[CQ-Contest] QST Construction Articles

[Ward Silver]

> Hey--no jabs at construction articles--they are 'webbing' those too--look
at that 1296 amp in the latest issue--all the construction details are on
the web, the
> article is just a fluff piece. --Mike, WV2ZOW

I can't let this go by unchallenged.  As a matter of fact, thank you very
much, *I* edited that article to make it fit a fairly tight QST budget.
Printing the entire article and all the necessary graphics would have *at
least* doubled its size, requiring a second issue's worth of space. If it
had to go completely and utterly in QST, it would not have been run. There's
no way that article could justify that much space in QST.  Take a look at
other magazines for construction-intensive hobbies and professions - plans
and lists and detail drawings are quite often placed on a Web site.

By using the Web for details that most readers absolutely do not care about
and do not need, projects like the 1296 amplifier can be brought to the
attention of QST readers.  More photos and drawings are made available this
way and the likelihood of success for the builder is much, much higher.  I
support this sort of article and hope to see many more of them.  The days of
two-tube-on-a-baking-tin rigs are gone.  If you insist on the project
fitting in four or five pages of QST, you're drastically limiting the amount
of information that can be made available. How many people do you think
actually considered building that amplifier?  Two? Eight?  The point is to
illustrate the possibilities and get people thinking about what can be done.

If you don't like the existing articles - get busy and write one.  I'll be
dee-lighted to edit it for you.

73, Ward N0AX