This is P1 of a 4-page newsletter  P2   P3   P4

Before I start, I must point out that this site has nothing to do with the defunct monthly magazine POPTRONICS or POPTRONICS Interactive.
Any subscribers who have/had a subscription to POPTRONICS Interactive will be entitled to receive a lifetime entry to TALKING ELECTRONICS Interactive (this site) by contacting (Colin Mitchell).
 All subscriptions entitle you to a lifetime entry to the site -  not just a "one year"  or "one month" entry!
Subscribers to the paper edition of POPTRONICS will get copies of Nuts and Volts magazine to account for their remaining subscription.

It's a pity an electronics magazine that provides a back-up service with kits, CD's and features such as annual handbooks is not produced for hobbyists.
The closest thing is this site. And it will continue to expand with your support and my dedication. You will find the "ground-base" has been covered with theory and a complete list of electronic symbols and we are now building on this with more pages and projects.

POPTRONICS
It was sad to see the demise of POPTRONICS. The magazine had a history of more than 50 years of publishing with its forerunners going back to the days of  electricity and crystal sets.
It was one of the editions (under a previous name) that presented the world's first computer in kit-form. Even though it did almost nothing (compared to today's standards), it started a revolution that is today's "miracle of electronics."
Don't be fooled. It was not the corporate enterprises that created the interest in computers. It was the back-yard hobbyist. It was the enthusiasm of programmers that turned the computer from a number-crunching scientific monster to a household, user-friendly, product.
And for this you can thank brilliant hobbyists/programmers. They were all phenomenally clever - even thinking of the @ sign for an email address is brilliant!
Computers were originally the size of a room and cost $1,000,000. After spending a year or more on simplifying the design and reducing the size, IBM came up with a $15,000 desk-top product that was enormously complex and almost impossible for the average user to get operational. It flopped totally.
It was the kit (mentioned above) and lots of hobbyists that changed the whole picture. They produced software and games that absolutely exploded the capabilities of the computer.
The two things that accelerated this was the concept of exchanging programs AT NO COST and COMPUTER SWAP-MEETS - these concepts are completely foreign to "industry."
Exactly the same explosion took place with the internet, to make it the most valuable technological introduction of the past 20 years.
Again, you can thank the "hobbyist."
It is undeniable that an enormous amount of capability lies in the hands of "you" and "me," the hobbyist. That's why we are so important. That's why it is such a pity that we have not banded together to create an electronics hobbyist's magazine for the "paper-formatted" market. Unfortunately this hasn't happened and it was sad to see POPTRONICS go.


TALKING ELECTRONICS Interactive is operated by Colin Mitchell and the understanding and approach to readers is completely different to anything you have experienced before. We answer your emails and help you with anything within our capability. We are here to help you achieve a goal. This must be of an electronics nature - as this is our only field of expertise. We have been active in this field for the past 30 years and are fully conversant with the basics.

THE AMAZING WEB
I have always said the web is the most amazing "product, item  or thing" to be invented in the 20th Century, and this has been confirmed by a recent email.
It said the majority of Americans spend more time on the internet than watching television.
It went on the say 160,000 new customers are signing up for the internet each week.
You can multiply this figure many-fold when you include world-wide subscriptions and as new features are added to search engines, you will find it easier to reach the type of sites you are looking for.
We have added a page of links we found very interesting and the page can be found HERE.

JUNK EMAILS
Just when I thought the internet was going to provide us with better communications, we find scammers and junk email producers are clogging up the works.
I thought the time was ripe for a global network of technical information to be introduced and sent to us via this amazing medium.
No only would the information arrive instantly, but it could be presented in full color, at almost no cost, and consist of text, photos, animations and audio links.
By combining the output from universities, R&D departments, technical journals, Patents Office and other technical resources, we could have the most up-to-date range of information at our fingertips each day.
Technology is advancing and changing so rapidly that some technical electronics journals are now being printed every 2 weeks -  as an indication of the need for immediate release of information.
Imagine the savings in paper, printing and postage, to have the magazine sent to each subscriber via the internet!
I wonder why it hasn't happened?
Maybe the number of subscribers with internet access (or regular use of the internet) is smaller than we think?
Maybe I'm thinking too far into the future.
I know it will happen.
It's the future and it's a brilliant concept.
Can you imagine getting all the latest articles, journals, projects and releases from around the world, sent to you each day?
Each newsletter would consist of thumbnail photo's, a brief description and a link.
By clicking the link you would be taken to the full article.
Surely this is not too difficult?  It's just a matter of getting all the separate sectors to combine.
I had hoped the technology sector would have done this by now, rather than junk email operators filling up the internet, sending me phony emails to say I had won $2,000,000 in a lottery, or $500 cash from a casino!
Not only am I receiving emails that are 95% junk but they are all fraud!
Even low interest loans or $2,000 cash into your account, are either deceptive or directly fraudulent. They all have to be deleted. But you need to be careful not to mix them up with an email from a legitimate source.
"Scam Software" is useless as it cannot differentiate between a request and a scam . . .unfortunately I have to laboriously go through every email!
How can we reduce the junk and increase the technical thru-put?
The big problem is this: The technology sector does not provide enough funding to keep the internet profitable. It takes fraudsters to keep it operating!
What a distorted world!

A CAREER
It doesn't matter if you want to sell electronic items, design them; or build them, you will need to "talk" like you know the subject. This "talk" is called "jargon." It uses correct terminology as well as short words such as "micky" for microfarad, "puff" for picofarad and bezel for the covering over a globe (not benzel or beeeezel), to name a few. This is the sort of thing we will be teaching you, as well as the basics of electronics and how to program microcontrollers.
The site contains two sections - the FREE section and the subscription section containing the Basic Electronics Course and PIC Microcontroller Course.
There are hundreds of pages of theory, notes and projects for the beginner-to-electronics as well as the hobbyist. You need to go to FREE Projects and Subscription Index to see the content and go through the pages methodically, to prevent missing anything. The web is the medium of the future. Printing costs are zero, the pages are endless and color can be added at no extra expense. But unlike a book, you cannot see how much is available as it is "hidden" on our server. That's why you have to go though things slowly.
Once you get the "hang of things," it will prove to be everything you have ever wanted.
To make sure you are kept up to date with the latest additions to the site, sign up for FREE Projects. 
You will not be bombarded with advertisements but the cost of the site will have to be covered and that's why our back-up features including the sale of kits, CD's, subscriptions to the PIC Programming Course and Basic Electronics Course will be promoted throughout the pages.
Hopefully, other contributors will be adding to the site. Some schools have informed me they will be presenting their material on the web and I will let you know as soon as this is available. It has been 12 months now and nothing has been received!
This site has over 400 pages. Rather than download the 30Meg of material, our CD is a convenient way to peruse it.
At the moment we are the only interactive site on the web and the feedback we are getting is enormous. Readers are saying they are starting to understand electronics in a way they have never experienced before. With a little bit of effort, you can learn too.

THE SITE:
The layout of this site is exactly like our CD with frames to make everything easy to navigate. The CD of the site is available to subscribers and non-subscribers by clicking the "FREE CD" or "Buy CD" link on the left. If you are a subscriber to TALKING ELECTRONICS Interactive (this site), the CD is FREE. If you are not a subscriber, the cost is $9.95 posted. (All prices on this website are US$)
The emphasis is to TEACH ELECTRONICS and not merely "present an item." Everything is backed by a kit of components and a professionally-made PC board with overlay (legend), tinned-lands and solder mask.
The author of the site is Colin Mitchell. He has produced over 25 books and sold over 750,000 copies, spanning some 20 years.
All his knowledge has now been channeled into this website and you will find his approach is completely revolutionary. Some say it's "Mitchellism," some say it is "reverse-learning" and others liken it to being "thrown in at the deep end."
In essence, the thrust is to get you to start putting projects together as soon as possible and go to the theory sections as the need arises.
This has proven to be a much faster way of learning as enthusiasm is maintained, and the act of handling components cements your understanding.
That's what this site is all about.
It's designed to make electronics fun.
It offers a wide range of projects, from a simple "Light the LED" design to a microcontroller project - and lots of ideas between.
The site offers two main courses. BASIC ELECTRONICS and PIC MICROCONTROLLER PROGRAMMING. In these courses, mathematics has been kept to a minimum as there are plenty of text books to weigh you down with formulas.
Our aim is to "shoot you ahead" as fast as possible and show that once you get an "interest in electronics" - you can be heading for a career-path. 
We have a number of letters and articles on the site, from readers who have made a career-path along the lines we are promoting. You will see these as you work your way through the material.

CD PROBLEMS
Some readers are having trouble opening TALKING ELECTRONICS Interactive CD. Here are some solutions: (these are included with the CD as a readme.txt)

If the front page of TALKING ELECTRONICS Interactive flashes on the
screen and disappears, the fault may lie in the settings on your computer.
We have located a problem with Windows 95 and Windows 98 as follows:

1. Load INTERNET EXPLORER.Go to TEXT OPTIONS at the top of screen.
2. CLICK TOOLS, then INTERNET OPTIONS
           (a dialog box will open: INTERNET OPTIONS)
3. Click on the top tab: ADVANCED.
4. Scroll down to the heading (HTTP 1.1 settings)
5. Make sure a tick is in the option: use HTTP 1.1 through proxy connections
6. Click (APPLY) and then (OK).      Close INTERNET EXPLORER
7. Restart "START.HTML" so that it opens in a new INTERNET EXPLORER.


Here is another solution as found by Derek Vane    derekvane@iprimus.com.au

I found my problem with the opening page on the CD, flashing on and off.
I was running W98 with internet explorer 5. I fixed the problem as soon as I
installed Internet Explorer 6.
I hope that this might help others with the same trouble.

From: Zolkafli [zolarius@tm.net.my]

I managed to make the CD work after installing the programs/browsers/ie6 and ie6setup that came with the CD. I have also tried with Windows ME with no problem.


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Newsletter continued:  Page 2
7-11-03