This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you
by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables,
and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259
.com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, logged
it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash amateur
for more information about ICOM radios. Here
we go, welcome to It's that time of year once
again to collect all 13 colonies and two of the
three bonus stations because GB13COL will never
hear you. Good evening, everyone. It's time for
HamTalk Live episode number 219, the In the 4J
Wedding Special Event Station recorded live on
Thursday, July 2nd, 2020. Just kidding about
GB13COL. Actually, Paul Brown WD9 GCO was able
to get GB 13 col for the first time in five years
and it was ecstatic And I hear it's better. So
we'll see. I haven't had a chance to try yet.
So so Just kidding. All right. Well, anyway,
I'm your host Neil rap WB 9 VPG Thanks for tuning
in to this episode of ham talk live tonight.
We're joined by Julie Swigert my fiance or as
she would say, soon to be wife. So we'll take
your calls. Later on in the show, last week Kevin
Zari, KK4YL and Robert Bankston, KE4AL were here
to talk about satellite etiquette and running
a special event station. If you missed the show,
you can listen anytime at HamTalkLive .com or
on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube or
you can catch the rebroadcast of HamTalk Live.
Saturday afternoons at about 3 .30 p .m. Eastern
over on WTWW out of Nashville. It's 5085 a .m.
So check that out Saturday afternoons on WTWW.
I do have one announcement that just kind of
came in here yesterday that I want to make before
we take their first break and come back and talk
to Julie a bit. The Intrepid DX group has come
up with a new idea and it's to give away a dream
rig with a youth essay contest. So they are recognizing
the importance of including youth in our hobby.
They are the future, and so they are establishing
an annual DreamRig Youth Essay Contest to learn
the suggestions of young people for attracting
other young operators to amateur radio. And the
prize is a factory fresh ICOM IC7300. So we've
published the rules here. You can find those
on the Intrepid DX website. That's intrepid -dx.
Delta x -ray calm or on their Facebook page but
basically a two -page essay that answers These
two questions. What are your amateur radio goals?
And what can we do to attract more youth to amateur
radio? You got to be a US amateur radio license
holder age 19 or younger You have to promise
to keep the radio for at least a year. Don't
flip it trade it sell it. You got to use it Send
the essay in text or word Attach that to intrepid
dx group at gmail .com by July 31st or you can
snail mail it and they give the address here
Intrepid DX Group 3000 to 52 Wetmore Drive in
San Jose, California 95148 USA and it does need
to be postmarked by July 31st. The winner will
be announced on the website and Facebook page
on August 10th. All submissions become the property
of Intrepid DX Group and may be published. And
if you have questions, email PaulN6PSE. That's
all one word. PaulN6PSE at gmail .com. And Intrepid
DX Group is a 501c3 nonprofit that promotes amateur
radio. developing countries and we've had a couple
of their the expeditions on this program so that's
a cool new thing and I want to get the word out
there on that all right well Julie is on the
show tonight we'll talk more about that in a
little bit if you're listening to us live on
Thursday night later on in the show you'll have
a chance to call in and I'll give you the phone
number to do so it's 859 9827373. 859 -982 -7373.
You can also tweet us. It's at HamTalk Live on
Twitter and I'll be back with Julie right after
this word from ICOM America right here on HamTalk
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Right now, you could be sitting on a beach, sipping
a drink with an umbrella in it, and enjoying
the good life. But instead, you've decided to
listen to Ham Talk Live. So we thank you, and
now here's Neil Rapp with more of the show. Welcome
back to HamTalk Live. Thanks to Scott and Jill
at Tower Electronics for sponsoring the show
tonight to help bring you HamTalk Live. They'll
be back on the HamFest trail as soon as this
pandemic messes over, but you can reach them
anytime. PL -259 .com. Ham talk lives on the
air every Thursday night 9 p .m. Eastern right
here at ham talk live .com Also, thanks to icon
America make sure you check out their line of
gear over at icon America calm All right, well
Julie Swigert is a high school Spanish teacher
in Hebron, Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati,
just across the river. She grew up just down
the road from the National Voice of America Museum
of Broadcasting in Westchester, Ohio, which you've
heard about many times on this program. Julie
is also the secretary of the Way Ministries Guadalajara,
which is a missions organization that takes volunteers
to Guadalajara, Mexico, twice annually when there's
not a pandemic at least, to serve in churches
and do construction at an orphanage. Julie's
been to the Dayton Hamvention numerous times,
as well as the Huntsville Hamfest, and puts up
with my ham radio activities on trips and even
at work. She even sat through part of a contest.
And July 11th, we're getting married and part
of the celebration will include a special event
call sign in 4J, Neil for Julie, in 4J for a
few days next weekend. And she's always saying,
when are you going to have me on the show? When
are you going to have me on the show? And so,
you know, I'd say, okay, well, okay. I'll put
you on, and then it's like, well, no. So this
time, I said, okay, Julie, this is your chance
to be on the show, and everybody can get your
side of the story. So here she is, ladies and
gentlemen, boys and girls, it's Julie Swigert.
Thanks, honey. Don Wilkens was supposed to be
your last resort guest on the show and you got
me on instead. So I think I don't know if I'm
lower than him or if he's lower than me that
you asked me before him. I'm not sure where that
stands. I see everybody keeps saying that. Christian
says that. Now Don's saying it. Now you're like,
you're not the last resort. Oh, I am. I'm not
a him. Operator so I have to be a last resort
Now the last resort would be like putting Ali
on although Ali's been on the show Ali the cat
That would be the last resort So we had this
wedding all planned out for May 30th And then
the whole pandemic hit and we postponed it and
July 11th ended up being the date that we had
picked. And I had already filed for a call sign
several times, W8W, which was W for wedding.
And I thought, you know, that'll be great. And,
you know, WLW is just down the road, you know,
and it's in the same town. So, you know, it kind
of matches up. And every time I would turn it
in, it got turned down. I don't know why, but
they rejected it. And they rejected it. And they
rejected it. And then we got the idea for N4J,
because then we could have, you know, Neil for
Julie. and do n4j. And so I applied for it and
didn't hear anything back. And I checked every
day for like a month and there was nothing there.
So I kind of let it go. And with the pandemic
going on, I was like, yeah, you know, I don't
know if we're going to be, you know, we're just
trying to pull off a wedding. I'm not going to
push the issue. So I happened to look and it
was there. they had approved it and i was actually
thinking about trying to you know call up somebody
and say okay why is this not getting approved
what's going on they had approved it so i put
in for the rescheduled dates and it came up that
same day so so we have this in 4j special event
station next weekend so so what are your thoughts
about Having a call sign for next weekend Wow,
I Suppose the day has been all about what I want
in a lot of ways. So if this keeps you happy
I'll about it As a matter of fact, no threatened
the groomsmen two of whom are also hams, that
at 430, if any one of you is not there at the
front of the barn where we're getting married,
ready to be married, no antennas sticking out
of any pockets or set up anywhere in the barn,
that they will have to deal with me. And I think
the groomsmen are scared enough of me that I
think that was a threat enough and we should
be good. I'm not sure. Yeah, well, the groom
knows better. But I was actually talking to my
best friend and will be the best man, Eric, in
9KDB this afternoon. And he was talking about
that post on Facebook and he said, I didn't even
have to read the whole post. As soon as Julie
said, let me be clear, that was it. That's what
he said. I'm very easy going. understand this
is important to you and I don't fully understand
it but I'm very very supportive of it because
you have your things I have mine and we are very
supportive of each other with that and so it's
fine Thursday it's fine Friday until about 530
it's fine on Sunday it's even fine Saturday morning
as long as it doesn't interfere with what needs
to happen if you are not there Ready to marry
me at 430? We're gonna have a problem. Yes, I
can definitely understand that. But we get our
own call sign. Yeah, fine. Especially when I
don't even have a call sign. Well, this is your
chance because your name is on the call sign.
I mean, it's just a letter. That letter could
stand for a whole lot of different things. No,
but your last name is on the registration. Is
that legal? Yeah, it's legal. What about Sam?
I've been told so many times I've done things
that are illegal. I don't even know it. And you
don't even know it? Yeah. It scares me sometimes.
All right. moving on so when I was on ham nation
a few weeks ago Jocelyn tells me that someone
in the chat room had this to say when I mentioned
that you were going to let me have a tower once
we got a home together this is what they said
marry her marry her marry her So, what are your
thoughts on how much trouble it's been to try
to find a home in your area that allows antennas?
I have to calm myself down before I answer that.
Okay, so it's not so hard to find an area that
will allow antennas. We've got to go outside
of main subdivision. That's doable, but all the
houses don't meet the prerequisites that we need.
Like, not only do we have to have a place that
allows a tower, but no, no, no, the spare bedroom
that you're working from has to be in the back
of the house, can't be in the front of the house.
We found a perfect house a couple of weeks ago.
Gorgeous. Went to see it, walked through it.
I fell in love. But it's a no, just simply because
The master bedroom is in the back and the spare
bedrooms are in the front. And apparently like
distance from said antenna or from said tower
has something to do with something. And so it
was either the master bedroom becomes your ham
shack and I end up sleeping in a tiny spare bedroom
or that wasn't our house. And so we concluded
that was not our house. So it has been frustrating.
I would have already found a house by now or
found land upon which to build a house. But it's
very challenging and yet I drive by like when
I come to see you in Indiana, I drive by all
these places where there's land for sale out
in the country and it's just so doable. I think
it's because we're in the suburbs so close to
downtown Cincinnati that everything is already
taken and it's just really hard to come by land.
if we want to build. So that has added a challenge.
But as far as having the tower, I don't care.
I mean, again, that's your thing. And that's
what you're passionate about. And I will always,
always, always support you in that in whatever
way I can. So I don't care about having a tower.
The difficulties in getting a house with said
tower has been stressful amidst planning for
a wedding too, so. Not to mention in the middle
of a pandemic and literally everything has to
be done twice. Well, you know, this is my joke.
We are on the second wedding dress because I
had an issue with that back in December. We are
on the second venue after our venue unexpectedly
cancelled on us three weeks ago, four weeks ago,
I guess. We are on the second date because of
the pandemic. So I just keep warning Neil to
watch out because I could move on to the second
man. I mean, it's an option. I don't know who
he would be, but it is an option. If I wanted
to move on there, I could. I'm just kidding,
honey. You better be. You put up with so much
with me for so long now that like you're the
one I'm keeping you Well But everything has been
the second it's like we get these cooling fans
And well now they don't fit so we got to get
them from someplace else. I ordered ballpoint
pins So people would have their own pins so that
we wouldn't have to share pins, you know because
of the whole pandemic thing They cancelled those
and I had to reorder them It's like we had to
do everything twice And now we're looking for
land Yeah, we did so yeah, we that's true. We
did we did keep the caterer That's it though
But that's about it. And each other. That's the
important part. All right. Okay, so we've got
one more question and then I'm getting to all
these comments and my screen and my phone and
Twitter and everything is like exploding. So
we'll get to all that here in a little bit. But
for others that are listening out there, what
advice would you give to someone marrying a ham
radio operator be patient usually Neil does his
own thing and I know when he's doing ham stuff
I kind of leave him alone but this whole satellite
pass thing it has just about done us in on multiple
occasions I don't know who created this dumb
satellite thing Any time we're driving down the
road, and I don't mean dumb, like I don't really
mean that, but we're driving down the road and
like he'll just randomly yell at me, okay, we
got a satellite pass, you gotta get off at this
exit. And I'm like, oh, okay, all right. So I
get off and he's like, not that way, go the other
way because it's higher elevation. And it's just,
it's very nerve wracking to try and get to where
I'm supposed to be. And then sometimes it's go
up that little drive right there. And I'm like,
honey, that's somebody's personal driveway. I
don't care, go up it. It's very odd. I've got
to be flexible. It just requires a certain amount
of patience. But, because I know it's what you
love, I'm willing to do it. In the same light,
you turn around and support the things I love.
I think it's important that everybody has their
own interests and their own hobbies. together
so that you have other places to have outlets
and I your ham radio friends like I Love them.
They are some of the dearest people that I've
ever met I absolutely love them and I call them
family and so We've met some I've met some amazing
people because of this being your hobby But it
does require a certain amount of patience from
time to time Especially the ketchup incident
You had your priorities out of line, honey It
was very clear that your priorities were out
of line we stopped so you could do a satellite
pass were in the middle of a field in the middle
of nowhere and I mean it was technically a parking
lot, but it was like an old abandoned parking
lot. There's a Wendy's parking lot in Georgia
No, we weren't in the Wendy's we went to the
old empty parking lot beside it beside it. That's
right. That's right. So We are stopped and I'm
eating my lunch while he's trying to do a satellite
pass and I got ketchup everywhere and he just
didn't care He did not care that I got ketchup
all over because it was more important for him
to make the contact He's learned since I think
I've trained him a little better. That was about
three or four years ago so I've had some time
to train him a little bit better that a Stain
or a crisis on that part is more pressing than
his satellite path I still think he might argue
differently but I know I'm right so and you've
learned about grid squares I have learned about
grid squares and I saw my first visual of them
the other day when you posted something so it
makes so much more sense now I'm always hearing
I've got to cross the line I've got to go across
the line we got it and I'm like Where are these
lines that you're talking about? I'm looking
everywhere and I don't see them. There are no
lines But apparently there are in his head Yeah,
and I guess all you other people understand what
these lines are, but I look everywhere All right,
well there we go All right. Well, we're gonna
take a break when we come back we're gonna start
addressing all these comments and tweets and
Calls and whatever else Probably Probably I don't
think I've ever seen the numbers this high this
early on in the show So maybe Okay. All right.
I'll be back with Julie right after this word
from tower electronics right here on ham talk
live Is this getting serious? I think so Well,
how do you feel about it? Just imagine if you
hadn't run out of PL -259s. Just imagine if your
connectors weren't from Tower Electronics. Consider
the sophisticated quality of connectors from
Tower Electronics. Their silver -plated end connectors
are so good, they've even been used on the International
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you deserve the best. You know I love you. Don't
be caught without PL259's. Visit Tower Electronics
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Tower Electronics, the hams dime store since
1978. Join the conversation. Give us a call at
859 -982 -7373. Again, the number to call is
859 -982 -7373. Or if you'd rather type than
talk, tweet us at HamTalk Live. Now, here's Neil
Rapp with more HamTalk Live. Welcome back to
ham talk live. Thanks to Scott and Jill again
for sponsoring the show from tower electronics
pl -259 .com Be sure to listen to ham talk live
every Thursday night at 9 p .m Eastern time right
here at ham talk live comm and be sure to check
us out on Facebook Twitter and Instagram and
It's now time for your phone calls. So now is
the time to call If you have a question for Julie,
call 859 -982 -7373. Again, 859 -982 -7373, or
you can tweet at HamTalk Live. And if you're
listening to us on the podcast version or on
WTWW, we won't be able to take your call because
we're recording this on Thursday night. And oh
my goodness, the, the Comments and and tweets
and all this stuff. I haven't even been able
to To read them all yet. So I I don't know what
we have, but we have a phone call So let's take
the phone call. Good evening. Welcome to ham
talk live Hey, good evening Neil. This is Brian
KG 5 GT. Oh, it's captain pot stir I Got somebody
else here with me Neil 85 .3 Liz is here. Hi
Liz. Hi Brian. What's going on? We just had the
call and uh say congratulations again and we're
looking forward to uh to y 'all having a big
day and um I need to know more about this special
event. We're gonna have special QSL cards? Yes
we are. So so we're going to do the n4j call
sign. Thursday through Sunday, and I'll probably
be on some on Thursday. Now, outside of that,
I don't know, but family, friends, groomsmen,
they'll be on, and we'll do a QSL card with the
wedding picture on it after we get them back
and everything. We'll do it up and do a QSL card.
So, in 4J. All right. Well, I'm gonna definitely
try and work you and also sorry we didn't get
to see you and Julie this year at and Huntsville
at the ham fest, but hopefully next year I'll
be back to normal and we'll get to hang out with
you all again Yeah, I hope so too yeah, we we
missed seeing you down there and and We will
miss seeing you again next month, but hopefully
next year we'll be able to do it. So thanks for
calling, Brian. It's good to hear from you and
Liz and have a great day. All right. Good talking
to y 'all. See you later, Neil and Julie. Bye,
Neil and Julie. Bye. All right. There we go.
So it's Brian KG5GJT. from down in louisiana
and then we also have someone who who works in
louisiana at least part of the time on the line
don will banks a five d w good evening don are
you there hello don hello don Okay, we've lost
Don. I think we lost Don. We lost Don. All right.
We've got another call coming in. So let me do
that. Oh, and it says rejected. Okay. All right.
Here we go. Okay. All right. Good evening. Welcome
to HempDoc Live. Can you hear me now, Neil? Oh,
I hear you now. I'm trying to be here. Okay.
We've got a phone call. Can you hear me, Neil?
Yes. Well crap, are you on the phone? Oh He left
Okay, he must be having technical difficulties
Who do we have on the phone? I can't hear you
Neil. Oh Hello Hello, hello. Hello. Yes. Oh Hello,
yeah, it's Katie and Mandy Julie's cousin. Oh,
hello Wow We're even getting cousins calling
into the show now Hi guys, we can't wait to see
you next week and Katie especially Mandy too,
but we saw you recently, so. Okay, thanks for
that. We're very excited to see you guys. It's
gonna be awesome. We're excited to see you two.
You guys have done a great job of reinventing
it a few times over. Just a few. Roll with the
punches. We're really good in our family about,
you know, being flexible, right Julie? Um, yeah,
no, not at all. Everything is planned out very
strategically and that's the only way it's supposed
to go. We don't handle change at all. We're super
excited to be part of it. Yep, just enjoy these
next nine days and the countdown. Yeah, the countdown
is on. Yep, and we're all gonna be there cheering
you on. We love you both. All right. Thank you
guys. Thank you. Love you. All right. Love you
all too. All right. Bye bye. Bye. All right.
859 -982 -7373. Boy, the lines are lighting up
here. Let's see who we have here. Hello. Welcome
to Amtok Live. Hello. Hello. Hello, Neil. Yes.
Neil, how are you my friend? I'm good. This is
Skeeter Nash, N -5 -A -S -H, calling you from
the road. And where are you Skeeter? I am about
to... Let's see. I'm not quite to Union City,
Tennessee, which is my destination on this particular
run. in the big truck. Actually, I started a
new dedicated route this week. So I am running
loads of some sort of chicken parts between Tyson
plants. Pick up the loaded trailer in Union City,
Tennessee, take it up to Robards, Kentucky, grab
an empty trailer there, bring it back down to
Union City and do the whole process twice a day
through the week. And the nice thing about it
is it's going to have me home at least for part
of the weekend and maybe a little bit into Monday.
So if I have to do a doctor appointment or something
like that, I can do it on Monday, which is cool.
But it beats the heck out of being out there
three and four weeks at a time, which is what
I was doing before, being away from home for
that long. So yes, my lovely and gracious bride,
Sweetie, KF5KRN, she's a lot happier about the
arrangement. Anyway, this is the first chance
I've had really to call into HamTalk Live and
I've got a reminder now that pops up to remind
me the show is live so that I can listen in and
check things out. So I want to offer best wishes
to you and Miss Julie on the upcoming nuptials
and everything. Or did I miss it? Has it already
happened? No. No. Saturday. Next Saturday. Next
Saturday. Eleven next Saturday seven already
good. So after the yeah, very good. Okay. Well
my wife and I got married on Groundhog Day in
2001 and So next year we will celebrate our 20th
wedding anniversary and we're very very excited
about that and blessed and so hopefully Well,
thank you. And and hopefully you guys will also
enjoy multiple decades of Love and happiness
and togetherness. I hope your your marriages
is At least it's not more happier than than ours
has been and ours has been a good one. So Speaking
of weddings. Did you hear about the there was
this there's a there was an important wedding
recently I don't know if you heard about it,
but there was a YL that had a 40 meter dipole
and she got married to an OM that had a 20 meter
beam Okay, heck or heck beam or maybe that's
wrong some kind of beam antenna, right? Well,
you know the wedding really wasn't all that exciting,
but the reception was fantastic A little radio
joke there for you guys Yeah, I didn't have my
uh, I didn't have my punchline sound effect quite
there. I got it there, but it was a little late.
Sorry Well, that's all right. That's okay. Timing
overrun on the chat. Can I clarify something
for you? I'm sorry, what was that ma 'am? You
said that your best part of your new route is
that you're home more often, but I would argue
that there's also a good part that you come to
Kentucky. That's always got to be a highlight.
Well, it's it's mostly I -69 is most of my route
so it's it's pretty The nice thing about it is
the biggest city that I go through on the route
really is like Madisonville, Kentucky, which
is not that big It's just they've got they've
got a nice little couple of shopping centers
and along the interstate there but otherwise
the traffic is pretty light usually and It's
more of a rural Highway route and so I I don't
have to deal with a lot of traffic that way which
is actually really really nice and so it's This
has been my first week of doing this and I'm
getting ready to wrap it up. So it's it's not
that bad and I Think I can live with it for now
and I'm just happy to be employed You know, I
mean there's there's a lot of folks that are
still having a lot of troubles with that out
there but I'm just thankful to the Lord above
that I can still bring home a paycheck, you know.
Well, I know that route very well down through
Madisonville. It's about the size of my hometown.
And I've been on that road many, many times.
And you know I -69 is like out my window, right?
But it's just a lot further north. Yeah, you're
a lot further north than what I'm going on this
route. In case anybody has any questions, no,
I do not have any kind of a ham rig in the big
truck. Not yet. I'd like to. I carry an HT with
me, and from time to time I've tried to hit local
repeaters if I'm parked somewhere, because of
course I've got to dial them up. I look on a
repeater book and find them and dial them up
on the handy talkie. But other than that, my
ham radioactivity is very limited with the truck.
situation right now, but I would love to change
that at some point. It's just a matter of time
and money and having the proper amount of both
in the proper sequence. Yeah, I get that. So
we're gonna hold you on here for just a minute
if you can, but before we segue here, as we say
in these here radio part things, how did you
go from Calling ice cream to chicken parts. Oh
Well, that's a good question it's a matter of
I Had a talk with my driver manager and my terminal
manager the people I deal with My call my call
driver manager some companies call them dispatchers.
Okay, he's the person responsible for making
sure that I Get routed to where I'm gonna go
and have have miles and everything Well, I was
kind of unhappy with the situation I was in because
the miles were up and down and up and down. You
know, one week I'd make a decent amount of money,
next week I might have nearly a zero paycheck.
And it was just because of the way that they
were running the freight. And there's a lot of
hurry up and wait when it comes to hauling refrigerated
loads, which is what I do, the reefer truck,
reefer trailers. And so I just kind of said,
hey, can we work something out that gets me home
a little bit more often, has a more consistent
method, you know, more consistent mileage and
et cetera, et cetera. So that's what we wound
up doing with this. And so I was occasionally
hauling ice cream loads, but I hauled all kinds
of things. The timing may be better, but. The
timing may be better, but that seems like a downgrade
from ice cream Chicken well Well, hey who doesn't
well, yeah, obviously Ice cream is wonderful.
Everybody loves it. You scream ice cream. We
all scream for ice cream, but back to the matter
is It's not like I can just open up the doors
of the trailer and say, hey, I think I'd like
a drumstick. Doesn't work that way. That's a
good way to get fired, arrested, charged with
theft and all kinds of things. Lose your commercial
driver's license. It's just not a pretty thing.
So you don't do that. I really don't care what
I haul as long as I get that paycheck at the
end of the week. Doesn't matter to me. Well,
unbeknownst to you, we have one of your partners
in crime on the line. I think a little bird told
me that the technical difficulties have been
resolved, and Don Holbein's AE -5DW is here.
I had issues. I was on my Ham Nation wireless
headphone protocol, and I'm plugged in with the
Sonys. Couple of glasses of wine and with considering
the dawn pour that's about four or so Listen,
I just have a few things that I need to I need
to I need to address here with the fair young
The you have a very young Julie the fair young
Julie. Yes, ma 'am Yes, ma 'am. You had wine.
Where's mine? Well, listen geography is not our
friend darling But I do recall a margarita incident.
But that's not why I called. Listen, I've got
a couple of questions here. First off, first
off, listen, if you're looking for a place, do
what we do. We bought 10 acres. OK. And the only
the only thing that we cannot do on this on this
property, you can put as many and as many miles
of antenna wire and towers as you want on here.
But we can't raise hogs. So keep that in mind
when you're looking for property. If the only
restriction is you can't raise hogs, you can
put as much ham up as you want to. Now, listen,
here's the second thing. You were talking about
these antenna contacts, these satellite contacts.
I'm already wearing a kilt to the wedding. Yes,
I'm coming to the wedding. That's confirmed.
And I'm wearing my kilt. Now, here's the question,
Neil. If I show up at the door with a handy talkie
and an elk satellite antenna, will I be turned
away? You won't be turned away by me. Okay, good.
That's all I need to know. I told her that this
back deck on the barn would be great for a satellite.
See, I think the Elk antenna would be the perfect
accessory to go along with a kilt. I agree. I
really do. Hey, uh, John? She's completely speechless
at this point, which is odd. Yes, yes, yes, Skeeter.
See, I'm good. If I were to crash the if I were
to crash the wedding and showed up in overalls
and playing a banjo, would I be turned away?
I'm in Oklahoma. I don't care. I'm from Oklahoma,
dude. I don't care what you're so up in. You'd
have to talk to Julie. Well, that's good, because
I can't play the banjo anyway. You know, listen,
the definition of perfect pitch, by the way,
and I realize this is off -subject, the definition
of perfect pitch is standing 35 feet away from
an outhouse, throwing a banjo at it, and getting
it in the hole on the first try. That's perfect
pitch. And hitting an accordion on the way through.
But I want to tell you, anyway, well, Don, it's
good to visit with you, and I guess we've kind
of taken over Neil's show here. probably not
fair to him. We should probably get our own show.
Is the world ready for that? No! I don't know,
but it could be fun. In all seriousness, Don
is a wonderful friend and we had a good time
last year in Huntsville. In fact, that's where
I got to actually meet up with Neil and Julie
in person for the very first time. We all had
a wonderful time. Unfortunately, that time isn't
gonna happen this year, which really sucks. But
just like to say, I managed to get a report in
last week and I'm also in this week's edition
of Newsline, so it's kind of good to be back.
I've got, you guys aren't gonna believe this,
I actually brought my PR30 out with me on this
run. And I've got a little interface and a way
to put it all through my iPad. So if Karen, Eve
Marie, Katie 5, GUT, or no, I've got her call.
That's not her call. What's her call? Katie 2.
Katie 2. Katie 2, GUT. I had most of it right.
She sends something out for me to do a report.
I can now manage to do that even if I'm on the
road. So if you hear a little... Motor noise
rumble underneath my reports, please excuse that
because it might mean the engines idling so that
I can keep the air conditioning running but I
am about a mile or so from my Destination which
means I'm going to have to jump out and switch
trailers and do all kinds of truck drivey truck
drivey type stuff so You all carry on and thanks
for letting me get in Neil and I'll try to I'll
try to chime in if you want me to from time to
time. Otherwise, 7 -3 to everybody and have a
great 4th of July holiday. God bless America.
I'll hang up and listen off the air. would not
be my first encounter of you with the kilt because
if I remember correctly before I'd even met you
I was told that I had to cut out a life -size
you a fix you to poster board and then cut out
a life -size you and I remember turning around
a kilt for that yeah I still have the scars from
that by the way listen that kit that that life
-size cutout well it's it's actually like 75
like 85 % But it is in my office at I heart New
Orleans right next to a life -size cutout of
oh God, I've just blanked on her name the singer
with Sugarland Jennifer Nettles So that that
kind of is a good company. However, I haven't
been in the office in three months I know we're
short on time and listen I just want to say that
I love you, too You are the perfect couple for
each other. My wife and I will have been married
36 years in September and I am thrilled that
the two of us will be able to share The day that
you guys become husband and wife next weekend
because we're coming and I wasn't sure it was
going to happen. My wife said, you know what?
We got the time and right now we have the money.
So let's do it. And so we're doing it. And I
am so excited about being there because I love
you guys so much and I can't wait for you to
meet my wife of almost 36 years. And I just wish
that you guys have a fraction of the happiness
that we've had. It's not been easy. It never
is easy, but you know what? The result is worth
the struggle. So bless you too. That's basically
all I have to say. Thank you, Don. It made my
day this week when I found out that you guys
were coming. It was so exciting. Nice surprise.
Well, mine too. Mine too. And I love you guys,
and I can't wait to see you. All right. All right,
Don. Thanks for calling, and we'll see you next
week. Looking forward to it. All right. Thanks
so much. Oh my goodness, the phone's still ringing
and we haven't got to the comments, we haven't
got to the tweets, we haven't even got to the
text. So all right, let's do one more call here.
Hello, welcome to HamTalk Live. Thanks for the
welcome. This is KD2GUT. I have been enjoying
this 21st century version of Burns and Allen.
The two of you need your own radio show. Oh,
wait a minute Wait a minute. We have one of those
And skater was getting off -topic I'm like, wait
a minute the whole show is off -topic. Oh Life
is off -topic I'm telling by the way, I wanted
to give you a tip Julie cover your ears. I hear
there'll be a satellite over the barn on July
oh right about the time you'll be Exchanging
vows. I think there's gonna be a satellite pass.
No, no Joking joking. It's a joke. Wait a minute.
It's 430. That's not the right time Exactly.
It's a joke I'm so happy for you guys So happy
for you guys Julie I I want to get some advice
for you You work through the pileup to get Neil
Right? You got through the pile -up. You're the
one with the valid contact. And that's happening
next week. When the station goes on the air and
they've got the special event happening, any
tips on how to work through the pile -up and
make a contact with N4J? Well... Yeah. I have
suffered through the time that there probably
will be such a thing because Neil is loved. He
is well loved by many and I am so grateful that
the people that love him and want to support
him have also embraced me. Well you both, you
both are loved. You both are loved. And you know
that. You're a part of our family already. So
I guess I'll just trust to the fates that I can
land a good contact. I think it's gonna happen.
I think it's gonna happen. I think your day will
be blessed. I think it already is. Well, you
know what Neil was saying, you did everything
twice or you had to do everything twice. So maybe
next year in Dayton, you'll exchange your vows.
with all of us present, for those of us who do
it twice. Twice is good. Honestly, Dane has a
bad track record with me. Oh. Like, I've had
a bad track record. I was denied entry last year,
um, and I, like, I didn't even want in. I just
was with Neil, but whatever. And then the year
before, I had a family emergency during Dayton.
So Dayton's not always kind, so I'll have to
be careful with that. Oh, I think we're going
to change the karma. We're going to change the
karma. OK. Now you'll be there as Mrs. WB9VPG
or Mrs. Neil Rapp. It's going to be different.
Sounds good. It's going to be great. I'm glad
I got through tonight, by the way. I'm really
excited for you guys, and the night would not
have been complete. We'll miss you so much at
the wedding, but... Yeah, I wish we could do
it. I wish circumstances were such. I'm glad
you guys are finally getting married after all
the hassle of the past few months, but I'll be
watching. I'll be live streaming Well, yeah,
I bought special pajamas to wear to the ceremony
And I'll be wearing a party hat and you'll have
to trust me on this Now I'm gonna give you the
tip Julie should have given you on how to contact
the Look at the groom on n4j. Thank Thursday
Think that I will because that I will The n4j
special event operation is going to take place
whenever it is safe to do so And with Julie around
I think Thursday is probably the safest option
Now nobody else is hearing this right? This is
just for me right just for you. No one else is
hearing this except for everybody listening.
Well, thank you for the tip I will I will be
listening for you, and I look forward to the
Contact and I look forward to the QSL card and
definitely will have my computer booted up and
my big screen watching the live stream and weeping
for happiness and also for sadness that I can't
be there. But we will be with you very much in
our hearts. Well, thank you very much, Karen.
Thank you, Karen. We know you'll be there watching,
so. Absolutely. Absolutely. And by the way, this
is a great show. Neil, I think you got a co -host
here. Yeah, I think so. And we'll make this full
-time thing. I like it. The golden age of radio.
I just remembered I'm busy on Thursday night.
Yeah. Okay. I think you'll be busy too. I think
we'll all be where we need to be. No satellites
Thursday night, I hope not. All right, Karen.
Well, thank you so much. Absolutely. We send
our love and we will be in touch. Seventy -three
eighty -eight. Take good care, guys. All right.
Bye now. Bye -bye. Bye. Okay. Text from Best
Man Eric in 9KDP says, I think he aired this
episode of HamTalk Live on Dr. Phil the other
day. So, there you go. His wife Amy says I've
got your back Julie no antennas sticking out
of anywhere and Eric will be on time So there
you know, okay. Okay. I said I said I was only
gonna take one more call and Then I see who this
is. So I'm gonna break the rule We're gonna have
to do this quick though because we're already
15 minutes over and I haven't even got through
the treats yet But good evening Scott Cole kb9
amm neil greetings julie so glad to hear you
on the air even if it is uh uh through the podcast
i'll make it brief because i know you are running
out of time julie you made a good choice in picking
a ham radio operator to share your life with
you never have to worry about him going to the
bars because he'll play on the radios you never
have to worry about him gambling at the racetrack
because he's going to spend all of his money
on radios. You're going to have a wonderful life
together. I'm really hoping that. Don't laugh
so hard. You know I'm right. All the operators
out there know I'm right. I just, my one question
to you. You're very welcome. My one question
is what kind of de -expedition are you having
for your honeymoon? Excuse me? Oh, you didn't
tell her. And that was not an excuse me because
I didn't hear you. I heard you loud and clear.
It was an excuse me of you better change your
tone. I was just kidding. Honest, honest. I hope
you guys have a really, really wonderful. Our
original hunt was supposed to be in Jamaica and
he actually applied to in Jamaica so that he
could operate while we were there. And I agreed
to that. But that has been canceled, and now
we're just going away for just a couple of days.
So there will be no ham radio involved except
for during drive time. Well, I'm glad that you're
letting them do that during drive time because
it's still a fun way to pass the time driving.
And I think in time, You're going to probably
work on getting your license and I look forward
to that day, but we're not going to rush you
on it. Uh, I hope everything goes smoothly for
the next couple of weeks here that there's no
other problems that creep up. Um, chances are
I'm not going to be able to make it to the wedding,
but it's not totally ruled out as of this point
in time. And now that I hear that Don's going
to be there and it's killed, I really have a
reason to try and be there. I wish I had Mike
Hilt, but they're still working on it. Omar the
tent maker is still working on it. Maybe one
day. Well, I will be thinking about you if I
don't make it there and we'll probably try and
catch the... the internet video then and we'll
see what happens. I still have a couple things
going on locally here with my eye doctor and
hopefully I'm going to get that squared away
and then hopefully things will get back to normal
for us. So anyway, best wishes, Godspeed to both
of you, enjoy and be blessed and 73. Thank you,
Scott. Thanks, Scott. Tell Jill I could try.
Alright, we'll speak in the other room. I stepped
outside with the phone. Okay, 73 guys, take care.
Bye bye. Alright, bye bye. Okay, now I'm in trouble.
I'm in real trouble. Okay, now we're getting
more calls. We can't take calls all night. Sorry,
but here's one that is an issue. Emeline wanted
to say hi and she was on hold for 15 minutes.
She said to text you she says hi So hi, Emeline
Emeline is the flower girl Who happens to be
my niece? Yes So hello beautiful little girl
ever she is she is Jocelyn says, nice show tonight.
Looking forward to seeing both next week. So
we've got that. All right. Let's see here. Okay.
I better take this. See the area code. I better
take it. I said it wasn't. Okay. Hello. Welcome
to HamTalk Live. Hello. Hello. Neil. Yes. All
right. You better take this one. Long time listener,
first time caller. Oh my goodness. This is Emmeline.
Emmeline's representative. Emmeline's representative.
Ah, okay, got it. You're representing Emmeline.
Well, it's still in the family, so, you know.
Well, you just wanted to say congratulations.
Well, thank you, damn, appreciate it. Thank you
so much. Hey, Neil, it's Michael. Hey, Michael!
We can't wait to be up there. Hi, Michael! I
know, I hope... I hope they'll let us in. It's
the problem. Stop! Don't give me any ideas. No
Florida quarantine. No, no quarantines. Hey,
Neil, where's the honeymoon? That's right, you
guys are coming to Florida, so maybe... won't
let you in i don't know well uh michael we think
georgia actually there's a long story we're in
georgia we're in georgia now well somewhere in
the middle it's kind of kind of sort of close
to atlanta Peaceful sorta Yeah, we want we want
to try the beach but with with all the you know
pandemic stuff You should have flown down to
Melbourne. Yeah, exactly Exactly. I've heard
there's some nice people down there. Yeah, there's
some great beaches And good Katie's here too.
Yep Yeah, and one of my guests Kevin is well,
he's Merritt Island. We'll call that close enough.
Kevin was on last week. Brevard County. That's
the space code. Yep, same county. Alright guys,
we'll think. Really enjoyed. Thank you so much
for listening and calling in. Yeah, go Buckeyes.
You had to get that in. Alright. Thanks Tim.
Congratulations guys. Thank you. Bye bye. All
right Now, okay, I'm stopping with the phone.
I can't. Okay, we gotta get done. We're already
20 minutes over. All right, Neil and Julie, let
me wish you a fabulous wedding ceremony and many
years of happy marriage. Your great couple, I
commend you both for your work as educators.
And let's see, I'm trying to figure out who Moose
Caboose is, but it's Moose Caboose on Twitter.
I don't see any call sign here. Let's see. What
else do we have here on Twitter? Trying to move
through these as quick as I can. CarlKitty9HQT
is moving to Indianapolis the same weekend as
the wedding, so he's not gonna be around. And
let's see, that was Dawn. And Karen Eve Murray
says, what grid square is the barn? Um, she heard
there might be a satellite in the neighborhood
on the big day. Yeah, that's echo Mike seven
nine, by the way, echo Mike seven nine is the
grid square for, for the barn. Um, Dr. Scott,
right? Key zero MD says, Julie and Neil, let
me wish you a fabulous wedding ceremony and many
years of happy marriage. You're a great couple
and I commend you both for all your work as educators.
Brett, W -I -7 -B -G says, Neil, perhaps you
should get a house with an outbuilding which
can literally be your shack. Carl also says,
did you get a spotted cow for the wedding? Do
we have a spotted cow for the wedding? Why a
spotted cow? I don't know. I don't know. I don't
know. We have a Don. Yeah, we have a Don. Scott
says, Julie, glad you finally got on the show.
What took Neil so long to have you on? Julie,
what do you like most about Neil, his affection
for reruns of WKRP in Cincinnati, the Voice of
America museum, or his secret desire to do a
talk radio show? Oh, gosh. You know what? I love
that he loves people, and so anything that connects
him with other people, I think that's important.
So WKRP can go, but anyone else is good. Oh my
goodness. Oh my goodness. Alright, let's see.
Pull it around. Oh, go ahead. Which is sad because
my biggest complaint is that you never watch
TV with me But so that could be a way to watch
TV, but like yeah not feeling good Paul Brown
WDI GCO says I'm at a dentist appointment. What
is a dentist appointment at? Eight o 'clock at
night. It's so I can't call Yeah, it's ten o
'clock now. Well nine o 'clock in his time zone.
Love both of you thrilled you found each other
and Julie I'm going to build a Quadrifiler helix
with a stacked egg beater for satellite work.
What would you recommend for the matching stubs?
I Don't even know what that means But an egg
beater I can use in the kitchen so take it apart
and let me have the materials I need to cook
There you go Okay, we got we got we got we got
through the tweets. All right, here's Jill kd8
qga is in the shack whoop whoop. So yes, thank
you Jill for being there and John w4 usf Troy
w9 kvr and John says that you have to try to
keep me in line and Let's see. Okay. I lost my
place here Goodness gracious. There's so many
here All right, where are we? All right Troy
says looking forward to hearing her side of the
story and Yeah, we already did talked about dawn
not being the last resort nor Julie Jill says
a tidbit for me. Don't ever go to bed angry Whatever
is going on shelve it till the next day. Trust
me. It doesn't help having it rolling around
in your head all night mentally shelve it so
There you go. Lisa, now you met Lisa out in Connecticut.
Lisa says, if you have the app for 7 -Eleven,
you can get a free Slurpee any day during the
month. So maybe we need to go find a 7 -Eleven
on the honeymoon. Right, that's still the problem.
We don't have any 7 -Elevens around here. I had
my first Slurpee experience with Lisa last year
and I'm so grateful for that. That was a fun
memory. Yeah, it was. It was. We got free Slurpees.
And since we're getting married on 7 -Eleven,
you know, why not? Tim Hayes, KG9NA says, here's
hoping for many great years to come. Just remember
who's the head of the household. Sorry, Neil.
Not you. God bless both of you. Oh, Dawn said,
I'll allow it. This can't be good. And yeah,
Jill says, yeah, she just burned you. Okay. Yes,
Don Don says he's wearing his kilt and he'll
have his HT. So yeah Tim says you better keep
her. Yeah, let me be clear famous last words
Let's see. No. Hi Chris. Hey for CB Don says
oh This is gold. I don't know. I don't know if
this is gold radio if this is MA award -winning
radio, I don't know Let's see Jill Jill says
Julie stand your ground girl and John w4usf says
don't leave Bloomington closest city to heaven
John I I'm not sure that's gonna go over I Don't
know Troy w9kvr says bear in mind. I'm not living
in cave country. Sometimes you have to take one
for the team Well, there you go. All right, let's
see. What else do we have here? ChrisAA4CB says,
I was on my second date and pulled into a Walmart
lot and showed her an SO50 satellite pass. And
yes, we're still together because she passed
the I'm a nerd test. So what do you think of
that one? I'm passing the I'm a nerd test right
now. People are asking me questions and I don't
know anything, but as long as you're happy, I'm
happy, honey. I don't know what's going on with
ham radio stuff. It's over my head. Maybe if
you put it in Spanish, it would make more sense
to me. But I figure if a woman sticks with a
man after she finds out that he's a ham, she's
a good woman. Cuz there's a whole lot that comes
with that. Yeah. Yeah Okay, John says is the
minister a ham operator this is a must oh We
better talk to Farron Okay, Neil Julie is the
best thing to ever happen to you and we can all
tell she will not have to worry about you anymore
She will take care of us take care of that for
us So there you go. Okay matron of honor Wendy
Rhodes I'm so happy for both of you. I can't
wait for next weekend So there you go Wendy's
listening You couldn't ask for a better friend
than her. You've been good for us. You couldn't.
Jill told Don to go home. You're drunk Lisa says
no accordion joke Tim says somebody please get
a camera and record this whole wedding I can't
wait to see it on YouTube and yes, it will be
on YouTube if you go to the n4j page on QRZ .com.
The link is there. So there you go. Okay. All
right. And it looks like we finally made it through
all of that and we're only a half hour over.
So Julie, this is the part where, where we wrap
up the show. So I'm going to be a wrap next time
you come and go. Yes, you will soon be a wrap.
So So so this is where Skeeter says just listen
to the man song by Sean Maury and you'll be fine.
Yes, I know that song very well. So all right.
Let me let me check. Make sure we got everything
and OK, I think we're through everything. So
we need to wrap this up. So this is the part
of the show when when I give my my guest a chance
at some final words, so here you go. It's your
turn. I am supposed to have final words? Yes.
So these are your closing comments. So here are
my final words. We are almost down to eight days
and we will be married and praise the Lord because
it has been a long five years. I cannot wait
to be married and to be the Mrs. Rep. So let's
do this honey. Alright, let's do it. July 11th.
And our hashtag is that's a wrap wedding. Yes,
hashtag that's a wrap wedding. And in 4J on QRZ
.com we'll give you a link to the wedding website
and the YouTube live stream on July 11th at 430
Eastern. Let's see if I can do my UTC conversion
because I got, I got called out by ham badges
this morning for not doing my UTC conversion.
So, okay. So, so four 30 plus 12 would be 16
30 plus four would be 20 30 Zulu. I just said
20 30. Okay. There you go. You had it before
I did. You had it before I did. There you go.
Okay, because Ham Badges called me out for not
posting my satellite. Ham Badges called me out
for posting my satellite passes today and not
being in UTC, so I had to redeem myself. All
right, enough. We're gonna... Troy says she got
you on that one. Yes, she did. All right, we
got to go. We're way over time. So Julie, thank
you for being brave and coming on the show and
entertaining all 10 people who listen. 10 people,
I have at least 10 friends. Oh my goodness. All
right. It's time to end so we're gonna we're
gonna end this all right, so here's the deal
We're not gonna have a show next week or the
week after because we're getting married so There
won't be a show next week, there won't be a show
the week after. On WTWW, we have some encore
presentations, so you can listen to WTWW Saturday
afternoons about 3 .30 Eastern Time. That's 5085
a .m. and there'll be a couple of early episodes
of HamTalk Live. early on in the history of the
show that will be airing on WTWW during those
two weeks. But in those two weeks you can go
back and listen to any of the podcasts online.
And I hope to hear several of you with the N4J
call sign next week. Again, probably more Thursday
than... Friday or Saturday maybe Sunday we'll
see but hope to hear some some people on the
in4j call sign next week so there you go alright
well that's a wrap for this week's edition of
ham talk live thanks to my guest Julie Swigert
soon to be rap and everybody out there in cyberspace
for listening calling in and typing in and invite
you back Thursday July 23rd will be the next
one at 9 p .m. Eastern Time and Eric Guth 4z1UG
is getting up at like 4 o 'clock in the morning
in Israel to be on the show he's going to talk
about the QSO today podcast Virtual Ham Radio
Expo that will take place on August 8th and 9th.
And for a list of all of our upcoming guests,
visit HamTalkLive .com. And if you like the show,
please leave us a review. And for now, this is
Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7 -3, 7 -5, and may
the good DX be yours. Thank you.