This is another short podcast. We'll get back to the 'standard' 99Hobbies format soon, but first, this one made me laugh out loud, and I wanted to post this while I had the chance.
This weekend I made a new friend, Jon, from Iceland. Jon has made over 600 QSOs during the Scandinavian Activity Contest JUST during THIS WEEKEND! ( see
http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/sacnsc.htm ).
BACKGROUND: I'm tuning through the band and hear Jon (
http://www.qrz.com/callsign/TF3ZA ) calling CQ, so I give him a call. No sweat, easy copy on both sides. He answers me, and I log Iceland, both signals very strong. Very cool. I spot him to the DX network, and a ...
The Young Ladies Radio League (YLRL) is a very serious, very fun, and very active group on the air. Today
I talked with Anne Manna WB1ARU about the YLRL and why women should get on the air.
BTW, guys should plan for these contests. Even if we don't get points (sometimes we do), just striking up a QSO will attract others to the frequency, of course.
There are
upcoming contests - give it a listen!!!
Show notes
YLRL is at
http://www.ylrl.orgWRONE is at
http://www.qsl.net/wrone
Have you been a ham radio operator for 25 years or more? The Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) wants to hear from you. Chuck, K1IGD explains why.
This conversation was from the floor of the Boxboro convention, and in all fairness to Chuck, I really did stick a recorder in his face and ask him some questions. He did a great job of describing the QCWA in three minutes or less. I want to talk to him again. This was fun!
Show notes
QCWA is at
www.qcwa.orgThe Boxboro convention is at
www.boxboro.orgChuck's contact information is at
www.qrz.com
While I was at the Boxboro convention (
www.boxboro.org ) this year, I bumped into Joel Harrison,
W5ZN. As you might expect, he was very busy there, but was gracious enough to spend a few minutes for
an interview with 99 Hobbies. What a great guy, and I just really liked his attitude about ham radio and its future. Unfortunately, the recorder was off for a lot of this, but here is 3 minutes of our chat.
As I listened to this clip, I can hear us talking pretty quickly, lots of excitement, and a really fun time. If you have never been to a convention (they are different from a hamfest) you should give it a ...
No, not a spelling mistake. This is SATERN, the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network. Every year around this time you hear a lot about hurricanes, and you also hear amateur radio volunteers performing public service, providing communications when the usual means fail. You can join them.
At the 2006 Boxboro convention
I talked with Joe Fratto, N1RLO, who was manning the SATERN booth. This was another guerilla attack by me, and Joe had no advance notice that I was looking for someone to point a microphone at. Joe was very gracious and talked with me about some of the cool stuff that SATERN does when nature lashes out.
Show notes
SATERN is at ...
Raise your hand if you have never transmitted on 20 meters.
OK, I see a few hands out there. You may not have license privileges for 20 meters, and some of you might be afraid to make that first long distance, DX, contact.
This one-minute recording shows you how simple it can be. Scroll (way down) for transcript.
I had never talked to John before this, and we just said "hello" and "goodbye", yet I have a new friend now that I didn't have the day before. We have exchanged a few emails since then (I asked him for permission to post this, and he enthusiastically agreed). Who knows - some day we may ...
