Friend of the 'pod Josh KI6NAZ, from the little-known  @HamRadioCrashCourse  drops by the sofa to get nerdy... and share how he entered the SOTA-verse!

This episode covers Josh's disastrous first SOTA activation and Mark's theories on the importance of balancing technical, physical, and mental skills for success. Ara shows hardware for his nearly complete "Antennode" project, which uses Raspberry Pis and LoRa to automate antenna A/B testing and provide a scientific method for evaluating antenna performance without expensive equipment. Josh dives deep into the challenges of content creation, emphasizing the need for consistency over perfection. Finally, the whole team gets passionate about building sustainable ham club club leadership, and how to empower new members to take the initiative in gettin' stuff done!

As always, the Sofa was captained by Mark KD7DTS and Ara N6ARA, with Di KO6BTM running the studio system and Ormoo noshing on kibbles.

Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun!

https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir

__SHOW NOTES__

Josh KI6NAZ on YouTube:  @HamRadioCrashCourse 

Ara N6ARA on YouTube:  @N6ARAElectronics 

The N6ARA Store: https://n6ara.com/

Drink tasting: Elysian "Contact Haze"

__CHAPTERS__0:00 Welcome & beers

3:07 Josh's hot takes on AI

8:30 Josh's first (failed) SOTA, and need for "Intro to SOTA" days

30:27 Mark's principles of "SOTA Success"

36:07 The "Antennode" - antenna science!

1:02:13 Developing ham club leaders

1:17:19 Patreon questions! (YouTube... how does that work??)

1:45:34 Turning the tables - Josh's questions for Ara & Mark

__THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS__

Umesh KK6TXI - outro music

Di KO6BTM - intro/outro graphics

Ara's friend Justin K5EM drops by the sofa to share his pro tips on how friendly radio events (including SOTA!) can build community both locally, and around the world.

As always, this episode was captained by Mark KD7DTS and Ara N6ARA, with Di KO6BTM running the studio system.

Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun! https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir

__SHOW NOTES__

Drink tasting: Sake - Kunoichi by Moon Bloom

Supercon: https://hackaday.io/superconference/

Salmon Run QSO Party: https://salmonrun.wwdxc.org/

Palau DX: https://www.qrz.com/db/T88WA

SOTAMAT: https://sotamat.com/

Non-Ormoo SOTACAT: https://store.invertedlabs.com/product/sotacat/

__Chapters__

0:00 Intros

8:00 Mark's SOTA Goat activation

19:50 Justin's ham journey

42:51 DXpedition in Palau

1:09:01 Salmon Run QSO Party

1:30:51 SOTACAT

1:42:12 Thanks to our Patreon supporters

__THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS__

Umesh KK6TXI - outro music

Di KO6BTM - intro/outro graphicsNote: Amazon links, if any, are affiliate links

Tim N7KOM returns to the Sofa to share his Oregon campout experience, drop some cool geology knowledge, and take a speed-round of Patreon questions!

Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun!https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir

__SHOW NOTES__

Drink tasting: Nikka - From the Barrel

Tim's Etsy Page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/N7KOMPortableRadio

Tim's Dank Meme Page: https://www.instagram.com/n7kom_mtntop/

K6ARK's W7O First Activation Video: https://youtu.be/p5zHlpZ3jbQ?si=eoqnDGwMAMP3tkqJ

Learn about Pseudotachylytes: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191814113000436/pdfft?md5=2cfbe5aed237c265df9b7ed67a158d81&pid=1-s2.0-S0191814113000436-main.pdf

__Chapters__

0:00 Intros... and Tim's wedding!

2:56 Whiskey tasting & catching up

11:23 Tim's W7O Experience

17:44 Dank Memes - HOW?

19:55 SOTA Royale

43:14 Patreon Questions - Pseudotachylytes??

58:17 Speed Round!

1:05:23 Thanks to our supporters

__Thanks & Acknowledgements__

Umesh KK6TXI - outro music

Di KO6BTM - intro/outro graphics

Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this show possible!

Note: Amazon links, if any, are affiliate links

Mark & Ara catch up on the Sofa, answer a few questions, and get some Ormoo prints on their laptops.

Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun!

https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir

__SHOW NOTES__

Drink tasting: Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

__Chapters__

0:00 Mark & Ara catch up

2:31 Beverage Tasting

7:00 Patreon Questions

41:03 NT6E Activation!

49:19 Ara's Antenode Update

59:15 Contests (and a viral microwave video)

01:18:00 Wrap up, & thanks to our Patreon supporters!

__THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS__

Umesh KK6TXI - outro musicDi

KO6BTM - intro/outro graphicsNote: Amazon links, if any, are affiliate links

Umesh KK6TXI visits the Sofa to share his expertise in custom batteries for portable ham radio, including QRO SOTA and a mountaintop Field Day! We catch up (finally) with stories from the W7O and W6 SOTA campouts, and Mark waxes poetic about an activation that went oh-so-wrong.

Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun!https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir

SHOW NOTES

• Drink tastings: G4 Tequila Blanco High Proof 108, G4 Tequila Reposado
• The NR7Y Hardware Mod: https://youtu.be/zi35aTjEppQ
• N6ARA Electronics - the TinyPaddle, and more! https://n6ara.com/
• KK6TXI's Battery Field Test - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBzJ3BqniDE

Chapters

0:00 Hi Umesh!

3:36 Tequila Tasting

9:02 Batteries!

01:11:28 Mark's W7O Campout

01:24:38 Ara's W6 Campout

01:30:11 SOTA Car-tastrophe

01:52:54 Thanks to our Patreon supporters!

THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Umesh KK6TXI - studio space and intro/outro music

Di KO6BTM - audio engineering

Note: Amazon links are affiliate links

Devin W6DVN visits the Sofa to share his expertise in ultralight microwave SOTA activations... including how to build the gear! Mark nerds out a bit over a Quansheng CW mod, and Ara gets into his never-ending quest to better understand the behavior of real-world antennas.Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun!https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir__SHOW NOTES__Coffee choice: "Process Pairing - Colombia Black Condor" from Backyard Beans Coffee Company

https://backyardbeans.com/products/process-pairing-colombia-black-condor

Quansheng Radio:

https://amzn.to/45f4pXH (mod'able for CW)Quansheng

IJV Firmware Mod:

https://domox.org/home.htmlCorrection: feed horn from Rochester not Syracusehttps://rvhfg.org/wpr/w1ghz-dual-band-dish-feed/__Chapters__0:00 Hi Devin!

2:01 Coffee tasting

5:49 Devin loves microwaves

49:15 Mark's new CW radio

60:05 Ara's antenna test challenge

87:39 New microphones!

91:05 Thanks to our Patreon supporter!__THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS__Umesh KK6TXI - audio Elmering, and outro musicDi KO6BTM - audio engineeringNote: Amazon links are affiliate links

Mark and Ara share their Field Day experiences, along with an epic trip to the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) and hot takes on Di's new Morse Code learning video.

__PATREON__

Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun!https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir

__SHOW NOTES__

1. HRCC Field Day Livestream video: "Field Day Live! Five stations, QRP!!!"
2. Field Day After-action video: "You Can't Cram More Radios and Fun Into A Weekend!"
3. Umesh's Tour video: "OVRO 2025 - 360 Tour of 40 Meter Dish!"
4. Angelina's CW contact short: "YL Angelina's FIRST EVER Morse Code contact!"
5. SOTA+ Morse Code video: "How to Morse Code (in 10 Minutes!)"
6. Ara's TinyMIDI product: the perfect companion for Learning CW (and more)
7. Book recommendation: The CW Way of Life

__THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS__

Umesh KK6TXI - microphone loan, audio Elmering, and outro musicDi KO6BTM - audio engineering

Note: Amazon links are affiliate links

In this wide-ranging chat with Oregon SOTA guest, Tim N7KOM covers his unusual introduction to radio, the Oregon campout, preparedness for 'radio first aid', activation shenanigans while visiting LA... and tastes some delicious local brews from Far Field.

In this first-ever episode of Sofas on the Air, Mark and Ara sit down to discuss Ara's SOTA Goat day (250 QSOs on a livestream!) and Mark's ARRL Field Day plans.