Hands-On Electronics becomes Popular Electronics

Hands-On Electronics was an electronics hobbyist magazine published by Gernsback Publications from 1984 to 1989.

The magazine started as Radio Electronics Special Projects in 1980. This was nominally a quarterly supplement to Radio Electronics that had 10 issues from a single 1980 issue to the Spring 1984 issue. Radio-Electronics magazine was published under various titles from 1929 to 2002 The Summer 1984 issue was renamed Hands-On Electronics. It became bi-monthly in January 1986 and monthly in November 1986. The title was changed to Popular Electronics in February 1989 and was published until December 1999. Popular Electronics was a magazine started by Ziff-Davis Publishing in October 1954 for hobbyist and experimenters in electronics The long time Radio Electronics editor, Larry Steckler, was the publisher and owner. (Having purchased Gernsback Publications from the Gernsback family. ) Julian S. Martin was the editor.

The early issues were just a collection of construction projects. By 1984 there were monthly columns on shortwave listening, amateur radio, and computers. After Ziff-Davis changed Popular Electronics to Computers & Electronics, Hands-On Electronics attracted those hobbyist readers. Ziff Davis Inc (ZD is an American publisher and Internet company In April 1985 Ziff-Davis stopped publishing Computers & Electronics and Hands-On Electronics purchased the title in June 1988. The magazine became monthly and added the Popular Electronics' logo to the cover in November 1988.