Folgen
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Ham Radio Comm, in search of any Emergencies that might need our help. Well, West Coast Host David W0DHG and East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ (BRAT? maybeâŚ) donât hit on that theme too hard, but it is a good question. Whereâs the Em?
Anyway, David spend last weekend doing some COMM at the Angeles Crest Ultra Marathon, and even though he failed to document it up to Garyâs standards, he did describe it pretty well.
Gary mentions this ARRL news story on Hurricane Debby that really inspired the episode title. Yet another review of an event where all we did was stand by to stand by.
Then David found a news story about an LA area ham who got help via the PAPA linked repeater system when he fell and couldnât get up (cue the TV commercial). It was recorded, and we play it back with our usual on-point commentary.
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East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ goes solo for this show, noting that he needs another HT like he needs another hole in his head. But, Prime Day and pressure from peers got him to part with a bit under $25 for the Quansheng UV-K5.
Note that this review does NOT get into any of the aftermarket firmware options, and that seems to be what is getting everybody excited. That is a hot mess of options and confusion, and so maybe someday.
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Fehlende Folgen?
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On the heels of Hurricane Beryl, Bob Inderbitzen NQ1R, ARRL Director of Marketing and Innovation was interviewed by The Weather Channel about ham radio. It was a great shot in national media, which means that East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ needed to take it apart to see how it could have been better, while West Coast Host David W0DHG pulled Gary back to reality.
Well, back in his younger days, Gary was no novice in the PR world, and heâs got some legacy video to prove it:
Gary's Field Day Interview (Studio): https://youtu.be/vkH21ERvp7I?si=8JP1U...
Gary's Katrina Interview: https://youtu.be/yC0u42MnMdM?si=USDdI...
Gary's Field Day Interview (Field - we didn't play this one in the episode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyTcy1hFYQY.
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As (barely a) Hurricane Beryl approaches landfall on the Texas coast, East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ welcomes ARRL South Texas Section Emergency Coordinator Jeff Walter KE5FGA to the show to talk about Amateur Radio emcomm in his area.
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It may have been the longest DAY of the year, but it was still a long NIGHT for K4AAQ
Gary edited a little home movie of this yearâs Field Day operation. Then a look at some of the media from this year. Finally some thoughts on the GMRS linking controversy.
Links to the News Stories and stuff:
Our Field Day Playlist
Tell Josh to 'Approve' of us
Hey, it really was Escambria, not Escanaba. I blame my reading glasses:
WLOX TV story
KPLC TV story
Lakawana News 16 story
WAKA TV story
Reddit GMRS thread
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Our guest, Dr. Johnathan Kramer, ESQ, is a lawyer dealing in âdirtâ - no, not Stormy Daniels. Real Estate. Weâll learn about his career and a bit about putting up antennas in HOA territory.
We had some technical trouble with the live stream this time⌠and with the local recording. Between the two, we recovered most of the show, with a few minutes missing in the middle. You wonât even know⌠but it might be a little confusing for those who watched live on YouTube, or came to the YouTube channel late, but before we replaced the video (it takes hours to do that. Now you know.
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For the past 10 days, ARRLâs Logbook of the World and online courses have been down. Something slowed down QST production (the print version) for a day or two. But the website and email forwarding service are working.
Whatâs happening? ARRL is only saying that âa serious incident involving access to our network and systemsâ has occurred. Is it a fire in the engine room? Malware? Ransomware? Somebody didnât pay the ISP? All those and more are filling the information vacuum. So are we đđMeanwhile, we opened up the Zoom to viewers, and one - Dave VE3KM from⌠yes, Bastard, Ontario, clicked the button. Turns out that Dave is an avid VHF/UHF ham, among other things (actually, pretty well rounded in ham radio overall). So before we get started speculating (and Gary whining) about the ARRL infogap, Dave gives us a lesson in Aurora propagation. Yes, when a big dose of plasma from the sun đ shuts down HF, VHF goes wild.
Do we solve the ARRLâs data issue, or even provide some useful insight? Nope. Nobody has. But we⌠maybe just Gary⌠feels better.
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Episode 524 - New England Correspondent Marty NN1C takes us to the Hamvention, holds out in the pouring rain to see the rush of equally drowned hamfesters pour (too literally) through the entry gate at 9 AM, and then waits out ICOMâs BIG REVEAL of⌠circuit boardsđ, with East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ anchoring from Fort Mill. West Coast Host David W0DHG got up early to join in.
Episode 525 - Gary K4AAQ goes solo, checking the feeds, and reviewing HamRadioNow (and ARVN)âs extensive catalog of Hamvention videos, going back to 2007. Find it all in this YouTube Playlist.
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Gary K4AAQ is back from vacation, and weâre back on the air. A (relatively) short show - David W0DHG had some stuff to do, so just an hour. We do the usual ramble around a few topics. Gary shows his broken (and extracted) tooth (so be glad this is just audio) and a home movie from Hawaii to wrap things up.
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In theory, weâre on hiatus until May, but we had a few minutes to chat about the Hollywood Hills, Davidâs Emcomm deployment (no hams were harmed in that deployment), and a bit of eclipse.
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Gary's Q-Mobile - now 17 years old and 230,000 miles long, is running fine. But the ICOM 7000 HF rig developed a hiccup on 40 meters. Put a little RF to the Tarheel 200 antenna, and it shut down. He finally gets around to fixing it.
David W0DHG told him how in a previous episode. Gary K4AAQ had to do it the hard way.
https://HamRadioNow.tv
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For the next few weeks, East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ and West Coast Host David W0DHG have a bunch of family and other activities, so weâre goona take a break from the show. David may gin up some shows solo (Gary will be gone lots longer)⌠weâll see. But sooner or later weâll be back⌠tanned and rested (or dragged ot and exhausted).
See ya on the other side!
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Can the creating of a simple show jingle (using AI) drive the theme of the whole show?
Sure, why not. Also, a visit to the Charlotte Hamfest for a few minutes.
Also, can you guess the age of the average ARRL member? Stay tuned to find out!
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The Network Effect is when you connect a network (IRLP, AllStar, Echolink, D-STAR, DMR, Fusion, etc) to a quiet, local repeater and turn on a busy nationwide or worldwide reflector, talk group, room, whatever. The repeater isnât quiet anymore⌠but whoâs talking. Nobody you know.
Also, Gary K4AAQ will be volunteering for a big, new (to him) event: the Assault on Mt. Mitchell. Thatâs a 100 mile bike ride from Spartanburg SC to the top of Mt. Mitchell in NC. With all the up and down (and the big UP at the end to the 6600â summit), the riders will see a total of 11,000 of vertical climb.
And, we lost some hams this week. Bob Heil K9EID, of course, but also David W0DHGâs friend Gary Apgar NY6Y, and Garyâs friend and local hero Danny Hampton K4ITL. Danny was Dayton Hamventionâs Ham of the Year in 2009, and founder of a regional repeater network in the Carolinas, long before the Internet came along to make it easy.
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Gary K4AAQ has that new phone/camera gimble and wireless podcast mics. So heâs got to go to a hamfest. Itâs been a while. No SIB (Studio In a Booth). Maybe theyâll let him sit in on the YouTuberâs Forum?
Then he and David W0DHG yammer about other stuff.
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The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act is now in the Senate as S.3690. That bill joins House Bill H.R.4006, with the goal of giving hams living in HOA neighborhoods some reasonable relief in being able to put up antennas.
Donât place your orders yet đ¤¨. Most Congrerssional bills never become law, but if you recall your Civics class, you do need identical legislation to be passed in the House and Senate before they move on to the President for their signature. So weâre a big step closer đ.
Then surprise guest Kyle AA0Z joins us for the first time in a while for some general discussion.
If anyone wants to hear a little (a lot) more from Gary K4AAQ, heâs started a new general-interest (or generally uninteresting) podcast with his brother Jay. Jay isnât a ham, though he grew up with it blaring in the house from his brothers. Like Gary, Jay is a retired broadcaster, now finding refuge in the world of podcasting. Itâs called the Jay and Gary Show, on YouTube and a podcast app near you.
Equal time for David W0DHG who continues to co-host the WaveTalkers show on YouTube.
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One sure path to YouTube stardom is to do a lot of unboxings. That may be why we donât do them very often. But this time, we do one.
East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ was getting jealous of all the YouTubers walking around hamfests with their phones mounted on fancy sticks, and using some kind of wireless mic gizmo to talk to people (and hear them) more than six inches from the phone. So he bought a set, and opened it up live on this show while West Coast Host David W0DHG looked on over Zoom.
Next⌠a demo. Then⌠a hamfest? Dayton? Stay tuned.
Hereâs what he got:
- Hollyland LARK Max
- DJI Osmo Mobile 6 Gimbal Stabilizer
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Trivia question #1: Who said that (To the Moon, Alice)?
Trivia question #2: What year did Gary K4AAQ say it was when he introduced this show?
Weâre not answering those here. Watch (or listen to) the show.
In January, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) landed a ham radio station on the moon (along with some other stuff, weâre sure, but we have our priorities). Its one-watt transmitter sent some telemetry on 437.41 MHz, along with a cleverly embedded Morse code (not cw) signal, as received by these guys in the Netherlands, and partially decoded by this guy, with help from a few other very advanced hams (read the blog and comments). Best we can tell, it was just a little more advanced than OSCAR 1âs Hi Hi Hi back in 1961. But it still counts as the first freakinâ ham station on the moon. đ
The station has literally gone dark, as it slid into lunar night. đ Itâs not expected to survive, but we bet thereâll be some well equipped hams listening in a couple weeks, just to make sure.
How âwell equippedâ? Well, you need to make up about 40 dB of path loss, assuming youâve got an excellent receiver. How do you do that? Big ass antenna. Nope⌠bigger.
Then Gary rambles on about the fate of HRN 506: How Can We Podcast With All This LightđĄ? Thatâs the show that nobodyâs seen, because first YouTube, then Netflix, took it down until we fought to get it back up (and we won).
And finally, he talks about South Carolinaâs unusual âFirst in the Nationâ Presidential Primary, and the chat room confirms that what weâre doing here is very confusing. And once again what we thought would be a 10-minute show ran over an hour.
BTW, David W0DHG is out this week, teaching a First Aid class. We expect to be back next Sunday.
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Gary K4AAQ just got back from a week of skiing đ¤šââď¸ with Cyndi KD4ACW out in Park City UT. David W0DHG has been busy, so not much show prep (good thing weâre not trying to make money off this showđ¤). But Gary had a little radio operation (and one near-catastrophy) to talk about from his trip, including a short video of the radio-laden suitcase that got flagged at TSA. And David had some Winter Field Day adventures to relate. So another shortish show.
Earlier that day, Gary did a âsync-testâ, looking to see what might have gone wrong with a couple of previous shows that had serious lip-sync issues. Not quite a ProMore, and interesting only to⌠probably nobody, but we wonât speak for you. Anyway, the lip-sync looked fine, both in the test and this show. Gary says he didnât âfixâ anything, but maybe he didnât âbreakâ anything either.
And we play a bit of a rockabilly song that features Ham Radio from a group called the Royal Hounds. The song is Tune In Tokyo.
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Winter Field Day, the last full weekend in January.
Field Day - the summer version - is the most popular event on the ham radio calendar. The winter version isnât even close, but it is a thing. And many hams are passionate about it. Our guest Marvin Turner W0MET, King of Winter Field Day (so dubbed by host Gary K4AAQ) tells us all about it.
The weather is kind of an upside-down, of course. While summer Field Day is more or less pleasant in the northern US and Canada, itâs hot and muggy in the southeast, and just hot in the west. Late January can be serious winter iun the north, and more temperate as you head south, though âsummer-likeâ may be reserved for Florida.
Winter Field Day isnât just the winter version of itâs summer event. Some rules are the same, but many are different. For one thing, âWinterâ Field Day is worldwide (with half the world actually being âsummerâ, but whoâs counting). And it may be a bit more emcomm focused. Marvin tells us all about it.
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