on 5/30/01 6:52 AM, 2 at 2@vc.net wrote:
>> Possibly a bit unfair, Rich, since the advertising is what pays the bills.
>
> /\ When George Grammar was QST's tech editor, he reportedly kept
> advertisers in line. This seems to have been a major factor in people
> trusting QST ads. My guess is that if an amplifier being lab-tested for
> a 1950s QST review exhibited intermittent arcing, Grammer would have
> likely have telephoned the manufacturer, described the problem, and, if
> necessary, made them an offer they could not refuse. In the end,
> everyone would have won. Customers would have wound up with a more
> stable amplifier. There would have been fewer warranty-returns, and QST
> would have eventually gained more subscribers and more advertisements. .
> . Happy customers are like a snowball rolling down a snowdrift.
Apparently, then, George never saw any intermittent arcing. Cause if he
did, every amp on the market would now be of a different construction.
QST is still pretty tough on their advertisers. Until recently, antenna
manufacturers could not publish gain numbers for their antennas.
>
>> To my mind, the greatest thing abt ARRL is the effort put into defending
> amateur
>> radio internationally - where it counts. If you've got no frequencies, you've
>> got no amateur radio. They do a poor job of blowing their own trumpet on
> that,
>> though.
>>
> /\ I have heard this claim for at least 4 decades. It is spelled out
> in no uncertain terms in the 1955 *Radio Amateur's Handbook*.
> - A QST staffer told me that the biggest laugher in hamdom is the idea
> that ARRL members think they control the League by voting for ARRL
> Directors. . . Are you familiar with the term "shaking-hands money"?
We don't "control" it but we certainly do have an influence. I personally
know my new division directory and he is a fantastic fellow. Does he have
influence at the ARRL? Sure. Did I vote for him? Yes. Do things go on in
the ARRL outside his control and thereby mine? Yup. Same thing happens in
Washinton DC! Yet I still vote for President and Congress. Might as well
influence what I can.
I'll agree with Peter that the league does a very good job at defending our
frequencies and representing the interest of US hams worldwide.
73,
Jon
NA9D
-------------------------------------
Jon Ogden
NA9D (ex: KE9NA)
Member: ARRL, AMSAT, DXCC, NRA
http://www.qsl.net/ke9na
"A life lived in fear is a life half lived."
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