This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you
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we go, welcome to Hamtop Live Call in, let's
talk, Neil's your guy Hamtop Live, here we go
on Hamtop Radio It's HamTalk Live, episode number
303, The Young Ham of the Year 2022, recorded
on August 20th, 2022. I'm your host, Neil Rapp,
WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning in to this episode
of HamTalk Live. Today we're joined by Audrey
McElroy, KM4BUN. And Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, and
a reminder that if you miss an episode of HamTalk
Live, you can listen anytime. It's at HamTalkLive
.com or on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube.
And we're also rebroadcast on Saturday afternoons
on WTWW Shortwave. That's 5085 on your AM dial.
and that's about three thirty pm on the eastern
time zone and uh... check your local listings
uh... for your time zone uh... but uh... this
is uh... recorded live down in the huntsville
uh... from this weekend and uh... hope you uh...
enjoy this one so i'll be back with audrey and
don right after this word from icon america right
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Out of all of the ham radio podcasts in the world,
this is definitely one of them. You are listening
to Ham Talk Live with Neil Rapp WB9VPG. Welcome
back to HamTalk Live and coming up here in just
a moment we'll have Audrey McElroy KM4BUN and
Don Wilbanks AE5DW but just want to take a moment
here to thank everyone for tuning in I know the
schedule's been a little sporadic here lately
a lot of stuff going on but We're we're working
through it all and just releasing these when
we can so All right. Well, it's it's time to
get to our interview part of the show Welcome
back to ham talk live. We're here live at the
Huntsville ham fest Huntsville, Alabama and A
little later this afternoon, there will be the
presentation of the 2022 amateur radio news line
Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year
Award. And I have with us today the recipient
of that award, Audrey McElroy, K -4BUN, and the
infamous Don Wilbanks AE -5DW. So Audrey, how
are things going? It's going great. I'm so happy
to be here. Huntsville is definitely one of my
favorite hamfests that I attend and yeah, I'm
so happy to be here. Now you've got a quick trip
because you got to get back to school. What's
going on at school? I do. I just started at Georgia
Tech. I'm majoring in computer engineering and
my convocation is Sunday morning at 9 a .m. So
I got a skedaddle after presentation. Yeah, so
how are you adjusting to the college life at
Georgia Tech? It's been a little bit of an adjustment
being down in, I guess, the big city coming out
of North Georgia, but it's been really fun. I
love Georgia Tech. I love the academics. I love
the people. And so I'm really excited to spend
the next few years there. All right. And have
you had a chance to check out the ham radio club
yet? Debbie for a QL personally my favorite ham
station in the entire world right now I've been
down there. I was down there last year working
a few contests, but this year. They're just getting
started this fall There was a few roof renovations
going on over the summer with the antennas and
so this fall will be getting started and I'm
really excited. Yeah it's but it's a cool club
with a lot of history and They have they have
been very competitive, shall we say, in some
of these contests. They're smack -talking the
other clubs and everything else. There's a lot
of history there. I'm sure you will fit in very
well there. And the infamous Don Wilbanks is
here, AE5DW. How's it going, Don? How was the
trip? That is an accurate statement. No, the
trip was uneventful, a little bit of rain, but
it was nice. Don and I came up, and yeah, I love
this ham fest. This is the ham fest, I think,
it's probably the first big ham fest I ever went
to in 95, literally within a year of getting
my ticket, and I gauge every ham fest compared
to this one. And the only way Dayton beats this
is Dayton's bigger. Otherwise, this is my favorite
ham fest. The friendliness of the people here
you cannot beat. They say it's the world's friendliest
ham fest and that is an absolute true statement.
It sure is. The people here are just very, very
friendly and make it a point. to be that way.
This was my first time setting up a booth. We're
back here by the youth lounge right now. We have
a table just outside of the youth lounge for
youth on the air. And so this was my first time
to get here in daylight. I'm used to pulling
in at like midnight and, you know, coming in
and setting up. And so we drove right into this
place, dropped off all the stuff. The carts were
all here. Just, you know, everybody was very
helpful to get us situated and get everything
ready to go. And then this morning, we came in,
finalized everything, and it's just been very
good. And we had a few issues, and they were
right on it and took care of them and made sure
that they were living up to their name, the world's
friendliest ham fest. We're very glad to be here
and this has been the home of the Young Ham of
the Year Award for quite a while. Since 1993
was the first year that the Young Ham of the
Year has been presented here and it's not left
and we hope to continue that trend far into the
future beyond mine and your days on this planet.
So yeah, this will be a... This is a great home.
We certainly appreciate Huntsville Hamfest and
everything they've done to accommodate Young
Ham of the Year and do what they do for us. And
we're certainly happy to do what we can do for
them. So tell us a little bit about what's going
to take place this afternoon for those who maybe
weren't here or not able to watch. Tell us a
little bit about the presentation. We will be
live on the main stage at two o 'clock in the
afternoon. That's our traditional time to do
it. It's a very cool little presentation. I kind
of patterned it after watching Bill Pasternak
do it for forever and ever and ever. Of course,
he's a silent key now, so I've inherited the
honor of presenting this every year now, and
it's the highlight of my year. We're gonna go
up on stage. I'm gonna introduce Audrey to the
crowd and tell them a little bit about her. And
we'll have some folks from our corporate sponsors.
CQ Magazine has been around since year one. Yezu
USA has been around since year one. Heil Sound
has been around for a good long while as well.
And I think it's the 11th or 12th year now for
Radio Waves Antennas. So they'll all have a presentation
for Audrey and some nice words. And we'll present
the plaque to Audrey and she'll get some gifts.
And it's a great time. We get to... Spread the
positive word of what's going on with youth in
not just America but around the world with amateur
radio. I say it every year up on stage and there's
so many more good kids than there are bad kids.
I even hate to use the term bad kids, misguided
perhaps, off on the wrong path. The kid who wins
the spelling bee doesn't get the top slot on
the 10 o 'clock news. So we try to do that and
highlight exactly what's going on with great
representatives of the hobby and just of humanity
like Audrey. And I always say that she's an indication
of the kind of people that are going to be running
the world after we're gone and the world's going
to be just fine. Absolutely. So, I know yesterday
I ran into somebody that said he was going to
be up on stage with you because, unfortunately,
Rich Mosison from CQ Magazine is not here with
us this weekend. So, how are you going to deal
with this guy up on stage with you? Well, we
went with plan L. B through M were unavailable.
So we went with plan L and normally, you know
Rich's is one of the young hem of the year judges
So he always and being the editor of CQ magazine
he is a wordsmith and he's a very eloquent speaker
and Anytime the man exhales it seems like I learned
something. So what we're going to do we're going
to have Joe Eisenberg, KZeroNEB, the pride of
Lincoln, Nebraska, the kit building editor for
CQ magazine. So basically what we're going to
do is we're going to replace the eloquent words
of Rich with the ramblings of a madman in Joe.
So that will be what we're going to do. You know,
Joe got that gig, the writing for CQ, in the
back of my car. I'm not going to share any more
details than that. Let's just say he got it in
the back of my car. Actually, we were on our
way to dinner several years ago with the Young
Ham of the Year, and Rich and Joe were writing
with me. And Rich said, hey, you ever thought
about writing for CQ? And Joe was like, well,
yeah, maybe. Take the job, Joe. And so that's
how Joe became the kit building editor for CQ
Magazine. in the back seat of a Chrysler 300.
There you go. We won't ask about more of the
details on that one. Those kinds of things, that's
what happens when you get a bunch of us together.
You get roped into doing things like running
a youth camp and anchoring news line. You never
know what's going to happen. Alright, well we're
going to take a break and when we come back we're
going to talk some more with Audrey and talk
a little bit more about what she's been doing
with Ham Radio right after this word from Tower
Electronics right here on HamTalk Live. Thanks
for choosing Tower Electronics. How may we help
you today? We have PL259s. We have in connectors.
We have SMA adapters. We have BNC adapters. What
can I show you today? Where's the tower? Well,
we don't actually have a tower with us, but we
have all kinds of things you can use with a tower.
We have power poles, antennas, soldering irons
and meters. Where's the tower? Ma 'am, that's
the name of our company. We can't haul towers
to all the ham fest across the country that we
visit. But we have almost every connector and
adapter you would need to connect your antenna
that's on your tower. I don't think there's a
tower back there. I really don't. Tower Electronics.
Visit us at a Hanves near you or call 920 -435
-2973 or see our whole catalog at PL -259 .com.
Sorry, one thing we don't have is a tower. And
on the Tower Electronics HamFest schedule, they'll
be in Shelby, North Carolina on September 2nd,
3rd, and 4th. But you can visit them anytime,
anywhere at PL -259 .com. You're listening to
HamTalk Live. Welcome back to HamTalk Live. Be
sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram. We'll get back to Audrey and Don here
in just a moment. But for now, it's time for
the Joke of the Week. Now it's time for the HamTalk
Live Ham Radio Joke of the Week, the part of
the show where Rick tells us a ham radio joke.
The HamTalk Live Ham Radio Joke of the Week is
brought to you by QRM Labs. Now here's Rick Garrett
in 9GSU with today's HamTalk Live Joke of the
Week. I decided I wanted to protect my ham shack
when I was away so I bought a couple of dogs.
I named them Rolex and Timex because, well, they're
watch dogs. This has been the Ham Talk Live.
Ham radio joke of the week with Rick Garrett
in 9GSU. Tune in again next week for another
joke from Rick. Welcome back to Ham Talk Live.
We're here with Don Wilbanks, AE5DW from Amateur
Radio Newsline and Ham Nation and whatever else
they let him do. And we're here with the 2022...
Bill Pasternak Memorial, WA6ITF amateur radio
news line, Young Ham of the Year, Audrey McElroy
came for BUN from Cumming, Georgia. Audrey, I
know what you've done with Ham Radio and you've
been actively involved in a lot of things. that
not everybody may know. So I'm gonna play dumb
here and say, what are your big interests in
ham radio and what have you been doing to promote
the hobby as well? Okay, so that's kind of a
big question to answer. Pretty much I started
amateur radio as someone who loved to talk on
the radio and just liked to make contact with
people. But over the past four years, I would
say, I got more involved into the other aspects
of amateur radio like high altitude ballooning
and satellites. And so really what it's narrowed
down to was I got really interested in ballooning
and I got involved with Carol Perry, WB2MGP.
She's a wonderful woman. I wish she could be
here, but she got... she invited me to do some
presentations and so I did these little presentations
with the Q So Today, Ham Expos and stuff like
that and I started promoting not only integrating
amateur radio and how -to -blooning and all that
fun stuff but also getting more youth involved
and a lot of women involved into this because
that's really what we need to carry on and so
I've been You know, pushing that and I'm really
excited to continue, you know, doing experimentation
on my own with altitude ballooning but also getting
the word out about more women in STEM and youth
in amateur radio. Now one of your big things
has been the ballooning. You've done some high
altitude balloons, you've done mid -altitude
balloons and your most recent one was a big one
with a live experiment on it. So tell us a little
bit about the senior project. Okay, so I go to,
well I just graduated from a STEM high school
and part of the requirements to graduate with
STEM honors was to complete a capstone project.
And so most kids were like, yeah I'm gonna do
this little project, I'm gonna do this. And I
came in saying, I'm gonna do this massive big
project. So basically I was integrating a HAB
launch, the typical big latex balloon launch,
about six foot diameter balloon. And my whole
thing was I'm going to launch a sample of C.
elegans, which is a little sample of little round
worms, tiny, tiny little ones, only about a millimeter
long at best, up into the high atmosphere and
see how they react to those high atmosphere conditions
at low pressure, low temperature, and increased
radiation. And so I got involved with a professor
here at UAH, and we got talking about radiation
and all that, and so he helped me a lot. And
so I ended up developing this project. So it
was a typical HAB, but it had that biological
component. And we launched it and we covered
it over in rural Georgia. And to simplify the
results, we did find a slight correlation with
the worms that had been exposed to the high altitude
conditions. and a increase in reproduction rate.
So that was kind of cool. We had an almost significant
p -value. I will go with that. All right, there
we go. Yeah, significant enough for those of
you who know statistics at home, or as Dave Letterman
used to say, statistics. Yes. So what was the
ham radio aspect of this project? Okay, so that
was the biggest aspect, kind of integrating all
that. To give a little preface to this, I got
involved with Phil Brown, who is, I guess, one
of the forefront people you see in HABs and amateur
radio. And I had been working with him over the
years, and so by the time I got around to doing
this project a few months ago, I was like, I
think I'm ready to do this. And so we integrated,
we pretty much had a few aspects going on here.
We had a few 70 centimeter beacons working just
for short range location of the payload. after
it falls because that's the hardest part. The
hardest part is not getting it up there. It's
recovering after it falls into the Georgia pine
trees. And then secondly, we had a stratotracker
set up that was sending out APRS beacons and
so we were able to get that data. So that's how
we recorded some of our data with how high it
traveled and how far it traveled and all that
stuff. So that was fun doing that and integrating
it a little bit with biology and so it was a
big amateur radio -biological project. some very
cool stuff and Audrey's done a lot of that. She's
worked with Yoda getting the balloon launches
planned. We still haven't been able to get you
there because you're so too busy with everything
else. Like a lot of young people, talented in
so many ways that there's only so many weeks
in the summer. She's been actively involved in
getting the preparation work done for that. She's
done a lot with recruitment and trying to get
other people involved. So we're just really glad
to see you get this award today. It's well deserved.
you're going to walk out of here with a bunch
of cool stuff. So I always tell everybody that
you need to bring a wheelbarrow with you to get
all the stuff. Don, let's talk a little bit more
about what the Newsline committee saw in Audrey
as far as her talents and abilities for her to
be chosen for this award. Well, I am not part
of the judging committee I I the the the applications
come into our our email and so I look at them
and From what I could see just from my untrained
Uncalibrated mark one eyeball She was Way above
everybody else And, obviously, they saw that
as well. I wish Rich Mosison could be here to
tell you exactly what the judges committee saw
from the inside. We're going to miss that, unfortunately,
this year, but perhaps he'll write about that
in the editors' column in CQ Magazine, because
every year, it's almost like the bar gets set
higher and higher and higher every year. It's
like, okay, we can't find a more impressive kid
next year, but yet we always do find a more impressive
kid. And I use the term kid just because that
was Bill Pasternak's always. His pet phrase was,
the kid. We're going to do the kid this year.
So remembering our good friend Bill. But yeah,
it's more impressive. Like I said, these are
the people that are going to be running the world.
And we're all going to be just fine. And sitting
here listening to everything that she's done,
I feel like I've... Should be off in the corner
eating my crayons again, you know, it's Just
a very impressive young lady and I'm in awe of
her and all of our previous young hams. I really
am just This is my favorite part of the hobby
right now Audrey I actually had the pleasure
of visiting the McElroy lab In the basement of
your home. So talk a little bit about the lab
and how that's helped you and the support of
your parents to get you to today. Yeah, I know.
I can't continue without saying that if it wasn't
for my parents, my support of my mom, K4PRM,
and my dad, W4SCR. I wouldn't be here today.
They're so supportive. And yeah, as you said,
the lab in our basement is pretty expansive.
And that's just the product of pretty much my
dad has been involved in electrical engineering
for decades and decades now. And so it's kind
of stuff that he's amassed and that he's saved
for us to use. And getting into the world amateur
radio, it was the both of them who felt that,
you know, they needed to get licensed. And so
they did. And I saw them getting licensed and
I saw what they were doing. I said, I think I
need to do that too. And so if it wasn't you
know for them I wouldn't be here today. Well
said and yeah it's uh it was great to come see
all the stuff that you were working on and and
see all that stuff and then we then we got doused
by the rain and the rain the rain set and everything
but but Don if you don't know I was visiting
Audrey the day before we left from the honeymoon.
So, you know, it was already, you know, really?
You're doing ham radio? the honeymoon and then
we actually get the real honeymoon in this year
and I take the aero antenna and make some satellite
contacts which by the way did earn a couple of
people their DXCC so I was very happy about that
being able to to do that for a couple of people
but I don't know I'm still trying to figure out
how I'm how I'm still married after you know,
visiting Audrey and Jack's lab on the honeymoon.
Yeah, I imagine that filled out your wish list
considerably. Well, you and I have saints for
wives. I mean, your wife married a ham, so she
kind of had an inkling of what she was getting
into. Dawn and I will celebrate our 38th. next
year and I got my license, so we were married
in 84 and I got my license in 95 so she had nine
years to get used to me and my quirkiness before
I sprung this whole ham radio jazz on her which
she figured would just be oh great it's the hobby
of the week he'll do this for a month and then
we'll be on to whatever the next big thing is
and we were talking last night and we've had
this conversation over the over the years how
much This hobby has changed our lives for the
better the cool things that we've been able to
experience through this hobby and the cool people
that we've been able to meet and befriend through
this hobby and You know, she came just within
a hair's breadth of getting her license back
20 years ago. She passed her novice written that
night, and she hadn't quite studied enough for
the tech part because she got hung up on the
fact that, oh, it's the novice test. Well, the
novice, that's a beginner and that's easy, and
okay, well, it's the technician test, and ooh,
that's technician, that's technical, that's gonna
be harder. And I tried to tell her, no, it's
just like in Europe, it's A, B, C, and D, it's
just a name. And she missed her tech. by one
or two questions three times in a row and at
that point she just said check please and but
when I was teaching Tyler the radio we had dad's
big ham radio class at the kitchen table and
so she was overhearing all this watching TV in
the living room and she's like you know about
80 % of the stuff you're teaching him I knew
the answers to. Get your license. There are spots
available. Dad's big ham radio class at the kitchen
table for you whenever you're ready. So maybe
one time. But yeah, I know we have saints. Any
ham who has a non -ham wife has a saint for a
wife. Yeah, I definitely do. But it was like,
okay, the McElroys are across town. We're actually
in the same town. We, you know, we have to go
visit, you know, it's just we had to so but It
gave me kind of an inside perspective on what
Tom's been doing with Jack and with Audrey because
I saw the projects, I saw what they were working
on and I'm glad we did that because it was very
insightful. Now, speaking of accommodating wives
and amateur radio, on your wedding, at your wedding,
while we're sitting out in the venue getting
ready for you and Julie to walk down the aisle
and be hitched together in wedded bliss, I presented
the 2020 Young Hem of the Year Award at your
wedding. Now you tell me how much of a accommodating
wife that is. She's a saint. You are the luckiest
man on the planet. Perhaps, perhaps, you and
I, one in one A, you and me with Dawn and Julie,
so yeah. Yeah, she's the best, dude. You lucked
out. Yeah, I definitely did. I definitely did.
Yeah, that was a... the year that COVID shut
everything down. And so we all figured out, oh,
hey, we're all going to be in the same place
at the same time. So I'm glad it worked out.
I'm glad that we did it. And I'm glad it was
before the wedding and not after, because then
that might've pushed it over the edge just a
little bit. Well, I mean, you know, listen, I've
survived this long with her. I know what it takes.
So I'm not going to put you in that position.
So Audrey, we'll finish up here. Have you any
interests outside of ham radio yet with Georgia
Tech? Or do you have anything else in the works?
Yeah, so besides W4AQL, I'm heavily, well I'm
planning to get heavily involved in the women
at ECE, Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering,
and the Society of Women Engineering, because
I'm really big, once again I'm pushing women
into STEM and making that world very appealing
for more women. I'm also involved in music. I'm
not part of the marching band, I was in marching
band in high school, but I'm looking forward
to getting involved maybe in some ensembles and
stuff. I play clarinet and the guitar, so I'm
excited for all of that. Very cool. Well, thank
you so much for taking time out here at Huntsville
to talk with us and have a safe trip back home
and get to your convocation in the morning. And
congratulations on winning the 2022 Young Ham
of the Year Award and make Jack help you carry
all this loot. Oh yeah, he'll definitely be carrying
it. He will. He's old enough. He's bigger than
me now, so he can do it. Yeah, pack mule jack,
Don says. So, and Don, thanks for stopping by
and you've got a booth around the corner here.
We do, yeah. For the first time, the Amateur
Radio Newsline has a booth that's right behind
Gigaparts. And yeah, we're excited about that.
So I'm going to be hanging out there and going
to do a little bit of walking around the place.
It's going to be nice to have a home to go in
and sit down and take a load off. It's something
we haven't had. All the years have been coming
here. So yeah, very excited about that. Skeeter
Nash and his lovely wife, Sweetie, are over there
hanging out. So it's Skeety and Sweetie. They're
in the booth. All right. Well, thanks so much
for being here and thank you all for listening
and we'll do it again soon. So for now, this
is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7 -3, 7 -5, and
may the good DX be yours. To you and your family
I'll be seeing you further down the road