Issue #1 - Intro to Trials and Errors

The user logs of QRZ have a huge number. Not my business to report on that exactly, but it's spittin' distance from a million. That means that the website has already grown past QST circulation, even counting their "pass alnng" numbers. Also, did you know that QRZ is going to be 30 years old next year? Were you EVEN aware of the "information superhighway" thirty years ago? I sure wasn't doing anything net related.

 

It has been my experence that , I find old antenna books are still excellent information. The science is still correct. So , reading of what happened in the past is still good information for thr future. In other words , what someone tried in the past might help you today. Learn from their mistakes.
Just Saying. Dave

 

Yes, for sure. ARRL keeps updating some of those classic books with some new ideas and construction tips, but in reality I keep my old books because they are helpful today and there were a lot of great antenna designs in those. Somwhere I've even got my old ARRL "How to Be a Radio Amateur" softcover book that I carried with me during the time of my first license. Probably a lot of valid info in there, still today.

 

I'm curious, though, about one thing . . . do you think that someone from ARRL, or CQ (or old 73) actually builds one of the items from accepted publications before they publish? I tend to doubt it. I had an experience one time of building something per an article and it didn't do what was expected. I was always frustrated by that. Yes, old "science" still has value, but it does have to be presented and communicated EXACTLY as required . . . not always the case!

 

for sure easier to read your post here than the page I landed on after seeing qrz front page. Far less clutter here.

Gosh, bunch of things pop into my brain. However, one of the neatest gizmos was the Signalink USB interface. Game changer for digital folks with older rigs that JUST WORKS.

Happy Thanksgiving om. 73
Jaye

 

Thanks Jaye. I'll look that one up, not familiar with it. Appreciate your comment, thanks! I think the "clutter" you are referring to is the sidebar of small box ads that QRZ sells to companies. They've promised that every web page they offer will feature those, so there's nothing I can do to eliminate them. That pays the bills around here. Dave

 

Dave - congratulations on your new column and great article. Looking forward to more. 73 - Eric, 4Z1UG

 

Thank you so much Eric! I remember talking to you a few months ago about the concept and I am so glad it worked out. Talk soon I hope, Dave

 

FB OM..CUAGN!

 

Most Secret War by R.V. Jones.

A very excellent book about radio in WWII.


73, Mark

 

TNX OM!

 

Thanks in advance for your work on the column, Dave. Tom (WA9TDD) and I did a "Ham Radio Perspectives" video on the history of ham publications that addresses Hugo Gernsback's amazing success with radio-related publications. He was a publishing dynamo who shaped popular public views of radio. Quin, K8QS

 

A very good and relatively inexpensive CW memory keyer that I a now using is the Ultra PicoKeyer. It is available from ebay and you can search for it there.

David Buell
NN7RM

 

Whilst I do not have a product to expose, I'd like to bring this to your attention. Here in the UK, we have what is known as the North West Fusion Group and one of the administrators recently launched this video . Having spent many years promoting C4FM and Wires X I thought it may be helpful to new users of the mode.

 

Thanks Mark!