Copies of Old Model Engineer magazines on disk?

[PeteParticipant @pete41194]

Well I don’t often post here, But I just bought over 60 years worth of old Model Engineer magazines starting from 1898. It’s totally amazing just how much information is cramed into these.

 

I did more than a few searches on this site to see if this topic has been posted about before, And at least with my search terms nothing came up. Not to make David Clark’s job any tougher than it is. But is there any plans to offer a set of disks with the full collection of M.E.s on them?

 

For myself, The locomotive, boating information has really nothing of interest, But there’s more than enough other information that made them well worth buying. It seems almost criminal to have all that information locked up in those old magazines and so few people having access to it. I do know there’s some copyrite issues, But that should be able to be resolved somehow?

 

Pete

[PeteParticipant @pete41194]

[GoCreateParticipant @gocreate]

Here is a previous post re. ME on CD.

 

ME on DVD

 

Nigel

My link does not seem to work, here is the URL: http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=33408

Edited By tractionengine42 on 27/11/2011 02:11:11

[adyParticipant @ady]

A searchable PDF version would be gold dust

 

Popular Mechanics is stuffed full of reading material which can be searched via google books, giving you an idea of the amount of information which could be unleashed onto the model engineering community.

 

The MEN site issued a load of engine plans on DVD/CD a few years ago and I have yet to come across a single copy of a single set of plans on the internet.

I looked pretty hard too because I wanted to get an idea of what I was buying

 

All ME is really doing is denying itself a pretty amazingly huge wodge of cash, and denying a massive resource to the model engineering community

If the market was big enough, and it isn’t, copies of ME would already be plaigarised, like films and music, and out there in bulk on t’internet.

I’ve found hacks for all sorts of weird and not-very-much-used stuff over the years, recently upgrading a piece of kit which should have been impossible to upgrade.

If there are enough computer savvy people in a particular community a company will find it impossible to stop their product from being put up on the net.

Model engineers are neither numerous enough, nor technically capable, and most wouldn’t allow plaigarisation to start with because the hobby is hanging on by its fingernails as it is.

It’s a pretty close knit community

 

It HAS to be in a searchable PDF format though.

It 100% HAS-to because of the amount of information which needs to be searched.

It also needs to be dead simple PDF and on a DVD because a huge number of ME type folk are not that computer savvy, and not remotely interested in computery stuff.

Edited By ady on 27/11/2011 07:37:53

[PeteParticipant @pete41194]

Nigel,

Thanks for the link to the previous discussion about this. I guess I didn’t use the correct search terms.

 

Ady,

I’ll certainly agree 100% with your points, And especialy so about anything would have to have a search function. I’ve maybe gone thru 10% of the magazines I bought and the volume of information is staggering.

 

Pete

[DerryUKParticipant @derryuk]

 

<The MEN site issued a load of engine plans on DVD/CD a few years ago>

 

The plans are still available, look here under engines in the index.

 

http://modelenginenews.org/

 

MEN is one of the nicest web sites around. Stuffed full of information from the last decade and not an advert in sight!

 

Derry.

[Keith Wardill 1Participant @keithwardill1]

I don’t suppose this will ever happen, but it would be wonderful if it did – I for one would gladly pay for this service, if only to free up the space occupied by hundreds of precious hoarded magazines. For many years Elektor electronics mag was offered on CD, complete with indexing – it forms a convenient permanent reference, and is very easy to use.

I have my doubts, because I can think of very few suggestions of help to readers that have been made in this forum that the ME management has taken up. (I guess this will lead to an avalanche of refutation). One reason I can think of for it not happening is that people will buy the CD/DVDs, not the magazines, which of course is not good business (from the suppliers viewpoint – who cares about the readers?)

 

Even the back copies of most of the old engineering magazines, Geometer articles and Westbury designs which DC1 placed in the archives not long after he took over very quickly disappeared.

 

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

I was asked to remove them by a lower member of management now left.

I only removed the website links.

They can still be found via google I would think.

 

regards David

 

 

[adyParticipant @ady]

The plans are still available, look here under engines in the index.

 

I bought the CD and printed them out.

The guy who runs the place isn’t exactly a spring chicken and I doubt the place will be half as good once he’s gone.

 

The original motor boys book seems to be unobtainable so I grabbed the CD.

Edited By ady on 27/11/2011 12:43:23

[Keith Wardill 1Participant @keithwardill1]

David,

 

Thanks for that info – but how hard is it to put the links back on the ME page? If someone hadn’t seen the original links in ME, how would they know what to look for on Google – it would mean they are limited to a relatively few people who know about them, and new subscribers would be left out.

 

I could understand if this was a copyright issue, and I know you have written about this once or twice in the forum, but it seems a bit odd if a ‘lower member of management’ just wants them out.

 

Do you have any comment about producing CDs or DVDs? Will you support it?

 

Regards,

W

[David Leahy 1Participant @davidleahy1]

Dear W,

I would love to get hold of a copy of those discs! Can I purchase them from you? My interest in particular is locomotives. If you get this post please do email me and let me know if the links are still live?

Regards,

David.

[David Standing 1Participant @davidstanding1]

Posted by David Leahy 1 on 15/01/2018 19:17:49:

Dear W,

I would love to get hold of a copy of those discs! Can I purchase them from you? My interest in particular is locomotives. If you get this post please do email me and let me know if the links are still live?

Regards,

David.

Rather than resurrect a seven year old thread, would it not be a better idea to sent the person you want to contact a PM?

Also, have you directed your question to the right person? I don't think 'W' had discs for sale — and if he did, if you do a search of his posts, he asked the moderators to delete his account in 2014, and flounced off in a cloud of chiffon

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