QST Archives on CDROM Out of Print?????

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Todd, KA1KAQ:
 
A couple of things there aren't being considered here.

First, crappy scans from REA certainly contribute to lack of interest, but so does the fact that you can't really curl up with a good CD on a cold winter's night. CDs are great for having a lot of info in a small space, but not all all user-friendly for those of us who enjoy the old gear, radio history, and so on. Research aside, I'd guess that most folks enjoy the original format: book form. The only reader required: one set of functioning MK I Eyeballs. Since there seems to be plenty of original magazines available, it's not like the information has somehow been withdrawn or kept from us.

Second, why would the ARRL want to provide an easy source for folks to look up and possibly become interested in technology and equipment not offered by their current advertisers? Other than initial sales, how does it benefit them? Yaecomwood didn't make amateur gear in the 50s.

With boxes of old QSTs available on ebay, QTH.com, local clubs, and often for free, it's not like we have no recourse. You can always make your own CDs, no laws against that.  ;)

k4kyv:
Someone recently posted a message on here about some OT tossing out a whole set of 1930's QST's into a rain-filled dumpster because he thought the paper issues weren't worth anything since they were now available on CD.

Those CD's remind me of the local university library.  Sometime back in the 60's they put their entire archive of periodicals, dating back to the early 20th century on microfiche, and discarded about a ton paper magazines. The quality is even worse than the QST scan, plus you have to fiddlefart with the microfiche machine to get a readable image.

I have the very first CD of the series to complete my pre-1925 collection.

Steve - WB3HUZ:
Quote

First, crappy scans from REA certainly contribute to lack of interest, but so does the fact that you can't really curl up with a good CD on a cold winter's night.

Excellent points and I couldn't agree more. I have an extensive collection of QST (nearly complete from early 30's through 80s) and I often use the online ARRL search capability to find what I'm looking for and then go pull the appropriate issue(s). I'd probably do the same if I had the CD set, unless the scan quality was much better.

W3SLK:
As Steve & Todd both pointed out there is nothing better than having the 'Real McCoy' in your hands. The search software on these CD's leaves a lot to be desired but they are capable of electronic transfer from one ham to another. Also, if I see a modification that is worth performing on a radio, you can print it out and have a working copy of said mods at your bench without ruining the issue as a whole. I thought Bruce, W1UJR, discovered that you can search the CD's using a different software, (Adobe comes to mind??). I thought this was more user friendly but I don't use it often enough to be practical.

W1UJR:
Quote from: W3SLK on November 11, 2007, 09:52:44 AM

I thought Bruce, W1UJR, discovered that you can search the CD's using a different software, (Adobe comes to mind??). I thought this was more user friendly but I don't use it often enough to be practical.


Its been a while since I did that, I dumped it when I switched over to a Mac last July.
Here is a link to the original posting of the "How To" --> http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=10108.0

Irrespective, its still a huge PITA, and the original scan quality is useful for reference only, not for casual reading. What I often did was use QSTView to the find the issue I needed, then go find that issue in the actual magazine collection. So in essence, QSTView was nothing more than a fancy card file.

The entire project deserves to be done over again, either by means of Amazon's "Mechanical Turk", where users can clean up the existing scans, or just simply rescan the original magazines back into a updated format. Today's scanning and imaging formats are of much higher quality than the original issues, so once done, its done for good, even as technology changes. It is also a matter of historical preservation, much of the printing of the early issues was done on paper containing acid, and the original works may soon be lost forever.

In many ways it could be argued that work of QST does not really belong to the League, as much as it does to its membership, after all, we are the League. And as such, the League as a direct fiduciary responsibility to preserve and protect historical material. If you've seen the high quality reprints the League commissioned for "200 Meters and Down", then you know that they can it correctly when properly motivated.

I suspect that the problem here is not so much as an unwillingness on the part of the League to do the work, as it is a lack of manpower and the concern over capital expenditure.

I'd dearly love to see the League redo this work, or if they wish to minimize capital expenditures, enter into a revenue sharing agreement and license the work to a third party to scan and then market, either in digital or hard copy form. Capitalism at work.

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