Ham Radio Outlet Taking Over AES Web, Phone Businesses and Milwaukee Store Location

After Amateur Electronic Supply (AES) closes its doors on July 28, its online and phone customers will be served by former competitor Ham Radio Outlet (HRO), which is also taking over the AES flagship store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and planning to turn it into "the largest amateur radio retail showroom in North America." According to an HRO news release, the Danville, California-based chain of 14 amateur radio stores has also provided employment offers to "a number of soon to be former AES employees." AES announced July 1 that it would be shutting down its
operations by the end of the month.

Once the four current AES stores close on July 28, HRO says the <www.aesham.com> website will be redirected to HRO's <www.hamradio.com> website and that callers to each AES store's phone numbers and toll-free number will be redirected to the closest HRO location "so as not to disrupt providing service to the AES customer base."

In addition, HRO says it will begin "an extensive remodeling project" at the AES Milwaukee location right after it closes on July 28, with plans to reopen by the end of August as the newest and largest HRO store. HRO President Robert Ferrero says the goal is to turn the Milwaukee store into "the largest, most well-stocked amateur radio retail store in North America and perhaps even the world."

Amateur Electronic Supply (AES) Going Out of Business

Amateur Electronic Supply (AES) has announced that it is ceasing operations as of the end of July, 2016.

The Milwaukee-based retailer has four locations around the country, including Milwaukee; Cleveland (Wickliffe), Ohio; Las Vegas, Nevada and Orlando, Florida. It has long been the nation's second-largest ham radio dealer, after Ham Radio Outlet. No reason was given for the decision to close the business.

Doug Zwiebel, KR2Q, Named Director of CQ World Wide DX Contest

Longtime CQ World Wide DX Contest Committee member Doug Zwiebel, KR2Q, has been named Director of the CQ World Wide DX Contest, CQ magazine Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, announced today. Doug succeeds Randy Thompson, K5ZD, who has been CQWW Director for the past four years. The CQWW DX Contest is amateur radio's most popular contest and may be the world's largest competitive sporting event in terms of numbers of participants.

Zwiebel is the longest-serving member of the CQWW Contest Committee, having first joined in 1979. He brought the contest into the computer age by writing the first mass log-checking program (using Business BASIC) in 1980, and has devoted thousands of hours of volunteer time to the contest community. Doug was also responsible for suggesting the establishment of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame in 1986.

First licensed in 1966, Zwiebel began contesting a year later and has never stopped. Over the years, he has operated at some of the nation's top contest superstations, including K2GL (where he was chief 10-meter operator for a decade), K5NA and N2RM. He has operated primarily low power from his home station and holds six CQWW QRP records, more than any other active station. He also holds DXCC Honor Roll #1 and has worked more than 250 DX entities using less than one watt of transmitter power.

Professionally, Zwiebel is a hospital administrator in New York City. He and his wife live in Randolph, New Jersey. They have two adult daughters, both of whom are doctors.

CQ Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, said Zwiebel brings a unique perspective to the table. "Doug has operated from some of the world's top contest superstations as well as single-operator QRP," Ross noted. "So he understands equally well the perspective of both the 'big guns' and the 'little pistols,' without whom the contest could not be nearly as successful as it is. I look forward to working closely with Doug."