In the days when magazines weren't just a 300-page advertising catalogue with 10 pages of actual content!

Brings back fond memories. I was 13 years old then, and bought Everyday Electronics every month. I also remember the freebies they often had taped to the cover. Wow. Memory lane indeed. Thanks for that.

Thank you for sharing this video with us. It's a shame that electronics magazines from the newsagent are no longer readily available, the young people of today are missing out on so much. I'm looking forward to your special Christmas video.

O' how I wish they gave away the free gifts again, they were always a pleasant surprise.

I still have my E.E. lead bender right here ! Though from a few years later. Marked "PRESENTED FREE WITH EVERYDAY ELECTRONICS" Ⓒ IPC Magazines 1983.

Before I watched the video when I saw the title I thought about and wondered if it was the orange component wire being gauge. I had this magazine every month for years. I still have my free gift knocking around in a box in old workshop. Strangely my memory played a recall while watching you flick through the magazine I could actually smell the old paper aroma from the magazine some fondness associated with everyday electronics. Love seeing all your videos very much appreciated

Thanks for transporting me back in time to very happy hobby days... I remember that edition of EE very well, being sixteen years old! I have the tool too. At some point, probably a year or so earlier, I bought the Pocket Five from Radio Exchange Ltd. It was a regenerative receiver with one RF stage (as far as I can remember) using an OC44 / OC45 and the remaining stages for audio amplification. It had a class A output stage with a high impedance speaker. The volume control was a variable resistor which set the regeneration, or feedback level. Volume was very low, but it would receive MW, LW and trawler bands and pick up Radio 1 and Luxembourg (208 metres) which suited me fine! In 1969, the same radio was advertised at 44/6 (shillings/pence) + postage. I was a frequent reader of Everyday Electronics, Practical Electronics and later, Elektor. What a fantastic hobby when you can recycle, repurpose and learn so much. Needless to say my career was in electronics design.

Back in the mid 60s I worked in an R&D department and all our electronics was built on 0.2" Plug-in Vero cards. We had a company make us a number of wooden bending blocks for the same purpose, so that resistor and capacitor leads could be quickly bent to length to fit the boards.

Used to buy this mag every month,was 14 in 1976,remembe the magnet organ.loved it,you said about those kits on the front cover being made of surplus / unmarked semiconductors, Alen Suger was known to have bought many underspec devices for his Amstrad hi fi's etc,hence being so cheap. Thanks for the memory. im now 61 & had a great career in electronics.

I admire you Michael , You really have kept EVERYTHING ! . That little bender would have gotten lost in time with most people . Lovely to see the old mags as well. Thanks for another video ! YES !! Please do a vintage telly for Christmas . I would really really like to see that . Cheers Michael

I used to subscribe to this magazine back in the day, I still have some somewhere in a box. I also hery happy memories of those days, thanks for the trip back in time ;)

The Maplin Electronic Supplies business reminds me of Radio Shack over here in the USA

I love those trips back into what nowadays often seem like simpler days, knowing that it’s just our happy memories that make us feel that way. I was not even 10 in 1972 and my electronics journey didn’t start until around 1975 with learning how to solder. Thank you for sharing, so cool that you still have many of the things and magazines from that time!

I have the issue of Everyday Electronics, with the wire bending gauge still attached and in mint condition, but the issue is March of 1983. They must have re-released it.

Everyday electronics was my schoolboy magazine of choice (well..one of them!) as it was the only one i could understand, until I found the Maplin magazine. In my 20's I graduated onto Television subscriptions and remember your articles, they seemed to have a small regular band of writers in those days, David Botto, Eugene Trundle, Nick Beer, Philip Blundell, Michael Maurice and some guy who always signed his faults as M.Dr. ......

From the title I guessed it was going to be either the orange wire jig, or the blue chip inserter power by an elastic band. No doubt I still have both of them somewhere.

Everyday Electronics was my first electronics magazine . I think Feb 72 was the. first edition I bought . Pretty sure I still have it somewhere . It was very well written and the instructional level was just perfect for youthful enthusiasm . I' m pretty sure I made many of the projects but tended to build them as prototypes using the peg type baseboard of my Philips Electronics engineer kit EE 1003 as the prototyping board ..

Wow an advert for Sparkright ignition system my dad got that as a kit and made it up he had it on 3 cars was still working in the late 1980s. I remember him spraying the PCB and components with some sort of sealent.

Thank you for taking me back to 15 years old.

Ahh, happy days when everything was new, still got one or two practical television mags with the freebies still attached.

Fabulous, I still have that bender gauge in my toolbox somewhere. It hasn't seen much action. Love the channel, as a 65 year old ex JAFTE I love the content.

Hehe. Worryingly, I knew exactly what this was going to be! I was only young when I got it (the first one you showed) but used it quite a lot growing up building electronics and playing around with the breadboard. It was always in my toolbox.

i bet your shops draws are electronics goldmines glad you kept all those magazines to share with us now just brilliant and also wish you a merry chistmas to your and your family.

Those free gifts take be back to the days when i was a going through my apprenticeship learning how to repair the less than reliable gear from the 70's. The magazines at the time were an excellent source of projects and radio kits that never worked until you replaced the floor sweeping faulty components and traced out the mistakes in the circuit diagram. Happy days when you could make some useful test gear.🙂👍

I remember the blue plastic pouch my dad got from PW in the 1960s it contained 2 trimmers and a set of tweezers it was in his tool box for years. The last gift I remember was a freznel magnifying glass from Television magazine I still have it in my wallet its a bit scratched good for reading small print.

Oh yes i remember these, Its the 70's everything was either orange or brown in the 70's haha Merry christmas michael.

Hello MD. Yep, I still have that bending gauge and the magazine. EE used to give allsorts away didnt they. I bought a radio kit from Radio Exchange as a kid, all of the transistors were unmarked apart from coloured dots they put on. It wasnt very good but fun to build. I think I still have it but as a bag of parts. BR MJ

Definitely remember having one of those. They must have given it away on a later magazine as well, as I'm sure I got mine in the 80's some time. Definitely a very handy little tool, wish I still had it now.

@quattrohead

7 ай бұрын

Yes I possibly still have one but it would have been from the mid 80's.

Like a lot of us watching this, it brings back memories.

Thanks for the video. I've still got some mags from the 60s & 70s that I bought occasionally. Consequently, I never built any projects as they were over a few months and I often found I'd bought a mag with 'part 4'. I remember seeing these amazing new red LEDs advertised for something like 7/6d! I've bought magazines in more recent years, but they're just full of digital ICs, PICs, etc. which do not interest me. Cheers!

I've got one of those from Everyday Electronics mag in the 80's. Probably still got it somewhere but not seen it in years. I remember it being quite useful, I'll have to find it now :)

I remember this well 👍🏻😉

Ah "Practical Wireless" that takes me back, every issue seemed to have a project build by FG Rayer. Used to buy the mag regularly but our Telecomms City & Guilds college instructor would turn his nose up when we mentioned it, calling it a 'Comic' and for him 'Wireless World' was the only magazine worth reading. - happy days

@user-rf9me7xm1w

7 ай бұрын

That’s interesting, I wonder what he’d thought about Everyday Electronics ? I taught City and Guilds Radio and t.v/ Electronic Serving for over 30 years and was also a City and Guilds External Verifier. I embraced any publication which encouraged students to further their knowledge and experience. Personally. I though Wireless World would be more likely to confuse rather than encourage. There were some articles posted in there which I didn’t understand.

@Barbarapape

7 ай бұрын

I remember "Wireless World" it was the posh one for people with degree's in electronics but couldn't solder two wires togeather!

@gdj6298

7 ай бұрын

There were also frequent projects by R.F. Graham, and I always wondered if Mr. Rayer was even more prolific than we thought and using a pseudonym. It's not much of a leap ...F.G.Rayer > F. Grayer > R.F. Graham........and "RF" are good initials for that purpose !

@HughTVDX

7 ай бұрын

The 'comic' thing came from ''Camm's comics" which refers to F. J. Camm who was the editor for years,also Practical Television,it was very unfair. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_James_Camm

@HughTVDX

7 ай бұрын

@@gdj6298 Quite likely, in Practical Television magazine it was full of them. Gordon J King who wrote a lot of articles used K. Royal as a pseudonym as an example.

I think I saw a car disabler circuit in that magazine you were flicking through. I remember my dad had one of those fitted to his Cortina MK3 2000GT - it was actually used in anger as someone tried to steal the car. They got halfway down the road when they must have had to apply the breaks. This killed the engine and wouldn't let it start again, so they abandoned the car. I re-used that switch in every car I had right up until I got my first car with electronic ignition.

I have the component bender from PW , and the teach-in special compilation magazine that was published every now and then . very interesting

I remember that issue, I wanted one of those Edu kits but couldn't afford it, what I did build from that page was the air band converter kit. It received in the VHF air freq and outputted on the medium wave. It did work, I thought it was great at the time,

I used to have a similar wire-bending gauge but mine was a blue/green colour. It was free with some magazine but I cant remember which and it is a few years since I last saw it so its probably gone now. Your videos certainly bring back memories for me and when I see the adverts in the magazines I can remember pretty much all of them! Thanks for posting Michael.

I've still got one if those orange plastic wire gauges, the one on the right. I've hardly ever used it ,! It must have come with a copy of practical wireless!

Haven't seen it for a while, but I have got the wire bender gauge, and the magazine it came with. Also have the (same colour) set square they called the 'Matrix Marker' with the two common sizes of vero board hole spacing, and the holes for marking I.C's and transistor pattern when making circuit boards. No, I don't feel old...... :-)

Thank you Michael, love your posts, I know you have pointed out to us viewers on how to get hold of these old mags on line but I much prefer it when you flick through them. Its a bit like having a story read to you as a kid, far more entertaining. keep up the good work and have a lovely Christmas👍

That is neat stuff! I wish that you could get those somewhere these days!

I got one of those!! It's blue though. I can't remember which mag it came with. I got a Radio Exchange (Bedford) Ltd Roamer 6 kit for Christmas one year. It was all built on tag strips - dreadfully messy really - amazed that it actually worked when I completed it!!

F. G. Rayer has a Wikipedia entry. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_G._Rayer

@PhatTony-km3fl

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for that Hugh, just had a look , very interesting.

Yep. I had one too. Having lost it, l've made one from a piece of stripboard .

Very nostalgic, many thanks for taking me back to my formative years. I think the periodicals your mention were partly responsible for me taking up a career in electrical/electronic engineering. I built many of the projects and remember vividly the free gifts you feature here. However, I couldn’t take my eyes of the test equipment in the background, I must have used most pieces in the past. BTW, I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of Wireless World.

I remember that magazine. I used to buy every issue when Dick Smith was selling his products in the U.S. The store I managed sold DS products. loved selling the products. I was so sad to see DS drop his U.S. franchises.

@joshhoman

4 ай бұрын

I didn't know that Dick Smith even was here in America!

@f.k.burnham8491

4 ай бұрын

I managed a store that was a Dick Smith dealer back in the '80's I really liked his products.. @@joshhoman

happy Xmas MD . thanks for the great videos

I recently found my turquoise version that was given away with Practical Electronics, probably also in 1976, as that is the date on it. I keep forgetting to use it.

Happy Christmas Michael

Mine must be hanging around somewhere, I wish I knew where it was. I've still got the magazine.

wow I haven't see those in years.

I've still got my wire bender as well.

Cool item, thanks for the video.

Still have both of those😊

Took me back!!!

I remember everyday electronics and practical wireless from the 70s too and built the odd project from it. So your mum thought buying kits was a waste of money?. My mum went further than that when I arranged a TV apprenticeship after leaving school. She said that it paid poor money and to forget the idea and go and get a better paid job in the factory on the industrial estate. It wasn't all bad though, as it was a trainee engineering job, which served me well later on in life working in Aerospace engineering.

I think Practical Electronics gave one away free with their magazine around the same time. I have a green one somewhere.

Did you ever use the Comform tool? An adjustable plastic tool that did basically the same but you would insert the two prongs into the PCB holes and then bend the component (resistor, diode etc to fit. Made by Pace aparrently.

I had both of them

Istill have my wire bending gauge the mag has long since gone..

I had one as a kid and have lost it. Have been looking for one for ages to remember my youth so if anybody has the wire bending gauge for sale 🙂Have even though about 3D printing an exact replica, but have not got around to that.

This video should be in the Louvre. It's a work of art