The AM Forum

   I subscribed to the magazine for many years, but when all the aftershocks of covid kicked in, the publisher ran into problems and ceased publishing hard copies. But now, apparently, they've gotten things straightened out and will be shipping out magazines once again within a few weeks. I just got off the phone with them, and was pleased to find out that my subscription was still effective, since I hadn't received any magazines in years. I always enjoyed the magazine, and I wish them success in their endeavor to return.

That's good news, Bill.

I let my subscription expire a while back but resubscribed a couple of months ago. I'm still waiting for that first hard copy.  In the meantime, I have been receiving digital to keep me from jonesing.

This same story has been retold numerous times on various forums over the last several years.

According to their web site the last hard copy and digital edition was June 2022.
https://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/issues

I'm surprised they haven't been taken to court since they are still soliciting subscriptions to this day without any mention of when paper and digital deliverables will start. Just keep the web site looking fresh and pretty.

Personality, I wouldn't send them a dime. It had its "15 minutes of fame" years ago. It's time to "kiss them good-bye".  

It all sort of reminds me of the last two or three years of CQ Magazine's struggle to remain above water to no avail.

   Well, the first time I connected with them via phone, no promises were made; it was basically just, "we're working on it." This time, she says it's for real, with paper coming off the press as we speak. We'll see. In any event, it's a small family business, and I'm happy to support them. They've been sending me the digital issues all along, so there's life there. It's a tough go these days, for print periodicals, so I'll take a small-change gamble on them. If it doesn't happen, well, I'm not losing my shirt, or even a sock. If it does work, I'll be glad to have helped just a little bit.

So, if you have been receiving "a digital edition" is this a digital edition of an entire magazine (a digital copy of a entire print magazine)?  Or is this a digital newsletter?

There is no mention, or at least I can't find it) that, at this time, they are just supplying a digital version. As I said in the first post, according to their web site, the last issue was June 2022.

   It's a digital newsletter, technically, but the issues are impressively complete, with full articles and color pictures. They are really quite good, but I'm somewhat retro when it comes to publications; I'd rather have a real hard-copy in my hands than sit in front of my computer and read off the screen. I'm really hoping that what I heard today is true and I'll start getting Nuts and Volts in a hard-copy once again.
 

So what you're getting, interpreting their "what you get for a subscription"  are "E-newsletters containing evergreen articles from past issues".

I would suspect, many hard copy magazines are probably now on life support, or in some cases, wires and hoses have been disconnected; and it's a wait and see to say good-bye. Obviously, digital magazines are cheaper and easier to get to subscribers plus you can generally add more content without breaking the bank. With a print magazine, you can't add one page. Depending on how it's bound, page content adding generally runs in increments of 4 added pages of content, 8 added pages of content, 12, 16, etc.

   Well, it's all been free since the print issues stopped. I haven't been charged since then, and since there haven't been any print issues, they still owe me four issues (confirmed on the phone today) once/if they start delivering them again.
   What worries me more is that, assuming they really do start publishing again, it might be challenging to get contributors for monthly (bimonthly, actually) content. Electric Radio, from what I understand, changed from monthly to bimonthly for that very reason: not lack of subscribers but rather lack of contributors.

Bill, when I spent time out in the bay area while employed by Hewlett Packard, copies of Nuts and Bolts were available free to folks shopping at electronic stores or surplus outlets.  It was definitely a good read.   I discovered today that the electronic editions of Nuts and Volts from 2004 through 2016 are available as PDF downloads at the internet archive site, free of charge.  

https://archive.org/details/NutsAndVolts/nutsvolts-2014.02/  A panel on the right side lists all the available issues after PDF download is selected from the menu.

After looking at some of the files, I realized there is a wealth of technical information for the DIY and Maker community within most issues.  Seeing this valuable content has prompted me to seriously consider a subscription.  Even if the hardcopy is not mailed to my home, access to the current electronic issues seems to be a worthwhile option.  And software source file access is certainly more practical from an online resource than from the dead tree edition!  Much of this content is of significant value, whether it is recently authored or published a few years ago.

  I also used to pick up copies for free at hamfests, back in the early 80's as I remember. It was a different physical format back then; larger and printed on non-glossy newsprint type paper. I think it was sometime in the early 2000's that they switched to the current glossy format.
  Yes, it's always been a great publication, filled with excellent practical knowledge geared toward the hobbyist rather than the professional, unlike current industry trade publications such as Electronic Design, which I used to get when I was working.
   Subscribing to Nuts and Volts, I learned a lot about PIC Microcontrollers and stepper motors, both of which I later got involved with in workplaces, so it proved to be a valuable resource in both my hobby and work activities.
  Other than more ham-specific publications like QST and QEX (I'm honestly not sure if QEX is even available in print these days; I still read it online) and Electric Radio (which I really enjoy), Nuts and Volts is pretty much the sole survivor among the plethora of electronic hobbyist periodicals available back in the day.

From the 90's through roughly the first 12 years of the 21st century, Nuts and Volts use to have a single space booth inside the Hara arena. Use to pickup a free copy every year. It was always the large glossy paper print style. Don't recall any newsprint editions. Maybe you're thinking of World Radio which was printed on newsprint type paper.

Since they haven't printed a magazine in 3 years, it might be a stretch to say they are "pretty much the sole survivor" since they haven't produced a printed or digital magazine in 3 years. 

Actually, unless I see real proof of a magazine, sending them money for a subscription is like throwing money out a window. Actually throwing money out a window, is easier, faster, and with far less constipation issues waiting for a result or fulfillment.  ;D

Here's a list of amateur radio related magazines which are/were in print and/or in digital.
List is dated May 2025.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amateur_radio_magazines

West Coast checking in as well.  Id pick up Nuts & Volts, newsprint editions, at California Electronics and the ham swap meet in Santee 1st Sat of the month

Definitely was a newsprint style as I recall.

People throw money away on a lot worse, not sure what your ill will is towards the magazine.  I wish them well.

--Shane
WP2ASS / ex KD6VXI

I worked for Hewlett Packard from 1975 to 2006, then several more years for Agilent Technologies.  During the years from 1987 through 1995, I spent more time in the bay area than at home in Georgia.  With plenty of weekend time to frequent the surplus and specialty suppliers, I recall picking up the newsprint version of Nuts and Volts at Quement Electronics, I think they were on Bascom Ave in San Jose, also at Bill Godbout Electronics at his Quonset Hut at Oakland airport, and at Jameco Electronics just off route 101 in Hawthorne, CA.  The number of surplus houses up and down the bay area from Palo Alto to San Jose were too numerous to count, but all of them had N&V newsprint version, gratis.  I never saw a bound or magazine version while I was in CA, but I can confirm Shane's recollections about the newsprint are accurate.

   Somewhere, up in my attic, I think, I've got a couple of the old newsprint issues, saved for posterity (because I'm an inveterate pack rat, in other words). Next time I'm up there, I'll dig one out. Those older issues, as I recall, were largely filled with advertising content; much of it from the big surplus outfits.

Spent a lot of money at Quement.  Dick Smith Electronics as well.

Did you by chance know an Elmer Hawkins at HP.  Smaller, diminutive man, I believe he worked for Mr Hewlette or Mr Packard directly. 

The bay area was cool for surplus stores but San Diego always seemed better.   Way more military surplus vs what I found in the Bay Area.   Im sure that's just because of Rambo, etc Movies and being a dumb kid.

I last bought something from Jameco about a year ago.  Adapters for a radio.

--Shane
WP2ASS / ex KD6VXI

Shane, I never met Mr. Hawkins, but I had several visits with Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard while working in Palo Alto.  Dave still very much enjoyed chatting about ham radio and his early adventures when he was much younger.   Both Bill and Dave visited the HP folks in Atlanta for HP's 50th anniversary celebration in 1989.

While in the bay area, I was more interested in recent digital components than military, and there were so many surplus outlets with boards, socketed memory and other support chips, iI was like a kid in a candy store.

I also had the wonderful opportunity for several visits with Bill Orr, W6SAI.  In addition to his expertise in RF power devices, he was an avid audiophile.  He and I talked endlessly about the various tube amplifier circuits; his home stereo employed a quad of Eimac 4-125s in the ultralinear circuit with Acrosound iron.  His construction quality was impeccable.  Lots of good memories from long ago with great people!

Bill, have you received any hard copy issue of N&V since posting this thread?

According to their web site, last issue of Nuts and Volts was June 2022. Last Newsletter was July 2025.

I think they ran out of excuses. But, it looks like they're still willing to take your money with a subscription to something.

Sounds like a certain website we all know and love.


--Shane
WP2ASS

Unfortunately, no. The lady I talked to on the phone back in September of last year sounded sincere, and I had high hopes, but so far, nothing has come of it. I did receive their last newsletter on the 20th of this month, so there's still some life there, but the content of the newsletter appears to be mostly a repeat of old material from the print edition. I will give them a call again, but this is starting to smell like monkey business.

This is not an uncommon occurrence with print magazines in recent times. Similar problem with Antique Radio Classified and CQ magazine. CQ slid, I think, for 6 months in a row with no deliveries of print editions to subscribed customers. They finally posted the 6 PDF versions on their web site. And then it ended.
Lack of article input, constant rising USPS shipping charges, paper and print materials also rising in cost doesn't make running a magazine very profitable. And selling subscriptions to vaporware doesn't seem right either.

I wouldn't be surprised to see QST, over the next several years to shrink the page count down to 104 pages. QST pages are bundled in groups of 8 pages. We're at currently 128 pages. Roughly about 20 years go, I think QST was somewhere over 160 pages.
Even Electric Radio has dropped from 12 monthly issues to 6 bi-monthly issues.

Electric Radio dropping from 12 to 6 issues really disappointed me. I've enjoyed electric radio more than QST, honestly, although I still like getting my monthly hard-copy of QST. Despite the current trend, I subscribe to a number of print magazines.  As a former military aerospace worker, I enjoy my subscription to Aviation Week and Space Technology. That one's still going strong, but it can buck the trend because it's very much an "insider" publication and not as vulnerable to consumer trends.
73 Magazine, and Ham Radio Horizons, suffered a similar demise, as did Popular Electronics. I'm still holding out hope for Nuts and Volts, but it's getting harder, and they'll need to convince me.

It's only been 4 years since their last print edition or was it the last PDF release (I don't feel like looking)   ???  Give them time!

I doubt they can pave the road back to success. Their "15 minutes of fame" has come and gone under current ownership.

Bill,
I don't remember exactly when I inquired with N&V. I think it was about the time you posted this thread but don't quote me on that.  Anyway, I asked them when they expected to send out hard copies.  The lady said some time soon but if not she offered a refund. I probably should have took her up on that offer.

I sent them an email last week, but no reply yet. It will be a real shame if they're gone for good. But, I saved most of my hard copies, and also have the archived CD set they were selling a few years ago. I don't know if that's still available, but I recommend it for for faithful fans of the magazine.

I just checked their website, and the full archive CD set is still available, but not cheap, at $289.95. I don't recall paying that much, but it was a number of years ago. There's a wealth of great information in there, though, so even at that price, it may be worth it for fans of the magazine.

Ham Radio Horizons magazine disappeared because it was merged into its parent publication, Ham Radio magazine, following the December 1979 issue. The magazine, which began in March 1977, was aimed at beginners and those new to the hobby, but its run was cut short by economic challenges facing the publishing company, Communications Technology, Inc.

73 Amateur Radio Today magazine ceased publication in September 2003 after 43 years due to severe financial pressure, primarily driven by dwindling advertising revenue and decreasing subscriptions. Wayne Green, the Publisher, faced unsustainable costs, and the magazine, which once covered technical ham radio topics, saw declining interest.

Electric Radio Magazine transitioned from a monthly (12 issues/year) to a bimonthly (6 issues/year) publication, effective September 2021, primarily due to rising printing and mailing costs. This change was implemented to maintain sustainability as publishing expenses increased. Cost management is important to retain sustainability especially in a niche market.

Did you ever get a response to your latest e-mail to them?

I did get a reply. Basically just a reassurance that they're working through a lot of problems but still intend to resume delivering print copies "soon."

Oh yes,
73 magazine is a favorite of mine, maybe my favorite. I look back through my "Ham Radio magazine" magazines from the late 60's, 70's, etc. Another great one. The size and same as  "Electric Radio" now.
Electric Radio of course is fantastic!
You have got me back looking at these older Nuts & Volts mags, I think I found them at a ham fest...They are Cool.
I insist on my print copy of QST, but really I get very little out of it. It's nothing like it was in the old days.
Anyway, Good topic. glad I'm not the only one who still likes a print copy in my hand.
73

Ham Radio magazine changed from its smaller, digest-sized format (approximately 6" x 9") to the larger standard magazine format (approximately 8" x 11") starting with the January 1980 issue.

Electric Radio magazine size has always been 5 1/2 X 8 1/2.
Take a standard size sheet of paper 8 1/2 X 11 and fold it short size edge to short side edge and you now have 4 pages of a typical Electric Radio set of magazine pages.
My first ManualMan catalogs were done this way and saddle stitched (staples in the middle). As my list of manuals grew, it was either make the print smaller or keep adding pages. Adding one folded sheet provided 4 pages of area for manual listings. But, as the number of pages grew, it got very expensive to mail.

Looking at these old magazines,
I found I have the First issue of "ham Radio",
it has the same logo, etc. but is Titled "ham Radio" without the later "ham Radio magazine",
It is the March 1968 edition says "first issue" on the cover and page 55 is an advertisement  "introducing ham Radio"..."Free copy and 4 month trial for $1.00", etc.
Fun stuff.
(I did'nt have any others like that, my next ones start May 1970, "ham radio magazine". )
The December 1974 ham radio magazine has a large "ham radio cumulative index 1968-1974" starting on page 109-133.
You guys probably already know all this but I have'nt looked at these in awhile.
Fun stuff and great information in them.

Ham Radio Magazine had a "preview" issue in February 1968.
If you have nothing better to do, and like real technical stuff, here are all the Ham Radio Magazines:
https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Ham_Radio.htm

Thanks Pete,
I did'nt know that link for ham radio magazine was available, great!!

Thanks for the link, Pete. I definitely bookmarked that one. A very good resource.
And, though I'm not plugging for the League, just a reminder for those who aren't aware: League members have access to the searchable archive of periodicals, including QST, QEX, NCJ, and OTA, as well as Ham Radio. It's another great resource and I use it often.

Since we are echoing some ARRL resources, this one is for all, members or not; the online RADIO ALPHA, went live in August 2025, the chief architect is Chuck Penson.
http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=49324.0