Ham Radio Now

Bruce Perens K6BP and Chris Testa KD2BMH talk about what happened with the Katena project (that they're kind of giving up on), and what's happening next (so they're not really giving up).

The graphics on the slides are helpful, but you'll get a lot of of this with just audio, so we'll give it a Radio Rating of B.

Please consider the KICKSTARTER for HamRadioNow coverage of the 2016 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference coming in September. The $5000 goal deadline is August 21, and as of this program we're almost halfway there! (If the link isn't working, just go to HamRadioNow.tv and you'll see links there.

Netflix just released a new, limited series titled Stranger Things that has a little Ham Radio in it, and a little more CB. It's an 8-part science-fiction show featuring three middle-school geeky boys, a super-powered girl, the usual collection of clueless and sometimes evil adults.

Gary shows the ham stuff, gives the program a luke-warm review, and then looks into a bunch of other programs produced for Ham Radio from the RSGB, Reddit, some TV stations for Field Day, and finally a song he found titled Ham Radio (and you'll hear why).

This episode is a pretty good radio show. While there is a lot to look at besides Gary's face in the video version, the audio track carries the message pretty well. We'll give it an A-.

We'd also like to announce the KICKSTARTER for video coverage of the 2016 TAPR Digital Communications Conference. The goal is $5000, and it's live until August 21. 

PokéHAM GOta? A Ham Radio version of the little game that's sweeping the country?

Sorry, no. That's just click bait to get you to check out this show about something far more important to Ham Radio, but maybe a little dry. We don't want to give it away, but nobody reads these descriptions anyway, so we feel fairly safe.

On July 13, the House Energy & Commerce Committee approved an amended version of HB 1301, the Amateur Radio Parity Act. So we'll show you that vote and a few comments, and then Gary reviews the original bill compared to the amended bill.

Gary tries pretty hard to read everything and make it accessible to the audio audience (and he even promotes the audio version of the show right up at the top), so we'll reward his effort with an audio grade of A-. Why the '-'? Well, there's gotta be room to improve.

HamRadioNow.tv

The Field of Beams was in Orange County, North Carolina for a couple days toward the end of June - yes, Field Day - set up by hams from the Durham FM Association and the Orange County Radio Amateurs. You'll find their call sign, W4EZ in the #3 spot in the Top Ten box in 2015, and a few other top ten's in previous years. An impressive showing, especially considering their 9A 5 Watt battery class.

The only thing that might shade this accomplishment is that the #2 operation, K6EI in California, was also 5 watt battery, with 11 stations. (The #4 operation, W5YA, was also 5 watt battery with just 3 stations!) 

KN4AQ hit the road to visit this operation and see how they did it. He didn't have to hit the road too hard. W4EZ was just a few miles west of his home. So he added one more group, the Alamance Amateur Radio Club K4EG to the trip. This group may not end up in the top 10 box, but they have just as much fun.

In the last third of the show (around 1:02:00), Gary plays all the video he shot at one of the W4EZ CW stations (a totally expert operation) and one of their Phone stations (with a new, young ham having all the classic difficulties, "amplified" by the QRP power level).

This episode is pretty visual, being a mostly field production, but the interviews and operating audio should hold your attention. There's a short CW segment in the middle of the Dave Snyder W4SAR interview that's captioned in video, so if you don't copy fairly high-speed CW, you'll miss that assistance. But in the full CW segment toward last third, Gary verbally describes everything that's happening.

We'll give this episode a C+ Radio Grade.

This is the D-STAR Forum from the 2016 Dayton Hamvention, and a pretty long coda at the end from Gary.

There are some slides, but I think this is a fairly good radio show, especially since it's pretty long.

Scotty Cowling WA2DFI from HPSDR and TAPR; Jared Boone AF7SO from ShareBrained Technology and Great Scott Gadgets (HackRF); and Steve Hicks N5AC from FlexRadio Systems team up to make this engaging presentation from their points on the SDR 'spectrum.' As you'll hear, the room was SRO (crowded and hot). 

I'll point out one thing that was missing: the other guys. Our team acknowledges that SDR is the future, but they didn't make any specific references to some of the newer players who are stepping in. ICOM is the first of the "Big Three," then Elad from Italy and Expert Electronics from Russia were all showing full-featured, stand-alone direct-conversion SDR transceivers. Elecraft was there, of course, with a new portable. They've been SDR for years, but not direct conversion. Anything cooking there? And there are several smaller entries in receivers and specialized equipment.

This is maybe a C+ for audio. Maybe a B-. Lots of slides, of course (especially Jared), but I think you'll get the point just listening.

Gary KN4AQ

Bob Bruninga WB4APR invented APRS. He's had plenty of help, but it's still his show. While most of us use it to show where we are on a map, there are so many more aspects to it that Bob can't fit them all into a single forum. So this is kind of a 'greatest hits,' including my personal favorite: APRS isn't a vehicle tracking system!

At the beginning, Bob asks the audience if anyone "made a Voice Alert contact on the way here?" I hadn't really gotten the camera rolling, so I missed the first few words. And I've got a huge cold, so I don't feel like sitting in front of the camera or mic for an introduction, so BAM, the episode begins!

On audio, you'll miss the usual slides, but I think you'll get maybe 75%. And there are a few guests:

26:30 Don Arnold W6GPS introduces the new Kenwood D-STAR HT, along with some of the Japanese Kenwood design team, and AVMap updates.

36:30 is a quick shot with Byon Garrabrant N6BG with a couple of new products from Byonics.

42:50 Bryan Hoyer K7UDR from NW Digital Radio reviews their stuff (and the UDXR still isn't out, but the web site says "Q2..."

- Gary KN4AQ

As usual with a forum, there are a lot of Powerpoint or PDF slides that the presenters are talking to. There are six speakers in a two-hour forum, so here's a rundown with times to get you to each one. The moderator is Scotty Cowling WA2DHF:

1:10      Steve Bible N7HPR Intro/Welcome/DCC Announcement
15:00    Kai Siwiak KE4PT, QEX Editor
18:45    SatNOTS: Corey Shields KB9JHU
42:00    HamWAN: Bryan Fields W9CR
1:14:00 SDR Disrupt: Chris Testa KD2BMH
1:34:50 HackRF Update: Mike Ossmann AD0NR

Dave Bell W6AQ became a Silent Key last week, so we thought we'd bring back our interview with him from December, 2014. Dave's talking about his new book, The World's Best Hobby. Dave was a member (founding member?) of what Gary call's ham radio's Hollywood Mafia (along with another SK, Bill Pasternack WA6ITF). These guys produced ham movies and videos back when that stuff was difficult and expensive to make. This goes so far back that the first ones were actually shot on film!

We've pulled this one from the vault. A conversation with CQ Editor Rich Moseson W2VU at the Orlando HamCation in 2012. This is Gary's first extended interview for HamRadioNow. Key word: extended. It set the tone for most future HamRadioNow programs, going in depth where most ham media (what little there was back then) thought a 5-minute conversation was all you needed.