Online archive of "Wireless World" 1913 to 1984

[G6Tanuki]

Strangely it's on an American website, but I came across this:

http://www.americanradiohistory.com/...d_Magazine.htm

and thought I'd draw your attention to it.

[emeritus]

Thanks for the link. I just dipped in at random, choosing the April 1948 issue and note that, while the covers are not reproduced, the advertisements are, appearing after the editorial text. That issue has a reproduction of the then just-introduced BBC test card "C", amongst other delights

[ukcol]

The pdf files are searchable which is a big advantage. I was looking at the November and December 1922 editions and easily found information on the early days of the British Broadcasting Company, as it was then, by searching for "British".

I have just done a search for "television" in the January 1937 edition which revealed some very interesting stuff. There is no copy for November 1936 sadly, I don't know if that is just because the site doesn't have it or because it was never published perhaps.

[kellys_eye]

Middlesbrough central library used to have every single issue of WW magazine from number 1 and I used to spend a long Saturday morning there diping into articles from the past. Happy days (but that was back in the early 70's so I'm not sure if the library, or the magazines, are still in existence).

So, thanks for the link - I'm off for a memorable look back in time!

That must have taken ages to do, bang goes the evening (luckily the missus is on holiday)

[G6Tanuki]

It's indeed fascinating: some of the issues from the late-1940s are really rather seminal in that they reveal designs components and circuits that had been developed during WWII.

I was intrigued to see that some of the first Baxandall amps were developed using Mazda SP61 valves ["HIGH-QUALITY AMPLIFIER DESIGN" - Jan 1948] while April 1947 was the first published "Williamson" cathode-coupled phase-splitter amplifier.

The ads from the 1940s also make me wish I had a time-machine.

[Ed_Dinning]

Hi Gents, an excellent resource, but does anyone have access to the Electronic Engineering archive. This was the professional version of WW by the same publisher and the articles are very interesting, sadly I only have a few copies that prove how very good it was.

Ed

[camallison]

Originally Posted by kellys_eye

Middlesbrough central library used to have every single issue of WW magazine from number 1 and I used to spend a long Saturday morning there diping into articles from the past. Happy days (but that was back in the early 70's so I'm not sure if the library, or the magazines, are still in existence).

I live in Yarm, not too far distant, and can confirm that the library does still exist. The magazines can be viewed on request - brought out from the reference store. I also spent hours perusing them when at Constantine College (just up the road) in the mid- to late-60s. Fantastic resource they were.

In addition, they had all the yearly service books (forget the actual name), one of which saved my marriage. I had broken the wife's first transistor radio, bought in 1964, and one volume of the service details had the full info I needed. No such thing as a photocopier in the library at the time, so I copied (by hand) the circuit diligently, plus the test data.

EEEH - nostalgia ain't what it used to be

Colin

[Reelman]

Very interesting indeed....
2/12/37 Random Radiations said about 2nd hand radio sets:

"A two year old set will certainly be in need of several valve replacements to say the least of it, while it is on the cards that the wave change switch and manual volume will have seen their best days"

If only he knew how many are still working 80 years later!

Peter

[PaulE27]

That site it amazing! Don't just look at Wireless World, go to the home page there are loads of other magazines. I'm reading a 1928 issue of Television magazine - incredible.

Paul

[armshead]

What does a compulsive hoarder do with old mag's? Can't bear to throw them away,too good to burn! Wireless world Feb 1947 to late 60s. What Satellite from before No1 (it was a give away with Ham Radio) until late 90s. Acorn User, Radio Constructor, What Video,etc. I love looking at old mags & old ads but at 80 I don't have, and never will have the time. That's not mentioning the books that I still keep buying!

[jim_jobe]

Keep them all Armshead and don't stop buying; just relax and enjoy them - tomorrow never comes; it's just an illusion.
Jim

[Pamphonica]

Many thanks for this very helpful link. I have filled in some gaps on Pamphonic dates and models by searching it this very afternoon.

[Mach One]

Have I done something odd whilst downloading one of these pdfs? I find the scan resolution to be so poor that the print is largely unreadable.

[Nickthedentist]

Amazing, thanks from me too!

I do hope they can fill some of the gaps. The mid-late 1930s ones are particularly interesting regarding domestic receivers from what I remember. I spent a lot of time in the library at Birmingham University in the 1990s reading them as a break from my studies.

N.

[Pamphonica]

Mach One: The ones I downloaded are all readable. Not the highest resolution but fine for me. I am just viewing with a built-in pdf viewer in Firefox.

[G6Tanuki]

They all view OK for me.

Make sure you've not got your PDF viewer set to automatic "Resize to screen width" mode as if you're using an old low-resolution display this will make them problematic.

Set zoom-ratio to "100%" and see what they look like.

[Nickthedentist]

I too find the resolution surprisingly good (I'm using >10 year-old hardware, XP, Firefox and Adobe Reader 11).

N.

[dave walsh]

I hadn't really checked this out as often the combination of my aged computer and poor operating skills means I get something unreadable but I agree with everyone else that this is an excellent very useable site.

It's easy to sympathise with Armshead in post 11*[even though I'm slightly younger] as this is a common dilemma. I could have walked away with many more WW's from the Tonbridge Audiojumble yesterday but the weight and storage factors came into play so I stuck to the mid sixties. In fact I find myself specialising a little bit these days up to the early seventies, covering the period where I might have a chance of understanding what's going on perhaps.
Dave W

[kellys_eye]

Originally Posted by armshead

What does a compulsive hoarder do with old mag's? Can't bear to throw them away,too good to burn!

Quite! However the archive that is the subject of this thread is a great reason to keep them - someone, somewhere would be happy to scan the issues to make them available online to many more enthusiasts and prevent them disappearing altogether.

As a reference source they are invaluable. If you ever consider disposing of them then offering them to someone who is prepared to scan them is certainly better than a visit to the recycling plant.

Subject to any copyright permissions of course.