QSO Today Podcast - Interviews with the leaders in amateur radio

Bill Kelsey, N8ET, has a long and interesting amateur radio career beginning in 1962. From his interest in QRP and QRP kits, Bill founded the Kanga Kit Company, creating radio and test equipment kits for the ham community for many years. While Bill is recovering from a recent stroke, he still has projects on his workbench, now using Arduino processors, pursuing UHF moon bounce, and finds time to operate the Digital modes. Bill joins Eric, 4Z1UG, in this QSO Today.

Keith Ranger, G0KJK, now retired from the Church of England, has had a lifelong love of electronics and radio who has never owned a commercially manufactured amateur radio. Instead Keith builds his own receivers and transmitters, works the World, makes contacts, and rag chews. He quickly dispels the notion that ham radio is an expensive hobby and demonstrates how to have fun and enjoy the amateur radio hobby for very little money. Keith joins Eric, 4Z1UG, on this episode of QSO Today.

Imagine that you get your dream job out of college, and later as part of that job, your employer wants you to solve a riddle that will take years or never to complete. For Tom Vinson, NY0V, that dream job for a ham was with the Collins Radio Company, later Rockwell Collins, and the riddle was to find the wreckage of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra aircraft somewhere in the South Pacific. He could use the technology and human resources of the company to solve this riddle. Tom recounts this story with Eric, 4Z1UG, in this QSO Today.

Many of us entered the ham radio hobby from building a crystal set or using a short wave receiver growing up. Tom Witherspoon, K4SWL, established his credentials in short wave radio before joining the ham radio ranks. Active in QRP as well as short wave listening, Tom is the founder of Ears to our World, a non-profit organization that brings radio to rural and undeveloped parts of the World. K4SWL joins Eric, 4Z1UG, in this QSO Today.

There is no time like the present to sail the South Pacific, solo, with amateur radio. This is exactly what my guest today, Susan Meckley, W7KFI, did for almost twenty years until she turned eighty and retired from the open seas. As a ham for almost seventy years, Susan developed a love for 20 meter CW and sailing and combined them both in her journey that she shares with me, Eric, 4Z1UG, in this QSO Today.

Tony Brock-Fisher, K1KP, is a frequent contributor to both QST and CQ Magazine, and he enjoys a well rounded amateur radio operation. Tony always take a deep dive approach to any of his ham radio projects including rebuilding old gear, redesigning his 40 meter beam, or reducing the noise from his new solar electric array. K1KP joins Eric, 4Z1UG, on this episode of QSO Today.

Since 2001, Bill Sexton, N1IN has been the public relations officer of US Army MARS, one of the oldest collaborations between the Amateur Radio Service and the US Government. Now over ninety years of age, MARS is using cutting edge technology in the HF bands to become even more relevant in a time of national emergency. Bill shares his amateur radio and the MARS story with Eric, 4Z1UG, in this QSO Today.

Bob Leo, W7LR, began his ham radio journey in the 1930s as a kid growing up in California. He went on to become a member of the first commercial DXpedition to Africa and later a co-founder of the Amateur radio club of Thailand. Bob had a rich career as an electrical engineer and Professor of Electrical Engineering at Montana State University. Now, his 90's, Bob resides in Bozeman Montana with Cobi, his wife of over 60 years. Bob is my QSO Today.

When it comes to understanding how antennas really work, then the "go to" ham is Bob Zavrel, W7SX, author of the ARRL book, Antenna Physics - An Introduction. Through this book, Bob bridges the gap between "how to" antenna books, and calculus based antenna theory books for engineers. Bob has a long resume in radio and electronics, is the accidental creator of the Signetics NE602 mixer chip, and shares his story with us in this QSO Today.

Dick Stroud, W9SR, took his first ham radio test in 1938 that began a ham radio and professional journey as an electronic engineer. This journey, over 75 years, included witnessing the hydrogen bomb tests in the 1950, a successful engineering career, and numerous contributions to the amateur radio hobby of articles on home-brewing, antennas, and propagation. W9SR is my QSO Today.