Jim Cain is a little cynical regarding the expansion of NCJ and QEX to digital
versions. QEX and NCJ have healthy subscription bases; QEX much more so than
NCJ. If the readers on this list serve want to strengthen NCJ, subscribe for
yourself, donate a subscription to new contester and promote it at club
meetings. Both the editor of NCJ (me) and QEX asked to be put in line for a
digital format after the League announced a new digital journal for newbies.
The approval decision happened quickly; I do not know when the digital copies
will be available.
The reality of the publishing world is that all journals are going digital
slowly and in some cases not so slowly. I am Associate Editor of one of the
world’s most widely circulated medical journals. Our publisher is telling us
that all journals are preparing for the transition to digital and that we must
soon prepare ourselves. Our subscriber base is strong and our funding is
secure. It is not always a $$ issue which drives magazines to digital.
I am glad that HQ and Howard Michel decided to make NCJ digital on top of the
print edition. Ria N2RJ and others on the Board have been working to help us
with this expansion. It is necessary for many reasons, not the least of which
is the need to have more “room” to publish great content in a way that is
economical. Every issue, we push several articles forward due to page
constraints. Secondly, subscribers need a way to locate past material in a
format that is searchable, storable and retrievable. The last 40 years have
taught us that paper copies do not lend themselves easily to two of these
criteria. Finally, no ARRL journal is economical for non-US subscribers unless
it is in a digital format. I hope the European, South American and Asian
contest communities will join the ARRL to get NCJ, QST and QEX digitally; the
annual dues are worth that and more.
As we enter 2020 and face the doldrums of poor propagation, let’s not be
cynical about contesting or its publications. Contesting is alive and well;
today’s equipment exceeds anything we imagined in the 90’s. Antennas are better
and new modes allow us to communicate below the noise level. This should be
contesting’s finest decade in history; it will be if we make that happen.
Scott Wright K0MD
Editor, NCJ
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