Do You Use Digital QST?

[WA2SQQ]

Just curious how many here read QST in the digital version?

I just purchased a new iPad Pro and looked forward to reading QST on the train each morning on my iPad. I installed the app and downloaded several issues. Last week I got on the train and tried to read this month’s issue.   Guess what – I could not open any issue! I got to the office and soon discovered that without WiFi, you can’t access any saved issue. It had to be a “bug”, so I reported the matter to the person who is responsible for the app. Steve Ford, WB8IMY responded, “Because digital QST uses Digital Rights Management to authenticate user membership for access to each issue, WiFi must be available.”

Seriously? I’ve already downloaded the issue and saved it – it’s already been verified that I’m a member of the ARRL. This totally defeats the purpose of offering a digital issue.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Just curious how many here read QST in the digital version?

I just purchased a new iPad Pro and looked forward to reading QST on the train each morning on my iPad. I installed the app and downloaded several issues. Last week I got on the train and tried to read this month’s issue.   Guess what – I could not open any issue! I got to the office and soon discovered that without WiFi, you can’t access any saved issue. It had to be a “bug”, so I reported the matter to the person who is responsible for the app. Steve Ford, WB8IMY responded, “Because digital QST uses Digital Rights Management to authenticate user membership for access to each issue, WiFi must be available.”

Seriously? I’ve already downloaded the issue and saved it – it’s already been verified that I’m a member of the ARRL. This totally defeats the purpose of offering a digital issue.

If it was readable on your device without WiFi authentication, what's to prevent you from passing the saved document to non-members?

[WA2SQQ]

It's not saved as a PDF, so while you can back it up to a PC or the cloud, it's not in any standardized format.

That's not what this is about. FYI, sharing is easily achieved. You can print it to a PDF from the web based version. Got a follow up e-mail from them and it looks like it's a bug after all. They now say you should be able to view it w/o wifi. I sent them the screen shots that show the problem. The digital version is really so much easier to use.

[W3RSW]

Get both dig. & print versions.  Sometimes check for dig. before mail shows up.
My iPad will save PDF to iPad library.  QST has auto library main page of all issues since they went digital a few years ago. Whole library comes up using the iPad. App.

These are complete color digital issues, not simply B&W's scanned as are the older historic issues.

[W6WAC]

It's been awhile since I downloaded the digital version of QST but I see there has been a change.  They have at least been giving out the digital versions since at least the begining of 2012 and it had been in PDF form for those who wanted to download it rather than using the apps.  Now it seems they are using an interactive platform.  It can be converted to PDF but it's a little bit of a pain.  CQ magazine is similar with their digital mags using Zinio.  Here, you can download the file but its not in PDF of course, also a pain to convert.  What is notable in the QST digital is that there are links on certain pages that can bring up video or other info not normally found on the printed, really getting more bang for the magazine.

[WA2SQQ]

I received an e-mail last night which can bring this matter to closure. What I discovered, and they confirmed, is that after downloading an issue you need to open it while connected to WiFi. This validates your account and from that point on you can open it without being connected to WiFi.

The conversion to PDF is very easy - you just open the issue from the PC client and select PRINT. Print the entire document to a PDF file. I see no need as this format is smaller and faster.

[Jim/WA2MER]

If it was readable on your device without WiFi authentication, what's to prevent you from passing the saved document to non-members?
[/quote]
The same thing that prevented people from passing along their hard copies to their friends or local libraries back in the pre-Cambrian era.

I've gone digital with several other publications solely for the purpose of being able to archive them digitally in pdf form and not have to build an addition on my house to keep hard copies. Those other publications make it real easy, just DL and save. Digital formats that require anything more than a download into a universal format do me no favors. Anyone remember some years back when the ARRL offered CDs with their back issues? They had some goofy software that eventually became obsolete and I was stuck with two decades of QST mags that I had to manually compile into pdfs so that I could continue to use them. What a PITA. And to boot the quality of the scans was awful. Apart from that, I was completely satisfied.

[WA2SQQ]

I totally agree. As I mentioned, print to PDF is easy.