05 December 2017

The Spectrum Monitor

I got notification a few days ago that the December issue of the on-line magazine The Spectrum Monitor was ready to download. The email also included a reminder that subscriptions run January to December, and it was time to renew.




So without hesitation I went out and renewed. It was a no-brainer; The Spectrum Monitor is the best general interest radio publication available today. The Spectrum Monitor, as an on-line publication, grew out of the old Monitoring Times magazine. Monitoring Times was founded in the early 1980's by Bob Grove. Bob retired in 2014 and ceased publishing Monitoring Times after 33 years. A few of his former staff and writers decided to create a similar publication in digital format, and the first issue of The Spectrum Monitor was published in 2015.

Monitoring Times was a niche publication that appealed to folks with an interest in scanning and monitoring the airwaves for any interesting activity. It wasn't just about shortwave listening - Monitoring Times had contributors that specialized in tracking military communications, public service communications, air traffic communications, you name it. Bob would also toss in some ham radio topics and product evaluations to keep things interesting, but the magazine was mainly focused on what is happening on the airwaves, from 'daylight to DC' as they used to say.

Because Monitoring Times offered a rich overview of what was happening on different parts of the radio spectrum it was one of the few general interest publications that developed a strong military following. In the 1980's and 90's you could walk into any US Army communications or intelligence office and find well worn copies of Monitoring Times laying around.

When Ken Reitz, the old Monitoring Times managing editor, decided to try to take the publication to the web as The Spectrum Monitor he managed to bring along a number of Monitoring Times' experienced staff and copy the tried and true format of the old magazine. It works! Ken has managed to keep the quality of the content high and the editing is first rate. The Spectrum Monitor is a worthy successor to Monitoring Times, and I really hope it succeeds in the market. You can subscribe or purchase individual copies at The Spectrum Monitor website.

I mark this as Highly Recommended!


W8BYH out

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