Here’s a sneak preview of my new podcast, the No Nonsense Amateur Radio Podcast. Co-hosted by Tom, KB5RF, we’re going to attempt to do 20-30 minutes on where we are and where we’re going in amateur radio. It should be fun. Let me know what you think.
The No Nonsense Amateur Radio Podcast is available on iHeartRadio, iTunes and Stitcher. You can also listen to it on any Android device by downloading the app Ham Radio Podcasts Free, or you can also subscribe directly using the RSS feed.
Yesterday, I was a guest again on HamRadioNow, along with Marty, N6VI; Gary, KN4AQ; and David, W0DHG. We discussed the proposal to give Techs HF digital and phone privileges, as well as ARRL governance issues.
I don’t know if we came to any conclusions, but one thing’s for sure, I certainly have a face for radio!
A couple of days ago, I worked Keith, KU1N and was pleased to hear that he was also using a Cobra antenna. When I asked him what kind of antenna tuner he was using, he said that he was using the internal antenna tuner in his Elecraft K3. He’s connecting the ladder line to a 4:1 balun, and then connecting the ouput of that to the K3.
I was a bit surprised, but that’s really a testament to the design of the Elecraft antenna tuners. I know that the antenna tuner in my KX3 will tune an SWR of at least 10:1. So apparently, the impedance at the end of the ladder line is 2000 Ω or less on the frequencies that he’s using the antenna.
It would be interesting to see which has the lower losses: my big, old Dentron Super Tuner or the tuner in KU1N’s K3. In any case, it was an interesting contact. And, as an added bonus, Keith mentioned at the end of the QSO that his son and his wife both used my study guide to get their license.
Yesterday, I made contact with a guy on 80m. After the first exchange, there was a fairly long pause before he came back the second time. When he did, the first thing he said was, “I knew your call sounded familiar. Thanks for your work on the ICQPodcast.” I guess the reason for the delay is that he must have been Googling me.
He repeated that about three times during the course of his transmission. So much so, that when it was my turn again, I told him that if he had said that one more time that I was going to get a big head. I then thanked him for his kind words.
What kills me is that he thought I was some kind of celebrity. I suppose I am, but in a very small way. (One of my friends calls me “ham famous.”)
I think that all of the guys you hear on ham radio podcasts are just ordinary hams. We get on the air and make contacts just like anyone else. So, I told him that if he ever heard me calling CQ, to please return my call. We may be a little more widely-known than other hams, but that means nothing on the ham bands. We just want to make contacts like anyone else.
Before I got my IC-7300, I used to send “RIG HR ICOM IC746PRO” when telling the other guy what kind of rig I was using. Now, I just send, “RIG HR IC7300.” I figure that with all the publicity it got a year and half ago, most operators will know about the radio.
Over and above that, though, make and mode really is redundant information. Kenwood doesn’t make an FT-450D, nor does Elecraft make a TS-990. The model number serves to tell the other op what the make is as well as the model number.
It never made sense to me to do that, but I went along as that seemed to be the common practice. I’ve stopped doing that now, and you probably can, too.
For a while now, Jeff, KE9V, and I have tossed around the idea of starting a podcast with the working title “Two OFs Talk About Ham Radio.” For one reason or another—probably because it’s a lot of work—this hasn’t really gotten off the ground…..yet.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, Gary, KN4AQ, of Ham Radio Now, had a group of “hamcasters,” as he dubbed them, on his show. Sterling, N0SSC, former youth editor for the ARRL, and currently a blogger and occasional podcaster, said that he and one of his friends had a similar idea, but that it was going to be two young guys talking about ham radio.
Well, how about merging the two? I’ve proposed to both KE9V and N0SSC that we do a podcast with both old guys and young guys talking about different aspects of ham radio. We could do it in a number of different ways – two old guys and two young guys, one young guy and one old guy, and some episodes might only have old guys and some only young guys. Some episodes may include one of the “regulars” and a special guest. For example, might be me and one or both of the Salmi brothers, the fireplugs behind Faraday RF). Another might be an episode featuring N0SSC and K1ZZ, the previous ARRL CEO, if we could get him to do it.
The whole idea would be to compare how different generations view the hobby and the direction it’s going. And, since I think podcasts are way too long, the idea would be to keep this one short and sweet. I’m thinking like 15 minutes, 20 minutes max. Not only would that prevent listener fatigue, they would be easier to produce.
So, what do you all think? Do you have any thoughts about who we should recruit to be on our podcast? What kind of topics should we cover?
Last Friday, I got an email from Gary, KN4AQ, the producer and host of Ham Radio Now. He wrote:
I’d like to invite you to participate in a HamCasters episode of HamRadioNow this Sunday evening, November 19, at 9 pm Eastern, 6 pm Pacific, 0200Z (Monday morning Zulu). I’d like to get as many hams who produce or regularly participate in ham radio podcasts, YouTube shows, even lowly blogs – as many as I can squeeze onto Skype (their limit is 25) – on the show.
Here’s the result:
The “hamcasters” appearing on this episode include:
I’m not sure this episode is a real contribution to amateur radio, but it was fun to do, and I think you might have fun watching it, especially if you’re thinking about doing a podcast or YouTube videos. My bit starts at the 29:15 mark, and I’ve cued up the video to start there.
One of the topics we discussed was the length of most ham radio podcasts. Despite the general agreement that most that ham radio podcasts are too long, this one lasts for two hours and 15 minutes!
This appeared on Twitter yesterday:
Vance says that this was just a random contact, but I’m thinking that he may have announced on Twitter that he was activating a park. I normally don’t operate phone, so it truly would have been a coincidence if I’d just happened across him. In either case, a QSL from me confirming a phone contact is a rare one indeed.
Finally, thanks for the plug, Vance! I’m glad that I was able to help you get your license and have fun with ham radio.
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The latest episode of the ICQPodcast, including yours truly, is now online. I joined Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ, Chris Howard M0TCH, Martin Rothwell M0SGL, and Ed Durrant DD5LP, and we discussed the following:
I found our discussion of granting digital modes privileges to newcomers to be quite interesting. The story on car locking was very similar to the ARRL story last year on the same topic, and the final story on a relative ham newcomer handling an emergency call is a reminder to all of us that we should be monitoring our local repeaters whenever we can.
Vance 
