A week or so ago, Bruce, N9WKE, phoned me and asked if I would appear on the Dit Dit podcast. He hadn’t produced an episode in nearly two years and wanted to get started again. He said that he wanted to have me on his show because I was “the #1 most requested guest.”
Now, I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it was still an honor to be asked. Here’s the episode:
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.
Veronica Harrington, KC6TQR, appeared on March 26, 1992. She was six years old at the time. David Letterman actually had a ham license at one point.
Yours truly appeared on the podcast, Operator of the Week by WA7PBE. It’s always fun to appear on podcasts like this.
This video by BridgeCom aims to take some of the mystery out of DMR codeplugs. The video talks about the Anytone radios that Bridgecom sells, but you should be able to set up your own after viewing the video. If you need more info, the YouTube page lists a bunch of other videos explaining how to do this.
In this episode, I joined Martin Butler (M1MRB), Edmund Spicer M0MNG, Ed Durrant DD5LP and Leslie Butterfield G0CIB to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. We discussed:
Laboratory Test Model of ‘Sputnik 1 EMC/EMI’, 1957.
The starting bid on this puppy is €85,000!
You can now order Pizza with Morse Code
While it’s amusing that you can order pizza using Morse Code, there are two problems with this promotion:
ARRL Clean Signal Initiative on the Horizon
Read about my coverage of this initiative here.
Broadcaster in Ham Radio 40m Band
We must certainly be constantly vigilant.
High School Students Learn how to use Ham Radio
I liked this story because the organizers of a simulated emergency test recruited high school students to be part of the exercise. That’s something that other emergency coordinators might consider doing.
This episode’s feature is The Lost Tribe, the Pied Piper and the Executive.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On this episode, I joined Martin M1MRB, Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, and Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss:Fly Me to the Moon. An amusing story about the first Bitcoin transaction using EME communications.
International Space Station to be in Cross-Band Repeater Mode for Field Day. Get out the satellite antenna for Field Day!
Aluminium-Ion Battery Development. Scientists in Australia have developed a graphene aluminium-ion battery that they claim has up to three times the capacity of a lithium-ion battery and can charge up to sixty times faster. Now, we just have to wait and see if this battery can be manufactured in quantity at a reasonable price.
IARU Workshop Future of Amateur Radio – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. A good first step in understand where we are and the challenges that amateur radio will have to confront in the future.
The features for this episode include coverage of Parks on the Air (POTA) by Bill Barnes WC3B, and review of the Xiegu G90 SDR Transceiver by Ed Durrant DD5LP.
On this episode, I joined Martin M1MRB, Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, and Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and we discussed the following: This episode’s feature is a discussion of the RSGB Survey with the new RSGB President.
As always, we get off on some tangents. For example, in the discussion of the IRTS (the Irish equivalent of the ARRL) rejection of the new license level, we ended up discussing how smaller countries regulate amateur radio. In the discussion of amateur radio on the BBC Essex Breakfast Show, Martin mentioned that he knew the YL who called in to discuss ham radio, and how she was just a great operator. I opined that some hams are just born operators, while others are not.
Anyway, I hope that you’ll find this episode interesting.
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.”
In this episode, Martin (M1MRB), Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, and Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. We discussed:This episode’s features is in an interview with ARRL David Minster NA2AA, and the President, Rick Roderick K5UR as they discuss changes for the ARRL with Frank Howell K4FMH.
Perhaps the most interesting thing I found in the interview was NA2AA’s statement about changing the culture at the ARRL. He mentioned “dialing up the energy” at the ARRL and becoming a culture of “yes” instead of being so negative all the time. Of course, the previous CEO talked a good game at first and raised expectations, but then failed to deliver. Overall, though, I’m optimistic.
In episode #343 of the ICQPodcast, I joined Martin M1MRB and Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. We discussed the following:
FCC – Radio Users Reminded Not to Use Radios in Crimes.
We also discussed the ARRL’s response to this Enforcement Advisory, “ARRL on the Purpose of Amateur Radio.”
3,500 German Radio Interference Complaints in 2020
3,500 seems like quite a lot. Anyone know how many interference complaints are filed here in the U.S. or where I could find that information? I searched around the FCC website a bit, but didn’t find any data.
JARL Wants to Increase Youngsters Amateur Radio Experience Opportunities
Information on this was a bit vague, but the press release says that they have requested “regulation changes to facilitate the use of amateur radio by elementary and junior high school students.”
Sweden’s Oldest Radio Ham on TV
Our “feel good” story of the episode.
City Antenna Law Upturned By FCC Ruling
TL;DR: You can have a satellite dish antenna, but not a CB or ham radio antenna. Martin suggests modifying a dish antenna by cutting a slot in it for operation on 2m.
