, timeless, simple understandable electronics, that is a bonus in the shack and it is well worth a purchase.

Binding up!

The normal good old British early Spring wet weather, had stopped any Sunday outside activity, even the cat was having non of it, she was well tucked up after her lunch. Nothing interested me on the television, a boring afternoon ahead or maybe a sleep in the chair?

I remembered there were 2 years worth of Practical Wireless magazines and a few Sprats scattered over the house. 14 were together, 2 were stuck in a drawer by the bed, and the rest were eventually found mixed up with several other piles of junk, which had been dumped together when the XYL had been on one of her recent mad cleaning rounds.
 

Someone had got me the binders for a present last year, again they took a bit of searching for? But I eventually found them, and set to work. After an hour or so, all were now together sorted and bound, ready for the bookshelf a real professional job!

I like to keep my magazines bound together, making quick reference easy when I want to go back to an article. Todays effort will help with a bulk of projects on the list which you will hear about in the future .