Nuts and Volts Magazine

[KD1SH]

Anyone subscribe? I've been a subscriber for decades, and always enjoyed it, but the last issue I received - also the last issue available for download - was the 2nd issue of 2022; none since.
For anyone who's waiting on their issues, I just got off the phone with the publisher, and was told that they've been suffering from supply-chain problems, technical problems, and just about everything you can imagine, but they're still in business and working to get the deliveries going again. Hopefully they'll pull through.

[W1RKW]

I was a subscriber up until last year.  I've unsubscribe to the other mags.  I'm mag free now.  Kinda got bored of them all.  They all seemed repetitive but NnV i've been thinking of resubscribing.  Guess I'll wait a while.

Anyone subscribe? I've been a subscriber for decades, and always enjoyed it, but the last issue I received - also the last issue available for download - was the 2nd issue of 2022; none since.
For anyone who's waiting on their issues, I just got off the phone with the publisher, and was told that they've been suffering from supply-chain problems, technical problems, and just about everything you can imagine, but they're still in business and working to get the deliveries going again. Hopefully they'll pull through.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

What kind of supply chain problems do you have with an online edition  
Can't find any mention of problems or why the last issue was a year ago on their web site.
I use to pick up a free issue at their booth at Dayton. Content never got me excited.

Sort of reminds me of the magazine Antique Radio Classified. Back several years ago, they were taking subscriptions and hadn't generated a magazine in well over a year or two.

And then there were the perils of CQ Magazine in past years.

Subscriptions are a pain; I'll just go up to Amazon and have it read me a book  But I do like pictures in my books; amusement can be a struggle at times 

[KD1SH]

   The lady I spoke with on the phone was quite apologetic, but yes, I had the same feelings. Problems getting paper and ink; problems getting their printer repaired, but these shouldn't prevent their online issues from being posted. And with their website still up and running, why no acknowledgement or explanation for their subscribers?
   In these times, I can accept the notion of supply chain problems, but more likely I think are a declining subscription base, difficulty hiring good employees, and finding knowledgeable writers to contribute material. All, unfortunately, seem to be signs of the times. Back in 2018 they went from monthly to bi-monthly; I suspect that the writing isn't on the magazine's pages, but rather on the proverbial wall.

What kind of supply chain problems do you have with an online edition  
Can't find any mention of problems or why the last issue was a year ago on their web site.
I use to pick up a free issue at their booth at Dayton. Content never got me excited.

Sort of reminds me of the magazine Antique Radio Classified. Back several years ago, they were taking subscriptions and hadn't generated a magazine in well over a year or two.

And then there were the perils of CQ Magazine in past years.

Subscriptions are a pain; I'll just go up to Amazon and have it read me a book  But I do like pictures in my books; amusement can be a struggle at times 

[KA3EKH]

All the old timers use to beat me up about not having a subscription to Nuts and Volts, at least back in the day. Unfortunately, that was years ago and there are less and less of the old timers around today, maybe we have become the old timers? Anyway, saw a couple issues but it never really did it for me.
Being part of the early adopters of the internet and online world found that it was way more useful then printed material. Once printed material and things like QST were the only game in town, well except for CQ and 73 but the world of web pages, email reflectors and YouTube just blew all that away. Unlike QST where you would get maybe a hundred pages of stuff with about ninety five percent being of no interest and maybe five percent worth reading the online world allows you to view what you want without having to pay for additional filler about DX Contest, about how important public service is and the huge amount of advertisements.
Think the only advantage to the old publisher magazine model is that you had the benefit of peer review by an editor prior to publishing and perhaps a professional artist who did the graphics layout where in the internet age we just hack this stuff together and post.
But just like land line telephones, CQ and 73 magazine and a lot of the older distribution methods this is where the future is taking us. 

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Unlike QST where you would get maybe a hundred pages of stuff with about ninety five percent being of no interest and maybe five percent worth reading the online world allows you to view what you want without having to pay for additional filler about DX Contest, about how important public service is and the huge amount of advertisements.

But just like land line telephones, CQ and 73 magazine and a lot of the older distribution methods this is where the future is taking us.  

You can't buy a subscription to QST magazine. You can join the ARRL and become a member of the group when you pay a yearly fee. One of the benefits is that you can receive a monthly journal in print or digital form. Over the past year or so, the journal has shrunk in page count from roughly  a monthly 168 pages down to the current 128 page count. QST pages are printed, I believe, in sections with 8 pages per section. So, if 8 pages per section is correct, and you need one additional page of good content, you have to add 7 pages of filler content. I wouldn't be surprised to see the QST page count to drop even further over the next several years.

[KA3EKH]

Ok, you got me. Its not a subscription but a way of life or something like that. Had been a member on and off a half dozen times and they did do some good things for me like remind me when it was time to renew my license. But over the years somehow feel that we have grown apart, was a couple hopeful points like when they started including a classic radio section but overall just not feeling the love for the league. So maybe Ham radio is moving in a direction that I just don’t dig, or maybe I have veered off in some direction from the pack, so that’s where the league leaves me, no ill intent one way or the other. Somehow think that’s what’s happening with printed “legacy” media like Nuts and Volts, we are all just moving on. Not intentional but just happens.
Something like Eliot said “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper” maybe that’s what’s happening with Nuts and Volts.

 

[KD1SH]

  I have to admit that, for a lifelong technical guy, I'm pretty retro about some things. I don't even have a smart-phone, for example. I do a lot of reading and subscribe to a number of magazines, and still love to have a print copy in my hands. I have a Kindle reader, and for some things, like novels and such, I love that, but for non-fiction, reference, and technical books, and magazines, I still prefer print. But, I still use the download feature of many of my magazine's websites, if for no other reason than simply to have an archive so I don't have to keep bulky stacks of print copies around.

[KD6VXI]

Nuts and bolts was always hit or miss for me.

As in, every few months it would show uo at the ham flea market in Santee.

Before the internet, it was 'the one'.

Nostalgia.

--Shane
WP2ASS / ex KD6VXI

And yes.  We are the old farts now.  My kids remind me of that.  They are now the age I was looking for nuts and volts.

[KD1SH]

  I think the question is, will they be looking at Nuts and Volts? Just as it seems the majority of hams these days are only interested in unboxing and operating the latest plastic-fantastic, rather than actually building anything on their own, I get the feeling that few youngsters these days would have any interest in electronics as a hobby. Software, maybe, but not hardware.

--Shane
WP2ASS / ex KD6VXI

And yes.  We are the old farts now.  My kids remind me of that.  They are now the age I was looking for nuts and volts.

[W1RKW]

  I have to admit that, for a lifelong technical guy, I'm pretty retro about some things. I don't even have a smart-phone, for example. I do a lot of reading and subscribe to a number of magazines, and still love to have a print copy in my hands. I have a Kindle reader, and for some things, like novels and such, I love that, but for non-fiction, reference, and technical books, and magazines, I still prefer print. But, I still use the download feature of many of my magazine's websites, if for no other reason than simply to have an archive so I don't have to keep bulky stacks of print copies around.

Me too. Got my first smart phone last year.  As a teen and before getting the ticket I was a Popular Electronics (PE) subscriber. Then discovered QST, Ham Radio, CQ and 73. Usually bought them off the stand. QST was a much better magazine back in the 70s and 80s. It had more complex construction articles geared toward homebrew amplifiers, transmitters, receivers instead of 2m antenna and Technician oriented projects.  The more complex construction articles went to QEX.  PE went away on my own and on its own and some point in time.  At some point I missed the PE style magazine.  A friend of mine introduced me to Circuit Cellar and N&V years ago. I subscribed for a year of each.  Neither of them really tickled my fancy because they seemed geared toward micro controllers and computers so let them expire.  Then one day I saw N&V at a bookstore and took a look through it. It seemed to change some so I subscribed again.  Enjoyed it for a few  years then got bored.

[KD1SH]

Okay, so after a year of absence, Nuts and Volts has apparently resumed publication; I got my June 2023 issue a few weeks ago. I'm glad they're back, but it's disturbing that, nowhere within the pages of the current issue, is there any explanation as to why they didn't publish any magazines for an entire year. I've subscribed for decades, and I figure that their faithful subscribers would have been better served with at least a brief explanation and apology for a year's silence.

[W1RKW]

I completely  forgot about this subject.

I am not a subscriber still but I did receive an email from N and V Friday. something I had not seen in a while and was sort of surprised to see it.

[KD1SH]

Actually, I should qualify my previous comments and say that it hasn't exactly been a year's silence; they've been faithfully sending me monthly digital pseudo issues—not exactly full issues—but no acknowledgement in any of that content of their hard-copy problems. As the apparent sole survivor of the golden age of electronic hobbyist publications, I'll cut them some slack, but I had to actually call them by phone to get any information during their absence. I really was quite shocked to open my mailbox and see Nuts and Volts again.

I completely  forgot about this subject.

I am not a subscriber still but I did receive an email from N and V Friday something I had not seen in a while and was sort of surprised to see it.

[W3SLK]

I got this off of Wikipedia:

Publication was on pause in the fall of 2020 and in 2021 due to external issues, but resumed in 2022. Unfortunately, only three issues were published in 2022, and no issues since have been sent to subscribers.

I remember picking up the paper format at the hamfests. I would like to grab something that is pure electronics. I don't recall seeing anything since 'Popular Electronics' which morphed into 'Computer & Electronics' which I guess has now returned to its original title but haven't read it since. I prefer paper media because I seem to remember where and when a lot articles are. Plus for whatever reason, I retain what I read vs. what I read online!

[KD1SH]

   Popular Electronics no longer exists, as far as I know. I never subscribed, for some reason, but bought it at newsstands quite often. I particularly remember, some time back in the 80's when personal computing was making inroads into the magazine, a subscriber indignantly writing in to the feedback column with a suggestion that the magazine should put all computer related content on perforated pages, so that the more traditional electronic hobbyists could tear them out and throw them away. I admit that I shared his feelings at the time, but if he thought that personal computing would prove to be a passing fad, he was wrong.
   Yes, I prefer paper media, by far, for most content. For novels and other fictional material I'm very happy reading on my Kindle tablet, but for reference material and documentary or technical content, I find that I can maneuver around—going backward and revisiting material and then forward again—much more comfortably with paper. I may be be a techie guy, but I'm also somewhat retro, and I like it that way.

I got this off of Wikipedia:

Publication was on pause in the fall of 2020 and in 2021 due to external issues, but resumed in 2022. Unfortunately, only three issues were published in 2022, and no issues since have been sent to subscribers.

I remember picking up the paper format at the hamfests. I would like to grab something that is pure electronics. I don't recall seeing anything since 'Popular Electronics' which morphed into 'Computer & Electronics' which I guess has now returned to its original title but haven't read it since. I prefer paper media because I seem to remember where and when a lot articles are. Plus for whatever reason, I retain what I read vs. what I read online!

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Their web site makes no mention of resume issue shipping.They claim last current issue is Issue 3, 2022.
https://www.nutsvolts.com/subscribe-to-nuts-volts

Their Forum also doesn't mention any new ship schedule.

https://forum.nutsvolts.com/viewforum.php?f=48


As was said many times on the radio and clubs and baseball games and even in political arenas: " Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" 

[KD1SH]

Well, now...I guess there are worse things to have on your face than egg (thank God pigs don't fly). The mailing label on my latest issue says 06-06-23, so they finally got around to sending out Issue #3 of 2022, but obviously I looked only at the mailing label and assumed it was a 2023 issue. I guess I'll give them a WTF? call tomorrow. I'm glad to be getting the digital pseudo issues, but I'm not going to keep paying for paper copies that I'm not getting.

Their web site makes no mention of resume issue shipping.They claim last current issue is Issue 3, 2022.
https://www.nutsvolts.com/subscribe-to-nuts-volts

Their Forum also doesn't mention any new ship schedule.

https://forum.nutsvolts.com/viewforum.php?f=48


As was said many times on the radio and clubs and baseball games and even in political arenas: " Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"  

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Nuts and Volts has had a booth at Hamvention every year that I can remember, except for 2020-2021 (COVID). They had a booth in 2022 but nothing in 2023.

So, either all their technical in-putters have disappeared and/or all their cash flow has disappeared and/or their senior management has disappeared, and maybe they have resorted to a yearly publication.

I wonder if one decides to cancel an existing subscription, would they get a portion of their subscription money back. That would be a further tell-tale sign of actual solvency. You can always re-scribe at some later time if they get back into the swing of things (but I wouldn't hold my breath). I would suspect, the longer one sits with an unfulfilled subscription, the less likely they will be reimbursed.