The following is an e-mail I've sent to Ten-Tec. Any support of this idea
would be appreciated.
73,
John, W3ULS
Hello Scott or whomever:
As the new owner of an Argonaut V, I was delighted to find a glossary at
the back of the owner's manual. A first, as far as I know.
A year ago when I was studying for my General Class license, I discovered
that glossaries were scattered all over ARRL's study manuals and the
Handbook, but there was no organization to them. Some definitions did not
match others--probably a function of different authors at different times.
As a result, I put together a crude glossary of my own attempting to
incorporate all of the different subjects I could locate in the various
books I was using. This turned out to be a multi-day project.
I found having the comprehensive glossary was an extremely useful tool for
my studies (and I assume it will be just as useful when I get around to
studying for an Extra). As a result of my experience, I cajoled ARRL staff
to produce a truly comprehensive glossary, and they did respond by putting
up on their web site a pretty good glossary and an explanation of
abbreviations.
Here is a suggestion: Although Ten-Tec is not in the publishing business,
obviously someone in your company thought it would be a good idea to put a
glossary in the Argonaut's manual. So why not take this a step further and
publish in three-ring binder format a truly comprehensive glossary of ham
radio terms and abbreviations? You have a good start with the Argonaut
glossary, and the ARRL's work could serve as further material (whether they
would give permission or not, I don't know, but the subjects and
definitions are public domain). I bet you could find a ready market for
such a publication and you might even earn a few bucks while doing newbie
hams like me a HUGE favor. A Ten-Tec glossary could become the ham's Bible.
Alternatively, of course, there's always the web. But I recommend ink on paper.
73,
John, W3ULS
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