Hi Joe, I echo those sentiments here...
QST ceased to be desirable (never-mind "collectable"!) when the geniuses in Connecticut decided to "gut" the magazine by publishing THE NATIONAL CONTEST JOURNAL, and QEX, right alongside it. What'd that do to QST...? It became a mere shadow of its former, great self, IMHO. Just what exactly is it anymore, anyway...? Little more than a touchy-feely-warm-and-fuzzy tome, that each month shows some new 8 year old seated in front of a synthesized transceiver, and page after page of ads. I get more out of ONE SINGLE "small-format" QST, than I do out of a whole half year's worth of them to-day... QST, R.I.P.! ~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ ************************************** ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joseph Bento" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Discussion of AM Radio in the Amateur Service" <amradio@mailman.qth.net> Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 12:32 AM Subject: [AMRadio] Getting on the Air - May 2008 QST > The "Getting On The Air" column by W1ZR. Vacuum tube based equipment > is far too dangerous to consider for a first rig, and building your > own equipment apparently isn't even a consideration any longer. If it > uses tubes, GASP! High Voltage! We can't have any of that! Also, > avoid gear older than 8 years, because you might not be able to get it > repaired. I hang my head in shame over what has happened to this once > great hobby where people were somewhat technically competent. Those > that lacked technical skills at least learned a bit of theory to at > least have a basic understanding of the operation of their equipment. > > At 44 years old, I'm a relative youngster in ham radio. I build and > restore vacuum tube equipment. I also play the guitar. The electric > guitar fraternity seems to embrace homebrewing far more than the > amateur community does today. Most good guitar amp designs are still > vacuum tube based, including modern designs. People regularly modify > their amps or build clone designs. Yes, high voltage. You learn the > proper precautions. Seems rather funny that a musician might be more > apt to work with electronics than a ham radio operator. > > Modern electronics is too complicated, tubes are too dangerous - it's > no wonder that electronics isn't even taught any longer throughout > most of the school system. > > I'm really beginning to question why I continue to support the ARRL. > At first when I saw the cover of this issue, I had thought there would > be all these neat projects from the Homebrewer's Challenge. Needless > to say, I was disappointed. I used to treasure QST. While I still > save all my issues, I'm beginning to wonder why. It certainly isn't > the technical journal it once was. > > 73, > Joe, N6DGY > Pleasant Grove, UT > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Our Main Website: http://www.amfone.net > AMRadio mailing list > Searchable Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/amradio@mailman.qth.net/ > List Rules (must read!): http://w5ami.net/amradiofaq.html > List Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.html > Post: mailto:AMRadio@mailman.qth.net > To unsubscribe, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with > the word unsubscribe in the message body. ______________________________________________________________ Our Main Website: http://www.amfone.net AMRadio mailing list Searchable Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/amradio@mailman.qth.net/ List Rules (must read!): http://w5ami.net/amradiofaq.html List Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.html Post: mailto:AMRadio@mailman.qth.net To unsubscribe, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word unsubscribe in the message body.
