Best Magazines?

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IndyEmsGuy

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I would like to know what the best magazines are for scanning anf Ham radio stuff. I hear a lot about popular communications, is it a good magazine? What are some others? I want to get some magazines that deal with scanning but also Ham stuff too. Thanks!!!
 

trace1

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I always liked Popular Communications and Monitoring Times, I too have not had a subscription to either one in a very long time but both are/were a very good source of information you're looking for. I did pick up a copy of Pop’ Comm’ awhile back, may just have to get a new subscription to them both again...

As far as HAM magazines go, there is always CQ and QST (QST comes with the membership to ARRL).
 

ryangassxx

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Not to dis your suggestion, but Scanning USA is trash.. If you subscribe good luck actually getting your magazines.. Plus the contents is just nothing spectacular. Nothing you cant find on this very website..

I like popular communications..
 

n7jei

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Personal recommendations: Popular Communications www.popular-communications.com and Monitoring Times www.monitoringtimes.com . I've been a PopComm reader since the First issue in 1982/3? I've been reading Monitoring Times since they were a newsprint publication (again, early 80's). And I do subscribe to both. For Ham Radio there is QST published by the ARRL www.arrl.org Lots of anti-ARRL stuff out there, but I support the only national organization for hams. CQ-VHF is another one I like a lot www.cq-vhf.com . (The only others generally available in the USA are CQ (ham radio with contesting emphasis) www.cq-amateur-radio.com and Scanning USA www.scanningusa.com . I really tried to like Scanning USA... when they first came out and were a pacific northwest regional magazine, they were pretty good (before the 'net) but when they went national.... lets just say I've gotten rid of all my back issues.) There are a few other specialty mags out there like 'Electric Radio' www.ermag.com and I think 'Amateur Television Quarterly' www.hampubs.com/atvq but most all of the other hobby radio magazines in the past couple of decades are all gone (sigh). I really enjoyed Wayne Green's '73' he was very entertaining. Grove's 'Satellite Times' was cool, but it didn't last too long. 'Ham Radio' had lots of articles that are still classic construction articles. 'S-9' was a CB magazine and there was another CB magazine published by CQ, but I don't remember it's name (even though I have all the issues in a box somewhere). I think that with the availability of stuff on the 'net (radioreference is a perfect example) many magazines lost readership and went under. I really enjoy my print subscriptions in addition to the 'net. They really compliment each other for me.
 
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nexus

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Popular Communications and Monitoring Times for all of the SWL/HF/UTE stuff. I also get QST which is the ARRL's official Magazine. If you're a contester get CQ Magazine. I use to get 73 Magazine too but they closed shop several years ago.

Another one you might want to consider is Worldradio Magazine. Its a smaller publication but its pretty much ham driven, it isn't like 80% ad and 20% content like most mags. http://www.wr6wr.com/ is their website.

Mike mentioned MRT. I get that magazine at work, it's pretty good if you want to keep up with public safety communications from an industry standpoint. It isn't scanner friendly, but if you like technical knowledge inside scoop stuff its a cool magazine.
 

key2_altfire

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Echo sentiments: CQ Amateur Radio is one of my faves.
Scanning USA would be a lot better to read if their idiot editor didn't feel it necessary to post a rant in his column every month, calling all you people with scanners "junior G-Men," and I mean in a derogatory manner.
 

N9JIG

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I was in Barnes & Noble today (Nov 20, 2007) and the MARCH 2008 issue of Scanning USA was on the shelf! At this rate I think that we will likely see the January 2011 issue by Christmas this year...

Just for grins and giggles I bought it to see if they have improved since the last time I saw one. Half the mag is still useless dumps from the FCC license data, mostly white space surrounding renewals and a few new licenses (but these aren't so designated), a few warmed over articles that have already been well covered elsewhere and stuff copied from the Internet here and there. Most of the rest of the space is taken by pictures of fire trucks that don't have anything to do with any of the articles.

I have occasionally seen decent articles in Scanning USA but it has been a while. With the demise of RCMA a monthly scanner magazine seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately Scanning USA isn't it. There is more scanning content in either PopCom or MT every month and both of them have professional editing and layout to go along with actual content.
 

Mark01

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National Scanning was OK It's been ten years since I subscribed to this magazine so I can't say how good the current magazine is.

They changed ther name to National Communications http://www.nat-com.org/index.htm
Looking at ther webpage it looks like they have a lot of seasoned veteran scanner writers that used to write for Popular Communications and Monitoring Times.
 
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