KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

SOTA

ICQPodcast Episode 494 – Q and A 2026

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ICQ Podcast logo.In this episode, I join Martin Butler M1MRB, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news:
The episode’s feature is Q and A 2026.

ICQPodcast Episode 475 – Expanding portable ops on 70cm/2m

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ICQ Podcast logo.In this episode, I join Martin Butler M1MRB, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news, including:

This episode’s feature is “Expanding portable ops on 70cm/2m.”

 

ICQ Podcast Episode 420 – Ultra Portable HF Antennas

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In this episode, I  join Martin Butler M1MRB, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss:
  • 2024 10 Metre SOTA Challenge
  • Hams Help Community Radio Station Get Back on Air
  • Global Response to Signals from Irelands 1st Satellite
  • Tradition Carries on in Sweden
  • A DXPedition Before a DXPedition
This episode’s feature is ultra-portable HF antennas.

Random thoughts: The case for paper, CB for youth engagement, POTA/SOTA safety

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The case for paper

As most of you know by now, the ARRL is going to start charging extra for the print version of QST in January—even if your membership expires after that date. While I am generally in favor of magazines going digital, paper does have its advantages.

For example, I’ve recently been plowing through my stack of paper QSTs, looking for interesting things before I toss them. In the process, I’ve come across several items of interest, including articles on building an inline RF current sensor and building a short vertical for 160 meters.

I’m not sure that you’d get this kind of serendipitous occurrence with digital magazines.

CB for youth engagement?

On reddit, someone asked if anyone had any information on successful programs for youth engagement. Someone replied, “Heard of a ham club that gave out old CB radios to young people in the area, and helped them with setting them up. Within 2 years, most of them were licensed hams!”

I think that in addition to just helping them get set up, you might also want to give the kids some structured activities, like showing them how to run a net or maybe do a hidden transmitter hunt, if such a thing is possible with CB radios. You’ll also want to be available if, or should I say when, there are problems with the radios.

This sounds like an interesting idea to me. I asked for more details. Have any of you heard of something like this?

SOTA/POTA Safety

A couple of weeks ago, I joined a Long Island CW Club Zoom meeting on portable operation. It was a great meeting, and a lot of good ideas were mentioned.

One of the best, I thought, was the reminder to be safe when doing a Parks on the Air (POTA) or Summits on the Air (SOTA) activation. One of the things that I do is to attached caution tape to my inverted-V antenna where there’s any chance that someone could come into contact with it.

Another fellow mentioned that he wears a blaze orange vest when he heads into the woods. This had not occurred to me, as I have been operating from open areas where no hunters are allowed. But, if there’s any chance that you might come into contact with hunters on your POTA/SOTA adventures, the orange vest is a good idea.

ICQ Podcast Episode 414 – Simple Test Gear You Can Build

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In Episode 414, I join Martin Butler M1MRB, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss:

We would like to thank our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit – http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

The episode’s feature is Simple Test Gear You Can Build.

Amateur radio in the news: Pittsburgh club celebrates 80 years, SOTA, NASA recognizes ARISS

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Pittsburgh amateur radio group celebrates 80 years of providing emergency communications during disasters

After eight decades of providing emergency backup communications on a volunteer basis during some of this region’s worst storms and disasters, members of the Steel City Amateur Radio Club will be hitting the airwaves this week to sing their own praises.

…read more

3 In Your Town: Summits on the Air

On a summer afternoon in Roane County, Tennessee, high atop Mount Roosevelt, Chip Snyder is long and short dashing radio frequencies all across the country. “I’m part of an international group of amateur radio operators,” he explained. “The name of which is Summits on the Air. Now this group of amateur radio operators, there are about seven thousand of us in the U.S. As a hobby, climb mountain peaks and set up radio stations temporarily on the top of these peaks.”

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NASA recognizes ARISS

Kathryn Lueders, Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA has posted a statement recognizing Amateur Radio On The International Space Station (ARISS) for its accomplishments in promoting STEM initiatives through amateur radio. For over 20 years, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, a non-profit supported by NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN), has connected classrooms on Earth with astronauts aboard the space station, allowing students to engage directly with astronauts in real-time. Using ham radio equipment installed on the space station and a ham radio station on the ground, students are able to establish a direct radio connection with the space station and ask the crew questions about living in space and what it takes to become an astronaut.

…read more

Amateur radio in the news: Chattanooga hams check on one another, hams hit the heights, hams help out in Malaysia.

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Chattanooga hams check on one another during pandemic

After two recent deaths, Chattanooga-area ham radio operators decided to close ranks. Many of the amateur radio hobbyists live alone, so a system of nightly radio checks has been put in place to signal if anyone needs help. At their core, that’s what “hams” do, they take care of one another, members of the so-called Lone Ranger Net said.

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Hams hit the heights (Outside magazine)

On a gray Friday afternoon last spring, Steve Galchutt sat high atop Chief Mountain, an 11,700-foot peak along Colorado’s Front Range. An epic panorama of pristine alpine landscape stretched in almost every direction, with Pikes Peak standing off to the south and Mount Evan towering just to the west.

It was an arresting view, and the perfect backdrop for a summit selfie. But instead of reaching for his smartphone, Galchutt was absorbed by another device: a portable transceiver. Sitting on a small patch of rock and snow, his head bent down and cocked to one side, he listened as it sent out a steady stream of staticky beeps: dah-dah-di-dah dah di-di-di-dit. “This is Scotty in Philadelphia,” Galchutt said, translating the Morse code. Then, tapping at two silver paddles attached to the side of the radio, he sent his own message, first with some details about his location, then his call sign, WG0AT.

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Hams help out in Malaysia

The voice from the incoming signal was scratchy at best as the battery in the caller’s walkie-talkie was about to die. But amateur radio hobbyist Zanirul Akhmal Zanirun, then a volunteer at the National Emergency Communication Centre set up in Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur during the 2014 to 2015 floods, heard the message that was coming in from Pahang loud and clear.

“The floodwaters are rising. We are trapped in our house. Get help quick, ” said the caller. There was no time to waste, recalled Zanirul. He and the team immediately conveyed the message to the communication centre in Pahang, who in turn alerted the rescue team at the stricken location. To his relief, an update later revealed that the caller had made it to an evacuation centre safely.

Standing (from left to right) : Malaysian Amateur Radio Transmitter’s Society (MARTS) honorary Secretary, Zanirul Akhmal Zanirun with Kuala Lumpur DX (denotes two way radio contact with other amateurs in distant countries) Team president Mohd Faiz Shaari and ham enthusiasts who are also MARTS members Lucius Solomon @ Baharuddin and Hamdan Abu, (sitting left to right) Weerut Srhidhara and Reuben Chirng Chern Han at the MARTS emergency communication centre in Seri Kembangan, Selangor.

…read more

Awwww. How cute!

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Yesterday, I got this press release from James Hannibal, KH2SR, the proprietor of QuirkyQRP:

Finger Morse Straight Key

For portable CW opera-ng

Finger Morse is a fun, inexpensive, & ultra lightweight Morse code straight key that allows you to easily stay on the air making CW QSO’s with your QRP rig while you are walking.

It’s a great option for staying on the air while hiking to/from your next SOTA/POTA activation location or while on a backpacking trip.

It’s also nice to have as an inexpensive backup straight key incase you forget your main straight key/paddle, or if your main key/paddle happens to fail while you are in the backcountry.

No more being stuck sitting down while operating. Go for a walk, get some exercise and keep making CW contacts!

With the Finger Morse CW Straight Key by QuirkyQRP Ham Radios, you can finally try operating QRP pedestrian portable.

I have no idea how well this thing actually works, but it’s cute, isn’t it? I also like the company name: QuirkyQRP. :)

If you make or sell ham radio products, please be sure to send me a press release when you introduce new products. If you include a sample, I’ll even do a more in-depth review.

Dayton 2016: Design advances make portable operation easier, more fun

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dayton-2016At this year’s Dayton Hamvention, the interest in portable operation was everywhere. One of the talks at the QRP-ARCI’s Four Days in May seminar, for example, was titled, “2016: Year of the Portable Operator,” and there were many vendors selling gear for portable operators.

Portable operation is not only becoming more popular, but more sophisticated as well. In fact, it’s a virtuous circle. More sophisticated portable equipment is making portable operation easier and more fun, which is spurring manufacturers to make more sophisticated equipment, which is making portable operation even more popular, and around we go.

This is perhaps most easily seen in the evolution of the Elecraft products. One of their first rigs was the K1, a small rig that was frequently toted out into the field, even though it wasn’t really designed for that purpose. It had a small form factor, but had a conventional front panel layout.

The next evolution was the KX1. This CW-only radio was designed specifically for field work. It originally only covered 40m and 80m, and had a very limited front panel, but its built-in battery pack and KXPD1 paddle made it a great choice for portable operators when it was introduced in 2004.

A big leap forward was made when they introduced the KX3 in 2012. This radio combined a bunch of features never before found in a portable rig. The KX3 features an SDR architecture and covers all modes, including (SSB, CW, Data, FM, AM); used the same full-sized LCD display as the K3; has advanced DSP features; and can be connected to a computer via USB for firmware upgrades and for use with other ham radio software. The KX3 is so full-featured that many operators use it as their main rig with a suitable linear amplifier.

At Dayton 2016, Elecraft took this concept even further and introduced the KX2. It’s about half the size of the KX3, but yet has almost all of the features of the KX3. There was a tremendous amount of buzz over this radio at Dayton among portable operation aficionados. The base price of the KX2 is $750, and with options, will cost you about $1,000.

Of course, Elecraft isn’t the only company making gear for portable ops. LNR Precision sells a radio called the LD-5, and at Dayton, they introduced the LD-11, which like the KX3 and KX2 features an SDR architecture and covers 160m – 6m. This radio goes for about $800, and has also proven to be popular among portable operators.

The KX2 is Elecraft's latest rig for portable operators.
The KX2 is Elecraft’s latest rig for portable operators.

Dayton also had a number of exhibitors that supplied products other than radios to aid portable operation. There were several portable antenna manufacturers, including Buddipole and PackTenna, and BiEnno Power was also there, showing off their new lithium-iron batteries,

sotaWhile radios like the KX2 and LD-11, at relatively low prices, allow operators to easily get out into the field, portable operation would not be as popular as it is without organized activities. Programs like the Summits on the Air (SOTA) and the National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) make portable operation even more fun. These programs do this by providing a structure in which operators can find one another and gain awards for operating. I didn’t see a SOTA booth at Dayton, but NPOTA was a big part of the ARRL section there.

If you aren’t already a portable operator, you should give it a try! You don’t have to invest a bunch of money in a rig to just try it. KX1s have been had for less than $400, and simpler QRP rigs cost a lot less. Getting outside and operating in the fresh air is a lot of fun and could give you a whole new perspective on amateur radio.

Media Hits: Colorado Springs, CO; Rolla, MO; Fond du Lac, WI

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Colorado Springs couple transforms area summits into temporary radio stations. Stuck on the summit without a signal? Stay calm and reach for the breath mints – at least that’s the unlikely advice that Frank and Lynn Skinner might offer. The husband and wife from Colorado Springs spend weekends hunting for radio signals on summits across the Pikes Peak region. They manage to snag them by means of a gizmo that would make MacGyver envious: a tiny radio tucked in an Altoids tin and powered by a 9-volt battery and a 35-foot wire that’s either tossed into the trees or held aloft by a fishing pole.

co-springs-couple

Despite computers, there’s still interest in ham radio. You’d think that with all the computers in homes, all the smartphones in the hands of everybody from children through senior citizens, all the internet, the world wide web, the forums and blogs and Twitter and Facebook and email and chat boxes and social media, there would be absolutely no interest in an old-time hobby like ham radio.

FDL Amateur Radio Club explores versatile hobby. The Fond du Lac Amateur Radio Club is composed of professors, office workers, broadcasters, auto mechanics, information technology professionals, retirees, men, women and individuals of all ages — a group as versatile as the interest that links them.