It may just be me, but it seems to me that the “Rules and Regulations” and “Aerials” columns in World Radio magazine cover the exact same material over and over.
Case in point, I just picked up the May 2008 issue that they were handing out at Dayton. The title of the Rules and Regulations column is “How Do They Get Away With It?” and what they’re talking about getting away with is hams at Field Day using privileges they’re not supposed to have. I swear that this column runs every other month.
The Aerials column is just as bad. Kurt N. Sterba, a cutesy pen name that I’m getting really tired of, tries again to convince everyone that antenna tuners really do tune the antenna and not just simply match the impedance at the end of the feedline to the 50-ohm output of the transceiver. Is it just me, or does this column run every other month as well?
Of course, the issue wasn’t all bad. I really liked the QRP column, “Sweet Sounds of 40 Meters Through NB6M’s ‘Tin Ear.'” This is a great little construction project that uses seven transistors to create a tunable, direct conversion receiver. One notable feature of this receiver is that it does not use a variable capacitor. Instead, it uses a variable inductor, made from a soda straw, to tune the receive frequency.
David N8SRE says
I think World Radio’s audience turns over a lot, since most hams get a free trial subscription when they first get their license. They may be figuring the material is new to most of their audience.
Gary Wigle says
World Radio is a great magazine. I have made a few antennas in my day and everyone of them worked and worked very well. Even the time I tuned the lawn chair. Kurt is right 99.99% of the time. Rehash old stuff, that he does. Some people never learn and good ol’ Kurt keeps trying to teach. I have had a life subscription for many years. That and the life membership to the ARRL have proven to be great values.
73 de kb0ni