[UK-CONTEST] GM4FDM (& Radcom)

[G3SJJ]

Likewise I thought Tom's letter was excellent and would also pass my
congratulations on to him for raising this point.

G3SJJ (the callsign) is 40 this year yet the novelty and idea of radiating a
signal from a system I have assembled for it then to arrive at a distant
destination by means of natural phenomena is still the moving force which
keeps me involved in the hobby. In addition, to then be able to listen to
and decode an incoming signal, ie audio CW and SSB, into meaningful words
and sentences without external assistance is also still very much an
essential aspect for me.

Dave refers to Radcom. The battles we have both shared to keep contesting at
the forefront has been mentioned on here before. I also share Dave's
feelings about the direction Radcom is going. Maybe we can't expect the same
technical depth of articles that were published in Wireless World in the 60s
and 70s. (Remember Linsley-Hood audio amplifiers, Plessey 600 series ICs and
lots more?) I do though note with more than a touch of disappointment the
non-technical approach to circuit diagrams. Does a single transistor crystal
oscillator and diode detector have to take up quarter of a page? Some of the
other schematics look out of place and almost as though there is feeling of
embarassment for having to include them. The other aspect that really hit me
was the very large heading fonts. 36mm high letters look very much out of
place and actually give way to the suggestion of purposely wasting space
because of lack of material. Reflectees may be interested to know that the
reason give to me, much against my approval at the time, for the demise of
the title Contest Classified was for uniformity of wording and space across
all the different sections. Well, take a look at Whatever Next, Technical
Topics, VHF/UHF, not to mention IOTA Contest 2002 - Three quarters of a page
for a heading. I wouldn't dare guess how many column/cms have been wasted. I
think HFCC have a good argument now for increasing contest coverage!!

On the positive side, I thought Don XTT's IOTA Contest 2002 report was
excellent, even more enhanced by some great colour photographs.

I have held Steve G4JVG in great esteem since he took over the editorship,
not least because he actually understands the hobby and is a contester and
DXer. Sorry, but this is an experiment too far.  Chris G3SJJ


-----Original Message-----
From: uk-contest-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:uk-contest-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of Dave Lawley
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 11:00 PM
To: UK Reflector
Subject: [UK-CONTEST] GM4FDM


Has anyone got a current email address for Tom GM4FDM?

I wanted to write and congratulate him on his excellent letter
in Radcom (or Radcomic as it now deserves to be called).

Thanks, Dave G4BUO