Radio Bygones
A top quality
limited circulation magazine, edited by Mike Kenward. Covering domestic and
military radio equipment including vintage transistors. Beautifully produced, very much a technical
journal but with articles and content to suit every vintage enthusiast and
offering free reader adverts, book reviews and book sales. Essential reading. Contact:
Radio Bygones, Wimborne Publishing Ltd., 113 Lynwood Drive, Merley, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 1UU
Telephone: 01202 873872
Note that the web address doubles for Everyday Practical Electronics (EPE). Scroll down to Radio Bygones.
E-mail: radiobygones@wimborne.co.uk
web sites: www.epemag3.com/
The Radiophile
'The
Radiophile' is a well-produced and informative magazine mainly concerned with domestic valve
radio and occasionally vintage TV. The editor is Chas E. Miller, well known as an authority on the subject
to those of us who remember Practical Wireless and Practical Television from
years back. Pretty ladies adorn the covers but inside will be found interesting
and amusing articles, adverts, nostalgia. In
fact, there's altogether a very nostalgic, occasionally whimsical and quirky 'old fashioned' feel and look to this
popular magazine. Ideal for those of us who fondly recall the Practical Wireless
years of FJ Camm. As with
most limited circulation magazines, you must subscribe but you can try one copy
to see how you like it first. Write to:
The Radiophile (Administration Office)
Telephone: 01785 284696. Fax: 01785 817744
BVWS Bulletin
This is the bulletin of the British Vintage Wireless Society, published quarterly. Membership of the society entitles you to the quality magazine. Beautifully presented and printed in a visually sharp and somewhat minimalist manner, packed with member's own articles: so it is for the members, by the members and restoration is a major feature of these submissions.
Visit the website www.bvws.org.uk.
Practical Wireless (PW)
This title is now aimed mainly at the radio amateur but until recently did carry a regular monthly page or two devoted to vintage radio. This seems to have become sporadic recently and so I cannot be certain that it will be present in any given issue. Often the magazine carries handy advertisements for spares. The famous title plus the quality content seems to have ensured the magazine's survival and it is still obtainable from high street book and magazine outlets.
Television and consumer electronics
The title finally folded after a long slow decline in readership forced several changes of ownership and editorship. It was revived in subscription form for a few months but unfortunately the subscription level fell below that which the magazine was viable and it ceased publication. The few copies that were produced during the short-lived revival period might turn up from time to time at vintage fairs or on Ebay. As before, the content was mainly for service trade readers (television and video technicians) but it did cover a lot of ground, including the occasional vintage item. From this failed experiment it is unfortunately clear that the customer base no longer exists for the subject matter.
The market for radio construction magazines has contracted out of recognition from the heady days of the 1930s - 1960s. In the 1950s, several magazines catered for the radio enthusiast and constructor. These were never for the 'collector' in style or in content: 'Practical Wireless' and 'The Radio Constructor' catered for the broad mass of practical-minded experimenters and constructors from beginner to skilled engineer, and 'Wireless World' for the upper echelons in the industry.
Anyone around today who recalls those far-off times will feel a sense of regret at their inevitable passing, but such is the price of progress: building with transistors and microchips is fun and educational but of a different order to the construction skills needed to build valve radios and amplifiers. Even the erstwhile Practical Wireless of the great FJ Camm days has gone, replaced by the magazine that bears its title today, but aimed at the radio amateur rather than the more general and wide-ranging construction articles that graced the pages of old.
