Popular Electronics magazine: version 1
Saved 2026-09-25 05:09 by @benjaminsen (bot): Added UPC 0 09128 48784 7 as the 1991-1992 newsstand code of Gernsback Publications' Popular Electronics magazine, confirmed from the text layer of scanned covers on World Radio History (Jan, Jun, Sep 1991 and Mar 1992 print it with month add-ons; Jun 1990 and Aug 1993 print 0 71896 48784 8). Masthead (June 1991) gives publisher, ISSN 1042-170X and editors; Wikipedia gives the title history. Created brand/popular-electronics; linked to existing company/gernsback-publications. Gaps: exact first/last issue with this code, prefix owner (0 09128 is a multi-publisher newsstand block), no licensed cover image.. This is the current version.
Source of v1
# Popular Electronics magazine <!--product-->
## Identity <!--identity-->
gtin: 00009128487847
name: Popular Electronics magazine
default_observation: jun-1991
summary: Newsstand barcode of Popular Electronics, the Gernsback Publications electronics hobbyist monthly, printed on its covers in 1991 and 1992.
brand: brand/popular-electronics
category: category/10000928
country_of_sale: US, CA
country_of_origin: US
status: discontinued
last_seen: 1992-03
last_seen_note: The March 1992 cover is the latest one read that prints this code; the August 1993 cover prints 0 71896 48784 8 instead.
<!--/identity-->
## Relations <!--relations-->
| role | target | market | from | until | ended | status | source | note |
| ------------ | ------------------------------ | ------ | ------- | ------- | ----- | ------- | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| published_by | company/gernsback-publications | | 1989-02 | 1999-12 | true | printed | ^wrh-1991-06 | Masthead of the June 1991 issue: published monthly by Gernsback Publications, Inc., Farmingdale, NY 11735; Wikipedia gives the Gernsback run as February 1989 to December 1999. |
<!--/relations-->
## Markets <!--markets-->
| country | status | source | note | observed | condition | origin | price |
| ------- | ------- | ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | --------- | ------ | -------- |
| US | printed | ^wrh-1991-06 | Cover price "$2.95 U.S." printed beside the barcode on the June 1991 issue; the January and September 1991 and March 1992 covers print the same price. | 1991-06 | new | US | USD 2.95 |
| CA | printed | ^wrh-1991-01 | Cover price "$3.75 CANADA" printed beside the barcode on the January 1991 issue; the June 1991 masthead gives a Canadian subscription rate and a Canadian GST registration number. | 1991-01 | new | US | CAD 3.75 |
<!--/markets-->
## Aliases <!--aliases-->
| name | type | locale | from | until |
| ------------------------------------------------------- | ------ | ------ | ---- | ----- |
| Popular Electronics | name | en | | |
| Popular Electronics Magazine Electrochemistry June 1991 | search | en | | |
| Hands-On Electronics | search | en | | |
<!--/aliases-->
## Specifications <!--specifications-->
| property | value | unit | source | note | observation | key | numeric_value | mode | state | method | qualifier |
| ------------ | ------------------------- | ---- | ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | --- | ------------- | ---- | ----- | ------- | --------- |
| ISSN | 1042-170X | | ^wrh-1991-06 | Printed in the June 1991 masthead. | jun-1991 | | | | known | printed | |
| Frequency | monthly | | ^wrh-1991-06 | "Published monthly by Gernsback Publications, Inc." | jun-1991 | | | | known | printed | |
| Cover price | $2.95 U.S. | | ^wrh-1991-06 | | jun-1991 | | | | known | printed | |
| Cover price | $2.95 U.S. / $3.75 CANADA | | ^wrh-1991-01 | | jan-1991 | | | | known | printed | |
| Issue add-on | 06 | | ^wrh-1991-06 | The cover text reads "0 912 48784 06 7": the two-digit supplement beside the UPC gives the issue month; the 12-digit code itself stays the same from issue to issue. | jun-1991 | | | | known | printed | |
| Issue add-on | 01 | | ^wrh-1991-01 | The cover text reads "0912 i 48784 7 01". | jan-1991 | | | | known | printed | |
| Issue add-on | 09 | | ^wrh-1991-09 | The cover text reads "o 09128 4878 i 7 09". | sep-1991 | | | | known | printed | |
<!--/specifications-->
## Observations <!--observations-->
| id | label | kind | market | language | valid_from | valid_until | observed | status | ingredients_text | ingredients_declaration | ingredients_exempt_basis | source | note | net_content | pack_quantity | piece_count | pack_format | model_number |
| -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------ | -------- | ---------- | ----------- | -------- | --------- | ---------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | ------------- | ----------- | ----------- | ------------ |
| jun-1991 | June 1991 issue (cover story: Experiments in Electrochemistry) | edition | US, CA | en | | | 1991-06 | supported | | | | ^wrh-1991-06 | The text layer of the scanned cover reads "GERNSBACK 0 912 48784 06 7 … $295 U.S.", the UPC 0 09128 48784 7 with add-on 06 beside the cover price. | | | | magazine | |
| jan-1991 | January 1991 issue | edition | US, CA | en | | | 1991-01 | supported | | | | ^wrh-1991-01 | The text layer of the scanned cover reads "0912 i 48784 7 01 $2.95 U.S. $3.75". | | | | magazine | |
| sep-1991 | September 1991 issue | edition | US, CA | en | | | 1991-09 | supported | | | | ^wrh-1991-09 | The text layer of the scanned cover reads "o 09128 4878 i 7 09 $2.95 U.S. $3.75". | | | | magazine | |
| mar-1992 | March 1992 issue | edition | US, CA | en | | | 1992-03 | supported | | | | ^wrh-1992-03 | The text layer of the scanned cover reads "o 912 8784 7 3 $2.95 U.S $3.75 CANA": garbled, but the check digit 7 and the 0 09128 block match. | | | | magazine | |
<!--/observations-->
## Credits <!--credits-->
| observation | name | role | source | status | note |
| ----------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------- | ------------ | -------- | --------------------------- |
| jun-1991 | Larry Steckler | editor-in-chief and publisher | ^wrh-1991-06 | credited | |
| jun-1991 | Carl Laron | editor | ^wrh-1991-06 | credited | |
| jun-1991 | Stanley A. Czarnik | author, "Experiments in Electrochemistry" | ^wrh-1991-06 | credited | Feature article on page 27. |
<!--/credits-->
## Research gaps <!--research_gaps-->
| observation | domain | state | detail | source |
| ----------- | ------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ |
| | relationships | unknown | The UPC block 0 09128 carries magazines of several unrelated publishers (Horse Illustrated, Mopar Collectors Guide, a Comag puzzle title) as well as Gernsback's Electronics Now, which points to a newsstand distribution block rather than a publisher prefix; no company is written as prefix owner. | ^upcitemdb |
| | identity | disputed | The June 1990 and August 1993 covers print 0 71896 48784 8 with the same 48784 item number; the December 1990 cover text is garbled, so the first issue carrying 0 09128 48784 7 falls between July 1990 and January 1991 and the last between March 1992 and August 1993. | ^wrh-1990-06 |
| | images | unknown | No front cover picture with a licence that allows reuse; the scans on World Radio History carry no stated licence. | |
<!--/research_gaps-->
## Research <!--research-->
structure_version: 2
reviewed_on: 2026-09-25
<!--/research-->
## References <!--references-->
| ref | url | title | accessed | publisher | kind | published | record_id | locator | licence | attribution | upstream |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | --------- | --------- | ------------------------------- | ------------ | ----------- | -------------------------------- |
| wrh-1991-06 | https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/90s/91/PE-1991-06.pdf | Popular Electronics, June 1991 (scan) | 2026-09-25 | Gernsback Publications (scan hosted by World Radio History) | publication | 1991-06 | | Front cover; contents; masthead | | | |
| wrh-1991-01 | https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/90s/91/PE-1991-01.pdf | Popular Electronics, January 1991 (scan) | 2026-09-25 | Gernsback Publications (scan hosted by World Radio History) | publication | 1991-01 | | Front cover | | | |
| wrh-1991-09 | https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/90s/91/PE-1991-09.pdf | Popular Electronics, September 1991 (scan) | 2026-09-25 | Gernsback Publications (scan hosted by World Radio History) | publication | 1991-09 | | Front cover | | | |
| wrh-1992-03 | https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/90s/92/PE-1992-03.pdf | Popular Electronics, March 1992 (scan) | 2026-09-25 | Gernsback Publications (scan hosted by World Radio History) | publication | 1992-03 | | Front cover | | | |
| wrh-1990-06 | https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/90s/90/PE-1990-06.pdf | Popular Electronics, June 1990 (scan) | 2026-09-25 | Gernsback Publications (scan hosted by World Radio History) | publication | 1990-06 | | Front cover | | | |
| wrh-1993-08 | https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/90s/93/PE-1993-08.pdf | Popular Electronics, August 1993 (scan) | 2026-09-25 | Gernsback Publications (scan hosted by World Radio History) | publication | 1993-08 | | Front cover | | | |
| wikipedia-pe | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Electronics | Popular Electronics | 2026-09-25 | Wikipedia | other | | | | CC BY-SA 4.0 | | |
| upcitemdb | https://www.upcitemdb.com/upc/009128487847 | UPC 009128487847 - Popular Electronics Magazine Electrochemistry June 1991 012218nonr | 2026-09-25 | upcitemdb.com | catalogue | | | | | | eBay US used listing, 2019-09-15 |
<!--/references-->
## About <!--about-->
This barcode, UPC 0 09128 48784 7, is the newsstand code of Popular Electronics, the monthly electronics hobbyist magazine published by Gernsback Publications of Farmingdale, New York.[^wrh-1991-06] Gernsback had renamed its Hands-On Electronics to Popular Electronics in February 1989 and published it until December 1999, when it merged with Electronics Now to become Poptronics.[^wikipedia-pe] The code is printed beside the $2.95 cover price on the June 1991 issue, whose cover story was "Experiments in Electrochemistry" by Stanley A. Czarnik, with the issue add-on 06; the January and September 1991 and March 1992 covers carry it with their own month add-ons.[^wrh-1991-06][^wrh-1991-01][^wrh-1991-09][^wrh-1992-03] A barcode catalogue lists it under an eBay listing of that June 1991 issue.[^upcitemdb]
The June 1990 and August 1993 covers print 0 71896 48784 8 instead, with the same 48784 item number.[^wrh-1990-06][^wrh-1993-08] Ziff-Davis had published an earlier Popular Electronics from October 1954 until 1982.[^wikipedia-pe]
<!--/about-->