WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.680 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:06.080 by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables, 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:13.000 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:17.699 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, logged 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:22.920 it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash amateur 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:31.660 for more information about ICOM radios. Here 00:00:31.660 --> 00:00:37.939 we go! Welcome to Hamtop Live! Calling Let's 00:00:37.939 --> 00:00:42.479 Talk! Neil's your guy! Hamtop Live! Here we go 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:59.590 on Hamtop Radio! Hey! Good afternoon, everyone. 00:00:59.630 --> 00:01:03.950 It's time for HamTalk Live episode number 322 00:01:03.950 --> 00:01:09.909 Huntsville HamFest 2023, recorded live on Thursday, 00:01:09.950 --> 00:01:15.189 August 3rd, 2023. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:18.849 Thanks for tuning in to this episode of HamTalk 00:01:18.849 --> 00:01:22.870 Live. Today we're joined by Mark Brown in for 00:01:22.870 --> 00:01:28.819 BCD from the Huntsville HamFest. Last time here 00:01:28.819 --> 00:01:31.099 on the show Junie in one D. You see was here 00:01:31.099 --> 00:01:34.200 to talk about her duck mochi being at hamvention 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:38.459 and her YouTube channel ham and quackers So if 00:01:38.459 --> 00:01:40.799 you missed that show you can listen anytime ham 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:44.760 talk live calm or on your favorite podcast app 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:49.459 or on YouTube Well Huntsville's coming up. I'm 00:01:49.459 --> 00:01:52.239 getting ready for for all the stuff. I've got 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:56.079 to do down there, but Mark Brown and for BCD 00:01:56.280 --> 00:02:00.480 has been working at this for a very long time 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:04.019 and we're gonna talk with him about the Huntsville 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:08.099 Ham Fest right after this word from ICOM America 00:02:08.099 --> 00:02:11.979 right here on HamTalk Live. From base stations 00:02:11.979 --> 00:02:15.580 to more portable models, ICOM has the best radio 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:18.159 for working your favorite bands this summer. 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:21.419 Whether outside enjoying sunny skies or inside 00:02:21.419 --> 00:02:26.189 by the AC, stay cool with ICOM. It's time for 00:02:26.189 --> 00:02:29.430 the world's friendliest HamFest. The Huntsville 00:02:29.430 --> 00:02:31.909 HamFest will be held on Saturday and Sunday, 00:02:32.449 --> 00:02:36.129 August 19th and 20th in Von Braun Center's South 00:02:36.129 --> 00:02:40.189 Hall in Huntsville, Alabama. ICOM will be there, 00:02:40.189 --> 00:02:43.590 so go find them and see their newest amateur 00:02:43.590 --> 00:02:46.629 innovations. And this year, Huntsville HamFest 00:02:46.629 --> 00:02:51.349 is giving away an IC -705 to one lucky attendee. 00:02:51.530 --> 00:02:55.930 Hope to see you there! The IC905 lets you explore 00:02:55.930 --> 00:02:59.770 the world of microwave. ICOM's new SHF portable, 00:02:59.949 --> 00:03:04.409 the IC905, covers 2 meters 70 centimeters 1 .2 00:03:04.409 --> 00:03:07.969 gigahertz, 2 .4 gigahertz and 5 .6 gigahertz 00:03:07.969 --> 00:03:11.530 bands and 10 gigahertz with the optional transverter. 00:03:11.810 --> 00:03:14.389 There's some industry firsts under its belt as 00:03:14.389 --> 00:03:17.770 well as the first to support the five major VHF 00:03:17.770 --> 00:03:21.830 to SHF bands, the first PoE powered RF module 00:03:21.830 --> 00:03:24.469 designed to be at the base of the antenna to 00:03:24.469 --> 00:03:27.150 eliminate signal loss and be compatible with 00:03:27.150 --> 00:03:30.590 amateur TV and analog FM mode. It has the large 00:03:30.590 --> 00:03:33.490 4 .3 inch color touch screen, real -time high 00:03:33.490 --> 00:03:35.750 -speed spectrum scope and waterfall display, 00:03:36.069 --> 00:03:39.509 easy digital mode settings, the GPS, full D star 00:03:39.509 --> 00:03:43.780 functions, and SD card slot. The IC7300 is a 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:46.919 high -performance innovative HF transceiver with 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:50.159 a compact design that will far exceed your expectations. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.780 It digitizes RF before various receiver stages, 00:03:53.819 --> 00:03:56.479 reducing the generated inherent noise in different 00:03:56.479 --> 00:03:59.639 IF stages. It's the radio that changed entry 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:03.560 -level HF. It has RF direct sampling, 15 discrete 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:06.639 bandpass filters, large color chip screen, spectrum 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:11.099 scope, and an SD card slot. The real HF fun starts 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:14.740 here. Create your own band opening with the IC9700. 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:18.339 This transceiver brings direct sampling to the 00:04:18.339 --> 00:04:21.519 UHF and VHF week signal world. It's loaded with 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:23.420 innovative features that are sure to keep you 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:26.660 busy like smooth satellite operation with 99 00:04:26.660 --> 00:04:29.379 satellite channels, dual watch operation and 00:04:29.379 --> 00:04:32.579 full duplex operation in satellite mode. Expect 00:04:32.579 --> 00:04:36.720 top performance on field day with ICOM's IC9700. 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:41.269 The IC7610 is SDR every ham wants. This high 00:04:41.269 --> 00:04:43.810 -performance SDR can pick out faint signals in 00:04:43.810 --> 00:04:46.569 the presence of stronger adjacent signals. The 00:04:46.569 --> 00:04:50.089 ICOM IC7610 is a direct sampling software -defined 00:04:50.089 --> 00:04:52.990 radio that's changed the world's definition of 00:04:52.990 --> 00:04:56.949 an SDR transceiver. ICOM for the love of ham 00:04:56.949 --> 00:04:59.850 radio. For more information about ICOM's amateur 00:04:59.850 --> 00:05:03.769 offerings, visit icomamerica .com slash amateur. 00:05:04.459 --> 00:05:07.860 At HamTalk Live, we use commercial breaks to 00:05:07.860 --> 00:05:10.759 debate where the seeds for seedless watermelons 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:14.220 come from. Now, here's Neil Rapp with more HamTalk 00:05:14.220 --> 00:05:30.279 Live. Welcome back to HamTalk Live. Today, Mark 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:35.370 Brown. N4BCD joins us on the Orlando Amateur 00:05:35.370 --> 00:05:40.250 Radio Club and Hamcation Zoom line. Mark has 00:05:40.250 --> 00:05:45.730 been the chairman of the Huntsville Hamfest for 00:05:45.730 --> 00:05:50.610 several years now and is an accomplished contestor 00:05:50.610 --> 00:05:54.490 among other things and recently retired. So he 00:05:54.490 --> 00:05:57.750 has even more time now that he can put into the 00:05:57.750 --> 00:06:00.829 Huntsville Hamfest as if he wasn't putting up 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:04.100 Uh, enough numbers already. So Mark, thank you 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:07.899 for joining us on the show here. Uh, just a couple 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:11.959 of weeks away and, um, we're getting excited. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:14.639 We are too. Thanks Neil for having me on the 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:19.459 show tonight. So I, in fact, I got my, uh, my 00:06:19.459 --> 00:06:21.699 little postcard. Well, I actually wasn't a little 00:06:21.699 --> 00:06:24.720 postcard as a big postcard in the mail. here 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:28.060 a day or two ago for the club and advertising 00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:33.180 the world's friendliest ham fest and that's indeed 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:36.740 what it is. So tell everybody about Huntsville 00:06:36.740 --> 00:06:40.240 for this year. Well, I'm glad to hear you received 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:43.100 the card. The out of state ones went first. The 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:46.779 in -state Alabama one should arrive in the next 00:06:46.779 --> 00:06:49.300 couple of days, but glad to hear those are going 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:53.680 out. The Huntsville Ham Fest is in our 70th year. 00:06:54.029 --> 00:07:02.949 Back in 1980 or 81, prior to 80 or 81, the Hamfest 00:07:02.949 --> 00:07:05.529 bounced between three North Alabama cities, and 00:07:05.529 --> 00:07:09.370 it was known as the North Alabama Hamfest. And 00:07:09.370 --> 00:07:11.029 when the Vaughan Braun Center was built, the 00:07:11.029 --> 00:07:14.089 downtown civic center in Huntsville, Alabama, 00:07:15.310 --> 00:07:19.370 the Hamfest was there, and it was such a resounding 00:07:19.370 --> 00:07:22.519 success that Huntsville bought out the other 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:24.920 two cities and it became thereafter known as 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:28.120 the Huntsville Hamfest. And so we were literally 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:31.339 an inaugural tenant with the VBC. We go back 00:07:31.339 --> 00:07:34.339 as far as they do. And so it's a great relationship. 00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:36.839 When we needed to expand a couple of years ago 00:07:36.839 --> 00:07:40.740 for COVID, we took the entire South Hall, 120 00:07:40.740 --> 00:07:43.939 ,000 square feet of indoor air conditioned space. 00:07:44.250 --> 00:07:46.990 And it was so well received by the visitors, 00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:50.250 vendors, everybody liked the wide aisles. We 00:07:50.250 --> 00:07:52.370 decided to find a way to keep it, and we are 00:07:52.370 --> 00:07:56.790 again this year. So we managed to squeeze another 00:07:56.790 --> 00:07:59.529 block of flea market tables, and we still have 00:07:59.529 --> 00:08:02.829 a waiting list. We've sold out the entire flea 00:08:02.829 --> 00:08:07.069 market. I think we're up to 420, 430 flea market 00:08:07.069 --> 00:08:11.970 tables. It's going to be a sea of new and used 00:08:11.970 --> 00:08:15.829 equipment, over 50 commercial vendors, a lot 00:08:15.829 --> 00:08:22.610 of clubs, POTA, on through the Georgia QSO party, 00:08:23.550 --> 00:08:25.810 Parks on the Air, they're doing a thing this 00:08:25.810 --> 00:08:29.310 year, kind of like Ohio does, state parks on 00:08:29.310 --> 00:08:32.750 the air. So lots of clubs, lots of organizations, 00:08:33.129 --> 00:08:36.049 lots of forums. We have some great forums. I 00:08:36.049 --> 00:08:41.110 would I would compare our forums to the quality 00:08:41.110 --> 00:08:44.090 of what Dayton and Orlando have. We have such 00:08:44.090 --> 00:08:48.409 a pool of talent here in Huntsville from doctors 00:08:48.409 --> 00:08:52.590 and professionals in the defense and space industry. 00:08:53.529 --> 00:08:57.190 So we just have a great, great lineup. And we've 00:08:57.190 --> 00:09:00.450 published the schedule. for the end is description 00:09:00.450 --> 00:09:02.750 for the forums. We're going to do another update 00:09:02.750 --> 00:09:06.370 this weekend just to correct and refine some 00:09:06.370 --> 00:09:09.509 of the points in there and modify the schedule 00:09:09.509 --> 00:09:12.549 somewhat. The League confirmed to us that they're 00:09:12.549 --> 00:09:16.950 going to be doing an ARRL member forum. I think 00:09:16.950 --> 00:09:20.049 that'll be at noon on Saturday. So that kind 00:09:20.049 --> 00:09:22.970 of completes the roster and we'll get that schedule 00:09:22.970 --> 00:09:26.250 out there as long, including the online program. 00:09:27.829 --> 00:09:31.289 It's been very popular. We didn't have too many 00:09:31.289 --> 00:09:34.889 people taking the printed version, but through 00:09:34.889 --> 00:09:37.629 a 2D barcode you can basically download all the 00:09:37.629 --> 00:09:40.789 event details. It's about a 13 page document 00:09:40.789 --> 00:09:44.450 and you can download it to your smartphone and 00:09:44.450 --> 00:09:47.690 have at your fingertips then the schedules, the 00:09:47.690 --> 00:09:52.500 prize drawing times, when Bill Brown will be 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:56.019 launching his balloon, his Pico balloon. So all 00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:58.539 that stuff at your fingertips through the online 00:09:58.539 --> 00:10:01.059 program, and that'll be out probably this weekend. 00:10:02.419 --> 00:10:06.360 The DX banquet is in a new venue this year. There's 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:09.279 a museum that's not quite open yet called the 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:13.580 Museum of Information Explosion. One of the defense 00:10:13.580 --> 00:10:16.580 contractor founders here in Huntsville has spent 00:10:16.580 --> 00:10:20.779 literally a lifetime acquiring old radios, everything 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:24.740 from spark and early regenerative out through 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:27.460 the the all -american five plastic radios of 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:32.200 the of the 70s and 80s. So it's a it's a huge 00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:35.679 collection, a huge collection of all the radios 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:38.399 of the different eras, including the big old 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:41.840 living room consuming monsters with the dynamic 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:46.080 speakers. Everything is everything is represented 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:50.570 there. This museum, I go into detail about it 00:10:50.570 --> 00:10:52.970 because, like I say, it's not open yet, but it 00:10:52.970 --> 00:10:56.789 will be the venue for the North Alabama DX Clubs 00:10:56.789 --> 00:11:01.909 DX Banquet. And so seating is limited, but it's 00:11:01.909 --> 00:11:04.509 going to be just a great evening for folks to 00:11:04.509 --> 00:11:07.509 gather and just be surrounded by this stuff. 00:11:08.490 --> 00:11:10.789 The Huntsville Clubs have been meeting there 00:11:10.789 --> 00:11:13.870 for about the past year, and each week we see 00:11:13.870 --> 00:11:18.200 progress, more radios, They have an oak telephone 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:20.519 booth. I don't know where the guy acquired it, 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:24.419 but it's a full -size, four -sided oak telephone 00:11:24.419 --> 00:11:28.720 booth. It's just, it's a sight to see. So Ken 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:34.379 Clarebout, he's the 2023 CQ Contest Hall of Fame 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:37.000 inductee. He will be the featured speaker that 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:40.879 night at the DX banquet. And tickets there are 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:44.679 available at the North Alabama DX club and a 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:49.200 DXC dot org website. Lots of other stuff going 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.460 on, of course, card checking. We've got a hospitality 00:11:52.460 --> 00:11:55.340 suite over at the embassy on Friday and Saturday 00:11:55.340 --> 00:11:59.879 night. Anybody is welcome to drop by from five 00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:02.320 thirty to ten thirty. It's after the show, of 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:05.279 course. So there's a place to go after dinner. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:07.100 You can go and mingle. You never know who's going 00:12:07.100 --> 00:12:11.159 to show up. Dayton Orlando guys will be there 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:15.100 myself probably Just you never like I say, it's 00:12:15.100 --> 00:12:17.559 an eclectic crowd people come and go so it's 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:21.279 it's a nice place to to stop and visit I did 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:25.120 a count last night. We have 19 youtubers scheduled 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:29.659 to cover the show and That list seems to grow 00:12:29.659 --> 00:12:32.379 just about every other day we get another another 00:12:32.379 --> 00:12:35.039 person coming in coming in it wants to once to 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:39.519 us do some video at the show. And we're welcome 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:44.500 that coverage. They're a great resource and a 00:12:44.500 --> 00:12:49.600 great group of guys. They, many of them camp 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:53.740 out at Montesanto State Park because Montesanto 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:58.139 State Park is a poda and a soda site. And so 00:12:58.139 --> 00:13:00.100 these guys go up there and when they're not playing 00:13:00.100 --> 00:13:02.100 radio, they're having fun with each other and 00:13:02.100 --> 00:13:05.960 just, I guess it's a great experience. What else? 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:08.720 Oh, we've got a couple of new vendors this year. 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:14.500 Repcom builds a small portable radio. They're 00:13:14.500 --> 00:13:18.200 also sending us a pretty significant door prize, 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:21.840 one of their big radios. That'll probably be 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:26.700 on Saturday drawing. And another one is 405 Laserworks. 00:13:27.700 --> 00:13:32.909 A couple of years ago, Kelly Laserworks. They've 00:13:32.909 --> 00:13:35.809 been a fixture at Huntsville and other shows, 00:13:36.350 --> 00:13:40.409 but due to health issues, they're not doing shows 00:13:40.409 --> 00:13:43.330 anymore. And so we looked for a replacement. 00:13:43.830 --> 00:13:46.450 We engaged them at Dayton, and they've agreed 00:13:46.450 --> 00:13:51.929 to come down. They do the lighted acrylic signs 00:13:51.929 --> 00:13:54.309 with your call signs or whatever you'd like to 00:13:54.309 --> 00:13:56.690 have on them. So we're excited to have a couple 00:13:56.690 --> 00:14:00.190 of new vendors. But yeah, over 50 commercial 00:14:00.190 --> 00:14:04.789 vendors, of course, Gigaparts, HRO, MFJ, all 00:14:04.789 --> 00:14:08.110 the main radio manufacturers, Sands Kenwood. 00:14:08.629 --> 00:14:12.269 I talked to Phil in Dayton. He said he was 50 00:14:12.269 --> 00:14:16.490 -50, but we're still hopeful that Kenwood rejoins 00:14:16.490 --> 00:14:19.929 the tour. We did see them in Dayton, but we'd 00:14:19.929 --> 00:14:22.730 like to see them in other places. But Ellicraft, 00:14:23.230 --> 00:14:27.370 Flex, Yesu, ICOM, of course, they'll all be here. 00:14:29.180 --> 00:14:33.120 Lots of good stuff. Yeah, always a great time, 00:14:34.139 --> 00:14:38.419 always a great place. The Von Braun Center is 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:44.679 a great venue for this. August in Alabama, indoors 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:47.460 and air conditioning is the best thing ever. 00:14:48.779 --> 00:14:53.700 It's just always a pleasure to be there. I get 00:14:53.700 --> 00:14:56.820 usually tied up with a lot of youth activities. 00:14:57.139 --> 00:14:59.279 It used to be that I could go to Huntsville just 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:03.360 to enjoy the Hamfest and then as the rest of 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:08.879 them have, I keep getting responsibilities. We'll 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:13.440 have a booth there for youth on the air as well 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:17.750 as amateur radio news line, I'm told. uh... we'll 00:15:17.750 --> 00:15:21.350 have uh... couple abuse uh... going there uh... 00:15:21.350 --> 00:15:23.870 and uh... i know some of the uh... young people 00:15:23.870 --> 00:15:27.049 from camp uh... that would just concluded here 00:15:27.049 --> 00:15:30.850 couple weeks ago uh... will be there as well 00:15:30.850 --> 00:15:34.629 and uh... of course the the youth lounge is is 00:15:34.629 --> 00:15:38.769 second to none unskilled so we have to give money 00:15:38.769 --> 00:15:42.070 some credit here yet dr dr monty bateman and 00:15:42.070 --> 00:15:44.850 his wife gene uh... they do uh... i think they're 00:15:44.850 --> 00:15:48.340 in their thirteenth or or 13th or 14th year of 00:15:48.340 --> 00:15:50.080 doing the Youth Lounge, and each year it just 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:53.820 gets better and better. And of course the Yoda, 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:57.860 you mentioned, will be nearby. Right beside you, 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:01.360 Neil, also will be the Gota station. Flex is 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:04.080 underwriting, sponsoring the Youth Lounge this 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:08.740 year again, and the Flex system will be set up 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:11.340 via remote, but you'll be able to actually get 00:16:11.340 --> 00:16:15.379 on the air at the station adjacent to your Yoda. 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:21.279 Uh, uh, that's always a great time. We, uh, we 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:25.360 enjoyed watching that last year and, uh, and 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:28.039 jumping on, uh, quickly, I think a couple of 00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:30.240 times to catch a couple of people we heard that 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:33.919 we knew. Um, but, uh, always, uh, always a great 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:38.549 time and money and his crew put together. some 00:16:38.549 --> 00:16:42.590 great soldering activities and some CW bracelets 00:16:42.590 --> 00:16:46.450 and all kinds of creative things that the young 00:16:46.450 --> 00:16:49.549 people can come do and kind of check out a little 00:16:49.549 --> 00:16:53.250 bit about ham radio. And I've always said, you 00:16:53.250 --> 00:16:56.450 know, some of my students back in the high school 00:16:56.450 --> 00:16:58.909 days learned how to solder at the Huntsville 00:16:58.909 --> 00:17:03.230 Ham Fest. That's wonderful. Always a cool thing. 00:17:03.659 --> 00:17:06.480 Yeah, the Youth Lounge, they have a couple of 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:09.799 different tables set up for basically soldering 00:17:09.799 --> 00:17:12.660 class, soldering lessons, call it what you will. 00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:16.440 But then other tables devoted to Arduino and 00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:19.380 then others devoted to some other activities. 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:24.640 Robotics. The Brownstone robotics team that Dr. 00:17:24.859 --> 00:17:26.599 Bateman is heavily involved with, they'll be 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:30.079 there demonstrating some of the robotic stuff 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:35.079 that they do. And also, speaking of soldering, 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:37.940 I think this is our third year of doing it. We 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:41.880 have an adult solder class. Two sessions, actually, 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:45.380 on Sunday morning. The first one will be proctored 00:17:45.380 --> 00:17:49.019 by Kevin Hibbs, our forums chair, and his assistant. 00:17:49.539 --> 00:17:52.640 The second one by Joe Eisenberg himself. And 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:57.859 so we will be, this is for adults. So what it's 00:17:57.859 --> 00:18:00.940 meant to do is build a through hole solder kit. 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:05.019 It's pretty easy kit, it's simple, but build 00:18:05.019 --> 00:18:07.240 something that works instill some confidence 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:10.720 that you can go home and if you find a kit online 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:15.000 or in a store, you have the confidence to basically 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.180 buy it and assemble it. So we're very excited 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:21.799 about that because it's been very, very well 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:25.819 received. Yeah, it's always great for the adults 00:18:25.819 --> 00:18:28.259 to get in there too. You just never learn to 00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:31.420 solder wide, you know. Here's your chance to 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:36.779 do it from a couple of the experts. Lots of cool 00:18:36.779 --> 00:18:39.079 stuff going on at the Huntsville HamFest and 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:40.960 we're going to take a break and when we come 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:43.819 back we're going to talk a little more about 00:18:43.819 --> 00:18:46.500 some of the things that you can expect at the 00:18:46.500 --> 00:18:49.200 Huntsville HamFest and when and where and all 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:51.980 those kinds of things. And we'll come back right 00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:54.759 after this word from Tower Electronics right 00:18:54.759 --> 00:19:00.670 here on HamTalk Live. His two cents is worth 00:19:00.670 --> 00:19:08.730 $37 in change. He once ran a marathon because 00:19:08.730 --> 00:19:17.369 it was on his way to Dayton. He works FT8 by 00:19:17.369 --> 00:19:24.490 ear. He once worked North Korea on every band 00:19:24.490 --> 00:19:32.160 in one minute using only a microwatt. He slowed 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:35.720 down his code speed to work a de -expedition 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:44.799 to 200 words a minute. He is, indeed, the most 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:50.019 interesting ham in the world. I don't always 00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:54.839 put on my own PL -259s, but when I do, I prefer 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:58.619 them from Tower Electronics. Stay resident, my 00:19:58.619 --> 00:20:02.920 friends. Tower Electronics has all the adapters, 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:08.220 cables, connectors, and yes, PL250 -9s you need 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:14.859 at a Hamfest near you. Or visit pl -259 .com. 00:20:17.059 --> 00:20:19.660 And taking a look at the Hamfest schedule for 00:20:19.660 --> 00:20:22.500 Tower Electronics, August 5th, they're in Elkhart, 00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:26.069 Indiana. August 12th, Huntington, West Virginia. 00:20:26.349 --> 00:20:28.269 And then, of course, they'll be at Huntsville, 00:20:28.609 --> 00:20:32.609 August 19th and 20th. And then August 31st, September 00:20:32.609 --> 00:20:35.289 1st and 2nd, they'll be in Shelby, North Carolina. 00:20:35.769 --> 00:20:38.809 But you can visit them anytime, anywhere at PL 00:20:38.809 --> 00:20:44.269 -259 .com. You are listening to HamTalk Live. 00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:47.740 The number one podcast amongst all podcasts with 00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:51.200 the words ham, talk, and live in the title. And 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:54.579 now, here's your host, Amateur Radio's own, Neil 00:20:54.579 --> 00:21:14.039 Rapp. And welcome back once again to HamTalk 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:16.839 Live. Make sure you check us out on Facebook, 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:19.900 Twitter, and Instagram. You'll see some things 00:21:19.900 --> 00:21:23.500 about the show up there, but right now it is 00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:28.359 time once again for the N9GSU HamTalk Live Ham 00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:32.359 Radio Joke of the Week. Now it's time for the 00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:35.619 HamTalk Live Ham Radio Joke of the Week, the 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:38.400 part of the show where Rick tells us a ham radio 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:41.299 joke. The HamTalk Live Ham Radio Joke of the 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:45.019 Week is brought to you by QRM Labs. Now, here's 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:49.299 Rick Garrett in 9GSU with today's HamTalk Live 00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:57.059 Joke of the Week. Because of everybody's schedule 00:21:57.059 --> 00:21:59.480 and convenience, we have started having our amateur 00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:02.279 radio club meetings via Zoom. It's just so much 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:04.960 easier. In person, I always opened the meetings 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:07.880 with a joke and everybody laughed. But on Zoom 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:10.700 when I tell a joke, nobody at all laughs. I asked 00:22:10.700 --> 00:22:13.859 my wife, why is that? She said, your jokes aren't 00:22:13.859 --> 00:22:18.299 remotely funny. This has been the ham talk live 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:20.980 ham radio joke of the week with Rick Garrett 00:22:20.980 --> 00:22:24.680 in nine GSU Tune in again next week for another 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:30.880 joke from Rick Welcome back to ham talk live. 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:34.660 I'm with mark Brown in for BCD the chairman of 00:22:34.660 --> 00:22:38.059 the Huntsville, Alabama ham fest and that's coming 00:22:38.059 --> 00:22:42.160 up We haven't given the dates yet and all the 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.660 information on how to find out about it yet. 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:47.279 So Mark, let's do that. Let's give out the dates 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:51.099 and times and the website. Yeah, let's start 00:22:51.099 --> 00:22:56.480 first with the website, hamfest .org. It can't 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:00.019 be much simpler, hamfest .org. And we're two 00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:03.279 weeks from this weekend, August 19 and 20. That's 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.880 a Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is 9 to 4 .30 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:11.079 and Sunday is 9 to 3. So it's going to be a great 00:23:11.079 --> 00:23:14.420 show and it's coming up quickly. Yep, it is. 00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:16.940 And that's the Von Braun Center right downtown 00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:20.720 and several hotels surrounding that. And of course 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:25.900 the embassy suites is attached and some of the 00:23:25.900 --> 00:23:28.740 forums I presume will be over there at the embassy 00:23:28.740 --> 00:23:32.819 suites again. Yes, yes Neil we take a couple 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:35.420 of rooms from the embassy suites and then a few 00:23:35.420 --> 00:23:37.759 two rooms there at the von Braun Center very 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:41.380 easy to get Between them via the covered walkway 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:45.480 on the second floor. But yeah, the forums Great 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:48.980 great lineup. Dr. Bateman are you he when he's 00:23:48.980 --> 00:23:50.779 not at the youth lounge? He's doing a couple 00:23:50.779 --> 00:23:53.039 of great forums one on lightning and the other 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:58.569 on grounding for your station Dr. Rob Suggs, 00:23:58.589 --> 00:24:02.089 NN4NT, is going to be doing a great program, 00:24:02.250 --> 00:24:05.150 I say great because I've seen it at one of the 00:24:05.150 --> 00:24:08.289 local club meetings, on how we talk to the astronauts 00:24:08.289 --> 00:24:11.369 on the moon. And when you think about all the 00:24:11.369 --> 00:24:14.930 relays that had to occur for a guy in a space 00:24:14.930 --> 00:24:18.009 suit on the moon to talk to the lunar module, 00:24:18.190 --> 00:24:20.750 that talked to the command module, that talked 00:24:20.750 --> 00:24:23.309 back to Earth, one of the ground stations, got 00:24:23.309 --> 00:24:26.519 relayed to Johnson Space Center, and the back 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:28.880 and forth communications, switching that whole 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:31.900 transmit receive chain. It's just amazing how 00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:36.220 it was accomplished. And Rob was a NASA employee 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:39.019 at the time, is still a NASA employee. And he 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:41.700 talks about what they're doing for the upcoming 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:45.500 missions and how things have progressed from 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:48.720 the days of Apollo into what we're doing today. 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:53.000 So it's a great forum. A couple of POTA forums. 00:24:53.099 --> 00:24:56.420 POTA has grown very, very popular. And one of 00:24:56.420 --> 00:25:03.660 our locals, K04JVB, Jerry, describes a really 00:25:03.660 --> 00:25:08.779 great forum. It's a voyage of discovery. He got 00:25:08.779 --> 00:25:12.859 into the hobby barely two years ago and got bitten 00:25:12.859 --> 00:25:16.839 by the poda bug. And he talks about what he learned, 00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:20.200 what worked, what didn't work. He packed the 00:25:20.200 --> 00:25:22.640 room on Sunday last year. We're hopeful that 00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:25.740 He gets the same response this year, but then 00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:27.660 the other POTA guys, of course, will be covering 00:25:27.660 --> 00:25:31.480 different aspects of the Parks on the Air activities. 00:25:32.519 --> 00:25:37.559 Of course, the league is doing their member forum. 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:41.660 That'll be noon on Saturday. Joe Eisenberg, sometime 00:25:41.660 --> 00:25:44.920 later in the day after the, oh, let me mention 00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:49.460 too, the Young Ham of the Year, the Bill Pasternak 00:25:49.460 --> 00:25:52.339 amateur radio news line, Young Ham of the Year. 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:55.900 will be awarded on the main stage. I don't have 00:25:55.900 --> 00:25:58.380 the time in front of me but that will be sometime 00:25:58.380 --> 00:26:02.180 in the early Saturday afternoon time frame and 00:26:02.180 --> 00:26:05.019 then of course Joe will be doing his kit building 00:26:05.019 --> 00:26:09.059 class later in the day. So yeah, lots of great 00:26:09.059 --> 00:26:14.359 forums for just several, just about every aspect 00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:17.000 of amateur radio that you can think of. AMSAT, 00:26:17.240 --> 00:26:19.380 of course they'll be here and they'll be doing 00:26:19.380 --> 00:26:23.769 a forum. There seems to be growing interest in 00:26:23.769 --> 00:26:26.829 satellites. Maybe it's the Starlink stuff that's 00:26:26.829 --> 00:26:30.849 got everybody's imagination peaked. Somebody's 00:26:30.849 --> 00:26:33.410 going to try to figure out how to hack a Starlink 00:26:33.410 --> 00:26:36.609 and use it for amateur radio communications. 00:26:36.890 --> 00:26:40.190 I don't know. Don't say that. Somebody will do 00:26:40.190 --> 00:26:44.289 it. I'm sure that stuff is pretty well locked 00:26:44.289 --> 00:26:49.670 down. Yeah, probably so. Um, that, that doesn't 00:26:49.670 --> 00:26:53.309 stop some people from trying, I know. Um, but 00:26:53.309 --> 00:26:56.490 yeah, we'll, we'll have, uh, have a good time 00:26:56.490 --> 00:26:59.130 with a lot of that. And, and Rob, you know, you 00:26:59.130 --> 00:27:02.589 mentioned Rob, Rob gave me a tour of his facility 00:27:02.589 --> 00:27:06.690 out, out at, uh, Marshall a few years ago, uh, 00:27:06.690 --> 00:27:10.170 when we were down and just always, uh, as cool, 00:27:10.369 --> 00:27:12.849 interesting, interesting stuff about the moon. 00:27:13.250 --> 00:27:19.150 So, um, that'll be. A great one, and again, the 00:27:19.150 --> 00:27:21.430 Young Ham of the Year Award. I forget if it's 00:27:21.430 --> 00:27:24.450 one or two in the afternoon, but we'll be there 00:27:24.450 --> 00:27:29.309 for that. The Von Braun Center itself has made 00:27:29.309 --> 00:27:31.430 a little bit of a change that people need to 00:27:31.430 --> 00:27:34.650 be aware of, so make sure we know about that. 00:27:34.839 --> 00:27:37.660 Yeah, Neil, what happened? And I've seen this 00:27:37.660 --> 00:27:40.099 in other cities. I visited my kids in Dallas, 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:43.720 my brother up in the Pennsylvania area. Most 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:46.460 of the civic centers and the sports arenas and 00:27:46.460 --> 00:27:50.640 whatnot have gone cashless. And likewise, the 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:53.000 Vaughn Braun Center this year, back in February, 00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:55.960 they announced that they are cashless. They will 00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:59.369 accept... digital forms of payment like PayPal 00:27:59.369 --> 00:28:02.650 and these other applications that folks have 00:28:02.650 --> 00:28:06.730 on their smartphones, or Visa, MasterCard, major 00:28:06.730 --> 00:28:10.710 credit cards. So for parking and concessions, 00:28:11.470 --> 00:28:14.230 you need to bring either plastic or some type 00:28:14.230 --> 00:28:16.809 of a payment application on your phone. The city 00:28:16.809 --> 00:28:20.609 lots, the city lots are both cheaper and still 00:28:20.609 --> 00:28:26.410 accept cash. Okay, good to know. And then, I 00:28:26.410 --> 00:28:30.269 know you have a ton of prizes, and our friend 00:28:30.269 --> 00:28:36.609 Joe Eisenberg, KZeroNEB, will be buying 284 ,563 00:28:36.609 --> 00:28:43.130 extra tickets to try to win stuff. But talk a 00:28:43.130 --> 00:28:46.869 little bit about your prizes for this year. Well, 00:28:47.049 --> 00:28:50.670 on Saturday, the grand prize is the Yesu FT -710. 00:28:51.150 --> 00:28:53.769 It's one of the newer radios, and we're excited 00:28:53.769 --> 00:28:57.309 about that. and then Sunday is also the ICOM 00:28:57.309 --> 00:29:01.089 IC 705 and lots of other door prizes that we 00:29:01.089 --> 00:29:03.549 just haven't had a chance to get our hand on. 00:29:04.390 --> 00:29:06.589 They're in the mail, they're coming this way. 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:09.259 And we'll be listing those on our website when 00:29:09.259 --> 00:29:11.319 we have them in hand and when we figure out a 00:29:11.319 --> 00:29:14.140 schedule for when to draw them. But hourly door 00:29:14.140 --> 00:29:17.299 prizes, each and every hour there are several 00:29:17.299 --> 00:29:20.460 door prizes. DX Engineering, $100 gift certificates, 00:29:21.339 --> 00:29:24.259 you name it. It's going to be quite an extensive 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:27.380 prize list. And one of the changes we're making 00:29:27.380 --> 00:29:29.920 this year, instead of a weak projector up on 00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:33.259 the wall of the von Braun Center, we've purchased 00:29:33.259 --> 00:29:37.819 some large screen TVs and stands. to mount them 00:29:37.819 --> 00:29:40.740 at some strategic points where folks can better 00:29:40.740 --> 00:29:46.480 see a scrolling prize list, AKA like Dayton and 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:51.900 Orlando do. Very cool. Yeah, that's always cool. 00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:55.480 Be able to check those prizes and see what everybody 00:29:55.480 --> 00:30:03.579 else won. Well, Mark, anything else here before 00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:07.119 we finish up? But people need to know about Well, 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:10.880 just a few little things. The YLs traditionally 00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:14.859 do a YL breakfast, but everyone is welcome. And 00:30:14.859 --> 00:30:16.980 that'll be at the Cracker Barrel on Sunday morning 00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:19.779 at 7 a .m. It's just a few miles south of the 00:30:19.779 --> 00:30:22.779 Vaughan Braun Center. Of course, I'm just too 00:30:22.779 --> 00:30:24.619 busy to even think about going to something like 00:30:24.619 --> 00:30:28.599 that. I've mentioned the DX banquet, the youth 00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:32.890 license exams both days. license exams start 00:30:32.890 --> 00:30:36.289 at 10 a .m. promptly. There's a a curtained off 00:30:36.289 --> 00:30:42.950 area kind of around the L shape of the outside 00:30:42.950 --> 00:30:47.130 hallway and it's turned into a better place than 00:30:47.130 --> 00:30:49.710 where it used to be because it's quieter and 00:30:49.710 --> 00:30:53.690 so plenty of room for everybody to take the exam, 00:30:54.210 --> 00:30:56.809 and they're very good about grading and getting 00:30:56.809 --> 00:31:00.490 the results back very, very quickly. If you take 00:31:00.490 --> 00:31:03.210 an exam on Saturday, it's highly likely that 00:31:03.210 --> 00:31:06.029 you'll leave with a call sign. It's that quick 00:31:06.029 --> 00:31:10.869 sometimes. Of course, that's FCC dependent, but 00:31:10.869 --> 00:31:14.190 the guys do their best to get those results uploaded 00:31:14.190 --> 00:31:17.670 to the FCC website, and sometimes the turnaround 00:31:17.670 --> 00:31:22.700 is just incredibly fast. Yeah, that's always 00:31:22.700 --> 00:31:25.019 cool when you can when you can walk away with 00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:29.819 it. So great stuff mark Make sure everybody goes 00:31:29.819 --> 00:31:34.420 to ham fest org and and checks it out and I will 00:31:34.420 --> 00:31:38.000 be Down there along with like I said some of 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:41.740 the news line crew and the in the youth on the 00:31:41.740 --> 00:31:45.680 air crew So look forward to seeing you again 00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:49.309 in person in just two weeks I'm looking forward 00:31:49.309 --> 00:31:52.309 to it also, Neil. It's going to be a great show 00:31:52.309 --> 00:31:56.289 again, and all indicators are that it's going 00:31:56.289 --> 00:32:00.130 to be one of the best ever. All right. Well, 00:32:00.170 --> 00:32:02.970 you heard it here, so make sure you check out 00:32:02.970 --> 00:32:05.750 the Huntsville Hamfest. If you can, if you can't, 00:32:05.829 --> 00:32:08.750 check out some of those YouTubers going around. 00:32:09.049 --> 00:32:13.230 They will bring you all kinds of video from Huntsville. 00:32:14.349 --> 00:32:16.430 Thanks a lot, Mark, for taking the time to talk 00:32:16.430 --> 00:32:19.470 with us this afternoon and we'll see you soon. 00:32:20.089 --> 00:32:24.329 Thank you a bunch, Neil. 73. And that is a wrap 00:32:24.329 --> 00:32:27.589 for this week's edition of HamTalk Live. I'd 00:32:27.589 --> 00:32:30.609 like to thank my guest, Mark Brown in for BCD 00:32:30.609 --> 00:32:33.390 and everybody out there in cyberspace for listening 00:32:33.390 --> 00:32:36.609 and invite you back next time for a list of our 00:32:36.609 --> 00:32:42.049 upcoming guests. Go to hamtalklive .com and we'll 00:32:42.049 --> 00:32:45.569 we'll be there at Huntsville. So say hi, and 00:32:45.569 --> 00:32:49.450 for now, this is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7 00:32:49.450 --> 00:32:53.690 -3, 7 -5, and may the good DX be yours.