[CW] ARRL MUST GET BETTER

Tue Mar 8 11:28:27 EST 2005

Brian,

I was referring to readers of QST, not people who are diehard builders. You 
can find a lot on the Internet, but a lot of it wouldn't be of interest to 
the average reader of QST. The editors of QST have no choice, they either 
publish what appeals to the majority of their readers, with an occasional 
carrot to the others, or go the way Ham Radio Magazine went.

The people at CQ magazine must be doing something right because they are 
still publishing. I don't see many construction articles in that mag  and I 
have been a reader for many, many years.

It is interesting how some people take pot shots at the ARRL and QST but 
don't mention CQ.

One phrase keeps repeating on this reflector and that is "dumbing down".

A couple of weeks ago I took a course in traffic safety that was delivered 
by the National Safety Council. The instructor had students reading from 
the course book. The youngest students had a difficult time pronouncing 
some words and the instructor had to help them. When it came time for the 
older students to read, they flew right through it with no problems.

Some people, those that subscribe to the theory that our schools are 
"dumbing down" the curriculum,  might conclude that the younger students 
weren't properly taught to read.

Others might conclude that the older students have a lot more practice at 
reading and are thus better readers. Which are correct? Probably a little 
of each, but I don't know because I wasn't in school with the younger 
students when they were being taught to read. I can assure you that most 
older people have a lot more experience reading than the current high 
school graduate. I stress the word MOST because there are a lot of older 
folks that don't even read a newspaper.  :-)

73..de John/K4WJ

At 07:04 AM 03/08/2005, Brian Carling wrote:
>I can't entirely agree with John - see below...
>
>On 8 Mar 2005 at 5:53, John/K4WJ wrote:
>
> > If they did print an article on how to "Build Your Own Nine Band QSK
> > Transceiver", could you duplicate the PC boards and drill them? Do you
> > have the tools to fabricate the chassis? Where are you going to find
> > the logic chips for the display board at a reasonable price? Do you
> > get quantity discounts on your parts? (I can't run down to the local
> > Army & Navy Surplus store and find the parts I need for a construction
> > project. In fact I don't think there is a local electronics parts
> > store in all of South Florida.)
>
>John,  there are plenty of sources of electronic parts.
>Probably more today than 20-30 years ago.
>Now they may not be in many retail stores.... because suppliers
>have realized that in today's awful economic climate they
>are forced to sell at lower prices than 20-30 years ago yet
>pay more for their overhead.
>Therefore many sell on the web, via mail order or through
>other means.
>
>Local electronics parts stores in all of South Florida:
>
>Radio Shack.
>Jaco Electronics,  Deerfield Beach, FL
>Nu Horizons, Ft. Lauderdale
>Electronic Equipment Co. Miami 305.256.9200
>Fusion Electronics, Miami
>Herman Electronics, Miami  305-477-0063
>You can find more Parts and Tools today than you could
>back then. You just have to find out where they are.
>Prices are lower now too, thanks to the Asian pressure.
>Here is an example of how easy it is to find parts at a
>sensible price.  I can buy logic chips, chassis, PC Board supplies,
>all kinds of tools etc. with NO difficulty.
>
>http://www.af4k.com/Boatanchors_Directory/Parts.htm
>
>Throughout the 1970s there were good articles on decent sized
>projects in Ham Radio, QST etc. so why not now?
>
>Anyway, those larger articles can be published at almost no cost
>on the internet, and some guys are doing it already.
>
>http://www.af4k.com/Boatanchors_Directory/Homebrew.htm
>(Now those are mostly TUBE projects, but you can find many
>"squalid-state" ones too...
>
>http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/bldgeqp.html
>(of course this is 'MEMBERS ONLY' information, to coerce folks to
>join ARRL.
>
>You could join for a year, download it all and then leave
>I guess, LOL!
>
>http://www.circuitsage.com/
>
>The problem is as Don says, that the ARRL has been dumbing
>down amateur radio, and to be honest I don't think it is ALL
>the fault of QST and the League's policies.  Much of it also
>has to do with the choices of amateurs and the calibre of the people
>coming into the ranks and what they have NOT been taught.
>Our education system has been severely dumbed down
>over the past 40 years. We have more information and more
>degrees but far less knowledge, oddly!
>
> > I'm no genius but I believe I understand why complicated construction
> > articles are lacking in QST, and even in today's ARRL Handbook. It is
> > because of what I stated in the above two paragraphs.
>
>I disagree. I just think plenty of parts and articles are out there for
>those who care to make the effort. If the demand goes away so
>does the supply.
>
>It's certainly easier to get service information for your old tube gear
>including
>the old AM-CW rigs these days, and many of us are homebrewing
>them too.
>
>There is even a program out on the web for designing tube radios
>and
>making professional looking schematics. TUBEPAD has all the
>symbols you need. It even includes additional symbol sets from
>the 1930s and from the beautiful RSGB diagrams!
>
>http://www.qsl.net/wd4nka/form.html
>
>It's about the 6th item down the left sidebar.
>See you on CW soon...
>
>73 to all and happy homebrewing!
>
>_______________________________________________
>CW mailing list
>CW at mailman.qth.net
>http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/cw

73..de John/K4WJ
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   John/K4WJ in Pembroke Pines, FL
    QTH  26 00 51 N
         80 16 16 W

K8PXG from 18 Jun 59 to 11 Feb 97
K8WJ  from 12 Feb 97 to 07 Apr 97
ZF2HZ from 17 May 84 to 31 Dec 84
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