WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.779 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:02.779 --> 00:00:06.179 by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables, 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:13.099 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:00:13.099 --> 00:00:17.800 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, logged 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:23.019 it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash amateur 00:00:23.019 --> 00:00:32.299 for more information about ICOM radios. Here 00:00:32.299 --> 00:00:38.039 we go, welcome to Hamtop Live Call in, let's 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:42.520 talk, Neil's your guy Hamtop Live, here we go 00:00:42.520 --> 00:01:04.939 on Hamtop Radio It's HamTalk Live, episode number 00:01:04.939 --> 00:01:09.519 303, The Young Ham of the Year 2022, recorded 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:14.239 on August 20th, 2022. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, 00:01:14.420 --> 00:01:18.239 WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning in to this episode 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:21.280 of HamTalk Live. Today we're joined by Audrey 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:27.969 McElroy, KM4BUN. And Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, and 00:01:27.969 --> 00:01:30.469 a reminder that if you miss an episode of HamTalk 00:01:30.469 --> 00:01:35.010 Live, you can listen anytime. It's at HamTalkLive 00:01:35.010 --> 00:01:39.109 .com or on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube. 00:01:39.670 --> 00:01:44.489 And we're also rebroadcast on Saturday afternoons 00:01:44.489 --> 00:01:50.989 on WTWW Shortwave. That's 5085 on your AM dial. 00:01:51.450 --> 00:01:54.150 and that's about three thirty pm on the eastern 00:01:54.150 --> 00:01:58.030 time zone and uh... check your local listings 00:01:58.030 --> 00:02:02.450 uh... for your time zone uh... but uh... this 00:02:02.450 --> 00:02:05.450 is uh... recorded live down in the huntsville 00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:09.810 uh... from this weekend and uh... hope you uh... 00:02:09.810 --> 00:02:11.990 enjoy this one so i'll be back with audrey and 00:02:11.990 --> 00:02:16.770 don right after this word from icon america right 00:02:16.770 --> 00:02:20.400 here on ham talk live Keep your competitive contesting 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:23.520 edge with iCom. Our high powered base stations 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.780 cut through pileups letting you work the bands 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:28.460 and record those contacts. Contest from the comfort 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:32.020 of your own home or remotely with the RSBA1 app. 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:37.199 Heard it, worked it, logged it. The IC7851 gives 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:40.699 you a new window into the RF world and is HF 00:02:40.650 --> 00:02:43.710 excellence unparalleled. With faster processors, 00:02:44.050 --> 00:02:46.250 high input gain, high display resolution, and 00:02:46.250 --> 00:02:49.009 a cleaner signal, it is truly the pinnacle of 00:02:49.009 --> 00:02:51.770 HF perfection. It has dual receivers, digital 00:02:51.770 --> 00:02:54.689 IF filters, memory keyer, digital voice recorder, 00:02:54.969 --> 00:02:58.030 spectrum waterfall display, and an SD card slot. 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:02.539 The IC7610 is the SDR every ham wants. This high 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:05.400 -performance SDR can pick out faint signals in 00:03:05.400 --> 00:03:08.180 the presence of stronger adjacent signals. The 00:03:08.180 --> 00:03:12.139 IC7610 by ICOM is a direct sampling software 00:03:12.139 --> 00:03:15.039 -defined radio that has changed the world's definition 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:19.159 of an SDR transceiver. It has 110 dB RMDR, dual 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:22.439 digit cell, dual receiver, and RF direct sampling. 00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:25.860 Create your own band opening with the IC9700. 00:03:26.020 --> 00:03:28.490 This transceiver radio brings direct sampling 00:03:28.490 --> 00:03:31.689 to the UHF VHF week signal world. It's loaded 00:03:31.689 --> 00:03:33.789 with innovative features that are sure to keep 00:03:33.789 --> 00:03:36.750 you busy. Faster processors, higher input gain, 00:03:36.990 --> 00:03:39.270 higher display resolution, and a cleaner signal. 00:03:39.409 --> 00:03:42.310 With a 4 .3 inch color touchscreen, real -time 00:03:42.310 --> 00:03:44.930 spectroscope and waterfall display, dual watch 00:03:44.930 --> 00:03:48.210 operation, full duplex in satellite mode, and 00:03:48.210 --> 00:03:51.250 smooth satellite operation with 99 satellite 00:03:51.250 --> 00:03:55.419 channels. The IC7300 is a high -performance innovative 00:03:55.419 --> 00:03:58.520 HF transceiver with a compact design that will 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:01.360 far exceed your expectations. The innovative 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:05.039 transceiver digitizes RF before various receiver 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:07.560 stages, reducing inherent noise in different 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:11.819 IF stages. The IC7300 changed the way entry -level 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:15.860 HF is designed. It has 15 discrete bandpass filters, 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:18.680 the large color touchscreen, spectrum scope, 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:22.420 SD car slot, and RF direct sampling. Real HF 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:26.600 fun starts here. Visit icomamerica .com slash 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:30.259 amateur for more information on ICOM radios. 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:34.379 Out of all of the ham radio podcasts in the world, 00:04:34.699 --> 00:04:37.779 this is definitely one of them. You are listening 00:04:37.779 --> 00:05:05.930 to Ham Talk Live with Neil Rapp WB9VPG. Welcome 00:05:05.930 --> 00:05:11.370 back to HamTalk Live and coming up here in just 00:05:11.370 --> 00:05:15.769 a moment we'll have Audrey McElroy KM4BUN and 00:05:15.769 --> 00:05:21.189 Don Wilbanks AE5DW but just want to take a moment 00:05:21.189 --> 00:05:24.529 here to thank everyone for tuning in I know the 00:05:24.529 --> 00:05:26.709 schedule's been a little sporadic here lately 00:05:26.709 --> 00:05:31.240 a lot of stuff going on but We're we're working 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:33.899 through it all and just releasing these when 00:05:33.899 --> 00:05:38.199 we can so All right. Well, it's it's time to 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:44.319 get to our interview part of the show Welcome 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:48.199 back to ham talk live. We're here live at the 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:52.360 Huntsville ham fest Huntsville, Alabama and A 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:55.879 little later this afternoon, there will be the 00:05:55.879 --> 00:06:01.040 presentation of the 2022 amateur radio news line 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:04.620 Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year 00:06:04.620 --> 00:06:09.639 Award. And I have with us today the recipient 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:14.899 of that award, Audrey McElroy, K -4BUN, and the 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:19.779 infamous Don Wilbanks AE -5DW. So Audrey, how 00:06:19.779 --> 00:06:22.560 are things going? It's going great. I'm so happy 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:24.439 to be here. Huntsville is definitely one of my 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:26.720 favorite hamfests that I attend and yeah, I'm 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:29.839 so happy to be here. Now you've got a quick trip 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:32.579 because you got to get back to school. What's 00:06:32.579 --> 00:06:35.600 going on at school? I do. I just started at Georgia 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:37.800 Tech. I'm majoring in computer engineering and 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:40.300 my convocation is Sunday morning at 9 a .m. So 00:06:40.300 --> 00:06:44.040 I got a skedaddle after presentation. Yeah, so 00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:49.160 how are you adjusting to the college life at 00:06:49.160 --> 00:06:52.350 Georgia Tech? It's been a little bit of an adjustment 00:06:52.350 --> 00:06:55.029 being down in, I guess, the big city coming out 00:06:55.029 --> 00:06:56.910 of North Georgia, but it's been really fun. I 00:06:56.910 --> 00:06:59.009 love Georgia Tech. I love the academics. I love 00:06:59.009 --> 00:07:00.550 the people. And so I'm really excited to spend 00:07:00.550 --> 00:07:04.009 the next few years there. All right. And have 00:07:04.009 --> 00:07:07.569 you had a chance to check out the ham radio club 00:07:07.569 --> 00:07:11.769 yet? Debbie for a QL personally my favorite ham 00:07:11.769 --> 00:07:14.389 station in the entire world right now I've been 00:07:14.389 --> 00:07:16.129 down there. I was down there last year working 00:07:16.129 --> 00:07:18.629 a few contests, but this year. They're just getting 00:07:18.629 --> 00:07:20.750 started this fall There was a few roof renovations 00:07:20.750 --> 00:07:22.730 going on over the summer with the antennas and 00:07:22.730 --> 00:07:25.089 so this fall will be getting started and I'm 00:07:25.089 --> 00:07:29.730 really excited. Yeah it's but it's a cool club 00:07:29.730 --> 00:07:34.230 with a lot of history and They have they have 00:07:34.230 --> 00:07:38.860 been very competitive, shall we say, in some 00:07:38.860 --> 00:07:44.439 of these contests. They're smack -talking the 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:47.680 other clubs and everything else. There's a lot 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:51.240 of history there. I'm sure you will fit in very 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:55.139 well there. And the infamous Don Wilbanks is 00:07:55.139 --> 00:07:59.680 here, AE5DW. How's it going, Don? How was the 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:02.259 trip? That is an accurate statement. No, the 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:04.720 trip was uneventful, a little bit of rain, but 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.560 it was nice. Don and I came up, and yeah, I love 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:10.540 this ham fest. This is the ham fest, I think, 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:12.540 it's probably the first big ham fest I ever went 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:15.920 to in 95, literally within a year of getting 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:19.220 my ticket, and I gauge every ham fest compared 00:08:19.220 --> 00:08:22.139 to this one. And the only way Dayton beats this 00:08:22.139 --> 00:08:25.550 is Dayton's bigger. Otherwise, this is my favorite 00:08:25.550 --> 00:08:27.730 ham fest. The friendliness of the people here 00:08:27.730 --> 00:08:30.610 you cannot beat. They say it's the world's friendliest 00:08:30.610 --> 00:08:32.429 ham fest and that is an absolute true statement. 00:08:33.289 --> 00:08:37.289 It sure is. The people here are just very, very 00:08:37.289 --> 00:08:40.519 friendly and make it a point. to be that way. 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:43.759 This was my first time setting up a booth. We're 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:47.720 back here by the youth lounge right now. We have 00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:50.279 a table just outside of the youth lounge for 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:52.940 youth on the air. And so this was my first time 00:08:52.940 --> 00:08:55.379 to get here in daylight. I'm used to pulling 00:08:55.379 --> 00:08:59.659 in at like midnight and, you know, coming in 00:08:59.659 --> 00:09:02.379 and setting up. And so we drove right into this 00:09:02.379 --> 00:09:05.679 place, dropped off all the stuff. The carts were 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:09.419 all here. Just, you know, everybody was very 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:13.480 helpful to get us situated and get everything 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:18.960 ready to go. And then this morning, we came in, 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:23.159 finalized everything, and it's just been very 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:26.559 good. And we had a few issues, and they were 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:31.240 right on it and took care of them and made sure 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:34.820 that they were living up to their name, the world's 00:09:34.820 --> 00:09:39.379 friendliest ham fest. We're very glad to be here 00:09:39.379 --> 00:09:43.259 and this has been the home of the Young Ham of 00:09:43.259 --> 00:09:47.820 the Year Award for quite a while. Since 1993 00:09:47.820 --> 00:09:51.120 was the first year that the Young Ham of the 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:54.159 Year has been presented here and it's not left 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:56.840 and we hope to continue that trend far into the 00:09:56.840 --> 00:10:00.340 future beyond mine and your days on this planet. 00:10:00.620 --> 00:10:03.809 So yeah, this will be a... This is a great home. 00:10:04.009 --> 00:10:05.990 We certainly appreciate Huntsville Hamfest and 00:10:05.990 --> 00:10:07.409 everything they've done to accommodate Young 00:10:07.409 --> 00:10:09.850 Ham of the Year and do what they do for us. And 00:10:09.850 --> 00:10:11.509 we're certainly happy to do what we can do for 00:10:11.509 --> 00:10:15.549 them. So tell us a little bit about what's going 00:10:15.549 --> 00:10:18.330 to take place this afternoon for those who maybe 00:10:18.330 --> 00:10:23.190 weren't here or not able to watch. Tell us a 00:10:23.190 --> 00:10:27.409 little bit about the presentation. We will be 00:10:27.409 --> 00:10:29.590 live on the main stage at two o 'clock in the 00:10:29.590 --> 00:10:31.370 afternoon. That's our traditional time to do 00:10:31.370 --> 00:10:36.809 it. It's a very cool little presentation. I kind 00:10:36.809 --> 00:10:38.850 of patterned it after watching Bill Pasternak 00:10:38.850 --> 00:10:40.710 do it for forever and ever and ever. Of course, 00:10:40.730 --> 00:10:44.549 he's a silent key now, so I've inherited the 00:10:44.549 --> 00:10:46.669 honor of presenting this every year now, and 00:10:46.669 --> 00:10:49.429 it's the highlight of my year. We're gonna go 00:10:49.429 --> 00:10:52.409 up on stage. I'm gonna introduce Audrey to the 00:10:52.409 --> 00:10:55.620 crowd and tell them a little bit about her. And 00:10:55.620 --> 00:10:58.879 we'll have some folks from our corporate sponsors. 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:01.860 CQ Magazine has been around since year one. Yezu 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:04.120 USA has been around since year one. Heil Sound 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:06.179 has been around for a good long while as well. 00:11:06.740 --> 00:11:08.899 And I think it's the 11th or 12th year now for 00:11:08.899 --> 00:11:12.779 Radio Waves Antennas. So they'll all have a presentation 00:11:12.779 --> 00:11:16.059 for Audrey and some nice words. And we'll present 00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:18.120 the plaque to Audrey and she'll get some gifts. 00:11:19.299 --> 00:11:23.570 And it's a great time. We get to... Spread the 00:11:23.570 --> 00:11:27.110 positive word of what's going on with youth in 00:11:27.110 --> 00:11:29.289 not just America but around the world with amateur 00:11:29.289 --> 00:11:33.389 radio. I say it every year up on stage and there's 00:11:33.389 --> 00:11:36.269 so many more good kids than there are bad kids. 00:11:37.190 --> 00:11:40.129 I even hate to use the term bad kids, misguided 00:11:40.129 --> 00:11:46.100 perhaps, off on the wrong path. The kid who wins 00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:48.100 the spelling bee doesn't get the top slot on 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:53.600 the 10 o 'clock news. So we try to do that and 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:58.039 highlight exactly what's going on with great 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:01.019 representatives of the hobby and just of humanity 00:12:01.019 --> 00:12:05.059 like Audrey. And I always say that she's an indication 00:12:05.059 --> 00:12:06.220 of the kind of people that are going to be running 00:12:06.220 --> 00:12:07.840 the world after we're gone and the world's going 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:14.950 to be just fine. Absolutely. So, I know yesterday 00:12:14.950 --> 00:12:19.029 I ran into somebody that said he was going to 00:12:19.029 --> 00:12:24.350 be up on stage with you because, unfortunately, 00:12:25.090 --> 00:12:28.649 Rich Mosison from CQ Magazine is not here with 00:12:28.649 --> 00:12:33.529 us this weekend. So, how are you going to deal 00:12:33.529 --> 00:12:37.889 with this guy up on stage with you? Well, we 00:12:37.889 --> 00:12:42.789 went with plan L. B through M were unavailable. 00:12:42.830 --> 00:12:46.710 So we went with plan L and normally, you know 00:12:46.710 --> 00:12:49.029 Rich's is one of the young hem of the year judges 00:12:49.029 --> 00:12:51.830 So he always and being the editor of CQ magazine 00:12:51.830 --> 00:12:54.909 he is a wordsmith and he's a very eloquent speaker 00:12:54.909 --> 00:12:58.370 and Anytime the man exhales it seems like I learned 00:12:58.370 --> 00:13:01.210 something. So what we're going to do we're going 00:13:01.210 --> 00:13:04.600 to have Joe Eisenberg, KZeroNEB, the pride of 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:07.419 Lincoln, Nebraska, the kit building editor for 00:13:07.419 --> 00:13:09.320 CQ magazine. So basically what we're going to 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:13.179 do is we're going to replace the eloquent words 00:13:13.179 --> 00:13:20.000 of Rich with the ramblings of a madman in Joe. 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:22.399 So that will be what we're going to do. You know, 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:25.059 Joe got that gig, the writing for CQ, in the 00:13:25.059 --> 00:13:28.059 back of my car. I'm not going to share any more 00:13:28.059 --> 00:13:29.480 details than that. Let's just say he got it in 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:32.159 the back of my car. Actually, we were on our 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:34.919 way to dinner several years ago with the Young 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:38.019 Ham of the Year, and Rich and Joe were writing 00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:40.139 with me. And Rich said, hey, you ever thought 00:13:40.139 --> 00:13:41.659 about writing for CQ? And Joe was like, well, 00:13:41.779 --> 00:13:44.620 yeah, maybe. Take the job, Joe. And so that's 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:48.059 how Joe became the kit building editor for CQ 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:51.159 Magazine. in the back seat of a Chrysler 300. 00:13:51.940 --> 00:13:55.480 There you go. We won't ask about more of the 00:13:55.480 --> 00:14:01.779 details on that one. Those kinds of things, that's 00:14:01.779 --> 00:14:04.019 what happens when you get a bunch of us together. 00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:09.299 You get roped into doing things like running 00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:15.419 a youth camp and anchoring news line. You never 00:14:15.419 --> 00:14:18.070 know what's going to happen. Alright, well we're 00:14:18.070 --> 00:14:20.429 going to take a break and when we come back we're 00:14:20.429 --> 00:14:24.129 going to talk some more with Audrey and talk 00:14:24.129 --> 00:14:26.230 a little bit more about what she's been doing 00:14:26.230 --> 00:14:29.509 with Ham Radio right after this word from Tower 00:14:29.509 --> 00:14:35.889 Electronics right here on HamTalk Live. Thanks 00:14:35.889 --> 00:14:39.009 for choosing Tower Electronics. How may we help 00:14:39.009 --> 00:14:42.990 you today? We have PL259s. We have in connectors. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:47.299 We have SMA adapters. We have BNC adapters. What 00:14:47.299 --> 00:14:50.399 can I show you today? Where's the tower? Well, 00:14:50.679 --> 00:14:53.720 we don't actually have a tower with us, but we 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:56.200 have all kinds of things you can use with a tower. 00:14:56.740 --> 00:14:59.879 We have power poles, antennas, soldering irons 00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:03.159 and meters. Where's the tower? Ma 'am, that's 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:05.720 the name of our company. We can't haul towers 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:08.080 to all the ham fest across the country that we 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:10.860 visit. But we have almost every connector and 00:15:10.860 --> 00:15:13.059 adapter you would need to connect your antenna 00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:15.159 that's on your tower. I don't think there's a 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:18.779 tower back there. I really don't. Tower Electronics. 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:23.179 Visit us at a Hanves near you or call 920 -435 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:28.799 -2973 or see our whole catalog at PL -259 .com. 00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:33.279 Sorry, one thing we don't have is a tower. And 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:36.299 on the Tower Electronics HamFest schedule, they'll 00:15:36.299 --> 00:15:40.360 be in Shelby, North Carolina on September 2nd, 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:43.720 3rd, and 4th. But you can visit them anytime, 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:49.480 anywhere at PL -259 .com. You're listening to 00:15:49.480 --> 00:16:11.639 HamTalk Live. Welcome back to HamTalk Live. Be 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:14.940 sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and 00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:20.639 Instagram. We'll get back to Audrey and Don here 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:25.399 in just a moment. But for now, it's time for 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:29.690 the Joke of the Week. Now it's time for the HamTalk 00:16:29.690 --> 00:16:32.789 Live Ham Radio Joke of the Week, the part of 00:16:32.789 --> 00:16:35.610 the show where Rick tells us a ham radio joke. 00:16:35.929 --> 00:16:38.610 The HamTalk Live Ham Radio Joke of the Week is 00:16:38.610 --> 00:16:42.350 brought to you by QRM Labs. Now here's Rick Garrett 00:16:42.350 --> 00:16:46.970 in 9GSU with today's HamTalk Live Joke of the 00:16:46.970 --> 00:16:54.909 Week. I decided I wanted to protect my ham shack 00:16:54.909 --> 00:16:57.190 when I was away so I bought a couple of dogs. 00:16:57.830 --> 00:17:02.230 I named them Rolex and Timex because, well, they're 00:17:02.230 --> 00:17:06.390 watch dogs. This has been the Ham Talk Live. 00:17:06.529 --> 00:17:09.089 Ham radio joke of the week with Rick Garrett 00:17:09.089 --> 00:17:12.829 in 9GSU. Tune in again next week for another 00:17:12.829 --> 00:17:20.289 joke from Rick. Welcome back to Ham Talk Live. 00:17:20.710 --> 00:17:23.930 We're here with Don Wilbanks, AE5DW from Amateur 00:17:23.930 --> 00:17:27.789 Radio Newsline and Ham Nation and whatever else 00:17:27.789 --> 00:17:34.049 they let him do. And we're here with the 2022... 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:39.779 Bill Pasternak Memorial, WA6ITF amateur radio 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:42.839 news line, Young Ham of the Year, Audrey McElroy 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:50.460 came for BUN from Cumming, Georgia. Audrey, I 00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:56.079 know what you've done with Ham Radio and you've 00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:01.970 been actively involved in a lot of things. that 00:18:01.970 --> 00:18:06.049 not everybody may know. So I'm gonna play dumb 00:18:06.049 --> 00:18:10.890 here and say, what are your big interests in 00:18:10.890 --> 00:18:15.890 ham radio and what have you been doing to promote 00:18:15.890 --> 00:18:18.890 the hobby as well? Okay, so that's kind of a 00:18:18.890 --> 00:18:22.309 big question to answer. Pretty much I started 00:18:22.309 --> 00:18:26.470 amateur radio as someone who loved to talk on 00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:28.029 the radio and just liked to make contact with 00:18:28.029 --> 00:18:29.910 people. But over the past four years, I would 00:18:29.910 --> 00:18:32.839 say, I got more involved into the other aspects 00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:34.680 of amateur radio like high altitude ballooning 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:37.299 and satellites. And so really what it's narrowed 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:40.039 down to was I got really interested in ballooning 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:43.440 and I got involved with Carol Perry, WB2MGP. 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:45.759 She's a wonderful woman. I wish she could be 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:50.390 here, but she got... she invited me to do some 00:18:50.390 --> 00:18:52.369 presentations and so I did these little presentations 00:18:52.369 --> 00:18:55.230 with the Q So Today, Ham Expos and stuff like 00:18:55.230 --> 00:18:59.309 that and I started promoting not only integrating 00:18:59.309 --> 00:19:01.410 amateur radio and how -to -blooning and all that 00:19:01.410 --> 00:19:03.569 fun stuff but also getting more youth involved 00:19:03.569 --> 00:19:05.710 and a lot of women involved into this because 00:19:05.710 --> 00:19:08.710 that's really what we need to carry on and so 00:19:08.710 --> 00:19:12.200 I've been You know, pushing that and I'm really 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:15.279 excited to continue, you know, doing experimentation 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:17.119 on my own with altitude ballooning but also getting 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:19.640 the word out about more women in STEM and youth 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:23.140 in amateur radio. Now one of your big things 00:19:23.140 --> 00:19:27.480 has been the ballooning. You've done some high 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:29.779 altitude balloons, you've done mid -altitude 00:19:29.779 --> 00:19:34.039 balloons and your most recent one was a big one 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:38.279 with a live experiment on it. So tell us a little 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:41.920 bit about the senior project. Okay, so I go to, 00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:43.859 well I just graduated from a STEM high school 00:19:43.859 --> 00:19:46.019 and part of the requirements to graduate with 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:48.420 STEM honors was to complete a capstone project. 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:50.059 And so most kids were like, yeah I'm gonna do 00:19:50.059 --> 00:19:51.460 this little project, I'm gonna do this. And I 00:19:51.460 --> 00:19:53.319 came in saying, I'm gonna do this massive big 00:19:53.319 --> 00:19:56.960 project. So basically I was integrating a HAB 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:58.880 launch, the typical big latex balloon launch, 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:01.720 about six foot diameter balloon. And my whole 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:03.779 thing was I'm going to launch a sample of C. 00:20:03.859 --> 00:20:05.859 elegans, which is a little sample of little round 00:20:05.859 --> 00:20:08.299 worms, tiny, tiny little ones, only about a millimeter 00:20:08.299 --> 00:20:11.380 long at best, up into the high atmosphere and 00:20:11.380 --> 00:20:13.500 see how they react to those high atmosphere conditions 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:15.740 at low pressure, low temperature, and increased 00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:18.460 radiation. And so I got involved with a professor 00:20:18.460 --> 00:20:21.400 here at UAH, and we got talking about radiation 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:24.279 and all that, and so he helped me a lot. And 00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:26.980 so I ended up developing this project. So it 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:28.980 was a typical HAB, but it had that biological 00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:31.180 component. And we launched it and we covered 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:35.559 it over in rural Georgia. And to simplify the 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:38.859 results, we did find a slight correlation with 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:41.240 the worms that had been exposed to the high altitude 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:44.390 conditions. and a increase in reproduction rate. 00:20:44.569 --> 00:20:47.170 So that was kind of cool. We had an almost significant 00:20:47.170 --> 00:20:49.950 p -value. I will go with that. All right, there 00:20:49.950 --> 00:20:52.410 we go. Yeah, significant enough for those of 00:20:52.410 --> 00:20:55.869 you who know statistics at home, or as Dave Letterman 00:20:55.869 --> 00:21:01.670 used to say, statistics. Yes. So what was the 00:21:01.670 --> 00:21:05.630 ham radio aspect of this project? Okay, so that 00:21:05.630 --> 00:21:07.650 was the biggest aspect, kind of integrating all 00:21:07.650 --> 00:21:11.400 that. To give a little preface to this, I got 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:14.279 involved with Phil Brown, who is, I guess, one 00:21:14.279 --> 00:21:16.799 of the forefront people you see in HABs and amateur 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:19.539 radio. And I had been working with him over the 00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:21.059 years, and so by the time I got around to doing 00:21:21.059 --> 00:21:22.900 this project a few months ago, I was like, I 00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:25.960 think I'm ready to do this. And so we integrated, 00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:27.839 we pretty much had a few aspects going on here. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:31.059 We had a few 70 centimeter beacons working just 00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:34.480 for short range location of the payload. after 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:36.700 it falls because that's the hardest part. The 00:21:36.700 --> 00:21:38.160 hardest part is not getting it up there. It's 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:40.960 recovering after it falls into the Georgia pine 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:44.380 trees. And then secondly, we had a stratotracker 00:21:44.380 --> 00:21:46.940 set up that was sending out APRS beacons and 00:21:46.940 --> 00:21:48.859 so we were able to get that data. So that's how 00:21:48.859 --> 00:21:53.779 we recorded some of our data with how high it 00:21:53.779 --> 00:21:55.579 traveled and how far it traveled and all that 00:21:55.579 --> 00:21:58.440 stuff. So that was fun doing that and integrating 00:21:58.440 --> 00:22:00.480 it a little bit with biology and so it was a 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:05.180 big amateur radio -biological project. some very 00:22:05.180 --> 00:22:10.440 cool stuff and Audrey's done a lot of that. She's 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:15.339 worked with Yoda getting the balloon launches 00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:18.359 planned. We still haven't been able to get you 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:20.859 there because you're so too busy with everything 00:22:20.859 --> 00:22:25.960 else. Like a lot of young people, talented in 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:29.640 so many ways that there's only so many weeks 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:35.000 in the summer. She's been actively involved in 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:38.940 getting the preparation work done for that. She's 00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:44.240 done a lot with recruitment and trying to get 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:47.799 other people involved. So we're just really glad 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:54.559 to see you get this award today. It's well deserved. 00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:00.460 you're going to walk out of here with a bunch 00:23:00.460 --> 00:23:04.259 of cool stuff. So I always tell everybody that 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:07.059 you need to bring a wheelbarrow with you to get 00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:11.599 all the stuff. Don, let's talk a little bit more 00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:17.420 about what the Newsline committee saw in Audrey 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:22.859 as far as her talents and abilities for her to 00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:26.779 be chosen for this award. Well, I am not part 00:23:26.779 --> 00:23:32.539 of the judging committee I I the the the applications 00:23:32.539 --> 00:23:36.980 come into our our email and so I look at them 00:23:36.980 --> 00:23:41.920 and From what I could see just from my untrained 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:48.839 Uncalibrated mark one eyeball She was Way above 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:52.519 everybody else And, obviously, they saw that 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:55.480 as well. I wish Rich Mosison could be here to 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:58.299 tell you exactly what the judges committee saw 00:23:58.299 --> 00:24:00.740 from the inside. We're going to miss that, unfortunately, 00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:03.519 this year, but perhaps he'll write about that 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:06.819 in the editors' column in CQ Magazine, because 00:24:06.819 --> 00:24:11.539 every year, it's almost like the bar gets set 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:13.480 higher and higher and higher every year. It's 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:15.640 like, okay, we can't find a more impressive kid 00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:19.539 next year, but yet we always do find a more impressive 00:24:19.539 --> 00:24:22.849 kid. And I use the term kid just because that 00:24:22.849 --> 00:24:25.809 was Bill Pasternak's always. His pet phrase was, 00:24:26.210 --> 00:24:29.589 the kid. We're going to do the kid this year. 00:24:30.630 --> 00:24:34.170 So remembering our good friend Bill. But yeah, 00:24:34.329 --> 00:24:39.009 it's more impressive. Like I said, these are 00:24:39.009 --> 00:24:40.049 the people that are going to be running the world. 00:24:40.289 --> 00:24:42.230 And we're all going to be just fine. And sitting 00:24:42.230 --> 00:24:44.549 here listening to everything that she's done, 00:24:44.690 --> 00:24:47.230 I feel like I've... Should be off in the corner 00:24:47.230 --> 00:24:50.150 eating my crayons again, you know, it's Just 00:24:50.150 --> 00:24:53.309 a very impressive young lady and I'm in awe of 00:24:53.309 --> 00:24:56.730 her and all of our previous young hams. I really 00:24:56.730 --> 00:25:00.009 am just This is my favorite part of the hobby 00:25:00.009 --> 00:25:05.109 right now Audrey I actually had the pleasure 00:25:05.109 --> 00:25:10.390 of visiting the McElroy lab In the basement of 00:25:10.390 --> 00:25:14.410 your home. So talk a little bit about the lab 00:25:15.070 --> 00:25:19.130 and how that's helped you and the support of 00:25:19.130 --> 00:25:23.349 your parents to get you to today. Yeah, I know. 00:25:24.109 --> 00:25:26.710 I can't continue without saying that if it wasn't 00:25:26.710 --> 00:25:29.809 for my parents, my support of my mom, K4PRM, 00:25:29.809 --> 00:25:33.720 and my dad, W4SCR. I wouldn't be here today. 00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:36.220 They're so supportive. And yeah, as you said, 00:25:36.259 --> 00:25:38.900 the lab in our basement is pretty expansive. 00:25:39.019 --> 00:25:41.700 And that's just the product of pretty much my 00:25:41.700 --> 00:25:44.339 dad has been involved in electrical engineering 00:25:44.339 --> 00:25:46.220 for decades and decades now. And so it's kind 00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:47.960 of stuff that he's amassed and that he's saved 00:25:47.960 --> 00:25:50.779 for us to use. And getting into the world amateur 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:54.039 radio, it was the both of them who felt that, 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:56.240 you know, they needed to get licensed. And so 00:25:56.240 --> 00:25:58.019 they did. And I saw them getting licensed and 00:25:58.019 --> 00:25:59.779 I saw what they were doing. I said, I think I 00:25:59.779 --> 00:26:02.599 need to do that too. And so if it wasn't you 00:26:02.599 --> 00:26:06.579 know for them I wouldn't be here today. Well 00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:11.440 said and yeah it's uh it was great to come see 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:14.720 all the stuff that you were working on and and 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:18.500 see all that stuff and then we then we got doused 00:26:18.500 --> 00:26:21.460 by the rain and the rain the rain set and everything 00:26:21.460 --> 00:26:27.440 but but Don if you don't know I was visiting 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:32.599 Audrey the day before we left from the honeymoon. 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:37.920 So, you know, it was already, you know, really? 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:42.470 You're doing ham radio? the honeymoon and then 00:26:42.470 --> 00:26:45.410 we actually get the real honeymoon in this year 00:26:45.410 --> 00:26:49.109 and I take the aero antenna and make some satellite 00:26:49.109 --> 00:26:52.170 contacts which by the way did earn a couple of 00:26:52.170 --> 00:26:56.109 people their DXCC so I was very happy about that 00:26:56.109 --> 00:26:58.750 being able to to do that for a couple of people 00:26:58.750 --> 00:27:04.109 but I don't know I'm still trying to figure out 00:27:04.109 --> 00:27:09.099 how I'm how I'm still married after you know, 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:14.519 visiting Audrey and Jack's lab on the honeymoon. 00:27:15.420 --> 00:27:17.539 Yeah, I imagine that filled out your wish list 00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:19.740 considerably. Well, you and I have saints for 00:27:19.740 --> 00:27:23.660 wives. I mean, your wife married a ham, so she 00:27:23.660 --> 00:27:26.500 kind of had an inkling of what she was getting 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:30.769 into. Dawn and I will celebrate our 38th. next 00:27:30.769 --> 00:27:32.509 year and I got my license, so we were married 00:27:32.509 --> 00:27:35.809 in 84 and I got my license in 95 so she had nine 00:27:35.809 --> 00:27:38.250 years to get used to me and my quirkiness before 00:27:38.250 --> 00:27:40.930 I sprung this whole ham radio jazz on her which 00:27:40.930 --> 00:27:43.150 she figured would just be oh great it's the hobby 00:27:43.150 --> 00:27:44.769 of the week he'll do this for a month and then 00:27:44.769 --> 00:27:46.710 we'll be on to whatever the next big thing is 00:27:46.710 --> 00:27:49.430 and we were talking last night and we've had 00:27:49.430 --> 00:27:52.630 this conversation over the over the years how 00:27:52.630 --> 00:27:58.079 much This hobby has changed our lives for the 00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:00.880 better the cool things that we've been able to 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:04.299 experience through this hobby and the cool people 00:28:04.299 --> 00:28:07.259 that we've been able to meet and befriend through 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:10.319 this hobby and You know, she came just within 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:12.339 a hair's breadth of getting her license back 00:28:12.339 --> 00:28:17.099 20 years ago. She passed her novice written that 00:28:17.099 --> 00:28:20.900 night, and she hadn't quite studied enough for 00:28:20.900 --> 00:28:22.819 the tech part because she got hung up on the 00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:24.700 fact that, oh, it's the novice test. Well, the 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:26.619 novice, that's a beginner and that's easy, and 00:28:26.619 --> 00:28:28.519 okay, well, it's the technician test, and ooh, 00:28:28.680 --> 00:28:31.160 that's technician, that's technical, that's gonna 00:28:31.160 --> 00:28:33.299 be harder. And I tried to tell her, no, it's 00:28:33.299 --> 00:28:35.200 just like in Europe, it's A, B, C, and D, it's 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:39.319 just a name. And she missed her tech. by one 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:41.500 or two questions three times in a row and at 00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:45.019 that point she just said check please and but 00:28:45.019 --> 00:28:49.500 when I was teaching Tyler the radio we had dad's 00:28:49.500 --> 00:28:52.539 big ham radio class at the kitchen table and 00:28:52.539 --> 00:28:54.680 so she was overhearing all this watching TV in 00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:57.440 the living room and she's like you know about 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:00.240 80 % of the stuff you're teaching him I knew 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:05.920 the answers to. Get your license. There are spots 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:09.660 available. Dad's big ham radio class at the kitchen 00:29:09.660 --> 00:29:12.680 table for you whenever you're ready. So maybe 00:29:12.680 --> 00:29:15.579 one time. But yeah, I know we have saints. Any 00:29:15.579 --> 00:29:18.880 ham who has a non -ham wife has a saint for a 00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:23.619 wife. Yeah, I definitely do. But it was like, 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:28.500 okay, the McElroys are across town. We're actually 00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:32.410 in the same town. We, you know, we have to go 00:29:32.410 --> 00:29:38.529 visit, you know, it's just we had to so but It 00:29:38.529 --> 00:29:44.450 gave me kind of an inside perspective on what 00:29:44.450 --> 00:29:48.710 Tom's been doing with Jack and with Audrey because 00:29:48.710 --> 00:29:53.630 I saw the projects, I saw what they were working 00:29:53.630 --> 00:30:00.710 on and I'm glad we did that because it was very 00:30:00.710 --> 00:30:06.650 insightful. Now, speaking of accommodating wives 00:30:06.650 --> 00:30:10.329 and amateur radio, on your wedding, at your wedding, 00:30:10.829 --> 00:30:12.569 while we're sitting out in the venue getting 00:30:12.569 --> 00:30:15.910 ready for you and Julie to walk down the aisle 00:30:15.910 --> 00:30:21.509 and be hitched together in wedded bliss, I presented 00:30:21.509 --> 00:30:25.400 the 2020 Young Hem of the Year Award at your 00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:27.960 wedding. Now you tell me how much of a accommodating 00:30:27.960 --> 00:30:32.220 wife that is. She's a saint. You are the luckiest 00:30:32.220 --> 00:30:34.700 man on the planet. Perhaps, perhaps, you and 00:30:34.700 --> 00:30:38.160 I, one in one A, you and me with Dawn and Julie, 00:30:38.359 --> 00:30:41.039 so yeah. Yeah, she's the best, dude. You lucked 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:44.839 out. Yeah, I definitely did. I definitely did. 00:30:44.940 --> 00:30:48.390 Yeah, that was a... the year that COVID shut 00:30:48.390 --> 00:30:51.609 everything down. And so we all figured out, oh, 00:30:51.630 --> 00:30:53.190 hey, we're all going to be in the same place 00:30:53.190 --> 00:30:56.990 at the same time. So I'm glad it worked out. 00:30:57.130 --> 00:30:59.210 I'm glad that we did it. And I'm glad it was 00:30:59.210 --> 00:31:02.569 before the wedding and not after, because then 00:31:02.569 --> 00:31:06.009 that might've pushed it over the edge just a 00:31:06.009 --> 00:31:09.309 little bit. Well, I mean, you know, listen, I've 00:31:09.309 --> 00:31:11.250 survived this long with her. I know what it takes. 00:31:11.309 --> 00:31:13.029 So I'm not going to put you in that position. 00:31:16.029 --> 00:31:26.230 So Audrey, we'll finish up here. Have you any 00:31:26.230 --> 00:31:31.769 interests outside of ham radio yet with Georgia 00:31:31.769 --> 00:31:35.549 Tech? Or do you have anything else in the works? 00:31:36.750 --> 00:31:40.849 Yeah, so besides W4AQL, I'm heavily, well I'm 00:31:40.849 --> 00:31:42.490 planning to get heavily involved in the women 00:31:42.490 --> 00:31:44.630 at ECE, Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering, 00:31:44.769 --> 00:31:46.910 and the Society of Women Engineering, because 00:31:46.910 --> 00:31:48.690 I'm really big, once again I'm pushing women 00:31:48.690 --> 00:31:52.089 into STEM and making that world very appealing 00:31:52.089 --> 00:31:55.190 for more women. I'm also involved in music. I'm 00:31:55.190 --> 00:31:56.589 not part of the marching band, I was in marching 00:31:56.589 --> 00:31:58.890 band in high school, but I'm looking forward 00:31:58.890 --> 00:32:00.970 to getting involved maybe in some ensembles and 00:32:00.970 --> 00:32:03.250 stuff. I play clarinet and the guitar, so I'm 00:32:03.250 --> 00:32:07.039 excited for all of that. Very cool. Well, thank 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:10.160 you so much for taking time out here at Huntsville 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:14.319 to talk with us and have a safe trip back home 00:32:14.319 --> 00:32:18.640 and get to your convocation in the morning. And 00:32:18.640 --> 00:32:22.839 congratulations on winning the 2022 Young Ham 00:32:22.839 --> 00:32:26.519 of the Year Award and make Jack help you carry 00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:30.539 all this loot. Oh yeah, he'll definitely be carrying 00:32:30.539 --> 00:32:32.400 it. He will. He's old enough. He's bigger than 00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:36.849 me now, so he can do it. Yeah, pack mule jack, 00:32:36.990 --> 00:32:41.210 Don says. So, and Don, thanks for stopping by 00:32:41.210 --> 00:32:45.250 and you've got a booth around the corner here. 00:32:45.630 --> 00:32:47.930 We do, yeah. For the first time, the Amateur 00:32:47.930 --> 00:32:50.190 Radio Newsline has a booth that's right behind 00:32:50.190 --> 00:32:52.849 Gigaparts. And yeah, we're excited about that. 00:32:52.869 --> 00:32:54.490 So I'm going to be hanging out there and going 00:32:54.490 --> 00:32:56.589 to do a little bit of walking around the place. 00:32:56.869 --> 00:32:59.690 It's going to be nice to have a home to go in 00:32:59.690 --> 00:33:02.690 and sit down and take a load off. It's something 00:33:02.690 --> 00:33:04.990 we haven't had. All the years have been coming 00:33:04.990 --> 00:33:06.849 here. So yeah, very excited about that. Skeeter 00:33:06.849 --> 00:33:09.509 Nash and his lovely wife, Sweetie, are over there 00:33:09.509 --> 00:33:12.369 hanging out. So it's Skeety and Sweetie. They're 00:33:12.369 --> 00:33:15.950 in the booth. All right. Well, thanks so much 00:33:15.950 --> 00:33:19.170 for being here and thank you all for listening 00:33:19.170 --> 00:33:23.690 and we'll do it again soon. So for now, this 00:33:23.690 --> 00:33:28.349 is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7 -3, 7 -5, and 00:33:28.349 --> 00:33:35.359 may the good DX be yours. To you and your family 00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:38.619 I'll be seeing you further down the road