HamRadioNow

Happy Episode 500, everybody!

And now back to work.

The FCC is about to release a Report and Order abolishing the antiquated 300 ‘baud’ limit on data rates on the HF bands, replacing it with a 2.8 kHz bandwidth cap instead . The draft R&O was released last week, and Gary K4AAQ picks it apart. It should be finalized at the Commission meeting on November 15, 10:30 am Eastern, with video available live (and on Memorex for later).

In the last half of the episode, Gary opens up the Discord and chats with Jeff N4POD, and a brief visit with David W0DHG

LINKS:

— Gary’s annotated PDF of the R&O

— FCC November 15 Meeting Annoucement, Video Link

— ARRL’s 2005 Regulation by Bandwidth petition to the FCC (pdf)

Quote from the petition: The simplest means of streamlining the Commission’s rules, while at the same time providing maximum flexibility for the incorporation of new digital communications looking forward to the next decade, and to protect ongoing Amateur communications, is to provide for band segmentation by bandwidth rather than by emission mode in the Part 97 Rules. (emphasis added)

DXer and video producer Bob Allphin K4UEE released the K1N Navssa DXpedition documentary on DVD in 2015, a few months after the highly successful DXpedition itself. HamRadioNow’s Gary K4AAQ did the editing and voiceover for the production. DVD sales were good enough, but now it’s time to release the program to the world on YouTube, free to watch for everyone. Yep, that’s the link, right here.

In this episode, Bob and Gary chat about the show, and about some of the DXpeditions Bob has been on, particularly the Bouvet Island attempt he led that had to abort, and the subsequent attempt that was only partially successful. And Bob announces that he’ll be offering a clearance sale of his remaining DVDs - 3 for the price of 1 - coming soon to his web site.

Before that, though, NorCal Host Jim NO1PC gives us a short tour of this weekend’s Pacificon hamfest, which was reduced in size some from the recent past.

Links:

K4UEE’s website

James Brooks documentary collection on Vimeo

ClubLog’s Most Wanted DX Entity list

Gary’s Genius Plan for 60 Meters gets filed with the FCC. He reads it to you.

And Gary K4AAQ notices that ICOM has added FM to their 3rd Generation D-STAR Repeaters. He thought he saw that they were doing a D-Fuzion thing, with DV/Analog IN, Analog OUT, but no… as he reads it live, he discovered that it was an either/or thing… DV or FM, but no Fuzion. So close.

LINKS:

File your comments here, on the ECFS site

Review everybody else’s comments here, also on the ECFS site

HamRadioNow’s YouTube Playlist of our previous shows on 60 meters (way more than you think)

FCC NPRM with Gary’s Notes (pdf)

Gary’s Genius Plan CHART (pdf)

Gary’s Comments (with the USa fixed)

The Chicago Marathon ran last weekend. It’s one of the Big Six marathongs worldwide, and uses ham radio extensively for communications in support of the medical crews.

Rob Orr K9RST is the ham radio coordinator, and he’s one of our guests on this week’s show. And this time (because we’ve done this before, back in 2017), he’s joined by Jeff van Buren KD9IPG. Together they fill in hosts Jim NO1PC and Gary K4AAQ (with a cameo from David W0DHG) on this year’s events and updates.

LINKS:

Ham Radio Chicago

HamRadioNow 374: Marathon Man (2017)

Last spring, the FCC issued an ORDER and NPRM covering a lot of stuff that originated with the 2015 World Radio Conference (WRC 2015). Um… checking our calendar, we see that it’s 2023 and ¾. But who’s counting?

For hams, we care mostly about the part concerning 60 meters. And apparently not all that many of us care about that, but we’re pressing on anyway.

Back at the WRC, they officially approved a band plan for worldwide Secondary status for ham radio on a 15 kHz wide band between 5351.5 – 5366.5 MHz. With an effective power level of 9 Watts. Ugh.

In this NPRM, the FCC is asking if that’s what they should do. Or if they should thumb their nose at the world (as many other countries have done… especially Canada) and keep the existing 5 ‘channels’ and 100 Watt (EIRP) power level. Or some combination of the above.

That NPRM was issued last April. We’ve been waiting for ‘publication in the Federal Register’ to make it official, and begin the 60-day comment period. And waiting. And waiting. That shoe finally dropped on September 30. But even though the NPRM promised 60 days, the FCC says you have until October 30 to file comments. We did the math. That’s 30 days. We can handle that, but it is curious.

Meanwhile, it’s our chance to review East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ’s Genius Plan for 60 Meters once again (because we’ ve done like two shows about that just this year). And this is the first time West Coast Host David W0DHG gets to weigh in. David thinks it’s too complicated. You decide… and file your comments by October 30.

LINKS:

— File your comments here, on the ECFS site

— Review everybody else’s comments here, also on the ECFS site

— HamRadioNow’s YouTube Playlist of our previous shows on 60 meters (way more than you think)

— FCC NPRM with Gary’s Notes (pdf)

Gary’s Genius Plan CHART (pdf)

On the ‘Big Show’ we’ll talk about the 60 Meter NPRM from the FCC, but this is the ProMore, with East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ talking about his experience investigating and documenting BPL in the early aughts. Cameo appearances by David W0DHG and Marty NN1C (Marty apparently butt-texted the show group, so Gary called him on the phone).

Back in 2014, East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ did a HamRadioNow show titled System Confusion, with a look at Yaesu’s new C4FM mobile and handheld radios that he had just reviewed for QST. In that show, Gary and some friends from the Charlotte Digital Radio Group did a comparison of DV modes using handheld radios on D-STAR, DMR, P25, and those new C4FM Fusion handheld radio. The episode is our most-watched HamRadioNow show, with nearly 48,000 views (one TAPR DCC show in our catelog has more views). And although the show was a fair look at all the radios, the title alone seems to have cememted Gary’s place on Yaesu’s black list.

Fast-forward to 2023, and Gary has finally added some Fusion radios to his arsonal of mobile, base and handheld radios, with a pair of FTM300s (mobile, base), and an FT5D handheld. In this episode, he reviews the FT5D, with help from hosts David W0DHG and Jim NO1PC, neither of whom see themselves signing on to System Fusion anytime soon.

The fun begins with a look at the Yaesu FT5D Facebook Group, where Gary posted what he considered to be some innocent questions about his new radio (search the group for ‘Gary Pearce’ to find his posts). That led to some snarky replies from a few members of the group, and the ‘discovery’ that he was that Gary Pearce, of System Confusion fame. You be the judge.

And bottom line: Gary likes the radio just fine (and the FTM300s). There are a few things he’d do different, and a thing or two he considers a bug or an oversight in design, but no dealbreakers. And at this point he doesn’t expect Yaesu to take any of his suggestions into consideration because… well, he’s the Confusion guy. And damn proud of it!

One show… two episide entries.

Gary K4AAQ did a long ‘Promo’ for HRN 495 ConFuzin’ After All These Years that was really a slide show of the vacation he just took to Utah and a Rocky Mountaineer train ride. Our web host, Squarespace, only lets us put one audio file in an episode, and we want to publish this one separately, so… two Episode entries for one… OK, we did say it was Confuzin’. All the way around.

East Coast Host Gary K4AAQ here (the 👑 of HAM)…

You can operate public service effectively with a single mobile radio (I recommend a dual-band, dual-display radio, though), and probably a dual-band HT. So that's why I have 5 mobile radios and a scanner, and 10 or so handhelds, all programmed and ready to go. Obsessive. Borderline compulsive.

This episode is a mini-doc of my prep and some operation during my big annual Public Service event, BikeMS New Bern. I was just going to shoot a few snippits on my phone (Goole Pixel 6 Pro). I ended up with lots more than I expected - enough to make a show! And look 👀 it’s less than 30 minutes long!