WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.660 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:02.660 --> 00:00:06.040 by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables, 00:00:06.259 --> 00:00:12.980 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:00:12.980 --> 00:00:17.660 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, logged 00:00:17.660 --> 00:00:22.879 it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash amateur 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:32.340 for more information about ICOM radios. Here 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:59.579 we go, welcome to Amtok Hey, good evening, everyone. 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:02.619 It's time for HamTalk Live. It's episode number 00:01:02.619 --> 00:01:09.739 203. Team Exuberance CW 2020, recorded live on 00:01:09.739 --> 00:01:14.040 Thursday, March 12th, 2020. I'm your host, Neil 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:17.769 Rapp, WB9 VPG. Thanks for tuning in. To this 00:01:17.769 --> 00:01:20.329 episode of HamTalk Live, tonight we're joined 00:01:20.329 --> 00:01:25.730 by Bryant Rascal, KG5HVO, and Marty Salloway, 00:01:25.810 --> 00:01:28.650 NN1C, and we'll take your calls live in just 00:01:28.650 --> 00:01:31.349 a few minutes. Last week here on the show, Joe 00:01:31.349 --> 00:01:35.099 Eisenberg, KZeroNEB, was here to talk about some 00:01:35.099 --> 00:01:37.819 new kits and if you missed that show you can 00:01:37.819 --> 00:01:41.540 listen anytime at HamTalkLive .com or on your 00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:45.900 favorite podcast app or on YouTube and of course 00:01:45.900 --> 00:01:48.540 we have the rebroadcast every Saturday night 00:01:48.540 --> 00:01:53.140 at about 6 30 p .m. Eastern Time over on WTWW 00:01:53.140 --> 00:02:03.500 that's 5085 on the AM dial 5085 And you can catch 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:07.120 the rebroadcast there. So we're going to be talking 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:11.860 about these young contesters tonight. And so 00:02:11.860 --> 00:02:14.759 if you have a question for them and you're listening 00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:18.500 to us live on Thursday night, you can give us 00:02:18.500 --> 00:02:22.500 a call after the interview by calling this phone 00:02:22.500 --> 00:02:30.659 number 859 -982 -7373. And I'll give you that 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:33.759 phone number again later but we'll do it again 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:36.659 here in just a second so you can write that down 00:02:36.659 --> 00:02:42.840 and have it ready to go. It's 859 -982 -7373 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:45.599 and we'll let you know when it's time to call 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:47.800 but that's the number to have handy. You can 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:51.520 also tweet us. We'll be watching that. It's at 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:54.280 HamTalk Live on Twitter and of course if you're 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:57.939 on Spreaker. We'll be watching the chat here 00:02:57.939 --> 00:03:01.680 as well. So I'll be back with Bryant and Marty 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:05.060 right after this word from ICOM America right 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:10.319 here on HamTalk Live. Get out and be active with 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:14.560 ICOM's new IC705 and its optional multi -function 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:18.650 backpack. 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And thanks to Icom America for sponsoring 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:23.639 HamTalk Live every Thursday night. And thanks 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:26.959 for joining us tonight. And our guests tonight 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:31.920 are some familiar faces to HamTalk Live. First, 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:36.040 Bryant Rascal KG5HVO is a 16 year old ham that's 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:40.899 a past winner of the Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial 00:05:40.899 --> 00:05:44.660 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year 00:05:44.660 --> 00:05:47.300 award. And Brian is a member of the Montgomery 00:05:47.300 --> 00:05:50.259 Alabama Amateur Radio Club, the Alabama Contest 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:53.600 Group, the Georgia Contest Group, and CW Ops, 00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:56.800 just to name a few. He was a participant in the 00:05:56.800 --> 00:05:59.439 World Radio Sport Team Championships last summer 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:03.720 in Germany, and was a member of the 2017 Dave 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:07.339 Coulter Youth DX Adventure to Costa Rica, and 00:06:07.339 --> 00:06:12.740 2019 to Carousel, and he was the 2019 Yoda Month 00:06:12.740 --> 00:06:16.350 Coordinator for Youth on the Air. in the Americas. 00:06:17.069 --> 00:06:21.629 Marty Salloway, NN1C, is 18 years old. He became 00:06:21.629 --> 00:06:26.490 a ham at age 12 in November 2014, and he is also 00:06:26.490 --> 00:06:29.790 a past winner of the Newsline Young Ham of the 00:06:29.790 --> 00:06:33.189 Year award. Four months after he became a ham, 00:06:33.329 --> 00:06:36.230 he upgraded to general, now has his extra. He 00:06:36.230 --> 00:06:38.490 enjoys tinkering, rag chewing, and contesting. 00:06:38.589 --> 00:06:41.720 He builds his own antennas. likes to help people 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:46.139 get on HF and mentor other hams. He also recently 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:49.759 has been getting into design and manufacturing 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:53.420 of some electronic devices, one of which is an 00:06:53.420 --> 00:06:57.600 interface box for SO2R, that single operator 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:01.980 two radios. He is a past speaker at the Dayton 00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:05.379 Ham Invention Youth Forum, as is Bryant, and 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:08.160 often contributes to various ham radio podcasts. 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:10.720 And he is the travel coordinator for Youth on 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:13.699 the Air Camp that's coming up this summer. And 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:17.160 Marty will be studying engineering at Northeastern 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:23.040 University. the fall so Bryant Marty Thanks for 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:25.379 coming on the show. And by the way, both of these 00:07:25.379 --> 00:07:29.339 young men will be teaching Contesting at the 00:07:29.339 --> 00:07:33.000 upcoming youth on the air camp Coming up June 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:38.279 21st. So so welcome back to the show guys Great. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:41.060 Oh, thanks for having us Neil. It's always a 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:45.000 fun time Well, we try to have some fun and we 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:50.810 try to Let people know what's going on with various 00:07:50.810 --> 00:07:53.310 activities and you've got another one coming 00:07:53.310 --> 00:07:59.790 up now team exuberance was something You know 00:07:59.790 --> 00:08:05.329 that started up last year and had a great experience 00:08:05.329 --> 00:08:10.709 Number one in North America last year with the 00:08:10.709 --> 00:08:16.310 single sideband CQ worldwide contest And now 00:08:16.310 --> 00:08:18.970 you've got something new. So Bryant, tell us 00:08:18.970 --> 00:08:24.230 about Team Exuberance's latest event. Oh, well, 00:08:24.329 --> 00:08:28.689 thanks, Neil. So Team Exuberance started last 00:08:28.689 --> 00:08:35.269 year when Violeta Latham, KK8AT, asked Tim Duffy, 00:08:35.289 --> 00:08:38.830 K3LR, if she could invite a group of her ham 00:08:38.830 --> 00:08:43.149 radio contest friends to compete from his world 00:08:43.149 --> 00:08:48.590 -class superstation in the WPX SSB 2019 contest. 00:08:49.470 --> 00:08:52.529 And Tim Duffy generously said, yes, you can definitely 00:08:52.529 --> 00:08:56.629 do that. And that was the real start. And we 00:08:56.629 --> 00:08:59.230 had a phenomenal time during that competition, 00:09:00.210 --> 00:09:04.990 creating new relationships, scored first in North 00:09:04.990 --> 00:09:08.940 America in the multi -two category. So we had 00:09:08.940 --> 00:09:13.279 a great time, made over 6 ,000 QSOs, and Marty, 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:16.659 who is also on the show tonight, co -led that 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:20.000 event and did a great job creating our strategy 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.259 and coordinating a lot of our travel efforts. 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:27.759 And we really think the event was a success because 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:31.039 not only did we have fun and make a high score 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:34.700 in the contest, but we hopefully inspired a lot 00:09:34.700 --> 00:09:38.440 of other youth to become active in radio sport 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:42.740 competitions. This year, Tim Duffy asked me to 00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:46.080 assemble a dream team of youth operators for 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:52.559 the WPXCW2020 contest. This was fun, but also 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:56.529 quite difficult. As small as youth in radio sport 00:09:56.529 --> 00:10:00.570 is, there are some really outstanding CW ops 00:10:00.570 --> 00:10:04.470 out there. But I am super excited about this 00:10:04.470 --> 00:10:08.830 team. They're from four continents and six countries. 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:15.309 We have Bruce Yang, KNAU, who also holds a BH4 00:10:15.309 --> 00:10:20.159 EPL. And he won the world... rookie plaque last 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:25.220 year in the WPXCW 2019 contest and is active 00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:29.899 from W4AQL or the Georgia Tech Radio Club. We 00:10:29.899 --> 00:10:35.120 also have Marty NN1C, a fantastic operator from 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:38.519 Massachusetts who I believe made over 3 ,000 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:43.720 QSOs just running 100 watts in the ARRL DXCW 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:48.620 2020 contest just a few weekends ago. And again, 00:10:48.740 --> 00:10:52.580 just an outstanding technical expert, strategist, 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:55.440 and we're super excited to have him on the team. 00:10:56.059 --> 00:11:01.120 We also have David, VE7DZO, another great operator 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:03.960 from British Columbia who puts up some great 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:09.759 scores in the CQ Worldwide events. He does really 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:12.639 fantastic for his setup with just a four element 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:18.019 Yagi on 20 and a two element on 40. And he can 00:11:18.019 --> 00:11:21.539 also copy 55 words a minute, so another very 00:11:21.539 --> 00:11:26.100 impressive operator. We have Matias Acevedo Von 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:30.500 Frey from Chile. Matias is an awesome guy. I 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:33.200 can consider him a mentor as well as a peer. 00:11:33.629 --> 00:11:36.970 I was very fortunate to be his teammate at WRTC 00:11:36.970 --> 00:11:41.889 2018 in Germany. He's super smart, a killer CWOP, 00:11:42.090 --> 00:11:44.549 and he's actually tracking for another place 00:11:44.549 --> 00:11:51.590 at WRTC 2022 in Italy. We have Philip, DK6SP, 00:11:51.789 --> 00:11:58.750 who is currently a QRV in Zambia as 9J2LA as 00:11:58.750 --> 00:12:01.950 part of a D Expedition there. another great operator, 00:12:02.389 --> 00:12:08.690 a WRTC 2018 competitor. We also have Tommy, HA8RT, 00:12:09.090 --> 00:12:12.649 who was on Team Exuberance last year and is from 00:12:12.649 --> 00:12:16.330 Hungary. Tommy actually was the regional winner 00:12:16.330 --> 00:12:19.830 for the high -speed telegraphy competition in 00:12:19.830 --> 00:12:23.129 Eastern Europe a couple years ago. We know from 00:12:23.129 --> 00:12:26.529 last year that he can definitely run a European 00:12:26.529 --> 00:12:28.529 pile -up. It's just like operating at home for 00:12:28.529 --> 00:12:32.149 him. Again, tons of contesting experience for 00:12:32.149 --> 00:12:39.090 someone his age. And then myself, I enjoy doing 00:12:39.090 --> 00:12:42.370 single ops from my home as well as contesting 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:46.950 with the Georgia Contest Group at WW4LL. And 00:12:46.950 --> 00:12:51.850 I'm a big proponent for youth and radio as it's 00:12:51.850 --> 00:12:55.409 given me opportunities that I wouldn't have imagined 00:12:55.409 --> 00:12:57.769 when I first got my license. Marty, do you want 00:12:57.769 --> 00:13:01.059 to add anything? No, I think Brian did a fantastic 00:13:01.059 --> 00:13:04.039 job. We're just so excited to have this opportunity 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:07.559 and Brian said it well. It's a dream team and 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:10.600 I'm honored to be surrounded by just fantastic 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:14.220 operators and I think Brian's spoken well to 00:13:14.220 --> 00:13:16.080 our preparation going into this and bringing 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:18.179 a lot of operators together is a lot of work. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:21.460 It costs a lot of money, obviously, but we know 00:13:21.460 --> 00:13:24.549 that with hard work... and persistence, we can 00:13:24.549 --> 00:13:27.409 be successful. I think there is, there's one 00:13:27.409 --> 00:13:29.450 thing I had to offer about our operations, that 00:13:29.450 --> 00:13:31.690 there is no magic. There's a lot of grit and 00:13:31.690 --> 00:13:33.809 sweat and planning and strategy that goes into 00:13:33.809 --> 00:13:36.509 them. And we are gonna continue that and hopefully 00:13:36.509 --> 00:13:41.789 be successful again in the CQWPX contest, CW 00:13:41.789 --> 00:13:45.350 contest this May. And if Bryant said that finding 00:13:45.350 --> 00:13:48.710 a team of youth contesters was hard, youth CW 00:13:48.710 --> 00:13:50.549 contesters, there are even fewer of us, but. 00:13:50.830 --> 00:13:53.470 As the name suggests, we are exuberant and excited 00:13:53.470 --> 00:14:00.429 and practicing, and we are stoked for WPXCW2020. 00:14:02.149 --> 00:14:05.450 Well, you all really have assembled a dream team, 00:14:06.330 --> 00:14:10.029 and most of these operators on the team, if not 00:14:10.029 --> 00:14:15.649 all of them, are better CW operators than a lot 00:14:15.649 --> 00:14:19.340 of us. I can guarantee you, I can't. copy 55 00:14:19.340 --> 00:14:24.519 words a minute and never did. Even when I was 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:28.059 running code a lot. So, you know, it's pretty 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:30.820 impressive that you've got members like that 00:14:30.820 --> 00:14:36.100 that can really, you know, get the speed up and 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:39.799 get going on this. And I look forward to hearing 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:43.500 how you all do on this one as well. And I know 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:48.710 the first one just went. nearly flawlessly. So 00:14:48.710 --> 00:14:53.629 we've kind of looked at the operators and who 00:14:53.629 --> 00:15:00.250 those will be. Let's talk a little bit, Brian, 00:15:00.330 --> 00:15:04.549 about how people can help out the cause here 00:15:04.549 --> 00:15:10.379 for the event. How can they help? Sure, so one 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:14.159 of our goals as an organization is to promote 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:17.799 youth in radio sport. So any mention or promotion 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:20.980 of Team Exuberance is helping with awareness 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:24.159 and letting the larger amateur radio community 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:28.440 know that there are indeed kids and youth contesters 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:32.970 out there on the air and having fun. But if you 00:15:32.970 --> 00:15:36.090 want to help in a really tangible way, we have 00:15:36.090 --> 00:15:39.870 a GoFundMe campaign going on. It's on our website 00:15:39.870 --> 00:15:44.809 teamexuberance .org I'll say that again teamexuberance 00:15:44.809 --> 00:15:49.190 .org and we are fundraising to cover the cost 00:15:49.190 --> 00:15:52.690 of the travel expenses for the team to get to 00:15:52.690 --> 00:15:58.090 and from K3LR and to also cover some of the lodging 00:15:58.090 --> 00:16:02.870 cost and food. Marty, do you have anything? No, 00:16:02.950 --> 00:16:07.529 I think it's important just to note that we take 00:16:07.529 --> 00:16:09.850 donations. We're very grateful for all donations 00:16:09.850 --> 00:16:12.590 that come in. And a big part of what we do is 00:16:12.590 --> 00:16:15.269 trying to make sure that what we're doing is 00:16:15.269 --> 00:16:18.730 accessible to anybody who's proficient and skilled 00:16:18.730 --> 00:16:22.009 to join the team. And we want to make sure that 00:16:22.009 --> 00:16:23.710 it's financially accessible for everybody who 00:16:23.710 --> 00:16:26.870 we have invited. And that means removing the 00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:29.399 financial burden from the operator. You don't 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:32.259 want that to be a limiting factor So all of the 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:36.220 funds go directly to cover our costs. There's 00:16:36.220 --> 00:16:38.940 no profiting. There's no money -making This is 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:41.860 I think it's a really meaningful donation to 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:45.100 amateur radio because you see you see the funds 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:48.179 going directly into giving young people experiences 00:16:48.179 --> 00:16:51.100 and I think the Experiences that I've crafted 00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:53.600 an amateur radio have given or have been invaluable 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:57.490 for my life and invaluable for my growth both 00:16:57.490 --> 00:17:01.610 personal and as a contestor. And I think these 00:17:01.610 --> 00:17:04.730 experiences really propel each operator to the 00:17:04.730 --> 00:17:07.130 next level. So it's a privilege to be part of 00:17:07.130 --> 00:17:09.650 this team and it's a privilege to ask for your 00:17:09.650 --> 00:17:12.430 support. And if you're going to contribute to 00:17:12.430 --> 00:17:14.569 an amateur radio cause this year, I would suggest 00:17:14.569 --> 00:17:17.549 that Team Exuberance is a really good one to 00:17:17.549 --> 00:17:21.130 support. Yes. And I also just want to add in 00:17:21.130 --> 00:17:24.630 a big thank you. to all of the individuals and 00:17:24.630 --> 00:17:28.190 clubs that have already contributed to Team Exuberance 00:17:28.190 --> 00:17:31.170 because we really wouldn't be able to do this 00:17:31.170 --> 00:17:34.250 without your support and generosity towards youth 00:17:34.250 --> 00:17:38.410 in contesting. Seriously, it's very touching 00:17:38.410 --> 00:17:40.970 when we find out that somebody thought what we 00:17:40.970 --> 00:17:43.150 were doing was special enough to donate and we're 00:17:43.150 --> 00:17:45.569 very grateful for every single penny. Seriously, 00:17:45.630 --> 00:17:50.130 every penny helps. So yeah, make sure you check 00:17:50.130 --> 00:17:54.869 that out. You know on go fund me and they're 00:17:54.869 --> 00:17:58.009 raising the money and I put my donation in pretty 00:17:58.009 --> 00:18:03.069 early on and encourage you to do the same It's 00:18:03.069 --> 00:18:05.809 just a great likely said a great opportunity 00:18:05.809 --> 00:18:10.190 for youth and you know, there are some other 00:18:10.190 --> 00:18:14.190 youth Contesting things that you know, for example, 00:18:14.349 --> 00:18:18.430 Yark has tried to put together that kind of comes 00:18:18.430 --> 00:18:23.230 off of this whole team exuberance thing to get 00:18:23.230 --> 00:18:26.329 more young people involved in contesting and 00:18:26.329 --> 00:18:32.170 it's a real role model for young hams and gives 00:18:32.170 --> 00:18:37.069 them the experience of, you know, or the knowledge 00:18:37.069 --> 00:18:41.829 of knowing that there are great young hams that 00:18:41.829 --> 00:18:47.150 are great young operators out there. And so it's 00:18:47.150 --> 00:18:51.470 a great role model as well. And Bryant, I know 00:18:51.470 --> 00:18:56.250 that should there be any funds left over, there's 00:18:56.250 --> 00:18:59.589 a cause that's near and dear to your heart because 00:18:59.589 --> 00:19:02.970 you've been on two of these expeditions. So, 00:19:03.930 --> 00:19:06.369 or, well, okay, I'm sorry, I'm not supposed to 00:19:06.369 --> 00:19:11.430 use the word expedition. It's adventure. So tell 00:19:11.430 --> 00:19:16.059 us a little bit about that. Yes, so any remaining 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:20.460 funds that we have left over from this Team Exuberance 00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:23.619 operation, we will be contributing to the Dave 00:19:23.619 --> 00:19:27.460 Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure, which is 00:19:27.460 --> 00:19:31.700 a great organization that gives youth operators 00:19:31.700 --> 00:19:36.339 the opportunity to travel to a DX location like 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:41.049 Curaçao. or Costa Rica or the island of Ceiba. 00:19:41.230 --> 00:19:44.650 And it really gives them the opportunity to receive 00:19:44.650 --> 00:19:49.329 mentoring and to run some really fast -paced 00:19:49.329 --> 00:19:53.089 pileups from the Caribbean on the HF bands. I've 00:19:53.089 --> 00:19:56.920 been very fortunate. to be on two YouthDX Adventure 00:19:56.920 --> 00:20:01.180 teams, one in 2017 that went to Costa Rica and 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:06.119 one in 2019 that went to Curacao at the PJ2T 00:20:06.119 --> 00:20:11.299 contest station. were just phenomenal experiences, 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:15.440 getting to meet and operate with other youth 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:19.180 who shared the same passion for DXing and contesting, 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:22.880 and to also receive some coaching and instruction 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:28.980 from Don Dubon, N6JRL, and Jim Storms, AB8YK, 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:34.049 who work really hard to organize and put these 00:20:34.049 --> 00:20:37.390 events on for youth contesters. So, the Youth 00:20:37.390 --> 00:20:43.049 TX Adventure is another youth dedicated and heavily 00:20:43.049 --> 00:20:46.750 driven and motivated organization to draw youth 00:20:46.750 --> 00:20:50.369 into the hobby and to nurture them in their journey. 00:20:52.730 --> 00:20:55.509 Now, we've got one other thing that we kind of 00:20:55.509 --> 00:20:59.930 need to talk about here and it's been a pretty 00:20:59.930 --> 00:21:04.420 crazy last couple of days. And I'm sure, you 00:21:04.420 --> 00:21:10.059 know, everybody is kind of sick of hearing about 00:21:10.059 --> 00:21:15.160 this coronavirus thing. And I tried to avoid 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:21.680 it because I'm sick of hearing about it. I was 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:24.099 announcing a basketball tournament tonight and 00:21:24.099 --> 00:21:26.180 got a phone call right in the middle of the tournament 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:28.720 that, you know, school's canceled tomorrow and 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:32.259 we're doing all this stuff with e -learning to 00:21:32.259 --> 00:21:36.700 try to keep going with school without being there. 00:21:37.779 --> 00:21:42.859 And John, W4USF, who's in the chat, it was like 00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:46.059 great to have HamTalk Live to listen to because 00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:49.670 the Big Ten basketball tournament. is gone and 00:21:49.670 --> 00:21:54.130 now the NCAA tournament's gone and and all these 00:21:54.130 --> 00:21:57.029 things are being canceled and there's all kinds 00:21:57.029 --> 00:22:00.369 of stuff going on and it's kind of crazy but 00:22:00.369 --> 00:22:06.609 you know Marty you know I'm sure you're keeping 00:22:06.609 --> 00:22:09.529 an eye on this because you do have some international 00:22:09.529 --> 00:22:13.180 people coming in on this. Well, certainly to 00:22:13.180 --> 00:22:15.700 Neil and I'd first like to mention that I turn 00:22:15.700 --> 00:22:17.640 off the tournaments to listen to him talk live 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:21.809 it's really a key part of my my afternoon routine, 00:22:22.390 --> 00:22:24.809 my Thursday evening routine. But of course, yeah, 00:22:25.029 --> 00:22:27.529 we are monitoring the coronavirus, the COVID 00:22:27.529 --> 00:22:30.349 -19 outbreak here in the United States, and we 00:22:30.349 --> 00:22:33.170 are following it closely. Our top priority is 00:22:33.170 --> 00:22:36.369 protecting, keeping, safeguarding all of our 00:22:36.369 --> 00:22:38.789 team members and their families, and we would 00:22:38.789 --> 00:22:40.650 not want to do anything that would jeopardize 00:22:40.650 --> 00:22:44.700 that. closely monitoring the situation and we 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:47.460 will take action as needed. But so far we are 00:22:47.460 --> 00:22:50.359 just monitoring and soaking in as much data as 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:52.859 we can and talking to as many experts as we can 00:22:52.859 --> 00:22:56.400 so we can act responsibly and act with information. 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:04.480 And that's what a lot of events are doing right 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:06.720 now is just kind of watching to see what's going 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:12.099 to happen. I know You know, some local hamfests 00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:14.480 around here for this weekend have cancelled. 00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:18.119 So, you know, just keep an eye on this stuff 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:20.339 before you take off to a hamfest. You might want 00:23:20.339 --> 00:23:23.619 to check the website and just kind of make sure. 00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:29.720 But that's what's going on right now. So we'll 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:33.559 leave it at that and know that we're keeping 00:23:33.559 --> 00:23:37.859 an eye on it. Wash your hands. Yes, and wash 00:23:37.859 --> 00:23:41.859 your hands. Wash your hands wash your hands and 00:23:41.859 --> 00:23:45.839 wash your hands and and and Seeing happy birthday 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:48.359 while you're doing it. Yes and wash your hands 00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:53.299 again So, you know, we'll keep you know being 00:23:53.299 --> 00:23:57.099 vigilant about it and and hopefully things will 00:23:57.099 --> 00:23:59.700 I want to say what is it the flattening of the 00:23:59.700 --> 00:24:02.599 curve? Yeah, so hopefully we'll get the curve 00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:06.460 flattened soon and we can kind of get back to 00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:10.190 normal so we'll We'll leave it there. Well, we're 00:24:10.190 --> 00:24:12.869 going to take a break. When we come back, we're 00:24:12.869 --> 00:24:16.349 going to talk a little more with Bryant and Marty 00:24:16.349 --> 00:24:20.049 and we'll take your phone calls and your questions 00:24:20.049 --> 00:24:22.430 right after this word from Tower Electronics 00:24:22.430 --> 00:24:28.069 right here on HamTalk Live. Thanks for choosing 00:24:28.069 --> 00:24:31.130 Tower Electronics. How may we help you today? 00:24:31.670 --> 00:24:35.460 We have PL 259s. We have in connectors. We have 00:24:35.460 --> 00:24:39.039 SMA adapters. We have VNC adapters. What can 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:42.319 I show you today? Where's the tower? Well, we 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:45.480 don't actually have a tower with us, but we have 00:24:45.480 --> 00:24:47.740 all kinds of things you can use with a tower. 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:51.440 We have power poles, antennas, soldering irons 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:54.700 and meters. Where's the tower? Ma 'am, that's 00:24:54.700 --> 00:24:57.259 the name of our company. We can't haul towers 00:24:57.259 --> 00:24:59.420 to all the ham -fests across the country that 00:24:59.420 --> 00:25:02.069 we visit. But we have almost every connector 00:25:02.069 --> 00:25:04.609 and adapter you would need to connect your antenna 00:25:04.609 --> 00:25:06.730 that's on your tower. I don't think there's a 00:25:06.730 --> 00:25:10.329 tower back there. I really don't. Tower Electronics. 00:25:10.650 --> 00:25:13.769 Visit us at a ham -fist near you or call 920 00:25:13.769 --> 00:25:19.569 -435 -2973 or see our whole catalog at PL -259 00:25:19.569 --> 00:25:22.390 .com. Sorry, one thing we don't have is a tower. 00:25:23.630 --> 00:25:27.650 Join the conversation. Give us a call at 859 00:25:27.650 --> 00:25:33.650 -982 -7373. Again, the number to call is 859 00:25:33.650 --> 00:25:39.349 -982 -7373. Or, if you'd rather type than talk, 00:25:39.690 --> 00:25:42.950 tweet us at HamTalk Live. Now, here's Neil Rapp 00:25:42.950 --> 00:25:52.170 with more HamTalk Live. You're listening to Ham 00:25:52.170 --> 00:26:14.279 Talk Live with Neil Rapp. Tower electronics ham 00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:18.019 fest schedule coming up that was scheduled for 00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:22.619 Toledo on March 15th this weekend and I believe 00:26:22.619 --> 00:26:26.579 That's been canceled. So you might want to check 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:30.599 on that But coming up on their schedule. They 00:26:30.599 --> 00:26:33.740 have April 18th in Stoughton, Wisconsin just 00:26:33.740 --> 00:26:37.400 outside of Madison, Wisconsin But hey, you can 00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:43.720 visit them anytime you want at PL -259 .com. 00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:47.500 And thanks to Tower Electronics for bringing 00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:50.640 HamTalk Live to you every Thursday night, 9 p 00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:53.539 .m. Eastern Time, right here at HamTalkLive .com. 00:26:54.119 --> 00:26:56.660 And be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, 00:26:56.779 --> 00:26:59.440 and Instagram. And it's time for your calls now. 00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:03.660 So if you have a question for Bryant and or Marty, 00:27:03.819 --> 00:27:12.440 give us a call. Phone number is 859 -982 -7373. 00:27:12.539 --> 00:27:18.259 Again, 859 -982 -7373. Or you can tweet us at 00:27:18.259 --> 00:27:22.819 HamTalk Live. If you're in the speaker chat, 00:27:22.900 --> 00:27:26.200 you can comment there as well. And if you're 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:28.900 listening to us on the podcast edition of the 00:27:28.900 --> 00:27:34.349 show or on WTWW, I'm sorry, but we're not. Here 00:27:34.349 --> 00:27:39.950 so It's Thursday night right now Chris blocks 00:27:39.950 --> 00:27:44.569 of a for CB says we just canceled the Gulf Coast 00:27:44.569 --> 00:27:49.500 amateur radio club Amfest in Pasco County, Florida. 00:27:50.660 --> 00:27:54.660 So there's another cancellation coming on. So 00:27:54.660 --> 00:27:57.759 again, you know, check the websites if you're 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:00.900 going to a ham fest or planning on going to a 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:04.720 ham fest here in the next few weeks because there 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:08.349 have been quite a few of those. cancelled so 00:28:08.349 --> 00:28:12.509 make sure you check that out. Okay again 859 00:28:12.509 --> 00:28:18.650 -982 -7373 is the phone number to call and we'll 00:28:18.650 --> 00:28:23.049 check Twitter here and we'll check some of the 00:28:23.049 --> 00:28:25.470 the chat and everything but feel free to give 00:28:25.470 --> 00:28:33.009 us a call 859 -982 -7373. And thanks to Marty 00:28:33.009 --> 00:28:39.509 in N1C, he's the engineer behind 859 -982 -7373. 00:28:40.289 --> 00:28:44.089 So thanks to Marty for working on our phone system. 00:28:45.230 --> 00:28:47.950 And actually we've got an interesting question 00:28:47.950 --> 00:28:51.009 from John I'm going to take here before we talk 00:28:51.009 --> 00:28:56.710 about some things that they learned at K3LR last 00:28:56.710 --> 00:29:02.460 time around. John W4USF wants to know what got 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:07.880 both of you interested in ham radio. So Marty, 00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:11.400 we'll go to you first this time. I'll punt to 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:13.059 Bryant. He has a much more interesting story. 00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:19.109 Oh, okay. Bryant, there you go. You're on. So 00:29:19.109 --> 00:29:22.349 I've always been interested in two -way communications. 00:29:22.970 --> 00:29:24.890 From a very young age, I was always playing outside 00:29:24.890 --> 00:29:27.170 with my younger brother, and we had walkie -talkies. 00:29:27.410 --> 00:29:30.309 And we would play in the woods and perform different 00:29:30.309 --> 00:29:33.210 experiments and try and learn as much as we could 00:29:33.210 --> 00:29:38.430 about how terrain and topography affects radio 00:29:38.430 --> 00:29:42.089 signals. And that eventually led to an interest 00:29:42.089 --> 00:29:46.259 in CB radio, unfortunately. But it was really 00:29:46.259 --> 00:29:50.980 cool though, because it was about 2014 when the 00:29:50.980 --> 00:29:54.619 solar cycle was at its peak. And so I was hearing 00:29:54.619 --> 00:29:59.799 lots of stations from across the country, and 00:29:59.799 --> 00:30:04.599 that got me even more interested. And I'm a Boy 00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:08.099 Scout, and I decided that I wanted to take the 00:30:08.099 --> 00:30:11.920 Radio Merit Badge course at Auburn University. 00:30:13.940 --> 00:30:17.880 While we were at the course the instructor made 00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:21.480 a contact in the a double RL DX SSB contest in 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:24.700 2015 and he made a contact to the Netherlands 00:30:24.700 --> 00:30:27.359 and that sealed the deal for me I wanted to become 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:31.619 a ham radio operator and I was hooked on DX and 00:30:31.619 --> 00:30:34.460 I was fortunate to join a really good club in 00:30:34.460 --> 00:30:37.940 New Orleans, Louisiana that Was able to help 00:30:37.940 --> 00:30:41.339 me get started in the hobby. So I guess I'll 00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:46.069 shoot it back at Marty Certainly My story is 00:30:46.069 --> 00:30:47.670 not nearly as interesting. It actually starts 00:30:47.670 --> 00:30:50.250 on the internet. I discovered amateur radio I 00:30:50.250 --> 00:30:52.250 think was a YouTube video to be precise I've 00:30:52.250 --> 00:30:54.190 always I think I think that's what I've decided 00:30:54.190 --> 00:30:57.089 the answer is I didn't know any radio hams or 00:30:57.089 --> 00:31:00.230 anything like that And I just started studying. 00:31:00.230 --> 00:31:02.430 I figured out there is this ham radio thing I 00:31:02.430 --> 00:31:05.650 took a bunch of practice tests and My favorite 00:31:05.650 --> 00:31:07.670 ham radio experience is when I went to get my 00:31:07.670 --> 00:31:10.690 technician license. I walked into the exam. Yeah, 00:31:10.690 --> 00:31:14.420 I was a young kid and The examiner said, oh, 00:31:14.460 --> 00:31:17.259 is your father here to sit for the exam? I said, 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:20.680 no, I am. So what class of license does your 00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:23.619 father have? They asked. Oh, no, I'm the only 00:31:23.619 --> 00:31:26.839 ham. So your grandfather was a ham, right? No, 00:31:26.839 --> 00:31:29.140 sir. I just found Ham Radio on the internet. 00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:31.539 I studied, and now I'm here to take the test. 00:31:31.819 --> 00:31:35.019 Oh, well, you're going to fail, son. And I said, 00:31:35.099 --> 00:31:37.859 no, sir, I'm going to pass the test. And the 00:31:37.859 --> 00:31:40.920 rest is history, as they like to say. I was quickly 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:44.509 hooked. I became active on two meter repeaters, 00:31:45.329 --> 00:31:47.910 which morphed into learning about HF. I learned 00:31:47.910 --> 00:31:49.869 so much on those two meter repeaters. I can't 00:31:49.869 --> 00:31:52.250 tell people enough how great that period of my 00:31:52.250 --> 00:31:55.890 life was for homering and mentorship. And then 00:31:55.890 --> 00:31:58.630 I went on to get my general, and HF came soon 00:31:58.630 --> 00:32:01.750 after. And once I was bit by the contesting bug, 00:32:01.910 --> 00:32:06.509 as they say, the rest was history. And I have 00:32:06.509 --> 00:32:11.119 just been... so privileged and honored to be 00:32:11.119 --> 00:32:14.019 surrounded by a great community with fantastic 00:32:14.019 --> 00:32:17.940 mentors and Elmers to learn from and contesters 00:32:17.940 --> 00:32:21.440 who have both shown me the way and given me opportunities 00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:25.500 to use their stations and practice new things. 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:28.359 And when the opportunity came to become involved 00:32:28.359 --> 00:32:30.500 with Team Exuberance, I said, yes, this is the 00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:33.920 thing. Because like Bryant, one of my biggest 00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:36.450 goals is I keep getting more people involved 00:32:36.450 --> 00:32:39.470 in amateur radio and advancing what we do. I 00:32:39.470 --> 00:32:42.630 am a big technology for amateur radio, a technology 00:32:42.630 --> 00:32:45.869 developer for amateur radio and I love this hobby. 00:32:45.910 --> 00:32:48.970 It has been such a key part of my education and 00:32:48.970 --> 00:32:53.130 my experiences and it's the best gift I've ever 00:32:53.130 --> 00:32:56.210 been given which was my amateur radio journey 00:32:56.210 --> 00:32:58.650 and it started out with that YouTube video way 00:32:58.650 --> 00:33:01.009 back then in the VE who wouldn't let me take 00:33:01.009 --> 00:33:06.599 the test. Well, I think that's still pretty good 00:33:06.599 --> 00:33:11.839 story and I know that the your second favorite 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:19.799 gift My second favorite gift is within reach 00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:27.940 actually 2017 Dayton Hamvention outside of the 00:33:27.940 --> 00:33:32.240 Oh, what was it called the old the the low ceiling 00:33:32.240 --> 00:33:37.640 the forums room. Yeah the forums buildings this 00:33:37.640 --> 00:33:42.140 this guy from Ohio presented me with a plastic 00:33:42.140 --> 00:33:46.579 chicken and a plastic fries and the chicken and 00:33:46.579 --> 00:33:49.519 the fries squeak and I still have them both and 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:51.579 it was this really nice guy named you rap the 00:33:51.579 --> 00:33:53.799 next year he started a podcast called ham talk 00:33:53.799 --> 00:33:57.319 live and my call sign at the time was KC one 00:33:57.319 --> 00:34:01.259 CW F chicken with fries and believe it or not 00:34:01.500 --> 00:34:05.099 It is maybe 15 feet from where I'm standing right 00:34:05.099 --> 00:34:10.679 now So now he's just in in one chicken, but and 00:34:10.679 --> 00:34:16.500 and one chicken All right. Well Troy w9kvr wants 00:34:16.500 --> 00:34:20.920 wants a follow -up on this and and this is something 00:34:20.920 --> 00:34:24.739 that I've Kind of noticing a trend with young 00:34:24.739 --> 00:34:31.929 hams is YCW How did you get interested specifically 00:34:31.929 --> 00:34:38.690 in CW? So for me I was really interested in DX 00:34:38.690 --> 00:34:41.590 when I first got my general and I lived in New 00:34:41.590 --> 00:34:45.150 Orleans Louisiana at the time and I had a very 00:34:45.150 --> 00:34:48.090 small station just a few dipole antennas and 00:34:48.090 --> 00:34:50.650 a tree in the front yard and so I was having 00:34:50.650 --> 00:34:55.610 a lot of trouble contacting DX stations on SSB 00:34:55.610 --> 00:34:59.730 and I was talking to a few guys at the Jefferson 00:34:59.730 --> 00:35:04.469 Amateur Radio Club about my frustrations. And 00:35:04.469 --> 00:35:06.289 they said, oh, well, you might want to just try 00:35:06.289 --> 00:35:11.909 CW. And that really was a great suggestion. And 00:35:11.909 --> 00:35:15.250 they let me take a practice oscillator home. 00:35:15.550 --> 00:35:20.750 And I just began tapping out CW since late 2016. 00:35:21.969 --> 00:35:25.610 And it's been really a really awesome because 00:35:25.610 --> 00:35:32.429 CW will get through when SSB won't. And I find 00:35:32.429 --> 00:35:37.030 CW pileups to be a lot of fun and a great challenge 00:35:37.030 --> 00:35:41.530 that takes a lot of practice and skill to become 00:35:41.530 --> 00:35:45.750 proficient at. So I hope that answers your question. 00:35:46.550 --> 00:35:50.090 Marty. All right, Marty. Yeah, I mean, I think 00:35:50.090 --> 00:35:53.929 CW is kind of. It's what the it's it's certainly 00:35:53.929 --> 00:35:55.449 the place where I think there's actually the 00:35:55.449 --> 00:35:58.590 most kind of growth and change in techniques 00:35:58.590 --> 00:36:02.969 in operating at the moment and with the kind 00:36:02.969 --> 00:36:07.179 of advent of 2BS IQ or synchronized derleving 00:36:07.179 --> 00:36:09.840 of QSOs on two bands during contests that really 00:36:09.840 --> 00:36:13.480 drew me in and you want to be a competitive contester 00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:14.960 that's something you need in your arsenal and 00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:18.260 I gotta say once you do a code contest phone 00:36:18.260 --> 00:36:20.699 contesting seems a little bit less fun and I 00:36:20.699 --> 00:36:24.360 really enjoy CW contesting immensely for two 00:36:24.360 --> 00:36:28.880 reasons. One of which is It's just a really good 00:36:28.880 --> 00:36:31.599 brain exercise, and there's always room for constant 00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:33.320 improvement, and you can measure your improvement. 00:36:33.980 --> 00:36:35.440 And two, because we have lots of great training 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:40.300 tools to use to practice CW, and there are a 00:36:40.300 --> 00:36:42.099 lot of great programs out there to get people 00:36:42.099 --> 00:36:45.380 into CW. I highly recommend if you're not a CW 00:36:45.380 --> 00:36:49.380 operator or a recovering CW operator, CW Ops, 00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:52.679 which their website is cwops .org, I believe, 00:36:53.320 --> 00:36:57.880 runs the CW Academy. or CWA, which are leveled 00:36:57.880 --> 00:37:01.760 courses for introducing people to Morse code 00:37:01.760 --> 00:37:05.780 or CW. They're level one courses, a great introduction 00:37:05.780 --> 00:37:09.159 to learning how to send CW. And if you want to 00:37:09.159 --> 00:37:11.119 make the jump, I recommend you go to the website, 00:37:11.460 --> 00:37:14.639 cwops .org and sign up for a course. It's free 00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:17.079 and it's really fantastic. And once you take 00:37:17.079 --> 00:37:20.860 the first course, you can level up. So to tie 00:37:20.860 --> 00:37:23.940 in learning CW, my strong recommendation is check 00:37:23.940 --> 00:37:28.940 out CW Ops. Bryant and I are both members and 00:37:28.940 --> 00:37:31.280 CW Ops is fantastic and of course there's plenty 00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:33.119 of other great pieces of software out there for 00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:35.679 learning CW, but that's certainly a place to 00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:41.920 go look. So CW is cool, CW is in and it's really 00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:44.960 just a fantastic part of the hobby and it's... 00:37:45.019 --> 00:37:47.380 It's a game to continually improve, and Bryant 00:37:47.380 --> 00:37:51.179 hit the head on the hammer. There's always room 00:37:51.179 --> 00:37:53.920 for refinement and improvement, and it's kind 00:37:53.920 --> 00:37:55.920 of cool. You know, it's the original digital 00:37:55.920 --> 00:37:58.880 mode, and it's a cool common denominator to have 00:37:58.880 --> 00:38:02.599 in our bag of tricks. And there's nothing more 00:38:02.599 --> 00:38:05.039 exhilarating than sending your call sign to a 00:38:05.039 --> 00:38:08.199 distant, weak DX station on CW and having them 00:38:08.199 --> 00:38:09.900 come back to you, and that thrill will never 00:38:09.900 --> 00:38:16.619 leave me. Yeah, I said I'm noticing a trend with 00:38:16.619 --> 00:38:20.420 young hams and one of the things that we Noticed 00:38:20.420 --> 00:38:25.119 it with Yoda month Was people saying why are 00:38:25.119 --> 00:38:29.960 you kids on the sideband more? Why are you on 00:38:29.960 --> 00:38:35.480 CW all the time? So it's kind of funny to hear 00:38:35.480 --> 00:38:43.099 that Yes You know, Yoda Month 2019 was a great 00:38:43.099 --> 00:38:47.159 success. Thanks to your help, Neil, and to the 00:38:47.159 --> 00:38:50.039 many Yoda Month operators worldwide that got 00:38:50.039 --> 00:38:53.619 on to promote youth and amateur radio. And CW, 00:38:53.900 --> 00:38:56.820 yes, quite successful mode. Lots of pileups. 00:38:56.920 --> 00:39:00.539 I think one of the best runs I had using the 00:39:00.539 --> 00:39:03.719 Kilo 8 Alpha call sign was on 20 meter CW on 00:39:03.719 --> 00:39:06.219 a Sunday morning. The Europeans just kept calling 00:39:06.219 --> 00:39:10.940 and I kept answering. Lots of fun on CW. Can 00:39:10.940 --> 00:39:15.280 I just jump in here? We got a question on Facebook, 00:39:16.320 --> 00:39:17.800 which I thought was kind of interesting, and 00:39:17.800 --> 00:39:19.860 can I address it real quick? Yeah, go ahead. 00:39:20.699 --> 00:39:25.559 Yeah, so Bob W3RQ Facebooked me, and he asked 00:39:25.559 --> 00:39:28.159 again about coronavirus, particularly not only 00:39:28.159 --> 00:39:31.239 for Team Exuberance, but also for multi -operator 00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:33.119 stations in general, and I thought it was worth 00:39:33.119 --> 00:39:36.099 addressing. So for Team Exuberance again, Your 00:39:36.099 --> 00:39:38.659 donations are safe. The money will only go to 00:39:38.659 --> 00:39:42.280 benefit our operations in the event of some sort 00:39:42.280 --> 00:39:44.880 of contingency. It's not the last thing you'll 00:39:44.880 --> 00:39:47.460 see from us. We are a nonprofit incorporated 00:39:47.460 --> 00:39:50.480 in Massachusetts, and we are going to continue 00:39:50.480 --> 00:39:53.280 to work on great projects. But I assure you, 00:39:53.519 --> 00:39:57.239 nothing is going to waste. And CWI, excuse me, 00:39:57.340 --> 00:40:00.000 multi -operator events in general, I'd say wash 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:02.000 your hands, be cautious, and if you're sick, 00:40:02.019 --> 00:40:06.829 don't come. But a whole lot of common sense there. 00:40:07.570 --> 00:40:10.489 Okay, very good. Well, yeah, we've got a lot 00:40:10.489 --> 00:40:13.050 of that going on. So wash your hands. What do 00:40:13.050 --> 00:40:15.550 they say? Social distancing? And wash your hands. 00:40:15.690 --> 00:40:18.429 Yeah, social distancing. But see, with ham radio, 00:40:18.690 --> 00:40:21.170 you get, you don't have to be distanced. I'd 00:40:21.170 --> 00:40:24.989 say watch your headsets. Headsets, be careful 00:40:24.989 --> 00:40:26.869 with maybe in a multi -operator environment. 00:40:27.170 --> 00:40:30.050 Take your own headset if you're worried. That's 00:40:30.050 --> 00:40:32.349 a good precaution. Yeah, which is a good idea 00:40:32.349 --> 00:40:35.570 anyway. If you want to wipe down the key in the 00:40:35.570 --> 00:40:37.530 keyboard when you sit down at the position or 00:40:37.530 --> 00:40:39.269 the radio knob, another good thing you should 00:40:39.269 --> 00:40:43.309 do anyways. But single operator contesting is 00:40:43.309 --> 00:40:48.389 the best form of a coronavirus self -isolation 00:40:48.389 --> 00:40:51.449 you can possibly do. So if you want to stay safe, 00:40:51.449 --> 00:40:54.210 do a single op. If you want to stay safe in the 00:40:54.210 --> 00:40:56.590 world, do a single op. You're not going to catch 00:40:56.590 --> 00:41:01.460 it over the airwaves. No. Ham radio is the epitome 00:41:01.460 --> 00:41:03.739 of distance learning. So all of you who are trying 00:41:03.739 --> 00:41:07.139 to figure out zoom right now Try 20 meters. Yeah, 00:41:07.139 --> 00:41:13.579 there you go Alright good stuff. Hey, let's let's 00:41:13.579 --> 00:41:16.579 switch gears a little bit and If you want to 00:41:16.579 --> 00:41:19.739 call in give us a call eight five nine nine eight 00:41:19.739 --> 00:41:22.920 two Seventy three seventy three is that phone 00:41:22.920 --> 00:41:26.960 number eight five nine nine eight two 73 73, 00:41:27.019 --> 00:41:29.739 but one of the things that I wanted to ask you 00:41:29.739 --> 00:41:34.059 was You know you went through you know the first 00:41:34.059 --> 00:41:38.239 time at k3lr which you know had to be you know 00:41:38.239 --> 00:41:41.039 all Inspiring when you walk in and you're like 00:41:41.039 --> 00:41:47.519 wow is this real? But when you walk in and and 00:41:47.519 --> 00:41:51.619 you and you see everything and After you kind 00:41:51.619 --> 00:41:54.179 of get settled a little bit and get into the 00:41:54.179 --> 00:41:59.840 groove and and on that last go -around What have 00:41:59.840 --> 00:42:04.840 you learned from that experience that? You know 00:42:04.840 --> 00:42:08.420 this time I'll know how to do that. You know 00:42:08.420 --> 00:42:10.860 I'll know how to do this or next time I'm going 00:42:10.860 --> 00:42:12.800 to do this different What what did you learn 00:42:12.800 --> 00:42:16.849 from that last experience guys? Well, I think 00:42:16.849 --> 00:42:18.829 from an operational point of view, we came into 00:42:18.829 --> 00:42:21.250 the last contest with a lot of meticulous strategy 00:42:21.250 --> 00:42:25.070 that worked well. I think a key element of being 00:42:25.070 --> 00:42:26.929 successful in contesting is not just when you 00:42:26.929 --> 00:42:29.010 sit down in the chair, but your understanding 00:42:29.010 --> 00:42:31.909 of conditions and propagation and openings. And 00:42:31.909 --> 00:42:33.750 I think we did a really good job last time of 00:42:33.750 --> 00:42:35.530 trying to keep ourselves familiar with what to 00:42:35.530 --> 00:42:38.690 expect, but knowing when to go off script when 00:42:38.690 --> 00:42:41.349 plans and reality don't quite line up. It's the 00:42:41.349 --> 00:42:43.849 operator's intuition that really leads to success. 00:42:44.170 --> 00:42:45.909 And I thought we were good at harnessing that, 00:42:45.929 --> 00:42:48.210 and harnessing that again, I think, is very important. 00:42:49.369 --> 00:42:51.409 For what we've improved, I think last time we 00:42:51.409 --> 00:42:53.429 struggled a little bit. Struggle is probably 00:42:53.429 --> 00:42:55.969 the wrong word. But we deviated from our operator 00:42:55.969 --> 00:42:57.889 schedule a little bit. And I think being even 00:42:57.889 --> 00:43:01.389 more strategic about that is certainly a challenge. 00:43:02.369 --> 00:43:05.570 And as always, at any sort of contest you do, 00:43:06.090 --> 00:43:08.690 making sure that you're always checking for... 00:43:08.670 --> 00:43:10.789 Different openings on different bands to make 00:43:10.789 --> 00:43:12.590 sure you're not missing anything and you know 00:43:12.590 --> 00:43:14.269 It's always being in the right place at the right 00:43:14.269 --> 00:43:16.409 time with the right antennas pointed in the right 00:43:16.409 --> 00:43:18.030 direction doing the right thing So there's a 00:43:18.030 --> 00:43:20.489 lot of rights there. That's hard to nail every 00:43:20.489 --> 00:43:24.210 time all the time But we keep improving and we 00:43:24.210 --> 00:43:27.210 plan diligently to make sure we are ready to 00:43:27.210 --> 00:43:34.170 do the best we can Right Wow, that was really 00:43:34.170 --> 00:43:37.489 good Marty. And again, he did a great job formulating 00:43:37.489 --> 00:43:40.849 a strategy and getting the team prepared for 00:43:40.849 --> 00:43:44.329 the contest with the proper intel. One thing 00:43:44.329 --> 00:43:47.170 I learned is that you better bring your A game 00:43:47.170 --> 00:43:51.349 when operating at K3LR. He is an amazing coach 00:43:51.349 --> 00:43:55.369 and he has high expectations for all of his operators. 00:43:56.170 --> 00:43:59.849 Another thing is communication can make or break 00:43:59.849 --> 00:44:04.489 a team. Even before we arrived at K3LR, Marty 00:44:04.489 --> 00:44:07.610 and Violetta did a great job at keeping us all 00:44:07.610 --> 00:44:10.550 aware of everything. And once we arrived and 00:44:10.550 --> 00:44:13.309 we were operating during the contest, we all 00:44:13.309 --> 00:44:17.170 needed to be on the same page with, again, propagation, 00:44:17.570 --> 00:44:21.090 band openings, run frequencies, operator schedules, 00:44:21.130 --> 00:44:25.300 etc. And we were all... We were generally able 00:44:25.300 --> 00:44:28.219 to communicate that information pretty smoothly, 00:44:29.239 --> 00:44:35.820 but seeing it all in battle really hammered it 00:44:35.820 --> 00:44:40.820 through. There were definitely some good runs, 00:44:40.920 --> 00:44:43.519 especially on 20 meters, and surprise openings 00:44:43.519 --> 00:44:49.139 on spotty bands like 15 and 10 meters. We wanted 00:44:49.139 --> 00:44:52.050 to make sure that we really capitalized on those, 00:44:52.449 --> 00:44:57.650 and we will make sure we capitalize on band openings 00:44:57.650 --> 00:45:02.070 intensely this year in the WPXCW2020 competition. 00:45:04.869 --> 00:45:06.949 All right. Brian just hit the nail on the head. 00:45:07.670 --> 00:45:10.230 Couldn't have said it any better. Look forward 00:45:10.230 --> 00:45:15.289 to just hearing you all on and watching the results. 00:45:16.789 --> 00:45:20.389 Although, I have to admit, my time is going to 00:45:20.389 --> 00:45:23.849 be a little bit limited that weekend. So I'm 00:45:23.849 --> 00:45:27.530 not sure how much I'll be able to listen, but 00:45:27.530 --> 00:45:31.329 maybe we can sneak that in between getting married 00:45:31.329 --> 00:45:37.929 and, you know, just a little bit of a, you know, 00:45:38.309 --> 00:45:42.880 other things on that weekend. So, yeah. Well, 00:45:42.880 --> 00:45:46.039 we're about out of time here, but before you 00:45:46.039 --> 00:45:50.019 go guys I Kind of wanted to ask you personally 00:45:50.019 --> 00:45:53.039 what? What does it mean to you to be a part of 00:45:53.039 --> 00:45:58.280 this team? Well, I would say that we are all 00:45:58.280 --> 00:46:01.699 truly fortunate fortunate to have strong mentors 00:46:01.699 --> 00:46:06.059 like Tim Duffy K3LR and Ray Novak N9JA at ICOM 00:46:06.059 --> 00:46:09.780 who are trusting us kids. We all like to be taken 00:46:09.780 --> 00:46:12.780 seriously and we hope that we can live up to 00:46:12.780 --> 00:46:16.400 the expectations and also inspire other youth 00:46:16.400 --> 00:46:20.190 operators to give contesting a try. It's kind 00:46:20.190 --> 00:46:23.510 of weird. I've only had my license for five years, 00:46:23.690 --> 00:46:26.230 but I've been given so many amazing opportunities 00:46:26.230 --> 00:46:29.969 to grow and learn in really big ways in the hobby. 00:46:30.670 --> 00:46:32.909 I think that the opportunities that I've been 00:46:32.909 --> 00:46:35.349 given have put me in a unique place to be more 00:46:35.349 --> 00:46:38.750 of a leader on the youth front. It's energizing 00:46:38.750 --> 00:46:42.570 and I've made so many friends all over the world. 00:46:43.309 --> 00:46:46.000 Very cool. A very cool thing, you know, just 00:46:46.000 --> 00:46:49.960 a few weeks ago, Marty was in the Atlanta area 00:46:49.960 --> 00:46:52.840 and he was able to drive over to my QTH here 00:46:52.840 --> 00:46:55.239 in Montgomery, Alabama and we got to work on 00:46:55.239 --> 00:46:58.980 a few antennas and have lots of fun messing with 00:46:58.980 --> 00:47:07.759 a 160 meter inverted L in my backyard. Matias 00:47:07.759 --> 00:47:12.239 CE2LR flew up from Chile and we got to work the 00:47:12.239 --> 00:47:16.900 WPX CW 2018 competition from my home just using 00:47:16.900 --> 00:47:25.719 simple equipment, dipoles and a few radios and 00:47:25.719 --> 00:47:27.900 you know always keeping our hands on the paddling 00:47:27.900 --> 00:47:33.139 keyboard but I'm very grateful for The relationships 00:47:33.139 --> 00:47:36.239 that Team Exuberance has opened up for me, you 00:47:36.239 --> 00:47:39.099 know, friendship and competition, just fun times. 00:47:41.260 --> 00:47:44.820 Marty? Yeah, Bryant said it so well. Ham Radio 00:47:44.820 --> 00:47:48.079 opens doors, Contesting opens doors, and I think 00:47:48.079 --> 00:47:51.940 we're both fortunate that we've kind of become 00:47:51.940 --> 00:47:55.039 kind of, like to admit it or not, I think it's 00:47:55.039 --> 00:47:57.920 true we've kind of... Brian particularly is rose 00:47:57.920 --> 00:48:00.519 to come become kind of figures of this youth 00:48:00.519 --> 00:48:04.929 contesting landscape and I There's a lot of pressure 00:48:04.929 --> 00:48:06.369 there to make sure that we're doing the right 00:48:06.369 --> 00:48:08.809 thing and pushing as hard as we can because we 00:48:08.809 --> 00:48:11.030 want to move this hobby forward and we want to 00:48:11.030 --> 00:48:13.610 keep drawing new people in and we both think 00:48:13.610 --> 00:48:16.070 and have both dedicated so much time to contesting. 00:48:16.250 --> 00:48:19.389 We know how important it is and how fantastic 00:48:19.389 --> 00:48:22.030 a facet it is and we think Team Exuberance is 00:48:22.030 --> 00:48:24.650 just a great opportunity to showcase that and 00:48:24.650 --> 00:48:27.329 encourage others to get into contesting. It's 00:48:27.329 --> 00:48:30.659 not scary. Having fun is very easy and there 00:48:30.659 --> 00:48:32.320 are such a large community of people that want 00:48:32.320 --> 00:48:35.000 to see you successful and mentor you and support 00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.000 you as you grow. So again, to check out our website 00:48:39.000 --> 00:48:42.519 where there's more information, teamexuberance 00:48:42.519 --> 00:48:45.539 .org and if you click on the big 2020 banner 00:48:45.539 --> 00:48:47.679 on the homepage, you'll be taken right to that 00:48:47.679 --> 00:48:50.219 page where we're providing some information about 00:48:50.219 --> 00:48:54.679 our latest operation in the CQWPXCW contest in 00:48:54.679 --> 00:48:57.440 the end of May. And, of course, we would really 00:48:57.440 --> 00:48:59.239 appreciate your donation to make this something 00:48:59.239 --> 00:49:02.219 that is financially accessible for all of our 00:49:02.219 --> 00:49:04.780 operators and doesn't place an undue burden on 00:49:04.780 --> 00:49:08.619 their families. You read my mind. I was just 00:49:08.619 --> 00:49:11.340 getting ready to say, can you remind us one more 00:49:11.340 --> 00:49:14.480 time where to donate and find more information? 00:49:15.139 --> 00:49:19.619 So, as usual, Marty, excellent job. Bryant, thank 00:49:19.619 --> 00:49:23.039 you so much for coming on and heading this one 00:49:23.039 --> 00:49:27.789 up. I wish you all the best of luck with the 00:49:27.789 --> 00:49:31.190 contest. And again, I'm sorry if I don't get 00:49:31.190 --> 00:49:33.369 to work you, but I might be a little bit busy 00:49:33.369 --> 00:49:38.590 that weekend, but we'll make it work. And I also 00:49:38.590 --> 00:49:42.750 look forward to seeing both of you at Youth on 00:49:42.750 --> 00:49:45.130 the Air Camp this summer. So thanks so much, 00:49:45.309 --> 00:49:47.869 guys. Can I just add one thing in real quick? 00:49:48.010 --> 00:49:51.230 Sure. I just want to give a big thank you to 00:49:51.230 --> 00:49:54.969 Tim Duffy, K3LR. for the use of his station for 00:49:54.969 --> 00:49:57.369 this and ICOM America for their generous support, 00:49:57.690 --> 00:50:00.250 as they do also support HamTalk Live as well. 00:50:00.550 --> 00:50:02.389 Without both of those two groups, this would 00:50:02.389 --> 00:50:05.630 not be possible. And all our donors who have 00:50:05.630 --> 00:50:08.210 supported us already and those who we hope will 00:50:08.210 --> 00:50:10.230 do so in the future, especially the clubs who 00:50:10.230 --> 00:50:12.969 have made sizable donations, we are very grateful 00:50:12.969 --> 00:50:15.090 and we feel very fortunate to be able to provide 00:50:15.090 --> 00:50:17.769 this opportunity. So thank you from the bottom 00:50:17.769 --> 00:50:20.750 of our hearts, very seriously. Yes, thanks to 00:50:20.750 --> 00:50:26.099 K3LR and N9JA. at ICOM, you know, without their 00:50:26.099 --> 00:50:29.219 generosity and support events like these for 00:50:29.219 --> 00:50:32.219 youth operators simply wouldn't be possible. 00:50:33.980 --> 00:50:37.840 Yep, and we appreciate all that they do. And 00:50:37.840 --> 00:50:43.139 there's all kinds of great things out there for 00:50:43.139 --> 00:50:48.219 youth because of generosity and people that are 00:50:49.269 --> 00:50:53.550 grabbing the bull by the horns and getting these 00:50:53.550 --> 00:50:58.710 things moving. And this is one of the bigger 00:50:58.710 --> 00:51:02.210 ones. And so we appreciate everyone's support. 00:51:02.429 --> 00:51:06.610 We appreciate Ray and Tim and their work on this. 00:51:08.030 --> 00:51:12.130 And you know, there's more coming there's just 00:51:12.130 --> 00:51:14.829 more and more opportunities for this and when 00:51:14.829 --> 00:51:19.050 I was that age I wish I would have had opportunities 00:51:19.050 --> 00:51:23.110 as a as a young ham because There's some pretty 00:51:23.110 --> 00:51:28.010 cool stuff going on. So Hopefully it will continue 00:51:28.010 --> 00:51:31.510 to shine and continue to grow. So Thanks so much 00:51:31.510 --> 00:51:34.469 for being on the show guys, and I will see you 00:51:34.469 --> 00:51:41.500 soon. Hopefully Hamvention, we hope. We hope. 00:51:41.900 --> 00:51:46.079 Yes, we hope so. Okay. Fingers crossed. Yep. 00:51:46.619 --> 00:51:50.920 All right. Well, hopefully that will work out 00:51:50.920 --> 00:51:56.639 and if not, I'll be seeing you soon anyway. Well, 00:51:56.639 --> 00:52:00.340 that is a wrap for this week's edition of HamTalk 00:52:00.340 --> 00:52:04.760 Live. Thanks to my guests, Bryant Rascal, KG5HVO, 00:52:05.099 --> 00:52:08.599 and Marty Sillaway, NN1C. Everybody out there 00:52:08.599 --> 00:52:12.260 in cyberspace for listening and typing in tonight. 00:52:12.320 --> 00:52:14.260 We had a lot of people on the chat, so thanks 00:52:14.260 --> 00:52:20.440 for that. And always great to hear from all of 00:52:20.440 --> 00:52:24.199 you in the chat room there. And we invite you 00:52:24.199 --> 00:52:28.820 back next. Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern 00:52:28.820 --> 00:52:33.420 Time and we'll talk more about Ham Radio for 00:52:33.420 --> 00:52:36.219 a list of all of our upcoming guests. You can 00:52:36.219 --> 00:52:39.940 find that at HamTalkLive .com. And if you like 00:52:39.940 --> 00:52:43.099 the show, please leave us a review. That helps 00:52:43.099 --> 00:52:46.199 others find us faster. So for now, this is Neil 00:52:46.199 --> 00:52:51.840 Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7 -3, 7 -5, and as always, 00:52:51.940 --> 00:52:55.800 may the good DX be yours. Thank you.