What is EDN (edn.com)?

Updated

EDN (edn.com) is an English-language electronics publication and community site for engineers, branded as the "Voice of the Engineer." It is aimed at electronics design professionals and publishes articles, a magazine, tools, and blogs. If you are looking for design ideas, measurement techniques, or industry news written for practicing engineers rather than general technology readers, EDN is built for that audience.

What EDN covers

EDN stands for Electronic Design News. Its own description frames it as "an electronics community for engineers, by engineers," and the content areas it names are:

  • Articles — technical write-ups and industry coverage
  • Magazines — the publication's editorial issues
  • Tools — resources for engineering work
  • Blogs — ongoing commentary and design discussion

The site's stated focus is "the latest articles, magazines, tools, and blogs in the industry," so it functions as a mix of editorial publication and practitioner community rather than a pure news wire or a product storefront.

Who it is for

The intended reader is an electronics engineer or a related technical professional. The "by engineers, for engineers" framing signals that content assumes engineering background — you will encounter design tradeoffs, circuit-level discussion, and measurement problems rather than consumer-oriented explainers.

If you are a student, hobbyist, or adjacent professional, the material is still readable, but expect it to be written at a working-engineer level.

What the content actually looks like

The current front-page headings give a concrete sense of the range:

Heading Topic area
"Nifty nulling of non-negligible dpot 'scale' errors" Circuit design idea (digital potentiometer error correction)
"Measure the AC mains frequency with an ordinary counter" Test and measurement technique
"AI silicon tapeout: Can it beat a benchmark engineers trust?" Industry/technology analysis
"TP-Link's Tapo P110M smart plug: Matter and energy monitoring matter" Product review
"Measurement bandwidth" Technical explainer

Two patterns stand out. First, design ideas are a recurring format — the digital potentiometer piece is credited to Stephen Woodward and carries a comment count, indicating reader discussion is part of the experience. Second, the site mixes hands-on engineering technique with product evaluation and broader industry questions, so it is not limited to one format.

Practical notes

  • Language: English (en-US).
  • Access: The site references subscribing, so some content or features may sit behind a subscription. The available material does not specify what a subscription includes or costs, so check the site directly before assuming anything is free or gated.
  • Best use: Treat it as a source for design ideas, measurement methods, and engineering-oriented product and industry coverage — and read the comments on design-idea posts, where other engineers often add corrections or alternatives.