Wireless World
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
In September 1984 the title was changed to Electronics and Wireless World. The magazine is still published, but under the title Electronics World.
A sister publication was Wireless Engineer which was more of a learned journal than a popular magazine, featuring high quality articles.
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).
) which foresaw the coming of communications satellite
s in synchronous orbit
around the Earth.
" by D.T.N Williamson - using a pair of triode connected KT66
s (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 EL84
s in ultra-linear push-pull configuration. In the 1960s and 1970s there were many further articles on advances in audio and electronic design, notably the 'Tobey-Dinsdale Amplifier' and the 'Linsley Hood
' power amplifier. Later, in 1975/6, Wireless World published a design for the decoding of broadcast TV Teletext
information before the first commercial decoder became available in the marketplace. Later on, it published regular columns of Circuit Ideas.
In 1977 a series of articles was published based on the design of the NASCOM 1
computer.
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.
On pages 232 and 233 of the April 1961 Golden Jubilee issue, regular contributor "Free Grid" speculates what the next 50 years might hold and predicts that "long before our centenary year ... all positions now sacred to the male will have been taken over by women." He went on to make certain remarks in jest about the "editress of 2011" that would not be acceptable today.
Pat Hawker MBE, also well-known for the "Technical Topics" feature he authored for exactly 50 years in the Radio Society of Great Britain's "Radio Communication" or "RadCom" magazine, contributed the regular column "World of Amateur Radio" from May 1969 to April 1982.
An occasional contributor, Ivor Catt
, sparked controversy with an article on electromagnetism in December 1978 by challenging the validity of Maxwell's displacement current. This spawned an exchange of letters to the editor which lasted for years.
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
for radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
enthusiasts. It was one of the very few "informal" journals which were tolerated as a professional expense.
History
The Marconi CompanyMarconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal 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.
In September 1984 the title was changed to Electronics and Wireless World. The magazine is still published, but under the title Electronics World.
A sister publication was Wireless Engineer which was more of a learned journal than a popular magazine, featuring high quality articles.
Target audience
It was also aimed at home constructors, publishing articles on building radio receivers and, after the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
started regular 405-line TV programmes from Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
in 1936, complete details on building your own TV set - including the winding of the high-voltage CRT
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
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).
Famous articles
In 1945 it published a famous article by Arthur C Clarke (then of The British Interplanetary SocietyBritish Interplanetary Society
The British Interplanetary Society founded in 1933 by Philip E. Cleator, is the oldest space advocacy organisation in the world whose aim is exclusively to support and promote astronautics and space exploration.-Structure:...
) which foresaw the coming of communications satellite
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
s in synchronous orbit
Synchronous orbit
A synchronous orbit is an orbit in which an orbiting body has a period equal to the average rotational period of the body being orbited , and in the same direction of rotation as that body.-Properties:...
around the Earth.
Audio and electronic design
For decades, Wireless World was a place where pioneers in audio and electronic design shared ideas. In 1947-49, it published articles on building what became the famous "Williamson amplifierWilliamson amplifier
A Williamson amplifier refers to a type of vacuum tube amplifier whose circuit design is similar to that originally published by D.T.N. Williamson.- Explanation :...
" by D.T.N Williamson - using a pair of triode connected KT66
KT66
The KT66 is a beam tetrode/kinkless tetrode vacuum tube for audio amplification.KT66 is the designator for a vacuum tube introduced by Marconi-Osram Valve Co. Ltd. of Britain in 1937....
s (very similar to the American 6L6
6L6
6L6 is the designator for a vacuum tube introduced by Radio Corporation of America in July 1936. At the time Philips had already developed and patented power pentode designs, which were fast replacing power triodes due to their greater efficiency...
) in push-pull to give 15 watts output. In 1955, it published the design of the popular Mullard 5-10 audio amplifier using two EL84
EL84
The EL84 is a vacuum tube of the power pentode type. It has a 9 pin Noval base and is found mainly in the final output stages of amplification circuits, most commonly now in guitar amplifiers, but originally in radios and many other devices of the pre-transistor era.It was developed to eliminate...
s in ultra-linear push-pull configuration. In the 1960s and 1970s there were many further articles on advances in audio and electronic design, notably the 'Tobey-Dinsdale Amplifier' and the 'Linsley Hood
John Linsley Hood
John Linsley Hood was an electronics designer who is best remembered for his "Simple Class A Amplifier", which he designed to provide a good-quality performance comparable with that of the classic Williamson amplifier....
' power amplifier. Later, in 1975/6, Wireless World published a design for the decoding of broadcast TV Teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
information before the first commercial decoder became available in the marketplace. Later on, it published regular columns of Circuit Ideas.
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
Nascom
The Nascom 1 and 2 were single-board computer kits issued in 1977 and 1979, respectively, based on the Zilog Z80 and including a keyboard and video interface, a serial port that could be used to store data on a tape cassette using the Kansas City standard, and two 8-bit parallel ports...
computer.
Around 1979 they published a design for a "scientific computer" which was sold as the PSI Comp 80
PSI Comp 80 (computer)
In 1979, the British magazine Wireless World published the technical details for a "Scientific Computer". Shortly afterward the British firm Powertran used this design for their implementation, which they called the PSI Comp 80...
in kit form by the company Powertran.
Contributors
Contributors included M.G. Scroggie, who contributed articles of an educational nature on subjects such as applied mathematics and electronic theory using the pen name "Cathode Ray". "Free Grid" was the pseudonym of Norman Preston Vincer-Minter (1897–1964), a classicist and ex-naval wireless operator who specialised in deflating pomposity with his biting wit. Amongst the early editors was W.T. Cocking (designer of the WW television sets); the last five editors were Tom Ivall, Philip Darrington, Frank Ogden, Martin Eccles and Phil Reed. The current editor is Svetlana Josifovska.On pages 232 and 233 of the April 1961 Golden Jubilee issue, regular contributor "Free Grid" speculates what the next 50 years might hold and predicts that "long before our centenary year ... all positions now sacred to the male will have been taken over by women." He went on to make certain remarks in jest about the "editress of 2011" that would not be acceptable today.
Pat Hawker MBE, also well-known for the "Technical Topics" feature he authored for exactly 50 years in the Radio Society of Great Britain's "Radio Communication" or "RadCom" magazine, contributed the regular column "World of Amateur Radio" from May 1969 to April 1982.
An occasional contributor, Ivor Catt
Ivor Catt
Ivor Catt is a British electronics engineer known principally for his alternative theories of electromagnetism. He received a B.A. degree from Cambridge University, and has won two major product awards for his innovative computer chip designs....
, sparked controversy with an article on electromagnetism in December 1978 by challenging the validity of Maxwell's displacement current. This spawned an exchange of letters to the editor which lasted for years.