Forrest Mims - Author

Author

Les Solomon, the Technical Editor of Popular Electronics, liked to meet the magazine's authors. When he was on vacation in 1970 he visited Forrest Mims and Ed Roberts in New Mexico. Solomon gave them advice on selling project kits such as the "Opticom LED Communicator" but Mims was really interested in becoming a full-time writer. Solomon explained the magazine publishing business and helped Mims get articles placed in Popular Electronics. Mims also wrote for other magazines; "Experiment With a $32 Solid State Laser" was featured on the June 1972 cover of Radio-Electronics. In October 1975 Mims convinced Art Salsberg, Editor of Popular Electronics, to offer him a monthly column, the "Experimenter's Corner". He later added two additional columns, "Project of the Month" and "Solid-State Developments". Mims wrote for this magazine until it ceased publication in April 1985. Meanwhile, Salsberg had started another hobbyist magazine, Modern Electronics; and Mims wrote a monthly column and was a contributing editor.

In the 1970s, electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, transistors and even integrated circuits were common enough that interesting projects could be constructed at home with simple tools. The Radio Shack stores sold books that featured projects that could be constructed using the components then being sold in their stores. In 1972 Mims wrote two hobbyist project books for Radio Shack. His books could be understood by hobbyists and were illustrated with hand-drawn schematics diagrams. This style proved popular and Radio Shack commissioned 36 books between 1972 and 2003. By the 1990s, components became smaller and it was difficult to assemble electronics projects with low-cost hand-tools. The interest in electronic kits and experiments declined, and in 2003 Radio Shack scaled back their project books and components.

Mims also wrote technical books on semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes. He coauthored a book on electronics calculators with his friend, Ed Roberts in 1974.

Mims has written for wide variety of general-interest and technical magazines. In the 1990s he started writing about atmospheric science and his measurements of ultraviolet radiation and the Earth's ozone layer. More than twenty of his papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals.