ARRL magazines

If you choose to read the magazine from start to finish without shutting off your iPad or using other apps, then this is reader is good. It takes a while to start up and loading a magazine is slow, however. The biggest problem is if you leave the app to use other apps or stop using your iPad for a while, the app forgets where that you were reading the magazine, You don't have to re-download it, but it has no history of where you were in the magazine so you have to open up again and you're at the first page. This is a big pain and makes using the app very inconvenient. I would almost rather just wait for the print version of the magazine to show than use this app. Because of this app, I would never consider canceling my print subscription and going with just the digital version. Given how infrequent updates to this app are, it looks we'll be stuck with it for a long time. I don't think going back to the previous version is possible, although it might be.

I've been waiting for a decent app from ARRL so that I don't need to receive paper versions of the magazines. Although the app performs well in downloaded issues (although your downloads are not in PDF - for that you must purchase the year-end edition of the ARRL periodical DVD's) the font used on the Mac is way too small to read. T make matters worse, there is not CMD or CMD- functionality to zoom. The app description in the app store claims the MacOS version is not supported, then in the same description (you have to scroll down) a claim is mentioned whereby only the M1 Apple silicon is supported. So, I hope to re-review this app when the zoom issue is added, and the Intel/M1 architectures are supported as I support the ARRL but there seem to be some resource issues in support. Among those issues is that I sent feedback in english and received a response in what I think is spanish. That leads me to believe the ARRL has a third party developer that is unable to respond to support requests.

As of Mar 25: I have loaded and tested the new ver 5.1 and can download issues very well. The new version seems to download faster and flip between pages better. The program works fine. I had complained to the developer via the app feedback and got a reply and even tested a beta for them and today got an email telling me that the new version was available. The process took a while, but I really appreciate the contacts and good service that seems so rare today. My Mar 12 review: It's now been over a month and still no fix. If you can't fix it then at least pull it back and restore the previous version that worked. This is very poor practice for a professional organization and a professional developer. My Feb 18 review: I actually got a reply when I sent feedback through the menu in the app: Apologies for the inconvenience you've encountered. We're currently working on resolving a known issue with the QST app some users are experiencing. Thanks very much for your patience. It shouldn't take weeks to fix such an obvious problem. My original review: The new version immediately crashes when you hit download. I'm using iOS 9 on a 3rd gen iPad.

Update: This has to be one of the most inconsistent apps on the App Store. Updates get released, the app gets broken, and issues cease to appear, crash on downloading, or the UI gets unresponsive. It’s as if they never heard of testing and just ship whatever they feel like with no attention to quality or detail. So disappointed with the engineers behind this one... Original: So disappointing to see an already buggy and poorly written app get worse. I love QST and have read it for almost 30 years, first in print and now digitally. However, this app continues to be a glaring disappointment. For some reason, those behind it are incapable of the simplest of basic tests prior to release. Loss of credentials. Hung screens. Half-visible title bar overlays. Or even the basic error of losing which page you're on when switching to another app and then swapping back. Shame on you ARRL for such a poor choice of subcontractors and shame on them for the talent quality they employ.

Had high hopes for the new version but none of my previous problems were fixed especially remembering where I left off when I last used the app. COMPLETE FAILURE !!!!! Puts my future membership in ARRL in jeopardy. Back to my downloading and reading with PDF reader. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The previous app while not great was at least usable. This app has two glaring deficiencies. 1. When zooming the pictures are so blurry they really are not viewable. This is a basic function and reason that us old guys use a tablet. 2. It does not remember what page you were last reading when you leave and come back. Neither do I so I have to go through the content looking for familiar landmarks. This makes the app extremely annoying to use and angers me every time I come back in. I have used a lot of reading apps and I have NEVER seen this behavior before !!!! There are probably many other issues but these two make me wince so much that I don't even want to use the app. I have also noticed looking at the previous app history that updates may take almost a year between updates. This makes me despair.

All my downloaded issues have disappeared - probably difficult to avoid when the viewing app changes. But the new app got even worse: 1) cannot download multiple issues simultaneously, 2) pictures are in lower resolution than with previous app and look very bad when zoomed up, 3) look & feel of the app have much room for improvement, 4) as with previous app, the download speed could be faster. I use other magazine apps that have a much superior user interface and load the magazines much faster. Now I hope that at least the new app doesn't crash as often as the previous one......

Update July 2023: nothing has changed since last review. Still terrible and ARRL appears to not care about quality. They want to raise membership dues but they don’t spend anytime reading the feedback here and making improvements. Besides all of the bugs previously reported by others, the application doesn’t seem to be very sharp. No matter how you zoom in or out the fonts appear blurry and make reading challenging to say the least. ARRL if you want people to give up their hard copies to save funding, spend a few bucks to get this right. Maybe try a platform that many newspapers use or CQ magazine.

Search will not work across all the different publications. I wanted to search “On the Air“ but it only searches QST. Search inaccurately warns that you must have the magazine downloaded, however, results include those from undownloaded ones. Useful, but inaccurate. The app is OK if you just wanna browse the magazines. 73

Folks the created QST should go to Zinio. I just received an online subscription to CQ and tha magazine and its associated reading program work flawlessly. QST has page delays on the order of 30 to 50 seconds, takes forever to download, and even when downloaded the page delays still exist! What's up with that? CQ downloaded in seconds (I know it's smaller, but proportionally is downloaded light years ahead of QST. Zinio and CQ are perfect for what I expect. QST, well, I'll just have to keep getting paper until something with their reader changes. I doubt it will though because I've tried it for several years on and off, and regardless of complaints it never gets fixed

Would prefer to go back to pdf version of magazine. The app version takes me back to beginning every time I reopen it. Unable to directly pick up where I left off when reading. Using the bookmark function is a poor band-aid for the process. In addition, the app will freeze or crash randomly when turning pages. Have to go back to the beginning every time. You can download and print it as a pdf. However, a paying customer should not have to do a work around to make this a useful product. There should be more than one option to read this digitally. Also, not every line needs to have a hyperlink to some other site. Please rethink the downloadable pdf option. P.S. Tried to contact ARRL directly about this and was told there is nothing they can do as they turned over everything to Pagesuite. Maybe if enough members cancel their membership, they will be able to do something. As of this moment, I most likely will not renew my membership.

If I could give a 0 star review, I would. Where to start? Let’s start with the current problem: trying to download the magazine causes the app to crash. Supposedly, the developer is working diligently to fix it. Sure. Next up: the app can’t keep track of the last page read. Every other reading app I have used (for books, magazines, pdf documents, whatever) can do this. This should be basic functionality. Next: the app doesn’t have a full screen mode. It’s leaving about 1/4” at the top and 1/8” around the other three sides, sure not much though I’m sure it would make a difference-and certainly make the app look more professional and finished. Finally: I emailed the developers about the last page and full screen issue and their response was “it’s not designed to do that, so there’s nothing wrong.” It is unfortunate that the ARRL continues to use this substandard app and unprofessional developer to provide their digital content.

I had contacted the developer because I could not download content for offline viewing. I’m happy to report that the developer notified me of a new version, which I have installed, and the problem is resolved! On my devices the app renders the content very well, with an intuitive interface. It does what it should do, makes the magazine readable on my mobile devices.

For serval years this application has had significant issues, crashes, beginning super slow, etc. It continues even today with the latest update as downloads cause the app to crash on a new iPad and even trying reloading the app from scratch thus deleting all saved downloads (bummer). The last upgrade version worked, but there’s no way to go back now. How can ARRL keep using our dues and donations to pay for such poor product for many years and it continues now into 2019. MY ADVICE TO ARRL AFTER SEVERAL YEARS: A. FIRE THE CURRENT SERVICE PROVIDER & DEVELOPER...AND OR ALSO ARRL DIRECTOR OF PUBLISHING FOR ALLOWING THIS TO CONTINUE FOR MANY YEARS B. FIND BETTER SERVICE TO MAKE THIS CONSISTENT... The paper version of QST magazine will likely be going away in the future (maybe 10-15 years, as menial and cost cutting will demand it). We will all need a publication that is bullet proof and enjoyable. Let’s don’t wait till 2028 and loose membership / readers.

It delivered what it should and did so flawlessly. It downloaded in a short time even though I was only on 4G and it was 148 pages. I like the clear colorful pages. I can’t complain about any of the functions or quality of the app. It was better than expected. I like the ability to go back in history back to January 2012. QST at your fingertips. GREAT JOB! 73 K5GNT

I was very happy with my QST app, it certainly beat the Zinio option that CQ has. Now, I can't even log in and good luck with getting any kind of customer service. ARRL, I understand you want to make a very tough readership happy on the cheap but rolling out this kind of half-baked app does not help your cause. Especially when you had one that worked... At this time, I suggest you apologize and revert back to the old one. If you still want to go through with this version, fix it and make sure all the bugs are crushed before you roll it out again. UPDATE: I deleted the app and downloaded it again, this time it recognized my credentials. Gave it 3 stars. This transition should not have been this difficult.

For more than a month trying to download QST has caused the program to crash. UK company has said they are working on it but no progress so far. Why can’t ARRL just use iBooks, also why are they using a foreign company? Display of QST was much better with the earlier application, now the magazine doesn’t fill the page, menus are always visible. Additionally pages slide across the screen instead of flip like all other reading programs. ARRL, get on the ball and kick this poorly performing company to the curb and go with a provider that knows what they are doing. Steve KD2OM

New Version 5.1 works great! Can download and read issues offline! QST app is a great way to carry a library of issues going back to 2012 for easy reading on a tablet, and has additional multimedia features like videos. It’s still great to get the print issue in the mail too.

I loved using this app on my older iPad, since I couldn't use it for much other. Unfortunately, the latest update requires a version of iOS I can't install due to my iPad's age. An unfortunate side affect of development completely ignoring those users with older equipment. Amateur Radio can be expensive enough without also having to upgrade station tablets etc, every couple of years. At least provide a previous version so older tablets can enjoy these mags as well (without dishing out extra bucks).

I am beyond disappointed that the ARRL no longer allows us to download the monthly magazine to view on our windows PC. Apparently they have a new British company it is hosting QST for them. This means we have to download is very substandard app to view the digital edition. This means I need to have an iOS device to take to field day as well as my laptop. This was extremely poor and poorly thought out decision by a ARRL and I know they're going to lose members because of it, this member is considering not renewing

Seems to be working fine except cannot down load to read off line. That needs to be fixed. I do most of my reading offline, because of slow/no internet access.

Initially, like others, I ran into a password issue and had to reset it to log-in when using my iPad. Didn’t make sense that the password wasn’t correct. The 2nd issue occurred while trying to exit from a magazine I was reading, the back arrow “<-“ wouldn’t respond no matter whether I tried my pencil or my finger to activate it. I am dissapointed!!! May need to go back to reading paper copies.

It just seems like it would not be that difficult to make reasonably functional reader for this otherwise great magazine. Basic things it needs to do but just can’t seem to manage: * download the magazine without crashing * read a downloaded magazine without needing an internet connection * remember where you left off reading Once these fundamental things are fixed at least it would marginally usable. Please, please, please get this fixed!!!

Every time I've tried to read an issue while on a flight, all I could get was a spinning cursor and an infinite "Loading..." message. The app just didn't work in the air — very disappointing. The new software for QST requires an active internet connection to work. If no connection is available, the magazine cannot be read. A year later, still no progress on reading QST offline. I’m going back to paper.

Don't know why others are having a problem, but it downloaded and works perfectly on my iPad. Unfortunately, I can no longer down load copies to my PC as there is nothing for windows. Have many issues from before, but not sure if they will still be readable after Jan 1.

This app used to work until sometime after the Feb 2019 issue. Every time I try to download the March 2019 or April 2019 issue, the app crashes. I can read the issues if I’m online, but I like to have them available for offline reading while traveling. I tried deleting the app and reinstalling but that didn’t fix it. And now all my downloaded issues are gone. Please ARRL update and fix this app!

Update: I used the in-app “Contact Us” facility to report the issue, and got a pretty prompt response. The developer said it’s a known issue that they’re working to “push out a fix soon.” I appreciate the response, and eagerly await the fix :-) Meanwhile I’ll restore a few stars to my rating. ————————— Downloads don’t work. Greaaaaaat. So much for reading on the go.

App updated this morning - seems like my subscription now includes a new publication - hoping this isn’t going to increase my rate! It would be nice to read articles more easily like some print apps - maybe that’s in the next update!

Title says it all. Attempt to open app, get the splash screen, crash. Every single time. Why won't you fix this? I'd prefer to drop my paper QST and go all digital,but, the app NEVER WORKS! Crashed on 8.1.2. Still crashes on 8.2 iPad Air. 2017 update. Works occasionally, but, still a very poor piece of software. Crashes constantly. Crashes at start up, right after downloading an issue, or at the completion of an issue download.

A few pages were slow (10 seconds) to load. But that could be my Wi-Fi limit.

Well this is great.. now I can’t download the latest issue but I’ve lost all my many years of downloads. I have emailed Arrl about this before but no response ( are you reading this ARRL?} The webpage says v 5.0 but I only can download 4.0. Sow now I do not have the print edition but my iPad downloads are gone and I cannot get history so why am I paying for a subscription? No wonder we see this poor review. Do not use this app!

The app is slightly better than using the website based in the U.K. It sometimes freezes on startup, it is very, very slow, and it does not remember what page you were on when you reopen it. An ftp site with the pdfs would be far easier and more convenient. Overall, it is marginal, at best. Don't throw away the paper magazine.

Why can’t we have a PDF that WE can use in OUR preferred reader that WE are comfortable with using (and isn’t a pain to use like your reader) Why would you put the (small) next page button right next to the last page button? I quit the app after being taken to the end and loosing my place multiple times. Not all of us have tiny fingers!!

Do these people even use their own app. The number one complaint in the App Store for this app is the fact that it will not remember where you left off in your last session. How difficult can that be to implement? Come on ARRL get whoever is developing this app to listen to their users.

Every time you try to download it crashes. Usually uninstalling and reinstalling will fix it, but then you have to do it again next month. Update: New version today. Now nothing shows up to download. Tried on different devices and by uninstalling/reinstalling. I just don’t understand why this is so constantly broken.

Works great with my I-Phone and I-Pad. Magazine editions load fast, and are easy to view. The negative reviews look to be based on old versions.

My review echoes all the others here that give this app a one star review. Buggy, slow, hard to use, basic functionality available in similar apps not implemented, new releases don’t fix bugs but break in ew ways. In 2020, delivering apps that work is actually not that hard but you wouldn’t know it from this trying to use this one.

All the old reviews are talking about performance issues but as of 2022 it works like a charm for me. Magazines can be downloaded and enjoyed on the go. Love it. Thanks ARRL!

This version is much faster for both downloads and flipping around the pages. The lag in zooming is also completely gone on my 6s+ . Nice work.

This app is not the kind of thing that ARRL should be using. From the beginning it has been plagued with problems. The latest update killed the ability to download. I contacted support and they said it would be fixed two days ago. It’s still broken. ARRL should consider switching to the same provider that CQ uses, ZINIO. It’s time to trash this very bad app!

I don’t see any issues before June 2017. When I first got this app, with my membership, you could look back to issues in 2012. I have to wonder if this is a regular bug or feature designed into the app.

If you just click on the issue picture itself, rather than the download button beneath it, it should download without crashing. This worked for me for both the March and April issues. But it is sad that so many are experiencing the download crash issue for so long with no corrective update.

I was a member of the ARRL for years. The direction they where going was not aligned with my interest. I decided to take a break and not rejoin last year. This new app deleted all my QST magazines and now no way to access them. I was very close to rejoining the ARRL in 2017. I sent them a email about getting my magazines for which I have paid. No response after 3 days yet.

It’s been at least a year since I complained about how bad this app is. I also wonder if it even needs to exist. If ARRL simply puts PDFs of their back issues on their own web site, we could have a library instead of a perpetual irritation when the app loses your place, and,often, your content.

Terrible app. This is the reason i still get the paper version in the mail...SO I CAN ACTUALLY READ IT!!! Doesn’t download so I have to be connected which is difficult when traveling. Crashes every time i change a page and then i have to start over loading every previous page. Seriously considering dumping ARRL for RSGB.

Apps should create unique value. This mag should be published on a well developed platform like kindle. Considering the poor reviews, why drag readers through years of debug to end up where kindle is today? Wouldn't $$ be better spent on creating content for the publication?

I had to relogin after the upgrade and all my issues that I had downloaded were gone. The new download process does not allow selecting multiple issues to download. Almost a waste of time. Another upgrade and another downward plunge!

Ok except for the continuing fuzzy pages problem. When a page goes fuzzy you have to scroll off of it and then back on to get it crisp again. PLEASE FIX THIS

Previous version worked great. This version will not allow me to complete the login process, so I am unable to download any issues. I tried deleting the app and then reinstalling it, but that didn’t fix the problem.

Content is outstanding and worth every penny of my dues. Why does this app want to track me? Easy to say no in iOS, but is it really necessary in the first place?

The app crashes when you try to download an issue, making it impossible to read an issue when the is no WiFi available. It deserves zero stars not the one star minimum allowed by the App Store