science

QST

QST is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand QST rather than just read about it. In short: QST is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, published by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). It is a membership journal that is included with membership in the ARRL.

QST — main illustration — QST — illustration

Key takeaways

QST belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect QST to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of QST from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

QST is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, published by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). It is a membership journal that is included with membership in the ARRL. The publisher claims that circulation of QST in the United States is higher than all other amateur radio-related publications in the United States combined. Although an exact number for circulation is not published by the American Radio Relay League, the organization claimed 158,238 members at the end of 2021, almost all of whom receive the magazine monthly, in addition to issues delivered to libraries and newsstands. Its first issue was dated December 1915. QST suspended publication after September 1917 due to World War I, but has been in continuous publication since it resumed in May 1919.

Magazine name The magazine's name is the radio "Q signal" for "calling all stations" or "the following message is to be forwarded to all amateur stations".

Content QST includes projects for the amateur radio enthusiast, and pictures, articles, columns, and reports on ARRL affairs. Particular interest is given to amateur radio's role in emergency communications such as in the hours after the September 11 attacks and in Hurricane Katrina. Supplemental content to the magazine is available on the ARRL website, including an abridged archive in PDF format, available to ARRL members, that spans all content dated 1915–2011. As part of its centennial celebration in 2014, ARRL published two volumes of QST reprints from 1915 to 2013: One on Amateur Radio technology and the other on advertising. Notable content includes a circuit in the April 1968 issue from Ronald Stordahl, the founder and current CEO of DigiKey (as of 2023).

History The first issue of the magazine was published in December 1915, with its first three issues financed by American Radio Relay League founder Hiram Percy Maxim and secretary Clarence D. Tuska, with an expectation that increased membership would finance its continued existence. In October 1916, the editors announced the formation of The QST Publishing Company, mostly to insulate Maxim and Tuska from possible litigation risks.

Publication of QST was temporarily suspended after the September 1917 issue. In April 1917, the United States government, following its entrance into World War I, banned all amateur radio activities, and a large percentage of the magazine's subscribers had entered military service. The ban on amateur radio was lifted after the conclusion of the war. QST returned in May 1919 with no cover – billed as “ARRL special bulletin” – and only 8 pages long. At a meeting in New York on March 29, a group that included Maxim, Tuska, and nine others decided to finance its return in this form and make a plea for membership and subscription renewals.

The June 1919 issue, still without a cover, announced that the wartime ban on receiving had been lifted. Finally, in July 1919, QST resumed its previous format, although amateurs were not permitted back on the air until that fall, when a supplement to the October 1919 issue proclaimed “BAN OFF”. By September 1920, QST was back up to 100 pages, a size not seen since April 1917. Publication continued throughout World War II, despite amateur radio's repeated wartime hiatus by order of the U.S. government. During both wars, amateurs were in high demand as military radio operators, and QST's staff pitched in for the war effort.

Administration The current managing editor is Becky Schoenfeld (W1BXY). Steve Ford (WB8IMY) retired as managing editor in September 2020.

Footnotes

References

External links

Official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with QST

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what QST claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to QST before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about QST ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of QST

In research: QST appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses QST in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: QST is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Amateur radio magazines, Magazines established in 1915, Magazines published in Connecticut, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for QST outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study QST in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what QST means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain QST out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is QST in simple terms?

QST is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, published by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). It is a membership journal that is included with membership in the ARRL.

Why does QST matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study QST?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on QST.

QST