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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 พ.ค. 2012
- PART 1: • EEVblog #280-1 - Talki...
PART 2: • EEVblog #280-2 - Talki...
PART 3: • EEVblog #280-3 - Talki...
PART 4: • EEVblog #280-4 - Talki...
www.talkingelectronics.com
Part 1 of an interview with Colin Mitchell, the pioneering founder of Talking Electronics magazine, which was immensely popular in the 1980's in Australia. - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Great interview. I bought about 20 ANT kits. I was making them from about 1986 ish, my first 3 were the worst soldering jobs ever. I sent them back for help, they fixed them and then send back a 'review' on the job I did. This started me on my Basic Certificate of Electronics in 1990 and my career started from there. I really have this man to thank, thank you.
+ehtkhr thanks for sharing that. Colin is the real deal.
Colin: I built the z80 computer thanks to you all those years ago, you even send me a speech diagram drawn by hand at the time . Simple and profesional man you are , I wish there could be more humans like you , again thankyou
Loving the interview, I remember purchasing the first issue and used to sweat on the next issue. I checked and I still have several issues packed away, I used to buy most Australian Electronics Magazines but Talking Electronics is the only ones I ever kept. They were fantastic for learning electronics even with very little formal knowledge. It was really good to find out the trials and tribulations it took to produce.
Thank you Colin for your input in teaching so many of us joy of electronics.
Hiho,
I just wanted to let you know that after 20 years in the electronics and computer engineering industry I still own the first computer I built, my TEC-1b. It works and as a teenager it was a fantastic learning platform.
Thankyou so much for helping me become the engineer I am today.
I feel that was me the young kid who he refused to sell a TEC computer to. I had bought many kits directly from Colin. And built them all. I was in year 7, when blue LEDs were $52 each!
What a legend! Fantastic point about some teachers out there. I'm retaking maths this year at uni and there's such a difference in pride and professionalism between the electrical engineers and the mathematicians that teach us. Only 4 days left till my eng maths exam and the dude in the revision lecture, got half of all the formulae wrong... Complete and utter crap! This was a truly inspiring interview, has made my day, cheers!
Every 5 minutes I keep wanting to click the Like button. This is such an inspiring interview, this man is a great teacher!
Amazing stuff. I have all the TE books and magazines, purchased at the time, and they inspired me to create and make my own projects. Colin should be given an industry award for his work promoting hobby electronics. His Spot the Mistakes section on his website is the best thing for beginners (and so-called experts) to read. Thanks for making these available.
I remember in the late 80's and early 90's I used to be a real avid reader of Talking Electronics not long after I discovered the magazine in my local newsagent in Kununurra, I actually learnt a lot about electronics just by reading the magazine articles, eventually I enrolled in a Basic Electronics TAFE course at Charles Darwin University in the mid 90's, I've been into electronics and diy electronics since I was 13 years old, I'm now 53 years old and still into electronics and diy electronics.
How is Colin doing now?? I hope he's still alive and kickin'. I'm going to Melbourne in May, and would love to meet him!!
Great interview!
Let us get more of this. I've never heard of Colin Mitchell nor Talking Electronics, but I am now enlighted.
Thanks!
Roger near the north pole in Sweden
You are known both not only in Australia. Also in the Netherlands love your both websites.
I have learned A LOT from TALKING ELECTRONICS specialy I love those circuit explenation with the GIF files ! I know they much work to prepare but they do the work ! Many many gratitude to Collin Mitchel - Great educator !
Dave, I just spoke to Colin. He's still sharp as a tac too.
Thanks for this Dave. More people need to know that feeling of grabbing the new TE Magazine. Good times.
I remember only having a couple of the Electronics notebook series, but it was the best introduction and resource I ever found as a kid. The interview with Colin is wonderful.
Thanks Colin and Dave for setting up this interview. Very interesting stuff.
This is so good Dave, Colin Mitchell is just a hero. Some weeks ago I found his website and a I almost started crying of happiness, it is so full of information and has so much electronics related stuff, I loved it. It is great that you interviewed him and we get to know his and talking eletronics history.
You forget to mention "Everyday Electronics"? In NZ, I bought every issue, every month in the early 80's. Also still got most of my Talking Electronics issues.. the bug ones mostly, all very treasured :)
The thing I remember most about doing a Basic Electronics course through TAFE at uni was that they rushed us through all the units, and when it came time to do the practicals it was pretty frustrating, half the time the circuits wouldn't work properly because the solderless breadboards were temperamental, I learnt more about electronics through reading my Talking Electronics magazines and notebooks than I did from the uni courses.
I learnt electronics from Colin’s books, and when doing Physics in year 11 the teach would make so many mistakes with parallel capacitors and resistors that I would try and correct. But she wasn’t interested. A real shame. Most of the other students got really poor marks in exams because of this. But I did really well. All thanks to Colin and his books.
Thanks for the interview! It was a lot of fun listening to the stories and how he presented them. Awesome
Really enjoying this interview. Thanks Colin and Dave!
love this. Talking Electronics is how I learnt what I know about electronics.
What a great interview! This is one of the best interviews I've ever seen. About anything. Wasn't really an interview more a talk. But wow - so much of value in there. Business. Education. Learning. Dealing with the haters (who try to shut you down). And so down to earth REAL, no bs. No wonder this man was a success.
Wow - what an amazing video. Thank you Collin
my definition of a teacher is to enthuse your pupils students or even readers
this chap gets my thumbs up
Mr Colin
You are the best . Thank you
Zafer
Did you replace his smoke alarm battery for him?
Collin Mitchel- your one of the best teachers I have met in my life ! It not only the electronics its the ability to step into other persons mind ! To understand what someone else might have difficultiy with understanding. Again if I may say so- you are a great teacher. Thanks for your work.
Good on you Dave!! Colin is one of my favorite persons! But to have 2 of them in the same video! Been a great big fan since I took up Electronics. I am entirely SELF TAUGHT, as for material such as Colin Mitchell's or Forest Mims Etc. They are wonderful resources to have Matter not your skill level does. ;) YODA
+MyWillyboi Good your comment was.
I used to receive issues of Electronics Australia from what was then known as the RVIB Talking Book Library, I have a vision impairment and a keen interest in electronics although repairs and kit building and design are far out of my line for various reasons. I've sadly not read Talking Electronics and I'm not familiar with your interviewee, but I'm getting interested and the references to Electronics Australia are bringing back a lot of memories. This is a great interview.
thanks for all the great site, Colin!
In the US when I was a kid, we had Elementary Electronics, Popular Electronics and later Radio Electronics. It's great to see and hear from a man that actually published a magazine, especially that he did pretty much everything all on his own. These days I drive my wife crazy hording old electronic boards because it gets harder and harder to salvage usable parts now that everything is surface mount. Love your videos.
Thanks Dave, Hope Colin is well.
Mark
This is a great video. It's fantastic that the demographic of electronics is changing, but by the sound of this, the good old days of electronic would have been awesome. Too bad i missed out.
Awesome! This guy was my hero growing-up :D I havent been able to get any of his stuff for years. I remember his ant kits on the front of magazines when I was around 6, I bought it with my hard-earned my parents thought I was crazy. I learnt SMT soldering on his PCB's way ahead of my peers later down the track. Thankyou Colin.
MY god this may have been the best video I have ever seen on youtube. Thank you so much Dave, thanks for getting me into electronics and also perfectly sustaining my interest
Fantastic interview Dave. I felt like I was at the table with you guys enjoying the chat.
Awesome, thanks for putting these TE videos up. I have all the TE issues and someone of the new ones, he started a new series and then stopped early on. Love the TE website.
I've never heard of this chap before, but he speaks so much sense. I have friends that can barely do maths but are amazing at practical electronics... better so that myself. Part 2 please!
This guy is awesome! Love the history, look forward to looking up his stuff. In usa i havent learned of this guy, do know who forrest mimms is! He was huge starting point for me
Colin is 100% right about institutions being terrible at teaching people about electronics. My first real exposure to electronics was a course I had to study in university as part of my mechanical engineering degree, I barely passed because it was like drinking water from a fire hydrant. It was full-on theory and mathematics, nothing practical. Absolutely terrible experience. Years later I found my own way into electronics via retro computers (and designing my own) I learned more in a WEEK than I did in a SEMESTER at university. And importantly it had actually piqued my interest to retain that information and keep on going further. Throwing a tonne of electronics theory at students only teaches them one thing: Electronics is a terrible course to study.
Dave (and Colin) Awesome video! A great technician, philosopher, teacher and business mind - a rare combination. Great explanations and the projects always worked (for educational purposes only of course!). Looking forward to Part II - I reckon Colin would have some security tales to tell.
Thank you Mr Collin I have learned some of my first electronics know from you!
I am from Singapore...
Honestly I learned a lot from this interview about many topics in life.
Thanx a lot.
Oh how I love seeing these two gentlemen, generations apart but yet so precisely on the same wavelength :D
I think I still have my TE magazines in the workshop somewhere. Read those booklets so many times and kept them as a reference nearby for many years.
Available as PDF's on Colin website.
Excellent interview, Colin is a great guy, can't wait for the next installment. Those old single board micros on the desk look interesting.
Great video series..Thank's a lot.love colin mitchell's sir and all TE electronic magazine.As hobbiest built fm bug ,no rf frequency meter but tuned with digital radio.Tested about 1km hill and its was quite intereting to see working.
I have learned so much from both men in this video.
Thanks
I know of some journalists who would sell their kidneys to be able to do such good interviews. I feel like I've met Colin Mitchell personally. Good job Dave.
omg, I also grew up with TE, still have all a ton. ;) This is a great series evblog, thanks so much. Ive always wanted to see what Colin was like. I used to assemble bugs for kids at school and I would make them buy a mag every time for the pcb and to support TE
Amazing stories!...the last thing he said was, everything is FREE on the internet. This is soo true and I'm learning soo much!
Seeing videos like these really makes me wish I was around back then. Seems like that era had a certain magic in electronics. But I'm grateful that I can learn in a time where all the information I could ever want is just a few keystrokes away (Or a click to the eevblog channel for that matter :D) A special thanks goes to Colin for inspiring the guy that has inspired me!
During my school years early 70's to leaving school in 1983 we were never taught electronics. Everything I learned was self taught at home by reading books, magazines and experimenting.
Here in England we did have a few magazines to choose from. The ones I remember are Everyday Electronics and Practical Electronics. Television and later the Maplin magazine came along. I believe Everyday Electronics and Practical Electronics almalgamated to become EPE or Everyday Practical Electronics.
In the states we havent heard much about these magazines, at least in the 80's. I did get my hands on a Dick Smith catalog and it was good. Got some projects from there.
Great video series ,really enjoyed .thank sir..
I really like him, he was helping some of my site visitors and he talks so can everybody understands.
Yes, State of Electronics by Karl von Moller. He's still working on it. Colin is in that doco too.
Excellent episode. Really liked it!
Colin mentioned that at the time, but I didn't notice it, nor during the edit!
Such a nice guy, very inspirational.
Dave you tease me with all that stuff I so want those books to study with!
Makes me wish I was in Australia!
States guy here. :(
Sorry to contradict, but Dick Smith DID have kits well before 1985 - I made a very useful stage amplifier for my electric piano in 1982 after I left school from an assembly of kits - power supply, mixer/preamp, power module, speaker dethump.
Nonetheless, it's cool to see the guy who wrote the books I so admire.
Fantastic interview! Maybe more interviews are in order?
Great interview and all the stories behind the man that started the Electronic KIT revolution. The Magazine typed on type-writers! WOW!
We had Heathkit , Knight, Eico, and other kit makers in the USA back in the 1950s. By the early 1980s Heathkit was folding it's tents, as the last of the kit manufacturers. They were owned by Zenith back then, after being owned by Daystrom, who also bought out Weston and made their type 9 valve testers into the Heathkit TT1 kit. Glad to see the kit stuff come back, regardless of from whom or where it came from. THANKS!
I used to have a complete full set of those TE Electronics Notebooks, would love to be able to buy a complete new set, they don't seem to be available anymore, really good reading material.
Smithy will be knocking on the door for an interview next ;) Top vid Dave!
I wish the site of talking electronics be upgraded it's a treasure :(
Anyone else think this was going to be a history of speech synthesis? :-) Seriously though, what a great video, good job!
That smoke detector bleep on the background made me search the house for 10 mins &^%#&#^%. lol
good to see you in person even if you are on video Liked your kits in 2000
Great interview and fascinating to hear what went on behind the scenes plus an insight into the 'egos' running other publishing titles. More like this please!
Surely with so many Pic microcontrollers and desktop publishing [ugh!] its never been easier to publish your own mag for real or online - its useful content. Older mags never seemed to get past over priced Organ projects you could never afford, or Reaction timers or Quiz Timer projects. We need really useful projects that inspire.
Actually, now I think about it: My education in electronics (when I was younger) almost completely stalled after his TTL series (I couldn't get the time/hw to finish it off as I was already working in the area, but I still learnt a lot through reading) Electronic magazines and open learning was all down-hill from there (at least for a while) I remember I had the full collection then I lost the early issues and could never replace them :-(
wow bought several of his mags, great stuff.
Never hear about this magazine but it seems interesting - I used to buy most of the popular radio and electronics magazines and I wish I had known about it at the time.
Great site. Great man
Brilliant video!
Maybe you can make a written summery to every video in the future. So everyone can print it out at home and build a small library.
Great Video, thank you very much for sharing this! :-)
Thank you for great video
Great Video Dave Great Video.
Australia used to have a really good diy electronics scene going, but unfortunately not any longer, at least as far as I know, Tandy Electronics (remember them?) got bought out by Woolworths or some other company, same as Dick Smith Electronics, now Jaycar Electronics is all that's around, Jaycar used to have a great range of kits available but the range of kits has degenerated to just a few PIC kits, which is a shame, we can blame our politicians for that.
lol Forrest m Mims.... I have his book and that's what got me started 2 years ago!!
thats a great interview
hey, I made one of those bugs in '92!!
Dave, you've mentioned before you got a schematic published at a young age for, what was it, a clock divider for a PC using a couple of 74hc logic gates? Which magazine was this in?
I love old guys (a term of endearment), I've learned my best stuff from them. "Any fool can learn from his own mistakes, but it takes a wise man to learn from somebody else's mistakes." - My father, paraphrasing Benjamin Franklin (two more old guys that I admire).
You could do a Steven Bradbury!
It was a lot of material to sift through, I think about 3.5 hours worth. So always took a back burner. But no excuses, I was just slack!
When I got to this video, I thought "I'm not really interested in this, it's a nostalgia thing, and it's not part of my past, so I won't care" but I waited and let him speak for a moment, and it was actually quite interesting.
hah, I surfed over to talkingelectronics,com without recognizing the URL - it's already one of my book marks. Great stuff, he shows and explains hundreds of simple circuits, many of which can be made from parts in your junk box. eg: gut the components from an old (transistor) radio.
best wishes. Thanks for the effort.
Awesome....
ok, thanks. ya, too bad radio shack is limited with electronic parts now and their whole philosophy, and the prices are incredible being that there is so much competition and price reductions on them it should be passed to the consumer/builders, some things are reasonable, and others way off, i guess "online" is the only way to go now, and salvaging parts and having junk boxes, after all a junk box is a treasure when its needed
Old timer can teach you lots, cool history lesson
They had macs back then to do DPI too, not only typewriters
What a cool video. thanks
How can i find these magazins ie. on 12:29 or 11:25 or is there some book on net or to buy? Because when i go to www.talkingelectronics.com i "only" see circuits and "TALKING ELECTRONICS Basic Electronics Course". Is "TALKING ELECTRONICS Basic Electronics Course" what i am looking for? Many thanks and respect Bojan.
I love the 27MHz section…