QSO Today Podcast - Interviews with the leaders in amateur radio

John Nowacki, W3NA, was a teenager in the early sixties when we won a contest to name a popular amateur radio line of antennas that are still sold today. John shares his ham radio story that began with a friendship more that sixty years ago that continues to this day. Now a retired physics teacher, W3NA, chases DX shares his ham radio activities with his fellow NERDS.

Dr. Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, is the 2019 Dayton Ham of the Year because of this contribution to the amateur radio art though his combined professional interest in ionospheric physics and the amateur radio modes, such WSPRnet and FT-8, that build big data bases of propagation data. HamSCI is an organization founded by Nathaniel on this concept. Nathaniel tells his ham radio story leading through Svalbard and McMurdo Station in Antarctica, to a National Science Foundation grant to HamSCI that arrived during the recording of this QSO Today.

Philip Lazar, K9PL, is the editor of the K9YA Telegraph monthly newsletter, a wonderful journal of technical articles and ham radio history. Like many budding amateurs, Philip's story began with the gift of a shortwave radio receiver and listening to the shortwave bands. A ham operator for over 40 years, Philip likes CW, vintage equipment, QRP, and kit building. Getting on the air is key to Philip's ham radio success and is the subject of this QSO Today.

Jeanne Socrates, VE0JS, who, once her current voyage ends hopefully at the end of August, will have the distinction of being the oldest person to sail solo around the World without touching land or getting any help of any kind while underway. This interview conducted by satellite phone to Jeanne somewhere in the South Pacific near Tahiti. Ham radio has been key to Jeanne's voyages and this one especially. VE0JS shared her ham radio story in this QSO Today.

Phil Erickson, W1PJE, sits on a million watt UHF transmitter at the MIT Haystack Observatory, where he studies the atmosphere and radio propagation. Phil is a long time radio guy but a newcomer to amateur radio. As you will hear in this QSO Today, the tools, modes, and technology of amateur radio are complimenting the research achievements of scientists like Phil, W1PJE.

Dino Papas, KL0S, leads the Williamsburg Area Amateur Radio Club in Williamsburg, Virginia, using the leadership skills that he acquired after 26 years in the US Army. Dino is a frequent contributor to amateur radio magazines, including QST, offering his unique and needed perspective on our ham radio hobby. Along with his wife Toby, KL0SS, Dino provides a ham radio maker space in his garage to share his knowledge and resources with his fellow hams.

Ray Heffer, G4NSJ, commandeered the family shortwave radio, as a kid, to further his interest in shortwave listening and ultimately amateur radio. Ray made his career as a television, radio, and audio visual equipment repairman, and now specializes in the repair and restoration of 1940's vintage AM radio sets. I found this endeavor to be fascinating and Ray has created some clever and novel solutions to keep these radios entertaining their owners in the QSO Today.

Steven Bible, N7HPR, made a career in the US Navy, spending almost two years under water on the Trident submarine. Steve is a long time contributor to TAPR, the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Corporation, perhaps amateur radio's "Bell Labs". Steve and I discuss his ham radio storym the developments of TAPR, and TAPRs contributions to advancing the state of the art in amateur radio.

Rod Moag, W5NDS, interests in radio and electronics paralleled an interest in American Folk and country music leading to advanced degrees in Linguistics and South Asian languages. Ham radio plays a solid role throughout this story as it weaves it way in and out of Rod's professional career. Rod's musical career and performances are one of the diamonds in this episode of QSO Today.

Rich Zwirko, K1HTV, was quickly bitten by the DX bug in the late fifties and has gone on to log just about every DX entity on every band. Rich made a career of radio serving as a teenage broadcast engineer in his hometown of New Haven, Connecticut, and later ended his career at the Voice of America in Washington DC. Getting on the air is Rich's mantra that he shares with us in this QSO Today