| Editor: |
Larry Wolfgang, WR1B |
| Assistant Editor: |
Lori Weinberg, KB1EIB |
| Contributing Editors: |
L.B. Cebik, W4RNL Zack Lau, W1VT Ray Mack, W5IFS |
|
|
|
Featured Articles: Letters to the Editor (PDF file) |
Featured Articles: Letters to the Editor (PDF file) |
 Jan/Feb 2008 issue. Table of Contents (TOC)PDF file Featured Article: The Z100 CW Tuning Aid (PDF file) Letters to the Editor (PDF file) |
 Nov/Dec 2007 issue. Table of Contents (TOC)PDF file Featured Article: The Star-10© Transceiver (PDF file) Letters to the Editor (PDF file) 2007 QEX Index (PDF file) |
 Sept/Oct 2007 issue. Table of Contents (TOC)PDF file Featured Article: A DDS Based QRSS(and CW) Beacon (PDF file) Letters to the Editor (PDF file) |
 July/August 2007 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (81Kb, PDF file) Featured Article: The ARRL 500-kHz Experiment: WD2XSH (868Kb, PDF file) Letters to the Editor (584Kb, PDF file) |
 May/June 2007 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (88,448 bytes, PDF file) Featured Article: An Automatic Noise-Figure Meter (2,082,954 bytes, PDF file) Letters to the Editor (315,714 bytes, PDF file) |
 March/April 2007 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (62,554 bytes, PDF file) Featured Article: The Z90 and Z91 Digital Panadapters (5,462,794 bytes, PDF file) Letters to the Editor (173,719 bytes, PDF file) |
 January/February 2007 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (87,222 bytes, PDF file) Featured Article: Observing Selective Fading in Real Time with Dream Software (2,254,136, PDF file) Letters to the Editor (161,667 bytes, PDF file) |
 November/December 2006 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (131,939 bytes, PDF file) Featured Article: Rectangular Waveguide to Coax Transition Design (1,126,046 bytes, PDF file) Letters to the Editor (54,830 bytes, PDF file) |
 September/October 2006 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (77,454 bytes, PDF file) Featured Article: Get 1.5 kW from a New RFMOSFET: A Legal Limit HFLinear, Tokyo Style (2,939,979 bytes, PDF file) Letters to the Editor (203,477 bytes, PDF file) |
 July/August 2006 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (23,296 bytes, PDF file) Featured Article: I-V Curve Tracing With A PC (696,009 bytes, PDF file) Letters to the Editor (98,171 bytes, PDF file) |
 May/June 2006 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (73,912 bytes, PDF file) Featured Article: A Talking Logbook with Rig Control (391,778 bytes, PDF file) Letters to the Editor (185,416 bytes, PDF file) |
 March/April 2006 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (26,631 bytes, PDF file) Featured Article: Pizzicato Pulse Generator (539,318 bytes, PDF file) Letters to the Editor (113,029 bytes, PDF file) |
 January/February 2006 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (52,811 bytes, PDF file) Featured Article: 8877 "Lite" - A 50-MHz 20-Pound Travel Amplifier (392,150 bytes, PDF file) Letters to the Editor (94,467 bytes, PDF file) |
 November/December 2005 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (50,761 bytes, PDF file) Sample Article (392,150 bytes, PDF file) |
 September/October 2005 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (50,852 bytes, PDF file) Sample Article (198,160 bytes, PDF file) |
 July/August 2005 issue. Table of Contents (TOC) (55,626 bytes, PDF file) Sample Article (475,948 bytes, PDF file) |
 Fall 1999 issue sample article: Microvave Spectrum Analyzer on a Budget (282,037 bytes, PDF file) by Mark S. Henkel, WB9LYH. |
 December 1981 Issue Number 1 (80,793 bytes, PDF file) by Paul Rinaldo, W4RI |
QEX is the ARRL "Forum for Communications Experimenters." Published bimonthly, it features technical articles, columns, and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals. The mission of QEX is to:
If you prefer, you, may subscribe by telephone toll-free at 1-888-277-5289 (US subscribers only). Or mail your subscription to ARRL, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111. Annual rates are:
Non-members |
ARRL Members |
|
| US via periodical class mail: | $36 |
$24 |
| US via 1st class mail: | $49 |
$37 |
| International and Canda by airmail | $43 |
$31 |
NOTE: Multiple year rates are available on the subscription application.
| The History of QEX |
QEX was first published in 1981 as the "ARRL Experimenter's Exchange", with Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, as Founding Editor. Over the years, QEX has partnered with the AMSAT Satellite Journal, and later hosted Gateway, ARRL's packet radio newsletter. The conductors of these two publications, as well as several Contributing Editors, have sustained the quality of the magazine.
Jon Bloom, KE3Z, became Editor in 1992. His considerable expertise built QEX into one of the most respected technical publications in its field. This was a time when Amateur Radio, and radio technology in general, were undergoing rapid changes.
Zack Lau, W1VT, the award-winning ARRL Senior Laboratory Engineer, came aboard with his "RF" column, detailing advanced work across the RF spectrum. Zack continues to present outstanding work.
Rudy Severns, N6LF, took over the editorial reins in 1997. On his watch, the magazine went from monthly to bimonthly publication. The number and depth of articles increased dramatically. QEX took on a new look as well, with full-color covers and enhanced content. Rudy's talent for soliciting top-quality articles from Amateur Radio's leading technical authors took the magazine to a higher plateau.
Bob Schetgen, KU7G, known for his editorship of The ARRL Handbook and for his columns in QST, also began work on QEX in 1997. Bob served as Managing Editor until his sudden passing in December 2005.
In January 2000, ARRL purchased the Amateur Radio technical journal Communications Quarterly from CQ Communications and merged it with QEX, creating the combined QEX/Communications Quarterly. Published for the preceding nine years under the editorship of Terry Littlefield, KA1STC, Communications Quarterly billed itself as the philosophical successor to ham radio magazine, which was founded by "Skip" Tenney, W1NLB, and Jim Fisk, W1HR. Littlefield was ham radio's Editor when CQ Communications purchased it in 1990.
Ray Mack, W5IFS, joined as Contributing Editor with the Jan/Feb 2002 issue. Ray conducts his column 'Out of the Box' about new product availability and also serves as our proofreader.
L.B. Cebik, W4RNL, came aboard as Contributing Editor as of Jul/Aug 2004. His column 'Antenna Options' covers antenna design, performance and construction.
Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, Managing Editor, began work on QEX in late 2005 and became Managing Editor for the March/April 2006 issue. For more than 20 years Larry has been ARRL's license study materials editor. In addition to editing several other ARRL books, Larry has written numerous Product Review and other QST articles. At ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, Larry guides each issue through final editing and layout steps.
The current Editor of QEX is Doug Smith, KF6DX. He is enthusiastic about continuing to improve the magazine, and welcomes all submissions, inquiries, comments, and suggestions. Doug offers his Author's Guide below to give you an idea of what he's looking for.
Most of the material QEX publishes is written by radio amateurs who are not professional writers. In fact, many have never had an article published before! The main qualification we require of authors is that they know their topic.
It's easier to write for us than you might think. While a well-written submission has a better chance for acceptance, your work doesn't have to be letter perfect. Get down your experiences as best you can, and we'll work with you. We have many expert editors and technical advisors who deal with all varieties of material. Pick a topic about which you're passionate, and start writing.
Readers are frequently kind enough to point out things that need clarification, or to challenge assertions that seem questionable to them. We want this kind of discussion for our "Letters" area. While we attempt to ensure that all articles are technically correct, authors are expected to defend their own material. If writing an article is more than you want to tackle right now, send us your suggestions and comments. All correspondence intended for publication should be addressed to: Editor, QEX, American Radio Relay League, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111 USA. Via E-mail, use qex@arrl.org. Preference is often given to letters of 500 words or less.
One reason is that you have some technical expertise or experience to share with other hams. You have probably derived much enjoyment and knowledge from Amateur Radio, and you have a chance to give something back. There are additional rewards as well.
First, there is a sense of accomplishment in completing an article and knowing you gave it your best effort. It's also a good feeling when your article is accepted for publication. Undoubtedly the biggest high is when you finally see your article in print! That has to rank with the boost you experienced after your first Amateur Radio contact. That's not the end of it, however. People take the time to write you a letter or e-mail saying "thanks," or "good job."
You can be proud of your article when it appears in a League publication. It will stand for years to come as testimony to your Amateur Radio proficiency. Beyond all other considerations, when your work has been published, you will have contributed something to the Amateur Radio Service and to your fellow amateurs-- something that might even help advance the state of the technical art, or motivate readers to try a new aspect of Amateur Radio.
This Author's Guide provides you, as a prospective contributor, with the information needed to give your material the best possible chance of being accepted. We are looking for a wide variety of written material and illustrations. Remember that QEX lives only to serve as your forum to build on our legacy of innovation. Keep those projects going!
The Guide describes the type of material usually accepted for publication. It provides some basic guidelines for writing an article, and tells you how to submit it. The Guide also tells how a manuscript is handled once it arrives at ARRL HQ.
As a purely technical forum, QEX is much less formal than QST. Authors exchange ideas through their articles. They need not explain and support every detail. Although experts review submissions, our readers quite often can fill in gaps and work through unclear areas. Our editorial process is much quicker than that of QST, with much less author contact. QST articles may get several days of editorial time, while QEX articles get much less. We consider many articles to be nearly ready for publication on acceptance, and the author is contacted only in case of a problem.
Every issue gobbles up a great deal of technical material. We publish about twice as much technical matter every year as QST. Our need for articles is great, so don't be bashful. We need material at all skill levels. We actively support a wide variety of topics, from simple construction projects to the advancement of theory. Previously published material is also considered, although permission must usually be obtained for copyrighted material.
Send your article to the QEX Editor via regular mail at ARRL HQ or via e-mail to lweinberg@arrl.org. Once your article is logged into the database at ARRL headquarters, we'll send you an acknowledgement letter. The article is forwarded to the editor for review. After review, we either send an acceptance letter and Publication Release form, or we return the manuscript.
Accepted articles cannot proceed without the signed Release form. On receipt of the signed Release, the article is edited lightly for grammar and technical content, then is sent to the Managing Editor, who prepares it for layout. After the article has been produced in its final form, the author gets one last review before it goes out to the printer.
Occasionally, the QST Editor will forward an article to us for our possible use. The author is notified that although not accepted for QST, his or her article has been automatically submitted to QEX. The author, of course, may choose to withdraw the article at any time prior to signing the Release.
The content of each issue is not planned far in advance, and may change until sent to the printer. Therefore, we can't always predict when your article will appear until well after it's edited. Expect from six months to a year to elapse between submission and publication.
Authors are compensated for published articles at the rate of $50.00 per published page or part thereof. The number of magazine pages your article occupies depends on such factors as the number of illustrations, equations, and the space restrictions of each issue. Payment is made on publication. No compensation is given for published letters. ARRL and IARU officials, including officers, directors and vice directors, as well as officials of IARU member societies, are not eligible for compensation.
For authors who are presently under contract to the League -- such as Contributing Editors -- the provisions of the contract, and not this policy, apply. If you are a US citizen or a resident alien, we must have your Social Security number before payment can be made. Unless previously copyrighted, all accepted articles become the property of the ARRL. All rights to the published material are reserved to the League.
An important note: Send material to only one potential publisher at a time. Most magazines automatically return articles submitted simultaneously to several magazines. Multiple submissions can only lead to copyright infringement problems for publishers. If we know -- or have good reason to suspect -- that an article we receive has been offered simultaneously to other magazines, we'll return it without further consideration. Articles published previously in a club newsletter, or a magazine or journal of other than Amateur Radio interest, can still be considered for publication. If your manuscript is not accepted for publication, you are of course free to submit it elsewhere.
The ARRL editorial staff and management strive to maintain a balance of material in our various publications in order to meet the needs of our members. Unsolicited manuscripts are received regularly at ARRL from authors who would like to have their work published. We welcome these manuscripts, as we rely on them for most of the articles that appear in QEX. To reach a decision to accept or return a manuscript, the editor and ARRL Technical Advisors ask the following questions concerning each submission:
Positive answers to the above questions move the decision toward acceptance, while negative answers lead to a decision to return the manuscript. We do not use a mathematical formula for reaching the decision. Rather, it is the result of editorial judgment based on the above criteria. The decisions of the Editor and Publisher are final.
Perhaps half the battle is deciding to write an article and choosing a subject. Ask yourself a few questions. What subject do you know well enough to help others understand? Have you recently completed a construction project with unique features? Do you have experimental results to pass along to others? Is there something new about your subject or your presentation? Will your article interest other amateurs?
Your manuscript doesn't have to be in impeccable English. The editors are used to working with a wide variety of material. The important thing is to provide us with an article that is technically correct and complete with all relevant information.
Subjects that are perennially popular include:
Reader interest in these kinds of articles seems to be insatiable.
There are two approaches you can take to writing a technical article for us: You can submit a completed manuscript, or you can write a letter of inquiry, followed by an outline, to the editor describing your proposed article.
Our preference is to review a completed manuscript. Letters of inquiry involve longer turnaround times, and reviewing an outline gives no guarantee that the final manuscript will make a good article. Once the finished manuscript is submitted, it still must be read by the editor and Technical Advisors. The only advantage to submitting an outline is that you will find out beforehand if there is no interest in publishing an article on the subject you have chosen. There may be many reasons for that, including a surplus of articles on your topic.
Manuscripts should be typed or printed using black ink, double-spaced, and left-justified (ragged right margin) on 8.5" by 11" white paper. Leave at least a 0.5" margin at each edge of the paper. The title text should begin half-way down the first page to give room for editor's comments at the top. Every page should have a page number, and a header at the top. The header should include the author's last name, and the first few words of the title. For example: "Smith: Signals, Samples...." For electronic file submissions, format your word processor document to print to these standards.
Use standard abbreviations where possible. Use other abbreviations and acronyms only after they first have been spelled out. For example: infinite impulse response (IIR).
In accordance with the IEEE standard, electrical units are capitalized when abbreviated, and appear in lower case when spelled out. For example: "0.2 F" or "0.2 farads". Either US Standard or metric length units are acceptable, as long as one or the other is used consistently.
When preparing the manuscript on a computer, use the standard IBM (tm) character set. Place any characters unavailable in the character set after a dollar sign. For example: $lambda. Place footnote references in the text as superscript numerals. Put the footnotes and bibliographical information at the end of the manuscript. Do not "hide" your footnotes by using your word processor's footnote feature. Just insert the reference numbers in the text and place the text of the notes (with numbers) at the end of the file. Double-check all of your references to be sure they are correct. Include complete reference information, such as the author's name, book or article title, publisher's name and address, date of publication and page numbers.
Label all figures with a number and place these at the end of the manuscript. Do not insert them in the text proper, and do not put the captions directly on the figures. Provide a list of figures by number, along with their captions, at the end of the manuscript.
Sketches or schematic diagrams you supply should be as clear as possible so our technical illustrator can work directly from them. We do not require professional line drawings from you. We can use illustrations that are already in electronic form, such as .TIFF format. Or, we can redraw your figures, as long as their content is clear. Current issues illustrate the symbols and component identifications used in our drawings.
Photographs accompanying submissions can be black-and-white or color prints, or color transparencies or slides. We can often use standard 3- by 5-inch prints, but enlargements are preferred. Color photos submitted with articles will be considered for use on the front cover. Photos must be properly exposed and sharply focused. The print should possess a normal range of contrast. Prints having contrast that is too high or too low generally don't reproduce well. For more information, see "Tips for Taking Better Photos."
We are often asked if we can accept electronic image files in lieu of prints or slides. Generally we see the best results from original photos, but we may be able to use scanned images. All photos should be scanned at a minimum of 300 dots per inch (DPI), 24-bit color to ensure maximum quality in printing. If you are not sure if the photo was scanned at 300 DPI, the image should be approximately 1240 - 1400 pixels wide. This will allow us to make up to a two-column (4.5-inch-wide) version for printing. Please keep in mind that you will need more pixels if your photo has a lot of detail. We prefer TIFF image files or JPG image files with minimal compression. We can also accept high-resolution images in Kodak Photo-CD (PCD) format. Newer digital cameras may be able to provide high-resolution image files. Keep in mind the 300 DPI minimum resolution. In general use the highest possible resolution that is possible with your digital camera. Image files from inexpensive digital cameras or from print/disk processing services are usually not of sufficiently high resolution for good results on the printed page (although they may look fine on your computer screen).
Arrangements may also be made to have equipment photographs taken at ARRL HQ after an article is accepted. We will reimburse you for reasonable shipping costs if you provide us with a receipt. If you have a professional photographer take some pictures of your project, we will reimburse you for those prints we publish and for which you provide a receipt, at a rate to be set by the editor. Be sure to check with us before you spend any money for which you expect to be reimbursed.
Don't write directly on the front or back of prints. Type photo credit or descriptive information on a piece of paper and tape the paper to the back of the print, or use adhesive-backed note paper. Write separate photo captions and include them with the remainder of the manuscript. Photo credit information should appear at the end of the caption, in parentheses. For example: "Three generations of Amateur Radio operators, from the left: Jim Smith, WA3XYZ; Joe Smith, K3ABC; and Susan Smith, KA3ZZZ." (K3XXX photo.)
We do not normally publish photo credit informationfor photos supplied by the author, and photo credits are not provided if the author pays a professional photographer and is reimbursed as described earlier in this section. If you had someone else take photos for your article, please include that photo credit information with your article. If you need more specific information about photographic requirements for ARRL publications, please direct your questions to the Managing Editor or to the Production Department at ARRL HQ.
Concentrate on preparing a manuscript that is accurate, thorough and readable. To lure the reader into the presentation, use a descriptive and appealing title, and a "deck", or short blurb following the title. Look over recently published articles for examples. Indicate the scope of the article in its lead paragraphs and encourage the reader to delve into it further. Use relatively short sentences -- ones that contain only the words necessary to convey the message. Break up the narrative occasionally with subheadings.
After you think you have completed the article, set it aside for a day or so. Then read over the manuscript and make any revisions that come to mind. Now is the time to correct errors such as incomplete and run-on sentences, and any other mistakes that you spot. You might even want to ask a ham friend to read the manuscript and comment on it.
We prefer to receive your manuscript electronically -- along with the hard copy -- to save the work of retyping the text. So if you have a computer with word processing software, please use it. We use IBM-compatible PCs and Microsoft Word for Windows™ for most of our editing work. We can handle word processor files from just about any major word processor, however. Please include 3.5-inch disks or write the files to a CD or DVD. If you're in doubt, send us your file in straight ASCII or, better, Microsoft Rich Text Format (RTF). We do not accept articles in MathCad™ format. Ideally, a submission includes files on diskette in all the following formats:
It's a good idea to make a copy of your article before sending it to ARRL HQ -- material sometimes gets lost in the mail. Please include an e-mail address, a daytime phone number, and a fax number if possible, so we can contact you during normal business hours if necessary.
All authors are sent a certificate, which includes the author's name and call sign, article title and issue of publication. In addition, authors are sent three complimentary copies of the issue in which their article appears. Tear sheets or reprints in quantity are not available from ARRL HQ.
The ARRL Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical Excellence Award is bestowed for the best technical article of the year. This award winner is selected by the Board of Directors. Articles published in any League periodical are eligible. The award, a large trophy cup, bears the author's name and call sign along with the year of the award.
Some back issues of QEX are available from ARRL for $5 each, postpaid. Contact the Publication Sales department (pubsales@arrl.org, 1-888-277-5289) for availability.
You can get a photocopy of any article for $3 ($5 for nonmembers) for each article requested. Contact the ARRL Reprints Desk (reprints@arrl.org, 1-860-594-0200) if you wish to get photocopies.
All of the text of QST, QEX and NCJ appears on the annual periodicals CD-ROM. Available for 1995 and each year thereafter, the periodicals CD-ROMs are usable with Windows 3.1 and later.
The QEX Collection CD-Rom 1981-1998 includes all QEX issues from 1981-1998. Back issues have been scanned to provide black-and-white images that can be read on your computer screen or printed. Requires Windows 95, 98, NT or XP.
