Ham Radio Workbench Podcast

In this episode, Grayson Evans, KJ7UM, joins us again to talk about designing and building ham radio gear with tubes, or as he refers to them: thermatrons. Grayson is the author of Hollow-State Design, a book all about tube-type radio equipment. Grayson also provides basic tube radio kits.

Grayson is a great mentor and shares his love for all things thermatron !

In this episode we meet Sebastian Delmont, KI2D, the author of the wildly popular portable logging software Ham2K PoLo (Portable Logger). Sebastian has a passion for portable operating and has built a very modern, feature rich logging application that runs on cell phones and tablets. The application started out focusing on the portable op doing SOTA and POTA. He has added many features including templates for many contests, operator lookup, location sensitive data look up and more. Sebastian plans to expand the scope of software offerings to include desktop versions as well in the future. We had a great time talking with Sebastian as you can tell from the length of the episode. By the end we felt we just scratch the surface.

In this episode, our very own Paul Braun, WD9GCO, our show announcer, becomes the special guest. Paul tells us all about his big POTA rove and how he operated HF remotely from a cruise ship.

This show also features a large crowd of regulars with an extended workbench segment.

In this episode we meet Hans Summers, founder of QRP Labs, the makers of the wildly popular QCX, QDX and other great portable HF QRP radios. Hans tells about his journey through the design process and all details on his latest creation the QMX multi-band transceiver.

In this episode we meet David Gleason, NR9V, who makes radio interface devices to connect to AllStar and other Radio Over IP applications. We introduce you to AllStar, talk about some of the technical details of the system, and explore the pros and cons of digital voice CODECs. David's company AllScan offers a veriety of radio interfaces, computers and accessories.

In this episode we talk about our workbench projects AND take a deep dive into gift recommendations for your favorite ham. Topics include gifts for the workbench, the shack, portable operations and stocking stuffers.

Warm up your wallet !

In this episode we meet Paul, KI7ADC, and Raoul, W7RPS, both avid users of the Icom IC-905 VHF/UHF/SHF radio. We talk about what attracted them to operate on the microwave bands and what it took to get their portable stations all set up. Paul and Raoul live in the Portland metro area and have had experience on the ground and mountain topping with the IC-905. They have explored using SSB, FM, D-STAR and ATV modes on 1.2 GHz, 2.4 and 5.6 GHz.

If you have ever been interested in moving up the frequency spectrum to the microwave bands, the IC-905 is a very easy way to get up and on the air.

In this episode we meet Richard Dillman, W6AWO, one of the key people responsible for putting historical shore station KPH back on the air. In this fascinating interview, Richard tells us about the history of KPH, when it was decomissioned and his efforts to put the station back on the air. This project is managed by the Maritime Radio Historical Society. Today KPH is on the air using commercial HF marine frequencies and on the ham bands as K6KPH.

Many thanks to our good friend Kevin Mattison, KM6WUM, for pulling this show together. You can hear more about Kevin and his portable satellite tracker project in HRWB episode 120.

In this episode we meet Tony, K1KP, the developer of polar modulation that is being used in the new Flex Radio Aurora radio. Polar modulation is a technology breakthrough that allows Flex Radio to make an integrated 500 watt HF/6m transciever, power supply and antenna tuner in a small light weight package. With better than 80% efficiency, the Aurora produces less heat, consumes less power and is smaller than conventional radios.

Tony, K1KP, has been developing this technology for over 10 years. In this episode we will hear about Tony's journey as he pioneered polar modulation in amateur radio.

In this episode we meet Keith Elliott, W6KME, from the Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club. Keith has been ordanizing the club's Field Day event for the past 5 years and has learned a lot about how to set up a very large, multi-transmitter station. Keith shares both the technical tips and tricks as well as management ideas to make everything run smoothly. Running a class 24A station, the Conejo Valley ARC has one of the largest Field Day stations on the air.

Keith is very active with Ventura County's ARES and ACS (Auxilliary Communication Service), as an Assistant Emergency Coordinator and frequent participant in public events. He has been recently elected as the new Section Manager of the ARRL's Santa Barbara section, including Ventura, Santa Barbara aand San Luis Obispo Counties.