I really believe in this hobby. It has become a big part of my life. The ARRL has been a part of my hobby for as long as I can remember. But I am at a crossroads here, as many of the current ARRL members feel the same way. Should I continue my membership, or should I drop it? 

As you know, I have sent a few emails stating my frustration with the ARRL and their decision to not provide QST magazine in their current membership structure, without a significant rise in cost per year. $84 ($7 for each edition) is a lot of money to spend on the publication.   When the ARRL looses a significant number of subscribers, they will in turn raise the rates again because there will be less money coming in. There will be another ridicules board meeting where they decide to raise the dues once again. The CEO will continue to receive his illustrious salary and all of us readers who desperately need to continue to receive this printed edition will fall by the wayside, or at least many of us. 

I almost went for their scheme but at the last minute here, I have decided not to continue my membership with the ARRL. 

As mentioned, I send emails, that apparently fell on deaf ears. I received no correspondence from the ARRL in return, not a single word was received in any response. 

Today, it's November 30th, and I almost pulled the trigger and signed up for another year. But I would be doing so now without the next 3 editions of QST until my subscription renews as far as I can tell. The option to pay that extra $4.33 now is gone. I no longer see that option. The more I think about it, none of this makes sense. The ARRL seems to be abandoning its members who have supported it for so many years. Unless you have had a prior subscription as a life member by last summer, you still wouldn't qualify for the printed magazine in the future without more cost. And now, the ARRL doesn't even know how to handle life membership, as it is not even being offered for now, as their website says TBA.  Unless I renew my current membership now with the additional cost, I will not receive the printed copy in the future. 

The ARRL has officially signed their death warrant. Sure, it will survive in a form that the officers contrive it needs to be, but it is not for me. It can never be the same. I am just a 70-year-old man that doesn't understand why things happen like this, and maybe it's for my own good. As an Extra Class license holder, I've been assisting now with the ARRL license testing at the past two club meetings, and I don't know if I can continue as a non-ARRL member in the future. The world changes, and I'm set in my own old ways of thinking, and the changes with the ARRL seem unfathomable to me. Maybe in the future I may decide to rejoin the ARRL if us seniors get a break in price, but only with the condition I receive the printed copy of QST. I can't depend on having a computer around me at all times when I want to read the digital copy. 

So as of this date, I have decided to drop my membership, because the league couldn't even honor the membership that I had with them, and that was to provide me with printed QST until my membership was renewed on February 29, 2024, without an additional cost, which now is not even afforded to me. 

I hope you are not disappointed with me, as you very successfully promoted the ARRL and the hobby in some ways that I'll never know. I wish you the very best in your success with the ARRL, and I wanted to thank you for being open and informative with the Amateur Radio community with the goings-on of the ARRL. 

73,

James KW5CW