The AM Forum

So, the cronies in Newington keep replying "No, no, you ignoramus, it doesn't mean we are going to regulate by bandwidth, blah, blah, technicality, technicality, blah blah, voluntary, blah, blah..."

So instead of playing the cat and mouse, we should just deliver the blow. I'm thinking of writing an email like this, and I think everyone else should too:

"Lets cut the crap, if any League action prevents me from operating the AM mode, I will never renew my membership again. Being just under 34 years of age, and with a family history showing I may very likely live to age 95, that will be a loss of revenue to the League of $2440 over my lifetime, and that is only at 2008 membership rates. I'm certain I would not be alone in my actions."

Now, ya think if they got 5000 emails like this, and saw over 12 mil in future revenue instantly go poof, they might change course?

Maybe also add a sentence and cc sales@vertexstandard.com, icomusa.com, kenwoodusa.com, "And you can be damn sure I'll never buy another new ricebox for the rest of my days, either!"

Think this would work better? ;)

-Jason kf6pqt


PS- maybe also add "And I'll SURE as hell not buy another MFJ product either!"

"$2440 over my lifetime" - Probably less then a 1 page ad in QST for 1 month.
Threats generally are always counterproductive and only results in a short-term high to the deliverer.

Actually, you'd do better to quote the future value of the annuity, which will be substantially higher.

Bill

Money makes the world go 'round, as they say.

As Pete points out, the Sales and Marketing dollars are much more significant than any one member's dollars, a fact of business life.

Last week I compared a back issue of World Radio's list of advertisers to the Advertisers List in QST.  It was interesting to see the businesses that choose to advertise in WR rather than in QST.

Going with Pete's comments, perhaps it is a better action rather than to cancel one's membership (note: NOT a subscription) to ARRL, to do diligence in buying a new ham product, do your homework and find and buy if you can, a similar product from a vendor who DOES NOT ADVERTISE in QST.  Then write the other vendor in QST and tell him that you did not buy from him because he advertises in QST.  I know this is somewhat of a long shot, but the leveraging of your xxx. dollars of influence is much more effective this way.  Your whole lifetime membership in ARRL is but one ad in QST.

QST's advertisers have much more influence with the League than you do.  Go with it.

Thanks Jason and Pete.

I believe this is called brainstorming.

I believe this is called boycotting also.

True enough, but as memberships drop, so do readers/subscribers of QST. This is turn reduces the amount the ARRL can charge for advertising. It will have an impact of enough people do it.

Jason I have to agree, they really don't give a szht about people who quit paying dues, since they've obviously been willing to watch their enrolled share of licensees slip to about 20-25%.

But this thread, with your idea and then bringing in the manufacturers,  prompted this version of an economic lever --

How about making approaches to corporate executives at the Big Three and politely lay it out how the ARRL is causing problems rather than addressing any real issue at hand.

A few questions now coming from Kenwood, Icom and Yaesu to the League's business office might be a real eye-opener.

It would take a tight synopsis, proposed solution, and sincere frustration at the League's lack of receptiveness.

Drop your membership AND buy elsewhere.  You can do both buy-golly.

I do love my MFJ-259B, that product is a winner.

MFJ does advertise in WR, at least the issue I looked at.  I don't think they advertise in ER though.

Martin is a shrewd dude.  And now he has the volume.  He must get quite a discount on ad space from QST now.

If you could buy from Ten-Tec or Elecraft you are buying American.  You would not be buying from the East-Coast-of-Japan-sound boys.

Yes, actually when you think about it....

Where would the Big-Three's advertising dollars be better spent anyway,,,,

QST, or the WWW.....

It's not like they'd be losing a big market audience......

but the ARRL would lose big!

My advice to the ARRL would be to take their regulation by bandwidth and stuff it. We don't need this load of bull. It's not like they're going to cut off part of the bands, they're just making more room for the slopbuckets and everyone else. AM'ers have been using various frequencies for years and now they're stuffing this down our throats. The whole thing's a mess. But I agree with Jason, they might change their minds after they see a couple million dollars go poof because of this mess. AM will always be a part of amateur radio.

Well,..one thing is for sure they got nobody to thank but themselves, this is what happens when you exclude the interested from the interest.

Wow i wouldn't want to be on that end of the stick...

Yeah, I just threw it out as a half-awake-drinking-coffee idea... Kind of like, "Ok, well you want us to trust you, we will, but there will be HUGE monetary consequences if you betray our trust." Hmm, that statement doesnt even sit well.

They are a corporation, we have to treat them like one.

And yeah, the MFJ angle would be a tough one for me too, some of there stuff is pretty darn cool. I just today made my first ever 10 meter qso during this weekend's 10m corntest on one of their little qrp slopbucket radios that I got used a while back.

Hey, no one was on 29.0 and 29.01 AM!!   ;) I need to order xtals for my 10m Stancor AM tx.

Anyway, we'd have to get a lot of people behind this "carrot and stick" initiative, if the idea doesn't take off like wildfire here, it definitely won't elsewhere. I'm just trying to think of a better way to be productive than just saying "Sh!%, they're screwing us, damn them," and doing a bunch of hand-wringing. I've written my emails, and they get answered by Harrison saying "no, no, thats not what we're trying to do, besides, its voluntary!"

They're gonna do whatever they want, due to their perceived mandate from their membership. Obviously we can't have a rational discussion with them, as they perceive us as "ignorant," but if we can make them scared for their revenue, perhaps they'll back off and chill. They need to know how tenuous that flimsy mandate really is.

We can't really hope for them to crash and burn, as they do some good for Ham Radio. Another group has to come in to existence first, then ARRL can go fish.

Do you think 'Ol Wayne Green could have gotten farther creating a competitor for the ARRL if he would have had the amazing tool called "The Internet" at his disposal?

Creating an "alternative" is such a crazy idea, that its a good one. Some crazy bastard needs to do it.

Don't look at me, I don't have the starting capital!  I'd gladly join, though.

your first statement really shows the truth of the situation

As with dealing with HOAs or any other petty dictatorship, the key to REALLY influencing the organization is to run for office and parlay that into a leadership position on the Board, etc.

I remember when some of the College Republicans (some of whom were members of the U of MN Radio CLub) took over the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group board.   Much fun was had by all  ;D

Anyway, running for office with the ARRL means you need to be a member.  And even then they may find a reason to disqualify you for a "potential future conflict of interest" or something.

From a post of mine above, ..."do diligence in buying a new ham product, do your homework and find and buy if you can, a similar product from a vendor who DOES NOT ADVERTISE in QST.  Then write the other vendor in QST and tell him that you did not buy from him because he advertises in QST.  I know this is somewhat of a long shot, but the leveraging of your xxx. dollars of influence is much more effective this way.  Your whole lifetime membership in ARRL is but one ad in QST.

QST's advertisers have much more influence with the League than you do.  Go with it."

(Perhaps some of these companies ping-pong from magazine to magazine, advertising only periodically.)

Companies That Do Not Advertise In QST    Rev. 1  December 11, 2007

Inspecting the December 2006 issue of WorldRadio vs. Dec. 2007 QST:

American Morse Equipment
Ardco Electronics
Better RF Company
Caps Unlimited
Casual Dxpedition
Cliff Dweller Products
ComTek Systems
Command Productions
Communication Products Limited
Courage Handi-Ham System
CW Touch Keyer
dBj Radio & Electronics
DC Ace, Inc.
Elk Antennas
Engineering Systems, Inc.
EPCOM
EZ Hang
Hamshack.biz
Hamstuff by W7NN
Inkjet Southwest
J Poles
K-Y Filter Co.
K1CRA Radio Store
Kanga USA
Lakeview
Leo Lehner/Battery Booster
Jean Lestrale
James E. Mackey
The Mast Company
Midland Technologies
N2VZ Enterprises
Nemal Electronics
Paddlette Company
Penny’s Stitch n’ Print
Performance HF, Inc.
QCWA
R.F. Connection
RF Parts
Rig Technologies
Sign Man of Baton Rouge
Smiley Antenna Co.
Southwest Michigan Specialty Services
Success Easy/Alternative Arts
Tashjian Towers Corp.
TechNote Time
Unified Microsystems
Universal Electronics
Vibroplex Co.
VIS Amateur Supply
Webster Communications, Inc.
Wilderness Radio
The Wireman, Inc./Clear Signal Products
WorldRadio (of course)
- - - - - -
September 2007 Electric Radio vs. December 2007 QST
(ER desires only vintage radio related vendors)

CleanRF Technologies
Dave Curry Longwave Products
Electric Radio Store/Zim Electronics Inrush Current Limiters
Electronic Specialty Products
EZ Hang
Heil Sound
Mil-Spec Communications
Vintage Manuals Inc.
West Tech Services
 - - - - - -

M3 Electronix Inc.
An interesting product I learned of recently is a digital LCRZ meter kit by a company called M3 Electronix Inc.  (Maybe someone here on the AM Forum mentioned it.)
Has 0.2 % accuracy, $175 for the basic kit.  This is much better than the usual digital LCR meter.  I don’t have one nor do I know the owner of the business.
They have a number of products.

If you find a ham product to buy that is not advertised in QST, that otherwise has suitable vendors advertising in QST with comparable products, drop the QST vendors all a line.  State whether you spotted your choice on the Internet or if in another magazine - mention which one.

Not sure what QST advertisers list for December 2007 you're looking at but:
Universal Radio is there
Tashjian Towers is there
Electric Radio is there

There might even be more.

We’re looking at the same QST Advertiser’s List Pete, unless Dave Sumner is sending the Alarmists a special custom issue, HI. 

My WorldRadio worksheet has the companies correctly marked except for Tashjian, I made a clerical error there, thanks, so do not buy from Tashjian Towers.  I have removed them from my list, my only revision.

The Universal Radio of Ohio who advertises in QST is a different company from Universal Electronics of North Carolina (in WorldRadio) – known for Coax-Seal and coaxseal.com.

Electric Radio does advertise in QST and is therefore not on the "Companies That Do Not Advertise In QST" vendors list but in it’s specific case, it is an alternative ham radio magazine as is WorldRadio.
Updated list:

Companies That Do Not Advertise In QST   Rev. 2  Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Inspecting the December 2006 issue of WorldRadio vs. Dec. 2007 QST:

American Morse Equipment
Ardco Electronics
Better RF Company
Caps Unlimited
Casual Dxpedition
Cliff Dweller Products
ComTek Systems
Command Productions
Communication Products Limited
Courage Handi-Ham System
CW Touch Keyer
dBj Radio & Electronics
DC Ace, Inc.
Elk Antennas
Engineering Systems, Inc.
EPCOM
EZ Hang
Hamshack.biz
Hamstuff by W7NN
Inkjet Southwest
J Poles
K-Y Filter Co.
K1CRA Radio Store
Kanga USA
Lakeview
Leo Lehner/Battery Booster
Jean Lestrale
James E. Mackey
The Mast Company
Midland Technologies
N2VZ Enterprises
Nemal Electronics
Paddlette Company
Penny’s Stitch n’ Print
Performance HF, Inc.
QCWA
R.F. Connection
RF Parts
Rig Technologies
Sign Man of Baton Rouge
Smiley Antenna Co.
Southwest Michigan Specialty Services
Success Easy/Alternative Arts
TechNote Time
Unified Microsystems
Universal Electronics
Vibroplex Co.
VIS Amateur Supply
Webster Communications, Inc.
Wilderness Radio
The Wireman, Inc./Clear Signal Products
WorldRadio (of course)
- - - - - -
September 2007 Electric Radio vs. December 2007 QST
(ER desires only vintage radio related vendors)

CleanRF Technologies
Dave Curry Longwave Products
Electric Radio Store/Zim Electronics Inrush Current Limiters
Electronic Specialty Products
EZ Hang
Heil Sound
Mil-Spec Communications
Vintage Manuals Inc.
West Tech Services
 - - - - - -
M3 Electronix Inc.
An interesting product I learned of recently is a digital LCRZ meter kit by a company called M3 Electronix Inc.  (Maybe someone here on the AM Forum mentioned it.)
Has 0.2 % accuracy, $175 for the basic kit.  This is much better than the usual digital LCR meter.  I don’t have one nor do I know the owner of the business.

* 12/16 - I learned of M3 as a result of a review of their frequency counter in the December 2007 issue of QST!

Perhaps I will compare a recent issue of CQ to December QST in the near future.

My error too on "Universal" xx.
And manufacturers do ping-pong between the various mags.
May 2007 QST does show:
BetterRF Co.
EZ Hang
Kanga US
Lakeview

Plus a number of companies you show are small enterprises where advertising in QST is cost prohibitive.

Now they're both essentially newbie/contesting/appliance op rags.  73 had pretty much gone that same route too, before it went belly-up.  Ham Radio didn't survive after Jim Fisk Died. Fisk, BTW, as pro-technical as he was, was decidedly biased against AM.  Just read some of his editorials in past issues, and observe the rarity of AM-oriented technical articles.  For a while, HR also published a second magazine, pretty much of the same genre as the present-day QST and CQ and aimed primarily at newbies, called Ham Radio Horizons.

Companies That Advertised in CQ Magazine, September 2007 And Did Not Advertise In QST January 2008.      Rev. 1  Wednesday, December 12, 2007

A & A Engineering
Amateur Television Quarterly
Amidon Associates
Astron Corporation
Atomic Time, Inc.
bhi Ltd.
Burghardt Amateur Center
Butternut Antennas
CQ Books
CheapHam.com
Command Productions
Communication Concepts, Inc.
Diamond Antenna
FingerDimple.com
Green Heron Engineering LLC
Ham4Less.com
Ham Station
KJI Electronics, Inc.
Kanga USA
Kent USA
Morse Express
Navigator Interface
Nemal Electronics International, Inc.
New Communications Solutions, LLC
OLYMPIX
Penny’s Stitch n’ Print
PowerPort
QCWA
R.F. Connection
RF Parts Company
RSGB
RT Systems
RadioWavz
SGC
Spiderbeam
Universal Radio, Inc.
VIS Amateur Supply
Vibroplex
Virginia Beach Hamfest
W & W Manufacturing
W3FF Antennas
- - - - - -

For what it’s worth, the December 2007 issue of QST had 136 advertisers listed and the January 2008 issue of QST has 103 advertisers listed.  Normal seasonal variation? Dissentions? I just don’t know and I am not going to bother to count the December 2006 and January 2007 issue lists.

Companies that advertised in QCWA Journal, Vol. 56 No. 4 Winter 2007 and did not advertise in January 2008 QST:

Antique Wireless Association (has quarterly Journal and annual Review)
CQ Magazine (monthly)
hamradioprints.com
Old Old Timers Club
Popular Communications magazine (monthly)
Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) (has quarterly Journal)
Radio City, Inc.
RF Parts Company
WorldRadio magazine (monthly)
- - - - - - - -

I just received a card in the mail offering a 3 month free subscription to WorldRadio.  I’ll be sending it in Monday.

Jason, I agree with the others, the ad revenue is where it'd hurt the ARRL most. I'd amend your statement to something like THIS:



There's a lot more ESSB'ers than AM'ers. And virtually every new ham wants his Japanese transceiver to have "broadcast audio". Get those guys in your corner and you'll have the clout of big numbers. You'll need to set up a Flashy website with rabble-rousing rhetoric, Tom's "blacklist" and alternative suppliers, and guestbook comments showing hundreds of ham calls supporting the boycott. It could be done. Webmaster, anyone?

Just to re-iterate, my lists are preferred vendors (but not vouched for), not ones to boycott.  The idea is to try to buy from people who advertise somewhere other than QST. 

Newcomers - Read all earlier posts of this thread for details.

The idea is to get QST's advertising clients to be complaining to them also and/or drop their accounts.

Another tactic would be to heavily follow the new IARU Region 2 band plan on New Year’s Day, actually starting the night before when 3892 – 3900 becomes available.  Absolutely pack the 3875 – 3900 kHz segment solid with AM QSOs for 24 hours so that no SSB QSO can take place below 3903 and above 3875.  See how the non-AM’ers like the new band plan that some believe “makes AM illegal”.

The 3892 and 3895 crowds will become radio refugees forced to find new and unfixed spots further up the band.

This is another thing that will pull more weight with the IARU and the ARRL - when the non-AM’ers start to complain to them also about the new IARU Region 2 band plan in addition to the AM crowd.