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Practical Electronics Editorial offices Electron Publishing Tel +61 2 9939 3295 (Australia) Email pe<at>pemag.au Web www.electronpublishing.com Address mail to: Electron Publishing (Australia) PO Box 194, Matraville NSW 2036 Australia Advertising enquiries +61 2 9939 3295 pe<at>pemag.au Editor Nicholas Vinen Publisher Nicholas Vinen Digital subscriptions Stewart Kearn Tel 07918 614662 Online Editor Alan Winstanley Web Systems Kris Thain Production Bao Smith Technical staff Tim Blythman, John Clarke Print subscriptions Practical Electronics Subscriptions PO Box 6337 Bournemouth BH1 9EH Tel 01202 087631 United Kingdom Email pesubs<at>selectps.com Technical enquiries We regret that technical enquiries cannot be answered over the telephone. We are unable to offer any advice on the use, purchase, repair or modification of commercial equipment or the incorporation or modification of designs published in the magazine. Questions about articles or projects should be sent to the editor by email: pe<at>pemag.au Projects and circuits All reasonable precautions are taken to ensure that the advice and data given to readers is reliable. We cannot, however, guarantee it and we cannot accept legal responsibility for it. Some projects and circuits published in Practical Electronics employ voltages that can be lethal. Do not build, test, modify or fix any mains-powered equipment unless you fully understand the safety aspects involved and you use an RCD (GFCI) adaptor. Component supplies Silicon Chip Publications may offer kits or other parts for making our projects, but not in all cases. When kits are not available, readers will need to find and source parts themselves. We advise readers to check that all parts are still available before commencing any project in a back-dated issue. Advertisements Although the proprietors and staff of Practical Electronics take reasonable precautions to protect the interests of readers by ensuring as far as practicable that advertisements are bona fide, the magazine and its publishers cannot give any undertakings in respect of statements or claims made by advertisers, whether these advertisements are printed as part of the magazine, or in inserts. The Publishers regret that under no circumstances will the magazine accept liability for non-receipt of goods ordered, or for late delivery, or for faults in manufacture. Volume 55. No. 02 February 2026 ISSN 2632 573X Editorial Waiting for the AI bubble to burst I hope you aren’t planning to upgrade your computer any time soon, given the explosion in memory prices over the last month or so. It seems that the AI bubble (and it surely is a bubble) is doing to the memory market the same thing it did to the GPU (graphics processing unit) market over the last few years – gutting inventories and driving prices through the roof. This is going to get worse before it gets better. RAM prices (and storage prices, to some extent) have always been cyclical. Someone builds a new factory, the price drops. The factory goes out of business, prices rise. But this is the worst it has been in a very long time. We upgraded most of our computers around 2020-2022. I was starting to think about whether it’s maybe time to get a new workstation soon, but that thought has evaporated now that a couple of sticks of DDR5 RAM cost more than a whole computer did a few months ago. Since early 2023, I have been convinced that there will be situations where AI (or machine learning, if you prefer) will be incredibly useful. It has also become pretty clear that the applications of AI are, at least for now, quite limited due to its unreliability. As a programming assistant, AI can be extremely useful. It is undoubtedly capable of reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks. But it can’t replace a human in most roles yet, and possibly won’t for a long time. So the current “stick AI in everything” push is getting a bit ridiculous. Unfortunately, the bubble is still inflating. When it does pop, hopefully computer part prices will come back down to Earth. And maybe we can start to get a bit more realistic about what this technology can and can’t do. I think we’re more likely to put it to good use if we can be honest about its limitations as well as praise its capabilities. So, for now, I guess I will be writing these editorials on the computer that I put together a few years ago. Hopefully you can stick with yours too, until prices go back to normal. It will have to happen eventually! Transmitters/bugs/telephone equipment We advise readers that certain items of radio transmitting and telephone equipment which may be advertised in our pages cannot be legally used in the UK. Readers should check the law before buying any transmitting or telephone equipment, as a fine, confiscation of equipment and/or imprisonment can result from illegal use or ownership. The laws vary from country to country; readers should check local laws. 2 Nicholas Vinen, Electron Publishing (Australia)* Publisher & Editor, Practical Electronics Magazine * a division of Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. Practical Electronics | February | 2026