wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (05/22/84)
I just received the sample issue of "The International Shortwave Listener's Program Guide", which I requested just a week ago, and the offer of which I posted on net.ham-radio last week. It is Vol 1, No. 2, and is better than issue number 1, it seems, according to the description of that earlier issue posted by another as a followup to my announcement. It was also really free; I had sent 37 cents as requested, and this copy has an uncancelled 37-cent stamp! Anyway, the subscription rate is $19.95 for 12 issues, which is higher than Review of International Broadcasting, and I think RIB is somewhat better than this. However, they are distinctly different types of publications, so, if the cost is unimportant to you, it may well be worthwhile to get both. RIB is a listeners/readers' forum. The ISWLPG is more of a traditional magazine, with articles and columns. It is rather cheaply made, printed on pulp newsprint-type paper, 32 pages, the cover is the same newsprint, 8 1/2 X 11-inch format, with a readable typewriter-style typeface. The "Program Guide" section is in much smaller, rather harder-to-read print. About two-thirds of the magazine is articles; the rest is listings of broadcasts in English, program summaries from BBC and RCI (very limited; the BBC info is one page obviously photo-copied from London Calling with new headlines typed in; probably a cut-and-paste-up process), and the "Program Guide". The notes clearly state that this "Guide" section is limited to about 10 major broadcasters, with a Malaysian station thrown in for grins. The "Guide" section lists GMT times, station name, and program title. No frequencies. To find the appropriate frequency for the time and station you see listed in the "Guide", you have to turn back to the separate listings of "Broadcasts in English". Rather annoying unless you have memorized the best frequencies for your usual listening times and favorite stations. Another side effect of the style is a wasted string of listings each hour for "news". The articles are rather good. They have a number of well-known DXers on the staff who have contributed some surveys and discussions that are worth reading. A few articles are fairly obviously station PR handouts, but not the majority. The main article is a long interview with Ian McFarland of RCI. A technical questions column is planned, but this issue had no receiver reviews or other technical information. I still haven't decided whether or not to subscribe myself. These SWL magazines have come and gone over the past decades, and subscribers have been left with lost funds when they failed. RIB has been a notable exception; it has continued for 7 or 8 years steadily. (I think that is because the others have been explicitly commercial ventures, and never could turn a profit. RIB is a one-man labor of dedication, and has been priced to recover costs, not to make Glenn Hauser a living. [He's not rich, he just works 27 hours a day!]) In case you didn't keep my original posting, with the address and info on the free sample, I append it below: An item of interest to all shortwave listeners, from this weekend's Radio Canada International's SWL Digest program: A free sample issue of the new "International Shortwave Listener's Program Guide" periodical is being made available on request for the cost of postage. US residents send 37 cents in coin (Canadians send 70 cents in [I suppose] Canadian coin, overseas send 7 IRC's) to: Larry Miller Miller Publishing 424 W. Jefferson St. Media, PA 19063 USA Along with your name & address, so they know where to send it. (I don't know why they want coins instead of stamps from US respondents, but I sent them the coins as requested.) Will Martin