Talking Electronics - A conversation with Colin Mitchell
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
- This is a conversation with Colin Mitchell of “Talking Electronics” magazine fame. This interview took place on the 23rd of Feb 2011 in Melbourne. In the interview, Colin talks about his beginnings with electronics, how he got the idea for the magazine and the books that followed. Colin reveals how he was the first to put a printed circuit board on the front of the magazine and in a famous case, on the front of his series of books entitled “FM Bugs”. The Victorian police bought kits from Colin’s store, including one which could listen in to telephone conversations. This caused a lot of problems for Colin, which landed him a seat in the courts. The Australian WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY ACT 1905 was "repealed" by Act No. 136 of 1983 thanks to Colin's case. Colin off course was shocked and dismayed but continued on selling other kits including the famous TEC-1 computer - A Z80 based project with detailed explanations on how to build and program it.
This conversation was used in part in many episodes of State of Electronics.
Please subscribe, share and like this video to help more of these interviews to take place and be released. - Наука та технологія
Fantastic to finally see these interviews coming out! Appreciate the hard work involved.
Dave send some viewers over!!!!!
Thank you, Dave. It's hard to pick which one to present next :-)
Thanks for hinting, Dave!
....Colin could have made it big if he'd come along in the days of you tube. I even liked to read his yarns about the repair technician trade and ruminations.
What a fantastic trip down memory lane for someone like myself who built their first computer back in the late 1970s and who had just about every one of Colin's publications.
Thank you again, Sir. More to come :-)
I like state of the art people from analog times, uniquely nuanced, warm and fuzzy.
Curiosity and Excitement flows from this man. Thanks
I think my School was one that subscribed, we were building electronics kits and making circuit boards (from scratch) in 1984-85 👍
Love these coming out, being 60 years of age myself ;-) Thanks!
I wish this guy was my neighbor! Put more of these up!
Very interesting! I love to hear stories like this. Thank you for bringing them to us! 👏🏻👍
your very welcome!
We didn't have anything like that in Turkey when I was a kid. It's god's work, bringing kids to Science. Thanks!
Same, being from turkey and only getting into electronics in my uni years i'm still struggling to find stuff locally, thankfully internet is huge now and we have access to much more information.
I had no idea you were investigated for the FM Bugs. I bought that whole series of magazines (and some others such as six BD679 Projects for $3.50 - with the transistor stuck to the cover - I still have the original transistor stuck there as I had access to suitable transistors from written off electronic equipment in the early late 80's - and didn't want to deface the magazine). In the early 90's I worked for the Qld police for 3 months as a civilian covertly installing two way radios in undercover vehicles. I recall sharing the 9 volt FM bug with my Sargent who was so impressed he took the idea to the Assistant Commissioner arguing that a $10 bug would be better than the $1000 bugs they were using as you could just leave them on site after the investigation warrant expired as they were so cheap. I still have these magazines proudly sitting on my office/workshop book shelf (ready for quick reference when I'm putting together a simple project - although most my hobby project work is with Arduino's these days). I only Googled Colin Mitchell now (June 2023) as I was browsing some circuit ideas for a current project, and wondered how Colin was doing. Thanks for the great work over the years - you have always been an inspiration.
absolute aussie legend, personally I preferred him over Dick Smith. many thanks from NZ
Great video
I’m just discovering ‘valves’ and they pretty cool. Though yes, transistors are infinitely more practical.
amazing ! thank you both
He's great! Thanks for the video!
Awesome.
Amazing.. I used to go into repair shops and ask for non-fixable CB radio's because I had no money.... some were fixable and I listened to signals from all around the world
This is old interview recorded in 2011 but still interesting.
i love it FM .. 13:00
Is there a way I can contact Colin Mitchell? I would really like to speak with him if there’s a chance.
@ 12:00 Does anyone know of the device spoken about: "Norbert" by Philips ???
Building electronics is not a crime!
When I was a kid, I brought 6 of these "bugs" and installed them in random speakers at random drive-in's with a small photo cell circuit on the power to turn them off during the daytime........with a D cell they would operate for months........I would occasionally pay to go in and change the cells out.........I and all my close mates would park at the rear fence or somewhere you could see the screen and turn on our FM radios to get the Audio.......watched many blockbusters like that lol......probably still some around at still operating drive ins lol......prob need a battery change now though lol.....and yes, they were wired directly into the audio lines with suitable attenuation.......didn't really want to hear the in car conversations !!
@Desmond Bagley I think I had better fess up here.......I think I was more motivated but the fact they wouldn't let us into "R" rated movies......and my mates promised they would supply me with Beer and Burgers for a long time if I could make it happen lolol
For more information on the design of the TEC-1, head over to the "TEC-1 Z80 Computer Group" on Facebook. facebook.com/groups/623556744820045
.......he should have teamed up with Clive Sinclair. So Colin would be perhaps in his late eighties now?
It's probably about time to start up a TV repair shop since they aren't made in Japan any more! Think about that a minute, have a good look around your house and see what's the oldest Chinese made electronic device that you have, compared to Japanese made equipment! I'm my house, the Sanyo reel 2 reel tape machine from the 50's which is made in Japan is the oldest that I have and it's still going strong let alone the National Boomboxes, Vcr's, video editing equipment, Hifi gear and so on. All of them have a brand that you can identify AND pronounce! A user manual that would have you believe that English was Japan's first language! And let's not forget the service manuals that would give a techi an orgasm for days! Try getting a service manual for your Bluetooth speaker! If you are lucky enough that there's one to begin with, then you have to learn how to read Chinese! The only decent stuff that came out of China is from companies that had one of their own people on the ground making sure that it was manufactured the way that they intended, everything else is just destined for the tip. I had thought about this topic recently and I thought that all that Japan has to do is start making devices that last again, for example, make a mobile phone that will last three to five years and the phone industry in China will collapse because they are essentially based on a system that requires you to purchase a new phone or device every year! The Chinese manufacturers will go the same way as the TV repair man! It's sad to see what electronics has become! And it's China that made it that way, and the people who purchased it and the me to companies that jumped onto the bandwagon to China! The smart companies just switched off and closed up the factory leaving everything as it was, only to find out after some time later that demand for their products and services had picked up again and they are still in business today doing better than ever! China has held the title for much longer than it should have, it's time to give it to someone else who has pride and respect for the products they make.. It's up to us to make the electronics world a better place for our future generations!
......just to mention that my zte phones easily go for four or five years barring accidents. I have a theory that permitting the phones to vibrate shortens their life. If I can't fully turn off the vibrate completely for everything I'll open up the phone and cut off the connection to the component. I've in fact remarked to people that smart phones are one of the reliable exceptions to the made in China syndrome . Vibration and electronics don't mix .
Now ten months later and Japan is hauling it's arse out of China under government incentives and doing a lot of relocating to Vietnam then Malaysia and India would like a piece also. Huawei is an example of top quality Chinese manufacturing and it's reflected in cost of the gear they build but there are those spyware concerns.
First stupid comment.
Brek Martin first stupid reply