Practical
Electronics
Editorial offices
Volume 50. No. 3
March 2021
ISSN 2632 573X
Editorial
Practical Electronics Adverts Tel
01273 777619
1 Buckingham Road
Mob 07973 518682
Brighton
Email pe<at>electronpublishing.com
East Sussex BN1 3RA
Worth the wait...
Some projects come to us as fully formed ideas – we look at them
and can quickly say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Others start as the germ of an
idea and develop over months or even years. Some are feasible – a
new take on a valve (‘tube’, for our US friends) amplifier or a novel
use of an Arduino. Many projects sound great but are not always
feasible – wouldn’t it be fun to create a ‘flux capacitor’ or ‘sonic
screwdriver’?! Yes, of course, but we’re going to have to wait for a
few components to be invented before they appear in PE.
Editor
Matt Pulzer
General Manager
Louisa Pulzer
Digital subscriptions Stewart Kearn Tel 01202 880299
Online Editor
Alan Winstanley
Web Systems
Kris Thain
Publisher
Matt Pulzer
Some projects look great on paper, but they are ‘just ideas’ and
unless we are presented with a functioning circuit it’s too much of
a risk to run with an untested project that may have a subtle but
fatal design flaw.
Practical Electronics
Electron Publishing Limited
1 Buckingham Road
Brighton
East Sussex BN1 3RA
Tel
01273 777619
Mob 07973 518682
Fax 01202 843233
Email pe<at>electronpublishing.com
Web www.electronpublishing.com
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Print subscriptions
Practical Electronics Subscriptions
PO Box 6337
Bournemouth BH1 9EH
Tel
01202 087631
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Email pesubs<at>selectps.com
Technical enquiries
We regret technical enquiries cannot be answered over the
telephone. We are unable to offer any advice on the use, purchase,
re air or modifi ation of ommer ial e i ment or t e in or oration
or modifi ation of desi ns
lis ed in t e ma a ine e annot
provide data or answer queries on articles or projects that are
more t an fi e years old
Questions about articles or projects should be sent to the editor
by email: pe<at>electronpublishing.com
Projects and circuits
All reasonable precautions are taken to ensure that the advice and
data given to readers is reliable. We cannot, however, guarantee
it and we cannot accept legal responsibility for it.
A number of projects and circuits published in Practical Electronics
employ voltages that can be lethal. You should not build, test,
modify or renovate any item of mains-powered equipment unless
you fully understand the safety aspects involved and you use an
RCD (GFCI) adaptor.
Component supplies
We do not supply electronic components or kits for building the
projects featured, these can be supplied by advertisers. We
advise readers to check that all parts are still available before
commencing any project in a back-dated issue.
Advertisements
Although the proprietors and staff of Practical Electronics take
reasonable precautions to protect the interests of readers by
ens rin as far as ra ti a le t at ad ertisements are ona fide
the magazine and its publishers cannot give any undertakings
in respect of statements or claims made by advertisers, whether
these advertisements are printed as part of the magazine, or in
inserts. The Publishers regret that under no circumstances will
the magazine accept liability for non-receipt of goods ordered, or
for late delivery, or for faults in manufacture.
A few ideas come our way that look fun and exciting but are
inherently dangerous – they may play fast and loose with the
mains supply or critical elements of a car. Some are plain illegal.
In the UK – and of course elsewhere – we have extremely strict
rules about operating transmitters or connecting circuits to the
telephone network, which is why you very rarely see such items in
PE, however much fun they might be.
That said, many of you take the time to write in with ideas and we
appreciate that very much.
...at last!
This month, we feature two projects that I have wanted to run for
a very long time. The first is a real classic. Nearly 50 years ago
Ladybird books published a little volume for children explaining
how to build a radio. I built one, Audio Out’s Jake Rothman built
one, and I expect many of you did too. It was quite a sophisticated
circuit and I’ll be as honest as Jake at this point and confess
mine didn’t work. This has always bugged me and when Jake
suggested we build a PE version and offer a few upgrades I agreed
immediately. I hope you enjoy this IC-and-PCB-free trip down
memory lane. It will be fun!
At the other end of the technology spectrum, this month is when
Mike Hibbett’s PIC18F Development Board really takes off. The
first PCB prototype has been designed, built and (mostly) tested.
It looks superb and I hope many of you will build one when it
becomes available in the May issue.
Keep well everyone
Matt Pulzer
Publisher
Transmitters/bugs/telephone equipment
We advise readers that certain items of radio transmitting and
telephone equipment which may be advertised in our pages
cannot be legally used in the UK. Readers should check the law
efore yin any transmittin or tele one e i ment as a fine
onfis ation of e i ment and or im risonment an res lt from
illegal use or ownership. The laws vary from country to country;
readers should check local laws.
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