CQ elettronica

CQ elettronica was an Italian magazine devoted to electronics and amateur radio (radiantismo) at the hobbyist level. It first appeared in 1959 under the name Costruire diverte ("Building is fun"), later changing its title to CD elettronica and finally to CQ elettronica. The two letters "CQ" come from the Morse code abbreviation for "Calling any station" — a general call — reflecting the publication's deep roots in the radio-amateur world. The magazine's guiding spirit was to encourage even the casual reader to enter the broad field of electronic technology. It regularly proposed simple electronic circuits to experiment with, while more demanding projects — sometimes presented across several consecutive issues — consisted of working prototypes built by contributors and by the more expert readers through self-construction (autocostruzione). These served as an incentive for less experienced readers to try assembling the circuits themselves. From its debut, CQ elettronica was a well-known title in the amateur-radio field. Over the years many deeply expert figures in various branches of electronics wrote regular columns, including Giampaolo Fortuzzi, Antonio Tagliavini, Bartolomeo Aloia, Walter Medri, Franco Fanti, Umberto Bianchi, Emilio Romeo, Sergio Cattò, Antonio Ugliano, Marcello Arias, Adelchi Anzani, Maurizio Mazzotti and Gianvittorio "Vito Rogianti" Pallottino. In the 1970s, in the then-emerging field of high fidelity, Bartolomeo Aloia's forceful judgments on widespread misconceptions became memorable: explaining his reasoning clearly, he published veritable treatises on the subject, especially regarding the excessive use of negative feedback in amplifiers by certain manufacturers (particularly Japanese ones) to mask the actual distortion percentage, siding with the thesis of Prof. Matti Otala. Aloia would later found a company bearing his own name that produced high-fidelity amplifiers, both thermionic-valve and solid-state. The "Costruire" spirit was evident from the magazine's earliest period: in May 1961, with a colour photo on the cover, it proposed building a two-thermionic-valve radio receiver on the frequency of 108 MHz for listening to radio signals emitted by the first American artificial satellites. The final issue of the magazine appeared in April 2013, after which it ceased publication. A website at cqelettronica.it continued to represent the title, describing itself as "il portale dell'elettronica e della radio tecnica".

CQ elettronica was founded in 1959 under the name Costruire diverte. Over the years it changed its name first to CD elettronica and later to CQ elettronica; the pair of letters is an abbreviation of the Morse code for "Calling any station" (general call). The underlying spirit of the magazine was always to entice even the occasional reader to try entering the vast field of electronic technology, also by proposing simple electronic circuits to experiment with. The more demanding projects, sometimes presented over several instalments in consecutive issues, consisted of working prototypes made by contributors and by the more expert readers through self-construction, acting as a spur for less expert readers to try their hand at assembling the given circuit themselves. From its debut it was a very well-known magazine in the amateur-radio field. Over the years, various people who were deeply expert in different fields of electronics took turns writing regular columns; among them: Giampaolo Fortuzzi, Antonio Tagliavini, Bartolomeo Aloia, Walter Medri, Franco Fanti, Umberto Bianchi, Emilio Romeo, Sergio Cattò, Antonio Ugliano, Marcello Arias, Adelchi Anzani, Maurizio Mazzotti, Gianvittorio "Vito Rogianti" Pallottino. In the 1970s, in the then-nascent field of high fidelity, Aloia's peremptory judgments on widespread erroneous beliefs on the subject remain memorable: explaining the reason clearly, the author published veritable treatises on the matter, especially concerning an excessive use of the negative-feedback rate in amplifiers by certain manufacturers (especially Japanese ones) to mask the actual distortion percentage, thereby espousing the thesis of Prof. Matti Otala. Aloia would later found a company under his own name producing high-fidelity amplifiers, both thermionic-valve and solid-state. The "Costruire" spirit is already evident in the magazine's first period; in May 1961, with a colour photo on the cover, the construction of a two-thermionic-valve radio receiver was proposed, on the frequency of 108 MHz, for listening to radio signals emitted by the first American artificial satellites. In April 2013 the last issue of the magazine came out, and from that date it ceased publication. A website at cqelettronica.it continued to represent the title, describing itself as "il portale dell'elettronica e della radio tecnica" and noting that the site was under development.

• 2013

  Last issue published in April 2013; the magazine ceased publication.

• 1961

  May 1961 issue, with a colour cover photo, proposed building a two-thermionic-valve radio receiver at 108 MHz for listening to signals from the first American artificial satellites.

• 1959

  Magazine founded under the name Costruire diverte.

• Renamed first to CD elettronica and later to CQ elettronica.

A hobbyist-oriented Italian magazine for electronics and amateur radio, known for encouraging readers to build and experiment with circuits themselves.

• CQ elettronica magazine

  Italian hobbyist magazine on electronics and amateur radio, published from 1959 to 2013.

• Self-build circuit projects

  Simple and complex electronic circuits proposed for readers to build themselves, sometimes serialized over consecutive issues.

1. 1CQ Elettronica official websitecqelettronica.it
2. 2CQ elettronica — Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org
3. 3CQ elettronica — Wikidatawikidata.org