In this episode, I joined Martin Butler (M1MRB), Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss:
This episode’s feature is Friedrichshafen 2022 interviews Part 2.
ICQ Podcast
ICQ Podcast Episode 375 – The Fed Files
In this episode, I joined Martin Butler (M1MRB), Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP, and we blabbed about:
Colin (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and in the episode’s feature The Fed Files.
ICQ Podcast Episode 373 – Hamzilla 2022
In this episode, I joined Colin Butler, M6BOY; Edmund Spicer, M0MNG; Ed Durrant DD5LP; and Leslie Butterfield, G0CIB to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. The news items included:
The episode’s feature was on Hamzilla 2022.
ICQPodcast #371: vintage radios, Greek stamps, Avro Lancaster special event
In this episode, I joined Martin Butler (M1MRB), Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss:
We didn’t discuss the situation of amateur radio in Ukraine because we recorded this episode before the Russian invasion began. Colin, M6BOY, does report on this in the news in brief section of the podcast, though.
This episode’s feature is about improving your SSB contact ratio.
ARDC on the ICQPodcast
I’m not a presenter on Episode #362 of the ICQPodcast, but this episode’s feature is my interview of ARDC Executive Director Rosy Schechter, KJ7RYV; Grants Manager Chelsea Párraga, KF0FVJ; and Outreach Manager John Hays, K7VE. In the interview, we talk about some of the cool grants that ARDC has awarded lately, including following:
- M17 Project. The M17 Project is an international group of Amateur Radio operators working on a new digital radio protocol that’s focused on being fully open, including the implementations. The ARDC grant of $250,000 will support the RF design and development, including test equipment, prototypes, and developer kits. They will also be used to provide bounties for solutions to particularly hard problems, and for the administrative work that is less likely to get done on intrinsic motivation alone. Additionally, the ARDC grant will support server hosting and similar operating costs as needed, and travel for a working meeting.
- Paradox Sonic Space Research Agency (PSSR). PSSR was awarded $17,300 an open-source, universal small satellite platform within a single unit cube-satellite standard, weighing less than 1 kilogram, which could be used as a baseline to carry out suborbital space missions. They will develop a nano-satellite with all the basic satellite subsystems and a Plug-and-Play (PnP) port installed for integrating additional experiments or payloads without any hardware modifications.
The interview starts at the 1:25:45 mark.
ICQ Podcast Episode 361 – High Power Battery Box
For Episode #361, I joined Martin Butler (M1MRB), Edmund Spicer M0MNG, Ed Durrant DD5LP and Ruth Willet KM4LAO to discuss the following:
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Radio France International Splatter “Untenable”. You wouldn’t think that a major broadcaster would be guilty of putting out a bad signal, but apparently Radio France International is living up to its acronym (RFI) and splattering into the ham band.
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Amazon Experimenting with Amateur Radio?. In this segment, we talk about a recent experiment by Amazon engineers, using Amazon hardware and software over an AREDN network, who simulated an emergency communications scenario.
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UK Foundation Exam Practical Assessments. One big difference between the U.S. Tech license and the U.K. Foundation license is that up to now, the U.K. required license to do something practical like build a kit or tune an antenna. They issued a waiver for licenses issued during the Covid crisis, but apparently, they’re now eliminating the requirement altogether. It’s kind of a shame, but understandable.
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Amateur Radio Volunteers Assist in Major US Cycling Event. This public service event is notable because it takes place over a 203-mile course, starting in Logan, Utah and ending in Jackson Hole, Wyoming,
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Exercise Blue Ham. This exercise is the U.K. version of our Armed Forces Day Communications Test. Exercise Blue Ham, however, takes place only on the 60-meter band, which, of course, is shared by the Amateur Radio Service and the military.
The feature for this episode is High Power Battery Box. Martin, M1MRB describes how he built a high-power battery box his portable operations. This new box allows him to operate 100 W when operating portable.
ICQ Podcast Episode 359 – Teaching ham radio classes online
In this episode, I joined Martin Butler M1MRB, Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the news. We discussed the following:-
Radio Amateur Told to Remove His Antenna. This story has been covered before, but we have some interesting comments about the ARRL getting involved.
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ARRL Board Establishes Program to Cover Initial FCC License Fee for Young Applicants. A worthy program, but we opine that the devil will be in the details.
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German Amateur Radio Fees Reduced. Speaking of fees, the German fees were way more that the $35 fee proposed by the FCC. Even with this reduction, they will still be considerably more than the upcoming FCC fee.
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Study Shows Contesters are Aging. My initial comment on this is, “Hey, I resemble this remark!” One of the things we discussed in this segment is how relevant the results of this study are to amateur radio as a whole. I think that the consensus is that without more data—which many have been asking for for years now—there’s no way to really know.
The feature for this episode is “Teaching ham radio classes online” by yours truly.
ICQ Podcast Episode 355 – Portable Operations Challenge 2021
In this episode, I joined Martin, M1MRB, Leslie Butterfield, G0CIB, and Edmund Spicer, M0MNG. We discussed:
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Swiss Radio Amateurs Face Fee to use QO-100. This one is a real puzzle. We couldn’t figure out the rationale for this move, nor could we figure out how this was going to be enforced.
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Janet K0JE and Janice K0JA – Ham Radio Twins. These two 86-year-old twins are electrical engineers, and have a variety of hobbies including amateur radio nature photography, and bowling!
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FCC Reaffirms Fine for Marketing Non-Compliant RF Equipment. The FCC reaffirmed Hobby King’s $3 million fine for selling equipment that could interfere with amateur radio transmissions.
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Ham Radio Helping Lifelong Hobbyists Stay Mentally Fit in Old Age
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Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) Community Meeting. This was my little contribution to the news. Join us next Saturday, July 24at 1700Z, if you can.
This episode’s feature is the Portable Operations Challenge 2021.
ICQ Podcast Episode 349: The Not So Simple Dipole
For this episode, I joined Martin M1MRB, Chris Howard M0TCH, and Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and we discussed:This episode’s feature is “The not-so simple dipole.”
ICQ Podcast episode 347: RSGB Q1 review and radio Scouting
In this episode, I once again join Martin (M1MRB), Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, and Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss the following stories:
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Ofcom Released Age of Radio Amateurs Data
We pretty much all agreed that the data really wasn’t all that good as the U.K. stopped collecting birth dates around 2000, just as we did in the U.S. -
Modified French Amateur Radio Callsign for Great Britain Nationals
We were all pretty much baffled by this move by the ANFR, the French equivalent of the FCC. -
Cooperative Effort to Resolve Potential 70-Centimetre Interference Issue
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New RSGB EMF Calculator Available
We had a spirited discussion about this topic. One of the reasons for this is that Leslie, G0CIB, has done quite a bit of work on EMF exposure, and has even created his own spreadsheet. After jokingly suggesting that he now produce a U.S. version, I volunteered to do it myself. As soon as Leslie sends me his spreadsheet, Bill, WC3B, and I are going to create a U.S. version. I’m glad for Bill’s help on this. As it turns out, he knows more about this than I do. He’s even given talks on how to do RF exposure evaluations in the past.
This episode concludes with a double feature: RSGB Quarter 1 Update and Scouting Radio.