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1. If you're in the market for a refrigerator, make sure you get one with an enormous freezer compartment. Or buy a deep freeze.  The food industry is claiming that within the next two years there will be three times as many new frozen foods on the market as there are now.
2. Commissaries and PXs in Europe undoubtedly will be going along with the new trend to more frozen products. Already there is a more pronounced accent on frozen items.
3. It is anticipated that by 1975 Americans will be spending upwards of $7 billion for frozen foods - a figure that does not include ice cream and bulk meat and fish items repacked by the store.  It also does not include the storeys own repacked fruits and vegetables or even such in-store items that a large market might buy in frozen form for its own bakery and restaurant operations.
4. Some Stateside stores are already getting with the deepfreeze trend, opening breakfast boutiques within the frozen section to show Mrs. Housewife how she can feed her family with all the health nutrients and still stay well within her budget.  She can serve frozen orange juice (it can even be supplied with aspirin if someone wakes up with a hangover), frozen pancakes, frozen fruit with cereal, frozen omelettes and, of course, frozen coffee concentrates.
5. If you are looking for a different kind of dish to tempt a tired appetite, it's much easier to try frozen ethnic dishes -- Italian, Swedish, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican or Kosher - than it is to worry about whether or not you have all the odd spices and ingredients.
6. One really with-it new supermarket in California has opened its latest store with a series of frozen food boutiques, such as old-fashioned ice cream parlors, bake stores, frozen hot-snack shack.  And smack in the midst of the frozen juice department, the store has planted a homey touch — a real live non-frozen citrus grove!  (Close your eyes and imagine something like this in your commissary.)
7. Coming next month:  OFF DUTY's first annual master guide to buying hi-fi equipment in Europe -- at military discount prices.  The OFF DUTY HI-FI ANNUAL will be on sale for $1.50 at Stars and Stripes newsstands.
8. A special reader's service exclusively for readers who are their own sponsors to OFF DUTY magazine

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1. Memorex has introduced new 45-minute cassette tapes in audio clubs. Available in both low-noise/high-output and chromium-dioxide formulas, these tapes are intended for use as mailers and conform to the 22 minutes-per-side length of 12-in. LP discs. The C45 will sell for about $1.25 and the CD45 for about $1.65. Memorex has also announced plans to open a local technical services department this month.
2. Luv and kisses to AR. They've lowered the price on AR-5 loudspeakers to audio clubs.
3. Speaking of speakers - people are raving about the loudspeaker listening room at the Kitzingen Hi-Fi Club. Some have Michelinesquely rated it as "worth a special trip!"
4. The W. D. Warren Co. was very happy with the turnout for itTs special 10-day product demonstration in Buchschlag and plans to repeat the show later. Winner of the Sony color TV door prize was Sp. 5 Edward Hufnagle. Two Sony 4-channel hi-fi systems were also given away.
5. Frankfurt Audio Club is now in the photo business. The camera shop there opened in January with an introductory sale.
6. Numerous skyjackings have caused authorities to rely once again on x-ray equipment for screening parcels and luggage. There is a definite possibility that this x-ray inspection will fog undeveloped film, according to tests made by Kodak. Experts suggest you carry your undeveloped film with as hand luggage. Undeveloped films sent through international mail should be marked to show that the contents are x-ray sensitive.
7. KeystoneTs new 60-Second Everflash is one of the reasons why Polaroid worked so hard to develop something new. The Everflash is a smooth little number that has several interesting new features -- including a built-in electronic flash. It uses regular Polaroid film and will probably be in the PXs before long.
8. We take.to the road next month. Our hi-fi shopper will feature car tape units, both stereo and 4-channel. Also, weTll have a complete review of the slide projectors available to military shoppers.

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1. Spring fever victims: check out our latest review of car tape units which starts on page 79. And, to project the pictures you take during your spring outings, look over the selection of slide projectors starting on page 88.
2. Fisher's new "04" 4-channel receivers should be available to military audiophiles in the very near future - maybe even this month. The big 504 model will probably sell for about $350 ... the other models will offer similar savings over Stateside prices.
3. The Ramstein Audio Electronics Center has scheduled March 31. as its day to close for inventory this month. Note, too, that the Ramstein AEC has a new phone number.
4. The Wiesbaden Audio Club has new hours ... it's now open an hour longer each day ... check our club list for the exact times.
5. Minolta will soon be bringing well-known photographer David Hamilton on a tour of the photo clubs. Watch for a schedule of appearances.
6. Prerecorded open-reel tapes hard to find? Weep no more. Put a one-dollar bill and your address into an envelope and mail to: Barclay-Crocker, 11 Stone Street, New York, N.Y. 10004. By return mail you will get what has to be the world's most complete prerecorded open-reel tape catalog (over 3000 titles) plus a subscription to "Reel News11 to keep you up to date on current releases.
7. Teac, according to late news, will soon introduce its super-spec cassette deck to European military audiophiles. Pictures and details next month in OFF DUTY.

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1. Recreational vehicles are big business and military personnel in Europe can get in on the action, too. See our special "RV" coverage which starts on page 79.
2. Who's waiting for June CES? New products are arriving in droves:
   The Bose super-power amplifier (400 watts RMS per channel) is on the scene.
3. Garrard has a new turntable, model QZ-100S, with all the 4-channel circuits built-in, including a CD-4 decoder and a universal matrix decoder. Just add amplifiers and you're ready for any kind of 4-channel or stereo. Should be in the clubs soon.
4. Marantz is introducing new loudspeaker models 4G, 5G and 6G - similar to previous models but they have foam grills.
5. Sansui starts selling a new line of 4-channel receivers this month. Models QRX-3000, QRX-3500, QRX-4500 and QRX-6500 feature regular and SQ matrix decoders with logic circuitry and a selection of output powers.
6. Shure has a new phono pickup cartridge, the Shure V-15 Type III. It has 30 per cent better trackability and offers an ultra-linear (+1dB) 20-20k Hz frequency response.
7. Sony magnetic recording tapes are being sold in the audio clubs once again. All the Sony standard cassettes now contain low-noise tape. Sony's special HF cassettes are also available.
8. Teac's new A-450 cassette deck may not be generally available in clubs until September because of the large demand.
9. Clubs: The Ramstein Audio Electronics Center has produced a handy pocket calendar which lists all U.S. holidays and club inventory days for 1973. Pick one up at the club.
10. The Bad Aibling Audio/Photo Shop has new hours - see our club List.
11. Iraklion Electronics Hobby Shop is the new name for the Iraklion Amateur Sound Club. Robert Veenstra is the manager. See our club list for details.
12. The Heidelberg Audio Club hopes to be open by May 15 at the latest.
13. There are no more EES Mail Order Catalogs available. The new 1973-74 catalog will be out August 1.
14. Thorens-Franz AG, maker of famous Thorens turntables, celebrates 90 years of operation this month.
15. International Postage Stamp Exhibition - Munich - May 11-21. Tremendous display of stamps.

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Have Europe's audio/photo clubs finally come of age, or are they headed for a fall? The recent centralization of the clubs' management at Usareur and Usafe level causes both friends and foes of the clubs to raise the question.

Who, you may ask, could possibly be a foe of the audio clubs? They are loved almost universally - by military personnel who choose from an incredible variety of electronics and photographic gear at amazingly low prices; by manufacturers and their representatives, who sell a much broader range of merchandise than could ever be stocked by exchanges; by military commanders, who see audio and photo as a wholesome leisure-time activity for the troops.

• Anmerkung : Vielleicht hatte Walter Rios es gar nicht mitbekommen, daß es in den Audio-Club hinter den Kulissen sehr wohl dicke Probleme gab, die bereinigt werden sollten oder mußten. Die angeblich Hersteller- neutralen "representatives" (oder Berater, Vertreter bzw. Verkäufer) wurden von den Importeuren kräftig(st) geschmiert oder bestochen, um bestimmte Produkte bevorzugt (provisioniert) an den Mann zu bringen. Von seriöser und vor allem fachlich neutraler Beratung war da wenig zu melden.

A foe of the clubs, on the other hand, is anyone who believes the business of selling hi-fi equipment and fancy cameras should be the exclusive province of the exchange system. But even PX officials admit privately that they could never begin to match the clubs' technical product expertise, service and repair capability, broadness of stock assortment and above all their procurement and stocking flexibility.

Furthermore, the exchange is in no position to promote and develop sales in a specialized product area, for its job is simply to service an existing demand, not build demand. It is the clubs, with a hard core of fans at the helm, who generate the excitement and interest that build sales.

Thus, while the boom in audio over the last ten years was developed by clubs and their promoters, exchanges too have shared in the sales boom. Similarly, the advent of photo clubs over the past four years has vastly stimulated sales of photographic equipment, not only in clubs but in PXs as well.

• Anmerkung : Hier steht also, daß es die ersten US-Military Audio-Clubs bereits vor 10 Jahren (1963) gegeben haben soll.

One purpose of the centralization is to make a more equitable distribution of profits. The thriving audio/photo clubs can generate funds that are badly needed to support AYA, special services activities and open messes, virtually all of them badly in need of cash to refurbish and maintain their facilities.

Another avowed purpose is to help smaller clubs, especially those in the boondocks, get the same low prices from suppliers as the large and prosperous clubs in central Germany. It can be done by negotiating with vendors at command level to establish 'approved1 prices before individual clubs place their orders.

Centralizing the management function, officials say, will also encourage large clubs to share their expertise and experience with their smaller cousins, helping them operate more efficiently. Finally, by centralizing control the command believes it is following the wishes of congressional and DoD watchdogs who, in the wake of the Vietnam club scandals, admonish them to keep their houses in order.

• Anmerkung : In Vietnam muß (so steht es zwischen den Zeilen) ein größerer Bestechungs- oder Korruptions-Skandal aufgeflogen sein, der die Militär-Administration aufschrecken ließ. Auch hier in Deutschland hat sich so mancher Club-Manager (er war dann ja nicht mehr im Militärdienst sondern jetzt ein "Civilian") eine goldene Nase verdient, die nie seinem dem militärischen Rang entsprechenden "income" zuzurechnen sein konnte.

At its worst, the result of centralized control is a narrowing of the stock assortment, slowness to reorder needed merchandise, empty shelves, disgruntled customers, declining sales. So the success or failure of the Usareur and Usafe effort lies in the interpretation and implementation of its mandate.

If centralization results in bureaucratization of audio/photo club operations, it will indeed signal the clubs' eventual decline and fall. Responsibility is now squarely in the hands of the newly formed Usareur Audio/Photo Agency, and its Air Force counterpart, the Usafe Audio/Photo Center Management Branch.

If their objectives can be achieved without robbing the clubs of their all-important flexibility, then audio/photo clubs in Europe have indeed come of age.

Walter B. Rios

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We do this every month for both, the European and Pacific, editions. We believe it is the most comprehensive distribution report of any military market publication. Your nearest OFF DUTY rep can give you more facts behind these figures. Call us soon, won't you?

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All 42,651 copies of the Single-Copy Distribution of the February 1973 Issue of OFF DUTY/Europe carried the bound-in Women's Supplement "OFF DUTY for her", including those distributed in military dependent housing areas to families in Zones 1 through 8 in Germany.
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OFF DUTY PUBLICATIONS GMBH March 1, 1973
Walter B. Rios Publisher - Carl E. Gall Circulation Manager

OFF DUTY Magazine, now in its fourth year of publication is further broadening its coverage of the U.S. military market in 1974. Here are the details.

European Edition
Effective January 1974, minimum circulation in Europe will be 85,000 copies monthly, an increase of 10,000 over the previous base figure. Most of the additional circulation will go to ships of the U.S. Sixth Fleet and shore-based Navy and Air Force personnel throughout the Mediterranean.

Pacific Edition
Anticipating a slight decline in troop strength in 1974, circulation base of the Pacific Edition will be reduced to 95,000 copies monthly, down 5,OOO copies from the 1972-73 base of 100,000. This adjustment makes it possible to avoid a substantial rate increase in the face of rising costs.

Worldwide Advertising
OFF DUTY'S worldwide circulation is now more than 180,000 copies monthly, exclusively to U.S. Forces stationed outside the Continental U.S.A. Our new 1974 rate card (which you should have by now) shows rates for all editions, as well as seperate rates of OFF DUTY/Europe and OFF DUTY/Pacific.

Circulation Audit
Early in 1973, OFF DUTY Magazine applied for membership in the SMA Division of BPA. European and Pacific Editions are being audited seperately, in Frankfurt and Hong Kong respectively. OFF DUTY is the only military publication distributed overseas whose circulation records are audited overseas, by one of the established American audit bureaus.

1974: A good year to advertise, and advertise in OFF DUTY. Isn't it time to let the world have a better look at your products?
FRANKFURT HONG KONG JAPAN NEW YORK LONDON
Off Duty / Europe / November 73-A

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