About Silicon Chip

Silicon Chip

Silicon Chip (siliconchip.com.au) is Australia's electronics magazine — a monthly journal for electronics hobbyists, makers, servicemen and vintage-radio enthusiasts, started in November 1987 by Leo Simpson. Following the demise of Electronics Australia in 2000 and Diyode in 2024, it is the only hobbyist electronics magazine remaining in Australia. The print version is produced and printed in Australia by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd, published monthly on the last Thursday of the month prior to the cover date.

Overview

Silicon Chip (ISSN 1030-2662) is a monthly electronics magazine based in Collaroy/Brookvale, New South Wales (editorial office: Unit 1, 234 Harbord Rd, Brookvale NSW 2100; postal: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach NSW 2097). Its regular features include projects to build, Serviceman's Log, computer features, Vintage Radio, Product Showcase, Mailbag/Ask Silicon Chip, and Circuit Notebook (reader contributions). The publisher and editor is Nicholas Vinen; the technical editor is John Clarke, with technical staff, regular contributors, and founding editor Leo Simpson (retired).

History

Silicon Chip was started in November 1987 by ex-Electronics Australia staff: Leo Simpson, Greg Swain, John Clarke and Robert Flynn. Leo Simpson served as publisher from November 1987 to July 2018 and editor from November 1987 to December 2016; Nicholas Vinen took over as editor in January 2017 and publisher in August 2018. The "Vintage Radio" section began with the March 1988 issue and has run ever since — a continuous thread of radio history now approaching four decades.

Some time after Electronics Australia closed its doors, Silicon Chip Publications purchased the titles Electronics Australia, Electronics Today (International), Radio, TV & Hobbies, Radio & Hobbies and Wireless Weekly, along with the copyright to original (non-submitted) material published in those magazines. The company released the older Radio TV & Hobbies back issues on DVD — a remarkable collection covering every issue from April 1939 (price sixpence) through the final edition of March 1965, described as a must-have for vintage-radio enthusiasts and students of electronics history. Electronics Australia back issues were not released on DVD because the copyright of some submitted projects technically remains with the original authors; however, the company can provide an electronic copy of any Electronics Australia article for a price, except where copyright ownership is in question.

The last magazine standing

The Australian electronics press has consolidated to a single title. Electronics Australia — the magazine whose staff founded Silicon Chip — closed in 2000; Diyode, the other hobbyist survivor, closed in 2024. Silicon Chip alone continues, and its publisher has been explicit about the commitment: in a July 2023 editorial, "We will continue to offer printed and online magazines," Nicholas Vinen wrote that with many publications going online-only, "given the popularity of the printed version of Silicon Chip magazine, we have no plans to follow that trend." Since the introduction of PDF downloads for the online edition in 2020, an increasing number of readers have moved to digital — but a significant majority continue to value the tactile experience of a printed magazine, and the company intends to cater to both, "with no plans of discontinuing the print edition in the foreseeable future." Subscription rates (2023): $65 for 6 issues, $120 for 12, $230 for 24 in Australia; online worldwide $50/$95/$185.

Content and positioning

Each issue delivers what the electronics hobbyist needs: constructional projects to build, the Serviceman's Log of repair tales, computer features (though the magazine notes it is not a computer magazine — "computers are made from silicon chips"), Vintage Radio history, product showcases, the Mailbag Q&A, and the Circuit Notebook of reader-contributed circuits. The February 2021 editorial on "new computer technology" captured the ethos: the most advanced, powerful and flexible chips ever made are computer processors, "containing billions of transistors" — worthy of an electronics magazine's attention precisely because they are silicon. The magazine's letters pages show a technically literate, argumentative readership: correspondents debate nuclear power, write in with decades of restoration experience (one reader restoring a 1960s Italian LCR meter corresponded with the manufacturer for its circuit), and offer 300-magazine back-issue collections free to good homes.

The founding breakaway

Silicon Chip was born of a staff walkout. In November 1987 four ex-Electronics Australia men \u2014 Leo Simpson, Greg Swain, John Clarke and Robert Flynn \u2014 started their own magazine, taking the hobbyist-electronics audience with them. Simpson led it for three decades: publisher from 1987 to July 2018, editor to December 2016, remaining as founding editor (retired) on the masthead. John Clarke, one of the original four, continues as technical editor. The succession was orderly: Nicholas Vinen became editor in January 2017 and publisher in August 2018. The irony of the history is neat \u2014 the breakaway magazine outlived its parent, then bought the parent's titles: Electronics Australia, Electronics Today (International), Radio, TV & Hobbies, Radio & Hobbies and Wireless Weekly, with copyright to the original material.

The archive business

Silicon Chip Publications has become the custodian of Australian electronics publishing history. The DVD archive of Radio & Hobbies / Radio, TV & Hobbies covers every issue from April 1939 \u2014 price sixpence \u2014 to the final edition of March 1965, every article individually archived by month and year with a yearly index: "a must-have for everyone interested in electronics," as the magazine puts it, and "an extraordinary insight into the amazing breakthroughs made in radio and electronics technology following the war years." The Electronics Australia archive is handled differently for copyright reasons \u2014 submitted projects technically remain their authors' property \u2014 but the company will supply an electronic copy of any Electronics Australia article for a price, except where ownership is genuinely in question. It is a small, careful business in historical preservation.

The workbench community

The magazine's departments map its community. "Projects to build" is the core \u2014 constructional articles with the details a builder needs. The "Serviceman's Log" trades repair tales from the bench. "Vintage Radio," running since March 1988, serves the restoration enthusiasts. "Product Showcase" surveys new gear. "Mailbag" (Ask Silicon Chip) answers readers' questions, and the "Circuit Notebook" publishes reader-contributed circuits \u2014 the participatory loop that has sustained hobbyist magazines for generations. The masthead lists the team that keeps it running: technical staff Jim Rowe, Bao Smith and Tim Blythman; regular contributors including Dave Thompson, David Maddison, Geoff Graham, Graham Parslow and Ian Batty; art direction and production by Ross Tester; reader services and advertising staff. The letters columns reveal the readership's character: technically formidable, historically minded, generous \u2014 correspondents share restoration knowledge, debate energy policy, and give away lifetime magazine collections to good homes.

Coverage and audience

Silicon Chip serves Australian electronics hobbyists, makers, repair technicians and vintage-radio enthusiasts, with overseas subscribers via the worldwide online edition. Its audience is the practical end of electronics — the workbench rather than the lecture theatre.

Ownership

Silicon Chip is published by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd (ACN 626 922 870, ABN 20 880 526 923), an independent Australian company. Publisher/editor: Nicholas Vinen. Further ownership and financial details are not publicly confirmed.

Digital presence

The magazine maintains siliconchip.com.au with issue archives browsable by month and year, online subscriptions, and the shop. PDF downloads of the online edition have been available since 2020, alongside the print edition.

Sources and further reading

• Wikipedia, "Silicon Chip" — history, features, the title acquisitions.
• Silicon Chip, "We will continue to offer printed and online magazines" (July 2023) — the print commitment.
• Silicon Chip, "New computer technology" (Feb 2021) — masthead and editorial ethos.