QSO Today Podcast - Interviews with the leaders in amateur radio

Rich Holoch, KY6R, is an avid DXer and needs only two more entities to get to the top of the DX Honor Roll. As the Sunspot cycle fades into memory, you will find Rich on 160 meters with his phased loop receiving antennas and a strategy for operation out of a difficult HF location by using HFTA, or High Frequency Terrain Analysis. More on this in my QSO Today with KY6R.

Rex Harper, W1REX, became an amateur radio operator from his early memories of radio as a kid and his desire to do electronics as a hobby. His love for QRP and later QRP kit building came from wanting to build electronic devices in an evening or two that just worked. Rex shares his ham radio story and the development of his business, QRPme, with Eric, 4Z1UG, in this episode of QSO Today.

Graham Firth, G3MFJ, joined our amateur radio hobby almost sixty years ago as a kid growing up in Yorkshire, England. Electronics and electronics building was the driver and is still Graham's first love in the hobby. QRP was the natural choice of this builder and a way to avoid television interference to his neighbors. Graham is active in the G-QRP group, builds QRP kits for the group, and still plays a mean bass guitar. G3MFJ is my guest on QSO Today.

After over 50 years in amateur radio, the hobby still gives Ned Stearns, AA7A, a new challenge every day. Ned has operated every mode on every band during his ham radio career, and currently operates EME or moon bounce on two meters. As a long time DXer, Ned recently returned from the South Sandwich Islands as a member of the Intrepid DX Group DXpedition. AA7A is my QSO Today.

Jeff Murray, K1NSS is a cartoonist and story teller who specializes in being a keen observer of ham radio and ham radio operators. He uses his website, dashtoons.com, to share his cartoons and stories with all of us. Cartoonists, especially political and social cartoonists, use their medium to get us to lighten up a bit, look in the mirror, and put everything into perspective. Jeff does the same with this amateur radio cartoons, and his main character, Dash, the dog faced ham. K1NSS is my guest on this QSO Today.

It's not often that we think of amateur radio contesting as a sport. It is according to my guest today a radio sport, one that has international competitors who have the experience and training of Olympic athletes in the sport of ham radio contesting. Randy Thompson, K5ZD, was bitten by the radio sport bug early in his ham radio career and is one of the top contesters in the World today. Randy is my guest on QSO Today.

One of the pioneers in ATV or amateur radio television is Art Towslee, WA8RMC. Originally,an ATV signal, over the ham bands, was similar to the commercial television broadcast standard. However, Art and the DATV-Express Project are moving the state of the art to ham television delivered in digital mode. Art shares his ham radio story and his knowledge of this fascinating subject with Eric, 4Z1UG, in this episode of QSO Today.

Bill Dean, W0OR, is a long time ham and contestor from Minnesota, where he has lived much of his life, even serving four terms in Minnesota's legislature. Now a snowbird, who in his mid-seventies learns Spanish, does DXpeditions with friends, and operates from from a second home, high in the Andes mountains, in Ecuador, during Minnesota's cold Winter months. Our subject today is Bill's ham radio story, operating, DXpeditions on a budget, and contesting.

From his first long nose pliers, at the age of six, to his private use of the chemistry lab at his junior high-school, Pete Friedrichs, AC7ZL, has had a fascination with technology, chemistry, and radio. Often this is old but amazing technology that he recreates with the remnants of discarded objects. Pete is a renaissance man whose study and fabrication of "simple" technology rivals that of some of America's great inventors. He is a published author of books based on his experiments, as well as fiction and ghost stories. AC7ZL is Eric's guest on QSO Today.

If we could apply the term "grand dame" to amateur radio, then the grand dame of amateur radio must be Ellen White, W1YL. Ellen began her amateur radio career, as a love story, just as World War 2 ended. Her ham radio career spans over 70 years. And today as Ellen enters her nineties, she is still an active ham operating on 40 meter CW. I am so grateful that Ellen is a listener to the QSO Today podcast and is my QSO Today.