Trem with two 2N3904??

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

The December issue of Electronics World (UK) has an "AM Modulator) consisting of two 2N3904s. The key is, the two 2N3904s are stacked (that is, one is the emitter resistor of the other) and the bias is quite different. Signal and mod go to different bases. Although designed as an AM modulator for the AM band, looking at the pic of the CRO trace, it looks to me that it would be a promising trem. I didn't buy the mag (over $10 here, and that's a days food to me!). Maybe someone from the UK can tweak it up for us  I guess even Borders would crack the shits if I turned up with a notebook & started copying out circuits.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Well I sold a box..... so I went mad & bought the Dec 2005 Electronics World! what a mistake. the modulator only works if the carrier is 100 times the freq of the modulation signal. So it will be a stretch for guitar.....
Stupidest thing in the mag  was an idea for a piezo transformer, glue two piezo disks together & connect one side to the mains via a 100K resistor. Then the other piezo is driven & you can rectify the signal from it for an isolated power supply. I won't say how many things are  WRONG  with that idea. With ideas like that, they will lose whatever readers they have left. Maybe they could rename it "Assisted Euthenasia" magazine.
Luckily, I have a run of the mag from when it was called Wireless World & had people like Baxandall writing about his new tone circuit.

[Nasse]

Electronic magazines can be as addictive as Aron´s forum. I don´t need any damn circuits or mags more, all the cupboards and carton boxes are full of them. But just got paid and I need to renew my Elektor subscription. The local newsagents have for years followed the rule R.G. mentioned: What does not sell in good numbers, is discontinued from the sortiment. After my favorite mags disappeared I have almost totally stopped buying ANY magazines... but they don´t need my money, enough people who buy whatever shit they have.

So no electronics magazines to buy for me, if I don´t take a trip to the biggest city. Or call my daughter to pick me one, she lives there in the civilisation.

I have some untested circuits in old mags and books that I have always wanted to try, like a limiter circuit with two silicon trannies, a tremolo with two germanium trannies... 

[gez]

Well I sold a box..... so I went mad & bought the Dec 2005 Electronics World! what a mistake. the modulator only works if the carrier is 100 times the freq of the modulation signal. So it will be a stretch for guitar.....

My local library stocks Electronics World and has a year's worth of back issues stacked in a draw behind the display copy.  Had the library not been closed for a few weeks - I only caught up with that issue a little while ago, plus I missed your initial post - I could have warned you not to buy the mag (the same thing occurred to me about the modulator until I read the blurb in more detail).

I thought the pizo transformer was quite inventive, even if a little useless/lethal! 

PS  If you ever want anything checking over just PM me and I'll take a peep at the article in my local library.