HamRadioNow: CQ 'Comes Clean'

HAMRADIONOW.tv
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Episode 189:
3 Years Ago in Orlando​

HamRadioNow launched 3 years ago with a series of programs at the Orlando HamCation. I returned this year with a little less ambition (and no hernia), but I did get some good video. Episode 189 is a short tour that looks at a new full-fledged QRP SDR from Elad in Italy, and a prototype of the FreeDV Speaker-Mic. I also give Chairman Peter Meijers some grief about a hamfest that hits Friday the 13th and Valentine's Day in the same weekend.

[video=youtube;gdIK9zwXlCc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdIK9zwXlCc[/video]

Episode 190:​

CQ 'Comes Clean'
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Click-bait is a deliberately provocative title that gets you to click the link and, maybe, read the story. I did talk (at length) with CQ editor Rich Moseson W2VU, and he was generally candid about the state of CQ and its potential future. I don't think he reveals much that we don't already know, but it's good to hear it from the source. Watch this episode here.

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THANK YOU to all our contributors!​

 

No, 'time will tell' is one of those silly catch phrases that says nothing.

Why? Because WE will tell-- the target audience for the magazine.

I like the direction CQ is heading, but the main problem is going digital. I was VERY unhappy with the digital CQ magazine a couple of years back: too hard to find anything and to read AS A MAGAZINE. I dropped my sub. It was never fun to try to navigate. It was work.

People are still buying ham gear, and paying big bucks for it. So there is an advertiser pool. Now; capturing BACK the readers is another story. W2VU is doing a good job, and if they re-do the digital CQ format--another vendor for formatting/distributing--then I may come back.

So time has nothing to do with it. Readers have everything to do with it.

73
Chip W1YW

 

I enjoy reading actual magazines (what else are bathrooms for?) I did not like the fact that I needed a SEPARATE subscription to CQ to read articles that were listed in the Table of Contents of the PRINT magazine!!!!!

 

Good show. My first trip to Dayton was to help run the CQ booth, and sign my Opus books. Dick Ross was the publisher then...a real old-school Eastern gentleman. He truly appreciated literature and the English language. He easily could have worked in publisher's row in NYC....but chose to cast his lot with ham radio.
Rich is in a very difficult position...trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear....none of which is CQ's fault in the least. They had a great 70 year run. They outlived all the predictions and most of the paper publishing industry. I think they'll pull through...but it will be lean.

Eric

 

CQ is a wonderful publication and although as a General Chair of Hamvention I was not always pleased with some of their coverage; they were doing their job and yet all in all I truly enjoy how they report on amateur radio. They can be bold and cutting edge. I admire an organization and especially a publication with some willingness to present all sides. It is my belief CQ has and will be a strong pillar of support for the amateur radio community. Clubs that run the hamfests and so many others who step out for our hobby; folks really trying to raise the bar often receive the most critical review! I personally want CQ to thrive and prosper..to continue to be a strong voice in our radio community. Now is not he time to kick them when they are a little down but in some way find a way to support them.

I was at Hamcation 2015 which is a splendid gathering in such a warm comfortable climate..the crew there worked hard to present a great show! CQ was there working hard as many vendors were.

In summary the Ham Radio Now Interview is very enlightening to us all and they also work hard to try to let all of us know more of the inside of what is going on many fronts. I simply hope we continue to support our friends at CQ who do work to produce a great product month after month.

...long live CQ Magazine...

 

Exactly. I signed up last year for the free magazine issue with every intention of subscribing if it was half ass good. I would sooner raise a tower with two broken arms then go through that process again.

 

I'm not a big fan of the Zinio reader (or QST's software, either). But they're not unusable, and that's how I read both publications. I like good'ol PDF's, but I guess they're harder to secure, and we all know that if hams could freely copy and distribute a QST or CQ issue, they'd never sell more than one.

"Time will tell" means "we don't know the answer now, but at some point in the future, we will." The phrase doesn't say how we'll know, or who will affect the events.

I didn't ask Rich if (or how much) readership has declined. He didn't offer that as a reason for less advertising. Our big and mid-size manufacturers don't disclose sales numbers or tell us much about how they're doing. If they're doing well, then why aren't they advertising in CQ? Their return on that investment goes beyond direct sales, and is probably impossible to measure.

73, Gary KN4AQ

 

This is a bit of a tangent, but there is a digital magazine that seems to have found its niche (in another hobby field not amateur radio). When it first came out, I didn't think they would last very long but they have & it has really grown. Oh, did I mention this digital magazine is free to the public? Someone should talk to the publisher and see how they do it.

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine

 

Transcript?

No Audio here.