Amateur radio e-reading - the future is here now

The future is here now with respect to e-readers and the availability of excellent amateur radio related content (books, magazines, articles, ...).  We own two Sony e-readers in our house.  They are a pleasure to use and make wonderful travel companions since they allow you to bring a great deal of reading material in a lightweight, convenient, and portable package.

The e-readers are more enjoyable to use for reading digital material than a PC.  There is something about the backlighting on a PC that puts more strain on the eyes when reading.  The Sony e-reader screen uses "e-ink" which is not backlit and is very easy on the eyes and is akin to reading from paper.  E-reader users have remarked that they often forget they are reading from an electronic device and may even reach to turn the page as they would with a paper bound book.  The new Kindle Fire is quite popular also.

Content for the general public has been available for years already in the form of books, magazines, etc..  There is now a substantial and growing body of amateur radio literature available too.  Here are some of our favorite sources:

• Monitoring Times offers a digital edition called, "MTXpress".
• The ARRL offers members access to a digital archive of periodicals including QST from 1915 up through the present.
• It is possible to subscribe to ham radio blogs through Amazon.com (including NJ2X) and receive them automatically on your Kindle.
• CQ started offering a digital edition of its magazine in October, 2011.
• Amazon now offers 58 titles that are amateur radio related.

Hams are well known as a thrifty group.  Lower cost is a key advantage of using an e-reader with digital books and magazines since the typical digital version costs less that the same title in paper bound copy.

So what are you waiting for?  Go read something about amateur radio in a digital version today.



Related articles on NJ2X.COM:

• Book Review: The Road Home by Andrew Baze (available also in Kindle edition)