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Which ham radio magazines are still published?

The biggest ham radio magazines are QST from the ARRL in the US and RadCom from the RSGB in the UK, both sent to society members every month. On British newsstands there is Practical Wireless, published since 1932, and RadioUser for listeners. CQ Amateur Radio, founded in 1945, has been suspended since late 2023.

Max StreltcoffBy Updated 7 min read
A desktop shortwave receiver with a tuning dial, a telescopic antenna and headphones

What are the main ham radio magazines?

Two kinds of magazine serve hams. Society journals such as QST and RadCom come with membership of a national radio society. Newsstand titles such as Practical Wireless are sold to anyone and lean towards projects, reviews and news from the hobby.561

MagazineCountryPublisherSinceStatus in 2026
QSTUSARRL, the national societyDecember 1915Monthly, with ARRL membership
RadComUKRSGB, the national societyJuly 1925, as T & R BulletinMonthly, with RSGB membership
Practical WirelessUKWarners Group Publications1932Monthly, on sale to anyone
RadioUserUKWarners Group Publications2005, from Short Wave Magazine and Radio ActivePublished by Warners since 2017
CQ Amateur RadioUSCQ CommunicationsJanuary 1945Suspended after the October 2023 issue

Sources: Wikipedia articles on each title, swling.com, World Radio History.134567

What is Practical Wireless?

Practical Wireless is a British monthly for radio amateurs. F. J. Camm started it at George Newnes in 1932, first as a supplement to Hobbies magazine and within months as its own weekly. It went monthly in 1940 because of wartime paper shortages, and Camm edited it until his death in 1959.129

For its first decades the magazine covered everything a home constructor did: receivers, amplifiers, test gear and later television. From the November 1980 issue it became a magazine entirely about amateur radio. Clive Sinclair wrote for it while he was still at school, years before the ZX Spectrum, the computer that pulled me into electronics.1

The current editor is Don Field, G3XTT. The title is published by Warners Group Publications, and its web home is radioenthusiast.co.uk.13

What was PW Publishing?

PW Publishing Ltd was the small British company that published Practical Wireless and its sister titles until 2017, run by Roger Hall and Steve Hunt. Its website, pwpublishing.ltd.uk, sold the magazines, back issues and a radio book store covering antennas, airband listening and licence study, plus Falconers magazine.83

In August 2017 the two owners announced their retirement after almost 40 years in publishing. They sold Practical Wireless and RadioUser to Warners Group Publications, a Lincolnshire publisher of hobby magazines, which took over from the October 2017 issues. Both editors stayed with their magazines.3

If an old link to pwpublishing.ltd.uk brought you here, from a receiver review, a club page or a project write-up, the magazines it pointed to continue under Warners.

What happened to Short Wave Magazine?

Short Wave Magazine was the British monthly for radio listeners. One issue appeared in 1935, the title returned in March 1937, closed in September 1939 when the war began, and came back in the 1940s. In 2005 it merged with Radio Active to form RadioUser.4

RadioUser carried on the listening side of the hobby, the readers who tune in rather than transmit. In 2017 it moved to Warners Group Publications together with Practical Wireless, with Georg Wiessala as editor.3

If you are curious how listening differs from transmitting, the ham radio guide has a section on ham radio and shortwave listening.

What is QST?

QST is the monthly journal of the ARRL, the national association for amateur radio in the United States. Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence Tuska founded it, and the first issue came out in December 1915. Every ARRL member receives it, which at the end of 2021 meant about 158,000 people.5

QST stopped after the September 1917 issue, during the First World War, and returned in May 1919. It has appeared every month since. ARRL members can read an archive of issues from 1915 to 2011 on the ARRL website.5

What is RadCom?

RadCom is the monthly journal of the Radio Society of Great Britain, sent to every member. It began in July 1925 as the T & R Bulletin, written by and for radio amateurs, became the RSGB Bulletin in 1942 and Radio Communication in 1968. The short name RadCom came later.6

What happened to CQ Amateur Radio?

CQ Amateur Radio was the main independent American ham magazine, first published in January 1945 by CQ Communications of Hicksville, New York. Its last issue was October 2023, in digital form. In December 2023 the editor told subscribers that publication had been suspended while the company looked for funding.7

The magazine also gave its name to well-known contests, such as the CQ World Wide DX Contest. Those contests now run under independent committees and continue.7

Where can you read old issues?

The World Radio History archive keeps scanned issues of many radio magazines, including Practical Wireless and Short Wave Magazine, free to read as PDFs. For QST, the ARRL member archive covers 1915 to 2011. Old construction articles are still useful, but check parts and safety notes against today's standards.245

Do these magazines cover PoC radios?

These magazines are written for licensed hams and radio listeners, and their projects use amateur and broadcast bands. A PoC radio is a different thing: it talks over a mobile network with a SIM card, needs no licence, and sits closer to a phone than to a ham transceiver. What is a PoC radio explains the difference.

Questions

Is Practical Wireless still published?

Yes. Warners Group Publications has published it monthly since the October 2017 issue, with Don Field, G3XTT, as editor.13

Who owns Practical Wireless now?

Warners Group Publications, a Lincolnshire hobby publisher, bought it and RadioUser from PW Publishing in 2017.3

Is CQ magazine still published?

No new issues have appeared since October 2023. In December 2023 subscribers were told publication was suspended.7

Do you get QST without joining the ARRL?

QST is a membership journal: ARRL members receive it every month. Libraries and some newsstands also carry it.5

What was Short Wave Magazine called later?

In 2005 it merged with Radio Active, and the combined title became RadioUser.4

Sources

  1. Practical Wireless · Wikipedia
  5. QST · Wikipedia
  6. RadCom · Wikipedia
  7. CQ Amateur Radio · Wikipedia

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