Modern Electrics – electronics from 1908

“Modern Electrics” was a technical magazine for radio amateurs

“Modern Electrics” was a technical magazine for radio amateurs. According to Wikipedia, it was published between 1908 and 1914. Modern Electrics was founded by Hugo Gernsback and appeared from April 1908 until 1914. Originally the magazine was meant to provide information for the mail-order trade in radio parts and to promote amateur radio as a hobby, but later it became a medium for technically oriented reports. The first instalment appeared in the April 1911 issue, and Hugo Gernsback’s 12-part series was later published as the science-fiction novel Ralph 124C 41+.

The magazine’s circulation grew rapidly, from 2,000 to 52,000 in 1911. In 1908 the magazine announced the “Wireless Registry”, a listing of radio owners, their call signs and the type of equipment they owned and how it was operated.

The magazine was sold in 1913 and ceased publication in 1914. It then merged with Electrician and Mechanic to form Modern Electrics and Mechanics. The experience Gernsback gained with Modern Electrics led him to launch the magazine Electrical Experimenter in 1913 and the science-fiction magazine Amazing Stories in 1926.

What can be read very often on these covers is the word “wireless”. For example, the following chapters are presented:

• Wireless telephone
• Tesla coil
• Antenna phenomena
• Sustained high-frequency oscillations
• The ideal battery
• Wireless telegraphy
• Wireless around the globe

[

Modern Electrics, first issue, April 1908](/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/modern-electrics-1908-04.jpg)

[

Modern Electrics, May 1908 issue](/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/modern-electrics-1908-05.jpg)

[

Modern Electrics, August 1908 issue](/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/modern-electrics-1908-08.jpg)

[

Modern Electrics, September 1908 issue](/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/modern-electrics-1908-09.jpg)

[

Modern Electrics, October 1908 issue](/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/modern-electrics-1908-10.jpg)

[

Modern Electrics, November 1908 issue](/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/modern-electrics-1908-11.jpg)