WEBVTT 00:00:09.230 --> 00:00:12.089 Thanks for tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on 00:00:12.089 --> 00:00:30.030 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:30.030 --> 00:00:32.770 tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:33.070 --> 00:00:37.070 Please stand by. This episode of HamTalk Live 00:00:37.070 --> 00:00:40.710 is brought to you by Tower Electronics. For connectors, 00:00:41.090 --> 00:00:46.549 cables, and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit 00:00:46.549 --> 00:00:52.390 pl -259 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, 00:00:52.689 --> 00:00:57.649 logged it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash 00:00:57.649 --> 00:01:01.509 amateur for more information about ICOM radios. 00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:36.299 Good evening to everyone, it's time for HamTalk 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:41.200 Live. It's episode number 179, Pitcairn Island 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:44.739 De -Expedition, recorded live on Thursday, August 00:01:44.739 --> 00:01:50.739 29th, 2019. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. 00:01:50.780 --> 00:01:54.420 Thanks for tuning in to this episode of HamTalk 00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:57.859 Live. Tonight we're joined by Dr. Ralph Fedor, 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:03.230 KZeroIR, and Dr. Glenn Johnson, W -0 -G -J, and 00:02:03.230 --> 00:02:06.530 we'll take your calls live in just a few minutes. 00:02:06.709 --> 00:02:09.330 Last week here on the show was Joe Eisenberg, 00:02:09.370 --> 00:02:12.650 K -0 -N -E -B, here to talk about some exciting 00:02:12.650 --> 00:02:15.729 new kits. So if you missed that show, you can 00:02:15.729 --> 00:02:19.509 listen anytime at HamTalkLive .com or on your 00:02:19.509 --> 00:02:23.270 favorite podcast app, or over on YouTube, or 00:02:23.270 --> 00:02:27.729 you can catch the rebroadcast on WTWW shortwave, 00:02:27.729 --> 00:02:32.530 that's 5080. 5 5 0 8 5 a .m. Saturday evenings 00:02:32.530 --> 00:02:36.669 at about 6 30 p .m. Eastern Time. So get your 00:02:36.669 --> 00:02:39.990 DXpedition questions ready if you're listening 00:02:39.990 --> 00:02:43.250 to us live on Thursday night. You can call us 00:02:43.250 --> 00:02:45.650 after the interview is over and I'll go ahead 00:02:45.650 --> 00:02:47.729 and give you the number so you can write it down 00:02:47.729 --> 00:02:53.889 and have it ready to go. It's 8 1 2 NET That's 00:02:53.889 --> 00:02:59.750 812 -638 -4261. You can also tweet us. We're 00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:02.930 watching Twitter tonight as we usually do. And 00:03:02.930 --> 00:03:07.349 our Twitter handle is at HamTalkLive. So send 00:03:07.349 --> 00:03:09.430 us your questions and I'll be back with Ralph 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:12.590 and Glenn right after this word from Tower Electronics 00:03:12.590 --> 00:03:17.090 right here on HamTalk Live. Hey honey, have you 00:03:17.090 --> 00:03:21.990 seen the PL 259s anywhere? No, I haven't come 00:03:21.990 --> 00:03:27.550 on kids. Let's go There's just one place to go 00:03:27.550 --> 00:03:34.310 for all of your connector needs a giant warehouse 00:03:34.310 --> 00:03:37.030 of connectors and adapters for every occasion 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:39.840 Thousands to choose from in every shape, size, 00:03:39.979 --> 00:03:42.319 and color. And they have antennas, soldering 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:45.699 supplies, cables, meters, and more. Where do 00:03:45.699 --> 00:03:47.860 you go if you want to buy a connector at a fraction 00:03:47.860 --> 00:03:51.460 of retail cost? Tower electronics. Tower electronics. 00:03:51.659 --> 00:03:54.560 Tower electronics. And this weekend only, take 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:57.319 advantage of our special liquidation sale. Buy 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:00.460 nine solder -type PL -259s, get the tenth one 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:05.360 for just one penny. They make great Christmas 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:11.280 presents. And what better way to say I love you 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:15.219 than with the gift of a PL 259. Tower Electronics. 00:04:15.300 --> 00:04:19.220 Tower Electronics. Tower Electronics. Hi, I'm 00:04:19.220 --> 00:04:23.180 Scott Cole, KB9 AMM, president of Tower Electronics. 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:25.800 I like the company so much that I bought it. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.220 Tower Electronics, coming to a hand fest near 00:04:28.220 --> 00:04:33.319 you or online at PL -259 .com. And we're in the 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:35.959 yellow pages under amateur radio connectors. 00:04:36.300 --> 00:04:39.660 My, wherever did you get that lovely PL -259? 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:44.850 Tower Electronics, PL -259 .com. or call 920 00:04:44.850 --> 00:04:50.850 -435 -2973. Do we sell PL259 connectors? Right 00:04:50.850 --> 00:04:53.689 now, you could be sitting on a beach, sipping 00:04:53.689 --> 00:04:56.089 a drink with an umbrella in it, and enjoying 00:04:56.089 --> 00:04:59.209 the good life. But instead, you've decided to 00:04:59.209 --> 00:05:02.529 listen to Ham Talk Live. So we thank you. And 00:05:02.529 --> 00:05:20.100 now here's Neil Rapp with more of the show. Thanks 00:05:20.100 --> 00:05:22.300 to Tower Electronics for sponsoring the show 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:24.680 again tonight to help bring you HamTalk Live. 00:05:24.899 --> 00:05:28.199 Scott and Jill are back out on the HamFest Tour. 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:31.759 They'll be in Shelby, North Carolina this weekend. 00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:37.000 That's tomorrow and Saturday and Sunday, August 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:40.589 30th. 30th, 31st and September 1st, Shelby, North 00:05:40.589 --> 00:05:43.470 Carolina. And then September 8th, Findlay, Ohio. 00:05:43.610 --> 00:05:46.069 And then in Peoria, Illinois at the Superfest 00:05:46.069 --> 00:05:49.990 on September 14th and 15th. But you can visit 00:05:49.990 --> 00:05:57.019 them anytime at PL -259 .com. We have two guests 00:05:57.019 --> 00:06:00.139 this evening. Dr. Ralph Fedor, KZeroir, resides 00:06:00.139 --> 00:06:03.139 near St. Cloud, Minnesota and has been licensed 00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:07.040 since 1962. Ralph's passions have been de -exing, 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:10.259 contesting, and especially de -expeditions. Ralph 00:06:10.259 --> 00:06:12.459 has been on several trips including Navassa, 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:16.959 Amsterdam Island, Malpelo, Bhutan, Peter One 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:20.139 and Saba Island just to name a few. Ralph was 00:06:20.139 --> 00:06:22.279 one of the organizers of the attempt to activate 00:06:22.279 --> 00:06:25.720 Bouvet Island in January and he's talked to us 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:29.519 about that previously. He is a retired doctor 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.459 and radiologist and is an extra class operator. 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:35.759 He's operated from 27 different countries and 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:39.560 a member of many radio societies. He's on the 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:43.319 board of the directors the International DX Association 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:47.120 and has been elected to the DX Hall of Fame. 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:52.000 Dr. Glenn Johnson, W -0 -G -J grew up near Marshalltown, 00:06:52.019 --> 00:06:55.639 Iowa. After studying forestry at Iowa State University, 00:06:55.660 --> 00:06:58.360 he received his medical degree from the University 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:01.779 of Iowa. And after an internship in Seattle and 00:07:01.779 --> 00:07:04.920 residency in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:07.540 in Rochester, Minnesota, he spent five years 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:11.120 in the Air Force in Anchorage, Alaska, and then 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:17.370 returned to practice. in Minnesota after 30 some 00:07:17.370 --> 00:07:22.490 years. He's come full circle back to Iowa and 00:07:22.490 --> 00:07:25.990 working for the Mayo Clinic once again. Glenn's 00:07:25.990 --> 00:07:28.670 interest in amateur radio started as a youngster 00:07:28.670 --> 00:07:31.509 listening to his grandfather's shortwave radio 00:07:31.509 --> 00:07:35.970 and he was licensed at age 15 and within three 00:07:35.970 --> 00:07:38.670 months he had worked all 50 states with a homemade 00:07:38.670 --> 00:07:42.009 crystal transmitter. He's achieved a number one 00:07:42.009 --> 00:07:45.329 honor roll five band DXCC and five band worked 00:07:45.329 --> 00:07:48.910 all zones and he is co -led major DXCC expeditions 00:07:48.910 --> 00:07:52.350 to places such as DeCetio Island and Navassa 00:07:52.350 --> 00:07:55.449 and his first the expedition was to Heard Island 00:07:55.449 --> 00:07:59.209 in 2003 Glenn was inducted to the CQ magazine 00:07:59.209 --> 00:08:02.529 amateur radio Hall of Fame and in 2012 he was 00:08:02.529 --> 00:08:05.529 inducted into the DX Hall of Fame and he's been 00:08:05.529 --> 00:08:08.860 the vice president of the North Northern California 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:12.939 DX Foundation and currently serves as its secretary. 00:08:13.420 --> 00:08:18.000 And he is also on the ARRL Contest Advisory Committee 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:22.620 representing the Midwest Division. So Ralph and 00:08:22.620 --> 00:08:26.639 Glenn, thanks for being on the show. Well, thank 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:30.860 you, Neil. Nice to be back. And we may have lost 00:08:30.860 --> 00:08:39.980 Glenn. Are you there, Glenn? Think we lost Clint. 00:08:40.019 --> 00:08:43.580 Yeah, we lost him again. I see it just said that 00:08:43.580 --> 00:08:46.899 he left So we'll wait for him to call back. Oh 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:49.740 actually now he's calling back right now. So 00:08:49.740 --> 00:08:56.539 let's see if we can Add him in here Glenn is 00:08:56.539 --> 00:09:02.259 traveling down in Texas right now. So he's had 00:09:02.259 --> 00:09:08.460 some Problems getting into the Getting signal 00:09:08.460 --> 00:09:12.500 into the cell system, so we'll have to You may 00:09:12.500 --> 00:09:15.460 be coming going tonight, so we'll we'll get that 00:09:15.460 --> 00:09:19.879 figured out, but Ralph we'll go ahead and start 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:22.299 with you while we try to get Glenn back on the 00:09:22.299 --> 00:09:24.200 line here it seems like there's always another 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:27.419 de -expedition on the list and Time for another 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:30.539 big one so tell us about Pitcairn Island its 00:09:30.539 --> 00:09:33.460 location and environment and operating conditions 00:09:34.779 --> 00:09:39.240 Well, Pitcairn is in the southern Pacific Ocean 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:44.340 in French Polynesia. After the Bouvet experience, 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:47.460 let me euphemize here a little bit, after the 00:09:47.460 --> 00:09:51.820 Bouvet experience we needed something that would 00:09:51.820 --> 00:09:54.759 spell success and have a little fun at the same 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:58.559 time. uh... i would i'd known about pit cairn 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:02.360 for a long time and the more i uh... looked into 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:05.080 it the more fascinated i became with the island 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:07.940 and its history uh... so i thought it was time 00:10:07.940 --> 00:10:10.340 to pay a visit there and then see what this is 00:10:10.340 --> 00:10:15.860 all about okay very good will remind everybody 00:10:15.860 --> 00:10:21.019 just exactly where that is This is Dr. Glenn 00:10:21.019 --> 00:10:23.139 Johnson. Thanks for calling. Please leave a message. 00:10:23.340 --> 00:10:26.940 I'll return your call as soon as I can. At the 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:29.179 time, please record your message. Let's see if 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:33.259 we can figure out how to... There we go. Okay. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:38.860 We'll try to get Glenn back again. You know, 00:10:39.580 --> 00:10:42.000 before the show came on, we had quite a roundabout 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.000 here. There's something about cow giving birth 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:49.419 in Texas and an orthopedic surgeon needing to 00:10:49.419 --> 00:10:51.139 be present at the birth, so I don't know where 00:10:51.139 --> 00:10:56.019 we're gonna go tonight, but we'll have fun. Yeah, 00:10:56.840 --> 00:11:00.620 when you get a cow that gets a house call to 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:06.720 Texas, that's pretty impressive. Okay, anyway. 00:11:06.860 --> 00:11:11.600 Pitcairn is south of the equator. If you drew 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:15.080 a line from the coast of Chile to New Zealand, 00:11:15.259 --> 00:11:18.960 Pitcairn is almost exactly one -half way between. 00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:22.720 So it's out in the middle of a really big pond, 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:26.500 quite isolated. And the isolation plays into 00:11:26.500 --> 00:11:29.320 the history of Pitcairn Island when the mutineers 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:32.220 from the bounty decided to hide out there. They 00:11:32.220 --> 00:11:37.620 needed a remote place and they found one. Okay, 00:11:37.700 --> 00:11:42.559 very good. Well, what are you expecting for operating 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:47.720 conditions? You know, every de -expedition has 00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:52.340 its environmental challenges with hot, cold, 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:56.799 windy, you name it. So what are the challenges 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:01.000 on this one? Well, we're just getting into the 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:03.799 start of the rainy season when we arrive, so 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:06.440 I expect we'll have a mix of sunshine and rain, 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:09.600 but we're prepared for either one. Temperature 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.620 -wise, I think it'll be probably in the 70s, 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:14.779 maybe poke into the 80s a little bit once in 00:12:14.779 --> 00:12:18.500 a while. It will be quite humid. One of the challenges 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:21.399 we'll have is that Pitcairn is small. It's about 00:12:21.399 --> 00:12:24.740 one mile by two miles, but rises to an elevation 00:12:24.740 --> 00:12:27.840 of 1 ,100 feet. So there's a lot of up and down 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:30.840 terrain there that we will be traversing. We'll 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:33.539 have two sites to operate from, both of them 00:12:33.539 --> 00:12:37.080 excellent locations with good takeoff, but there's 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:38.980 a little trekking going up and down hills to 00:12:38.980 --> 00:12:42.419 move between the two. As far as equipment goes, 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:47.100 we will be well prepared. We will have flex radios 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:54.139 on all bands. We will have beam antennas on 10 00:12:54.139 --> 00:12:57.789 through 20. We will have a four -square on 40, 00:12:57.990 --> 00:13:01.870 quarter wave verticals on 30 and 80, and a 90 00:13:01.870 --> 00:13:08.389 -foot vertical on 160. Full legal limit, 24 -7 00:13:08.389 --> 00:13:11.830 operation, just like a real de -expedition. We 00:13:11.830 --> 00:13:14.309 will be paying close attention to propagation, 00:13:14.509 --> 00:13:17.629 particularly as it pertains to Europe, because 00:13:17.629 --> 00:13:20.110 it's a challenge for those folks to work into 00:13:20.110 --> 00:13:21.889 that part of the Pacific, so we'll be paying 00:13:21.889 --> 00:13:25.480 a lot of attention to that. Most of all, we want 00:13:25.480 --> 00:13:27.620 this to be fun. You know, fun for the audience, 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:31.559 fun for the team, kind of a Pitcairn Island QSO 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:38.519 party. All right, very good. Well, you know, 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:43.039 we talked a little bit about the software -defined 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:47.879 radio and how that made a change and, you know, 00:13:48.379 --> 00:13:51.159 it wasn't long ago we were talking about, you 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:54.610 know, the first The Expedition to go with the 00:13:54.610 --> 00:13:58.090 software -defined radios. How do you think that 00:13:58.090 --> 00:14:03.509 choice has worked out? Well, so far so good. 00:14:04.330 --> 00:14:08.049 In my contesting experience with the SDRs, it's 00:14:08.049 --> 00:14:12.029 been very positive. The thing that really makes 00:14:12.029 --> 00:14:15.789 this exciting for me is I can get rid of an awful 00:14:15.789 --> 00:14:18.590 lot of wires, and I have things talking to each 00:14:18.590 --> 00:14:23.350 other, you know, on virtual cables. virtual audio 00:14:23.350 --> 00:14:27.370 links. There's a CAT system that controls everything. 00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:33.250 So I'm excited about it. Also, the ability to 00:14:33.250 --> 00:14:37.429 process signals, hear low signals down on the 00:14:37.429 --> 00:14:41.409 noise seems to be impressive to me so far in 00:14:41.409 --> 00:14:45.289 my work with the soft SDRs. Well, very good. 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:50.899 Now, a lot of the expeditions you go on are to 00:14:50.899 --> 00:14:55.539 uninhabited islands and so you have to take some 00:14:55.539 --> 00:14:59.159 fish and wildlife people with you to guard or 00:14:59.159 --> 00:15:03.639 that kind of thing. This is a little different 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:06.679 because there's around 50 people living on the 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:11.360 island. How is that going to go and how does 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:15.759 that change the difficulty of the trip? Well, 00:15:15.779 --> 00:15:18.220 I think it's really enhanced things. We've been 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:20.620 in contact with several people on the island. 00:15:21.539 --> 00:15:23.500 Everyone seems to be excited about us coming. 00:15:23.700 --> 00:15:25.879 They've been very helpful giving us a lot of 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:28.000 information about the terrain, the weather, what 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:31.200 we can expect. They're providing housing for 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:35.480 us, the place that we're staying. the owner of 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:38.320 the property looked around and said, you know, 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:40.620 I've got 14 people coming and that's going to 00:15:40.620 --> 00:15:42.940 be a little tight. So I'm going to build an addition 00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:46.100 on my house so I can house these people. That's 00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:51.019 the kind of attitude we've run into. Oh, that's 00:15:51.019 --> 00:15:56.440 excellent. So that takes a big strain off of 00:15:56.440 --> 00:16:00.799 the team, I'm sure. It does. And you don't have 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:05.460 to spend all that time pitching tents. putting 00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:09.960 in tent anchors and arranging sleeping quarters 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:12.840 and all that sort of thing so we can get right 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:16.360 to the expedition operating. And one thing that 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:22.000 just came up, instead of our ship taking us and 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:25.500 our cargo and gear to Pitcairn Island, in one 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:28.240 trip. The ship is actually going by Pitcairn 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:31.039 Island on September 6th and it will be dropping 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:34.100 off all our gear there. So when we arrive, our 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:37.019 gear will be there and we don't have to unpack 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:39.419 it or we'll have to unpack it. We don't have 00:16:39.419 --> 00:16:41.580 to get it off the ship. We don't have to transfer 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:43.500 it to boats. We don't have to transfer it from 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:45.960 the boat to the shore. That'll all be done for 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:48.620 us and that will shave hours and hours off our 00:16:48.620 --> 00:16:52.779 setup time and get us on the air quicker. That 00:16:52.779 --> 00:16:57.659 just sounds like a fabulous timing of events 00:16:57.659 --> 00:17:01.580 there. So congratulations on all of that. Now 00:17:01.580 --> 00:17:04.619 in reading up on pit care in a little bit, I 00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:09.099 heard and read that there was a club station 00:17:09.099 --> 00:17:12.400 actually on the island. So tell us a little bit 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:15.460 about that and are you gonna have a chance to 00:17:15.460 --> 00:17:19.000 visit that? Is that in the plans? What's going 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:22.910 on with that these days? Neil, we will visit 00:17:22.910 --> 00:17:27.930 the remains of the club station. When Tom Christian, 00:17:27.990 --> 00:17:32.130 BR6TC, was active from Pitcairn, he maintained 00:17:32.130 --> 00:17:36.869 a station at the old shortwave radio site near 00:17:36.869 --> 00:17:42.529 the summit of the island. When other things came 00:17:42.529 --> 00:17:44.970 along, other means of communication, satellites 00:17:44.970 --> 00:17:48.329 and now internet, the need for that kind of disappeared 00:17:48.329 --> 00:17:51.640 and also Tom Christian died. So the site fell 00:17:51.640 --> 00:17:54.279 into a state of disarray. As far as I know, there 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:58.579 is no club station on Pitcairn. There are several 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:01.779 licensed hams there. Only one is occasionally 00:18:01.779 --> 00:18:05.460 active, and she is somewhat handicapped by antenna 00:18:05.460 --> 00:18:09.180 problems and old equipment. While we're there, 00:18:09.299 --> 00:18:11.700 we hope we can remedy some of those problems 00:18:11.700 --> 00:18:14.319 for her and get her on the air again, maybe introduce 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:18.200 her to some of the new modes. But the club station 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:21.339 is gone. The site is still there and we will 00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:24.920 be using that site as our second operating site. 00:18:25.900 --> 00:18:29.220 It's well positioned on the island, 360 degree 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:32.920 clear takeoff, and lots of room for the big antennas. 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:36.440 So it will probably be our low band setup 160 00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:41.160 through 40. Well, very good. And we've got Dr. 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:44.779 Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, back on the line here with 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:48.779 us. as he is uh... dodging cows down in texas 00:18:48.779 --> 00:18:54.380 so good evening glenn good evening Neil I tried 00:18:54.380 --> 00:18:57.279 dialing in several times a long time of no service 00:18:57.279 --> 00:19:00.259 and I heard your intro about uh... my interest 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:02.339 in ham radio started when I was listening to 00:19:02.339 --> 00:19:04.500 my grandfather's shortwave radio and one of my 00:19:04.500 --> 00:19:07.579 purposes was coming down here I actually found 00:19:07.579 --> 00:19:11.480 on ebay uh... a restored radio that my grandfather 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:14.859 like my grandfather had to take that home as 00:19:14.859 --> 00:19:18.059 a prize. So that was one of my reasons for coming 00:19:18.059 --> 00:19:22.900 down to Texas this time of year. All right, very 00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:26.819 good. Well, we've been talking a little bit about 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:31.500 the island and what the setup is going to be. 00:19:31.660 --> 00:19:35.119 What are you looking forward to on this trip? 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:41.799 Well, you know, Pipkirn has a fascinating history 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:44.849 with the Mutiny of the Bounty. And I've read 00:19:44.849 --> 00:19:47.089 about a dozen books and just kind of reliving 00:19:47.089 --> 00:19:49.710 and seeing some of the history and the place 00:19:49.710 --> 00:19:53.190 is fascinating. But also just, it's always fun 00:19:53.190 --> 00:19:55.529 on the expedition to make as many contacts as 00:19:55.529 --> 00:19:58.869 you can. And it's kind of a new era with FTH 00:19:58.869 --> 00:20:02.630 and some of the weak signal modes that we have 00:20:02.630 --> 00:20:04.690 today that we didn't have even two or three years 00:20:04.690 --> 00:20:09.549 ago. And even in spite of the bottom of the sunspot 00:20:09.549 --> 00:20:12.470 cycle, we're going to be able to utilize some 00:20:12.470 --> 00:20:15.809 of the upper bands with some of the backscatter 00:20:15.809 --> 00:20:19.029 frequency propagation modes that will enable 00:20:19.029 --> 00:20:22.490 some weak signal communication. So we're looking 00:20:22.490 --> 00:20:26.650 forward to that. That's one of the things I'm 00:20:26.650 --> 00:20:29.069 looking forward to is see how well we can do 00:20:29.069 --> 00:20:31.109 in the upper bands at the bottom of the sunspot 00:20:31.109 --> 00:20:35.670 cycle with these weak signal modes. Yeah, and 00:20:35.670 --> 00:20:38.069 while we're talking about modes, that was exactly 00:20:38.069 --> 00:20:42.390 my next question. Can you run down All the modes 00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:47.630 that you have planned Well the usual sideband 00:20:47.630 --> 00:20:51.890 CW and Really will probably be there a little 00:20:51.890 --> 00:20:55.049 bit, but we'll probably use Ft8 simply because 00:20:55.049 --> 00:20:58.849 with the Fox and hound mode now we can work you 00:20:58.849 --> 00:21:02.089 know two or three people at a time and Probably 00:21:02.089 --> 00:21:05.450 I have You know because it still counts as a 00:21:05.450 --> 00:21:08.569 digit really and Ft8 count as digital context 00:21:08.859 --> 00:21:12.240 and we can probably run a higher rate with FTH 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:14.880 on some modes. That'll be fun to try ready too. 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.279 That's a good old standby mode. And EME will 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:24.859 be fun. EME using some of the JT65 modes for 00:21:24.859 --> 00:21:30.119 EME on six meters. Okay, very good. Well, it 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:33.740 sounds like people have plenty of different ways 00:21:33.740 --> 00:21:37.819 to get a hold of you in different bands and hopefully 00:21:38.490 --> 00:21:41.150 We can get a whole bunch of people in the log 00:21:41.150 --> 00:21:44.250 from Pitcairn Island. So I'll tell you what, 00:21:44.269 --> 00:21:47.049 we're gonna take a break right now and when we 00:21:47.049 --> 00:21:50.170 come back, we're going to take your questions. 00:21:50.710 --> 00:21:53.690 You can tweet us at HamTalk Live. If you're on 00:21:53.690 --> 00:21:56.329 Spreaker, you can type it into the comments there 00:21:56.329 --> 00:21:59.230 and I'll pick that up. And you can call us at 00:21:59.230 --> 00:22:04.049 812 -638 -4261. We'll give you that number again. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:07.859 in just a little bit when we come back with Ralph 00:22:07.859 --> 00:22:10.480 and Glenn right after this word from ICOM right 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:14.799 here on HamTalk Live. Heard it, worked it, logged 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:17.700 it. It's time to get the transceiver that's best 00:22:17.700 --> 00:22:21.220 suited for your lifestyle. ICOM offers a variety 00:22:21.220 --> 00:22:23.640 of high performance and innovative products. 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:27.099 Make the most out of contest season with one 00:22:27.099 --> 00:22:32.200 of these ICOMs today. The IC7610 is the SDR every 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:35.619 ham wants. This high -performance SDR has the 00:22:35.619 --> 00:22:38.519 ability to pick out the faintest of signals even 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:41.279 in the presence of stronger adjacent ones. The 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:45.819 IC7610 by ICOM is a direct sampling software 00:22:45.819 --> 00:22:48.759 -defined radio that will change the world's definition 00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:53.089 of an SDR transceiver. It has RF direct sampling, 00:22:53.410 --> 00:22:57.650 110 RMDR, independent dual receiver, and dual 00:22:57.650 --> 00:23:01.609 digicel. The IC7300 is changing the way entry 00:23:01.609 --> 00:23:04.230 -level HF is designed. This high -performance, 00:23:04.250 --> 00:23:07.329 innovative HF transceiver with a compact design 00:23:07.329 --> 00:23:11.130 will far exceed your expectations. With RF direct 00:23:11.130 --> 00:23:14.750 sampling, 15 discrete bandpass filters, a large 00:23:14.750 --> 00:23:17.609 4 .3 -inch color touchscreen, real -time spectrum 00:23:17.609 --> 00:23:20.269 scope, and SD memory card slot, and of course 00:23:20.269 --> 00:23:24.569 the IC7851 keeps your competitive contesting 00:23:24.569 --> 00:23:27.990 edge with faster processors, higher input gain, 00:23:28.289 --> 00:23:30.710 higher display resolution, and a cleaner signal. 00:23:31.009 --> 00:23:35.230 ICOM's IC7851 is the pinnacle of HF perfection. 00:23:35.450 --> 00:23:38.589 It has dual receivers, digital IF filters, memory 00:23:38.589 --> 00:23:41.269 keyer, digital voice recorder, high resolution 00:23:41.269 --> 00:23:44.410 spectrum waterfall display, enhanced PC connectivity, 00:23:44.710 --> 00:23:47.690 and an SD memory card slot. For more information 00:23:47.690 --> 00:23:55.980 on ICOM radios, be sure to visit Join the conversation. 00:23:56.259 --> 00:24:00.779 Give us a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 00:24:00.779 --> 00:24:12.500 -638 -4261. Now, here's more HamTalk Live. A 00:24:12.500 --> 00:24:15.880 clean house is a sign of a broken radio. You're 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:33.599 listening to HamTalk Live with Neil Rapp. Thanks 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:37.200 to icon of America for bringing ham talk live 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:39.920 your way once again this week check them out 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:45.380 at icon America comm slash amateur and Ham talk 00:24:45.380 --> 00:24:47.660 live is on the air every Thursday night at 9 00:24:47.660 --> 00:24:50.900 p .m. Eastern time right here on ham talk live 00:24:50.900 --> 00:24:54.099 calm and be sure to check us out on Facebook 00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:56.960 Twitter and Instagram and it's time for your 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:00.410 questions now So, if you want to call in, give 00:25:00.410 --> 00:25:07.750 us a call. It's 812 -638 -4261, 812 -NET -HAM 00:25:07.750 --> 00:25:11.410 -1. Or you can tweet us. It's at HamTalk Live. 00:25:12.029 --> 00:25:14.430 And if you're on Spreaker, you can type into 00:25:14.430 --> 00:25:17.190 the comments. And if you're listening to us on 00:25:17.190 --> 00:25:23.690 the podcast edition or on WTWW 5085 AM, we're 00:25:23.690 --> 00:25:26.950 not here. This was Thursday night, so you won't 00:25:26.950 --> 00:25:29.890 be able to... call in tonight but we do have 00:25:29.890 --> 00:25:33.529 a couple of questions that have come in and so 00:25:33.529 --> 00:25:36.089 we'll go ahead and start with those and if you 00:25:36.089 --> 00:25:39.069 want to give us a call eight one two six three 00:25:39.069 --> 00:25:42.369 eight four two six one so uh... ralph i think 00:25:42.369 --> 00:25:46.230 you've been delegated for this one so uh... michael 00:25:46.230 --> 00:25:50.210 brydak wants to know does andy's pizza in pitcairn 00:25:50.210 --> 00:25:54.930 deliver well i i think andy will deliver just 00:25:54.930 --> 00:25:58.500 about anything for a price For the audience, 00:25:58.859 --> 00:26:03.059 Andy is our host on Pittman Island. We'll be 00:26:03.059 --> 00:26:06.420 sleeping at his place. It has an excellent location. 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:09.940 We'll have some stations there. Andy does have 00:26:09.940 --> 00:26:12.819 some culinary skills. He's pretty good in the 00:26:12.819 --> 00:26:16.119 kitchen and he likes to make pizza. I'm sure 00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:19.299 we'll be eating some pizza. As far as delivery 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:22.079 goes, if he's going to make a delivery he has 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:25.809 to get into the longboat and maybe go about Oh, 00:26:26.210 --> 00:26:28.529 200 miles or so to the nearest island, and that 00:26:28.529 --> 00:26:31.549 one doesn't have any people on it. So his delivery 00:26:31.549 --> 00:26:33.849 business is kind of in the tank right now. The 00:26:33.849 --> 00:26:36.849 will is there, but the resources are just not 00:26:36.849 --> 00:26:43.180 there. I'm sorry. All right, and Glenn will give 00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:49.660 you this one. This is from Brett wy7bg and He 00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:53.500 wants us to ask in these times of low solar activity 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:57.460 What bands and modes do you expect to work the 00:26:57.460 --> 00:27:11.539 best for them and at what times of day? But 30 00:27:11.539 --> 00:27:15.160 meters will be open now, hopefully 20 to 22 hours 00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:17.740 a day. So 30 meters is a pretty good band to 00:27:17.740 --> 00:27:24.640 be on Tw ft8 ready modes and 40 we should be 00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:27.160 good at night the lower bands are certainly favored 00:27:27.160 --> 00:27:31.420 this time of the solar cycle and I have noticed 00:27:31.420 --> 00:27:34.339 the propagation the indices this last week and 00:27:34.339 --> 00:27:37.720 I don't ever recall seeing the solar flux down 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:40.640 to 66 before, but it's been that the last few 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:43.839 days. And that, of course, certainly favors 160 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:48.539 meters, you know, the low bends, 160 and 80 meters. 00:27:49.700 --> 00:27:53.079 And FTA, even though everything sounds like it's 00:27:53.079 --> 00:27:58.240 been dead on 20 meters, FTA 14074 has been just 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:02.930 really active all over the world. almost simultaneously 00:28:02.930 --> 00:28:07.950 the last few days. So, you know, the upper bands, 00:28:07.950 --> 00:28:12.910 you know, 18 megahertz, 21 megahertz, that's 00:28:12.910 --> 00:28:15.329 going to be a little iffy. Those times from the 00:28:15.329 --> 00:28:17.450 U .S. are going to best be probably in the late 00:28:17.450 --> 00:28:22.849 afternoon and early evening. So we expect more 00:28:22.849 --> 00:28:25.430 activity in low bands and hopefully a lot of 00:28:25.430 --> 00:28:28.009 activity on 20 and 30 meters, especially almost 00:28:28.009 --> 00:28:33.569 all day long. Okay, so Brett, there you have 00:28:33.569 --> 00:28:37.589 it, and good luck with contacting the team down 00:28:37.589 --> 00:28:42.170 at Pitcairn Island. Lynn Johnson, WZeroGJ, and 00:28:42.170 --> 00:28:45.309 Ralph Fedor KZeroIR are our guests tonight. And 00:28:45.309 --> 00:28:47.750 if you have a question, give us a call at 812 00:28:47.750 --> 00:28:53.630 -638 -4261. That's 812 -net -ham1 or tweet us 00:28:53.630 --> 00:28:57.509 at HamTalk Live, and we'll keep checking that 00:28:57.509 --> 00:29:01.210 throughout the night. Now a question for both 00:29:01.210 --> 00:29:04.130 of you here, let's talk a little bit about this 00:29:04.130 --> 00:29:07.569 160 meter antenna that you mentioned quickly. 00:29:07.950 --> 00:29:11.529 There's a little story behind that, so fill us 00:29:11.529 --> 00:29:17.369 in on the back story on this 160 antenna. Well, 00:29:17.670 --> 00:29:23.650 no dear, EY8MM is our 160 meter cheerleader enthusiast 00:29:23.650 --> 00:29:27.359 guru. When we were going to Bouvet, we paid a 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:31.759 visit to DX Engineering and Nodir said, I would 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:36.039 like a really good antenna for 160 meters. And 00:29:36.039 --> 00:29:39.920 DX Engineering responded by building a 90 -foot 00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:44.200 guide vertical for 160 meters with a base matching 00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:49.539 unit. It should be a real killer antenna as far 00:29:49.539 --> 00:29:52.460 as de -expedition antennas go. So we should be 00:29:52.460 --> 00:29:55.140 loud on 160 and I think anybody that needs us 00:29:55.140 --> 00:29:58.539 on 160 should be able to work us there. The location 00:29:58.539 --> 00:30:01.799 will be up on the hill at the old radio station 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:04.299 site where we will probably have other low band 00:30:04.299 --> 00:30:06.799 antennas and we'll spend a lot of nights up there. 00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:09.420 So I think this antenna should play very, very 00:30:09.420 --> 00:30:14.819 well on 160. Hopefully, we'll be on CW and FT. 00:30:16.460 --> 00:30:22.059 I'm not sure exactly how we'll divvy up the modes. 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:26.339 But one thing with FT8, on most of the bands, 00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:31.180 80 meters and above, and maybe on 80, we will 00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:33.740 not use the Fox and Hound mode. The Fox and Hound 00:30:33.740 --> 00:30:36.599 mode on the upper bands can work two or three, 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:40.009 even maybe four stations at once. But if you 00:30:40.009 --> 00:30:43.130 have, let's say, 100 watts, if you're working 00:30:43.130 --> 00:30:46.930 three people, your power is distributed to each 00:30:46.930 --> 00:30:49.329 of the three people you respond to, to maybe 00:30:49.329 --> 00:30:53.529 25 watts. It's not exactly an equal distribution 00:30:53.529 --> 00:30:56.630 of power, but it's cut down quite a bit. And 00:30:56.630 --> 00:31:00.670 on 160, of course, because it's such a difficult 00:31:00.670 --> 00:31:04.390 band with hard paths, we will not be using the 00:31:04.390 --> 00:31:08.089 Fox and Hound mode on... 160 meters and possibly 00:31:08.089 --> 00:31:11.789 on 80. It depends on the propagation on 80. If 00:31:11.789 --> 00:31:15.849 you contact us using Fox -to -Hound mode on the 00:31:15.849 --> 00:31:19.470 upper bands, it will not work on 160 meters. 00:31:20.970 --> 00:31:24.269 Let me throw in just one other idea here. I've 00:31:24.269 --> 00:31:27.930 been playing around with FT4 a little bit and 00:31:27.930 --> 00:31:32.299 it's faster than FTA. I'm not quite sure how 00:31:32.299 --> 00:31:35.299 it would play on 160 with the shorter sequences 00:31:35.299 --> 00:31:37.720 and so forth, but that may be another option 00:31:37.720 --> 00:31:41.819 to up the rate a bit. I think that'd be an exciting 00:31:41.819 --> 00:31:43.960 thing to try, because I don't think anybody has 00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:46.079 really used it on the de -expedition before. 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:50.519 It's not as critical with the time -sinking either. 00:31:51.119 --> 00:31:55.720 It might even prove more productive than FTH. 00:31:56.190 --> 00:31:58.849 We'll just have to see something to experiment 00:31:58.849 --> 00:32:02.069 with and report back on later Yeah, I think it's 00:32:02.069 --> 00:32:06.069 worth a try Neil Okay, very good. Well there 00:32:06.069 --> 00:32:09.430 there you go. You've got some experimenting to 00:32:09.430 --> 00:32:14.430 do and Always up for for trying out something 00:32:14.430 --> 00:32:19.230 new so That sounds like a great idea and and 00:32:19.230 --> 00:32:22.069 we'll have to keep an eye out for Maybe some 00:32:22.069 --> 00:32:25.109 FT for from down there who knows so if you have 00:32:25.109 --> 00:32:29.049 a question give us a call Go ahead Glenn. I think 00:32:29.049 --> 00:32:32.549 the best thing be to update our web website with 00:32:32.549 --> 00:32:36.150 how we're doing on the modes and You know so 00:32:36.150 --> 00:32:38.049 frequently visiting our website We'll kind of 00:32:38.049 --> 00:32:39.869 fill you in and keep you up to date on how we're 00:32:39.869 --> 00:32:41.789 doing and how we're operating different modes 00:32:43.340 --> 00:32:45.579 And while we're on that, let's go ahead and give 00:32:45.579 --> 00:32:52.339 out that web address. It is Pitcairn. Oh, go 00:32:52.339 --> 00:32:59.279 ahead. Yeah, it is PitcairnDX .com. Okay, and 00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:04.619 that's P -I -T -C -A -R -I -N, Pitcairn Island 00:33:04.619 --> 00:33:12.009 DX. Very good. Yeah, just PitcairnDX .com. PitcairnDX 00:33:12.009 --> 00:33:15.049 .com. All right, very good. All right, so you 00:33:15.049 --> 00:33:17.630 can check that out and see what they're up to 00:33:17.630 --> 00:33:19.670 once they get down there and try some of these 00:33:19.670 --> 00:33:22.309 things and see what's working and what's not 00:33:22.309 --> 00:33:27.630 working so well and give it a try. So, okay, 00:33:27.789 --> 00:33:30.769 we've got another question here and I had something 00:33:30.769 --> 00:33:33.809 kind of on the back burner here to try and... 00:33:33.789 --> 00:33:38.190 I don't know why all of these questions are revolving 00:33:38.190 --> 00:33:44.710 around food and drink, but here we go. First 00:33:44.710 --> 00:33:50.210 of all, Carl, KD9HQT, wants to know, will you 00:33:50.210 --> 00:33:57.509 find any 807s on the island? I can address that. 00:33:58.230 --> 00:34:06.559 Okay. The answer is yes. Now, while we're on 00:34:06.559 --> 00:34:10.179 the subject of beverages and not the antennas, 00:34:12.260 --> 00:34:19.280 you had a rather sizable donation that came in 00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:25.179 that was very unique. Tell us about it. Well, 00:34:25.179 --> 00:34:29.700 a good friend of mine, and Glenn's also, Jim, 00:34:29.700 --> 00:34:33.440 K0JUH, a local ham who lives nearby, and he's 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:37.239 not local, but he lives in the metro area, is 00:34:37.239 --> 00:34:39.579 a former employee of the Coca -Cola company. 00:34:40.199 --> 00:34:42.880 So he got in touch with Coca -Cola New Zealand 00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:47.019 and said, hey Coke New Zealand, could you cut 00:34:47.019 --> 00:34:51.920 these guys a deal on Coke products? So, I polled 00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:54.019 the team and I said, okay, what do you like to 00:34:54.019 --> 00:34:55.920 drink that's a Coke product? And you know, we've 00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:58.199 got so many Sprites and so many Diet Cokes and 00:34:58.199 --> 00:35:00.840 so many Coke Zeroes and so many Fantas and so 00:35:00.840 --> 00:35:03.420 forth. Put on a spreadsheet and I sent it to 00:35:03.420 --> 00:35:06.960 Jim and I said, this is our dietary requirements 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:10.559 for beverages. Jim got in touch with Coke New 00:35:10.559 --> 00:35:13.179 Zealand. They delivered the product to the Braveheart. 00:35:13.260 --> 00:35:16.059 It is now at sea on its way to Pitcairn Island. 00:35:16.869 --> 00:35:20.409 and uh... uh... you know jim negotiated a a nice 00:35:20.409 --> 00:35:23.349 price with coca -cola and the generous uh... 00:35:23.349 --> 00:35:26.010 gentleman that he is jim also uh... provided 00:35:26.010 --> 00:35:28.469 a very generous donation to the pitcairn island 00:35:28.469 --> 00:35:31.750 the expedition so we will be well endowed with 00:35:31.750 --> 00:35:35.409 coke products thanks to k zero j u h alright 00:35:35.409 --> 00:35:40.309 well let's see now you know i just had an idea 00:35:40.309 --> 00:35:43.670 and this may be one of my air -brained ideas 00:35:45.260 --> 00:35:49.380 You know you could you could bring me back a 00:35:49.380 --> 00:35:55.719 coke zero and and then you could like Sell coke 00:35:55.719 --> 00:35:57.800 zeros that have been to pick Karen Island to 00:35:57.800 --> 00:36:02.579 raise money for the team You think that would 00:36:02.579 --> 00:36:10.760 work We could write the QSL information on the 00:36:10.760 --> 00:36:17.989 can oh there you go Don't know I don't know that 00:36:17.989 --> 00:36:20.829 maybe that maybe that won't work, but but it's 00:36:20.829 --> 00:36:24.610 a great donation and I'm sure you all will enjoy 00:36:24.610 --> 00:36:28.789 it and need all of the Refreshing beverages that 00:36:28.789 --> 00:36:31.590 you can get a hold of while you're on Pitcairn 00:36:31.590 --> 00:36:35.750 Island. So Very good. Well, let's let's check 00:36:35.750 --> 00:36:38.849 one more time for questions If you have one give 00:36:38.849 --> 00:36:43.369 us call 812 -638 -4261 or tweet or comment on 00:36:43.369 --> 00:36:47.530 Spreaker And we'll check all of those here one 00:36:47.530 --> 00:36:50.710 last time. See if we have any more questions. 00:36:51.610 --> 00:36:54.570 You know, the question that came to mind for 00:36:54.570 --> 00:37:00.769 me was, is there internet on the island? There 00:37:00.769 --> 00:37:03.809 is internet on the island. The bandwidth is probably 00:37:03.809 --> 00:37:07.690 not what we're used to here. But thanks to internet, 00:37:07.829 --> 00:37:10.369 we have been able to communicate with people 00:37:10.369 --> 00:37:13.820 like Andy on Pitcairn. the police and immigration 00:37:13.820 --> 00:37:16.440 officer who happens to be Andy's mother, Brenda, 00:37:16.760 --> 00:37:20.659 on Pitcairn, and a few other people in need of 00:37:20.659 --> 00:37:24.360 some tools and so forth that they needed. And, 00:37:24.360 --> 00:37:26.500 you know, Glenn might address this a little bit. 00:37:26.719 --> 00:37:28.880 The Pitcairn Islanders needed some things and 00:37:28.880 --> 00:37:31.179 we kind of stepped up to the plate for them. 00:37:33.159 --> 00:37:35.360 Somehow they found out that I do some woodworking 00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:40.510 and they... One of their main sources of income 00:37:40.510 --> 00:37:45.150 is selling curios or things they make to the 00:37:45.150 --> 00:37:47.889 tourists and yachters that drop by. Sometimes 00:37:47.889 --> 00:37:52.949 there's a cruise ship that drops by and sometimes 00:37:52.949 --> 00:37:56.829 some of the crew people go ashore. Many times 00:37:56.829 --> 00:38:01.469 the pictures will go out onto the boat. set up 00:38:01.469 --> 00:38:03.789 little tables and sell their wares. They make 00:38:03.789 --> 00:38:05.989 a lot of little wooden objects, little mementos 00:38:05.989 --> 00:38:10.389 to remember to care and buy. And looking at a 00:38:10.389 --> 00:38:13.150 couple pictures, they're little workshops where 00:38:13.150 --> 00:38:16.110 they make this. They have piles and piles of 00:38:16.110 --> 00:38:19.690 sawdust, but they were in need of some bandsaw 00:38:19.690 --> 00:38:23.610 parts where they make these things. And we have 00:38:23.610 --> 00:38:27.309 a few thousand dollars worth of bandsaws and 00:38:27.309 --> 00:38:30.900 bandsaw parts. to help keep them in business 00:38:30.900 --> 00:38:34.519 with their handicrafts. So that's in some of 00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:37.940 our containers, a lot of equipment to help just 00:38:37.940 --> 00:38:40.300 help them do things like that. We have some lawnmower 00:38:40.300 --> 00:38:44.639 parts and other things that they need to find 00:38:44.639 --> 00:38:47.960 very difficult to get. So we're trying to help 00:38:47.960 --> 00:38:53.139 them and keep them going. Oh, that's great. I 00:38:53.139 --> 00:38:58.139 love it. And you'll be able to To help out with 00:38:58.139 --> 00:39:02.599 the ham radio operator there and get her antennas 00:39:02.599 --> 00:39:08.340 fixed hopefully We hope so and you know among 00:39:08.340 --> 00:39:12.599 the other Among the other needful things on Pitcairn 00:39:12.599 --> 00:39:17.340 Island. We have sent marshmallow fluff peanut 00:39:17.340 --> 00:39:22.320 butter two cases of baby Ruth candy bars and 00:39:22.320 --> 00:39:27.059 100 bags of original Fritos corn chips Oh, there 00:39:27.059 --> 00:39:33.739 we go. Well, this is making for an interesting 00:39:33.739 --> 00:39:40.360 story because normally, you know, you have to 00:39:40.360 --> 00:39:44.579 pick up every single last thing, you know, that 00:39:44.579 --> 00:39:48.119 you brought and, you know, you don't leave anything 00:39:48.119 --> 00:39:50.400 behind and there's no one to leave it behind 00:39:50.400 --> 00:39:55.329 for. And this time you have a chance to help 00:39:55.329 --> 00:39:58.210 out some of the natives there. So that's really 00:39:58.210 --> 00:40:02.289 cool. Well, I don't see any more questions tonight, 00:40:02.289 --> 00:40:06.389 so we're going to finish things up. But Ralph, 00:40:06.750 --> 00:40:09.949 let's give you a chance here. Anything else that 00:40:09.949 --> 00:40:12.650 you want to talk about? And then we need to talk 00:40:12.650 --> 00:40:16.670 about the website and donating to the cause before 00:40:16.670 --> 00:40:21.630 we go. OK, well, I guess my parting shot, Neil, 00:40:21.710 --> 00:40:25.139 would be that there are so many interesting and 00:40:25.139 --> 00:40:29.179 fascinating things about Pitcairn to spawn questions 00:40:29.179 --> 00:40:32.699 and discussions of, you know, in ladies aid groups 00:40:32.699 --> 00:40:36.400 or ham radio clubs or whatever. And one of the 00:40:36.400 --> 00:40:39.500 things that we've hoped to do with this is to 00:40:39.500 --> 00:40:42.280 stimulate some public interest in this de -expedition 00:40:42.280 --> 00:40:46.119 and Pitcairn Island. Whether that's a fifth grade 00:40:46.119 --> 00:40:50.519 class, a graduate student in genetics, a history 00:40:50.519 --> 00:40:53.800 buff or someone interested in the history of 00:40:53.800 --> 00:40:57.139 navigation or sociology or whatever, it would 00:40:57.139 --> 00:40:59.960 be great if we could involve those people in 00:40:59.960 --> 00:41:03.539 the de -expedition because there are so many 00:41:03.539 --> 00:41:06.840 things that Pitcairn offers besides the ham radio 00:41:06.840 --> 00:41:10.239 aspect of it. So if we could get the public more 00:41:10.239 --> 00:41:13.730 involved in this, and enrich the public a little 00:41:13.730 --> 00:41:16.150 bit with what we're doing, that would be really 00:41:16.150 --> 00:41:18.389 great. And I would love to have someone step 00:41:18.389 --> 00:41:20.869 up to the plate and say, hey, I've got this frisky 00:41:20.869 --> 00:41:23.429 class who could, you know, could we have a video 00:41:23.429 --> 00:41:25.449 conference with the kids on Pitcairn Island? 00:41:25.889 --> 00:41:28.230 Something like that would really, really be great. 00:41:29.429 --> 00:41:31.809 A lot of interesting stuff there. There's something 00:41:31.809 --> 00:41:34.449 for everybody. The more people we can involve, 00:41:34.510 --> 00:41:39.389 the richer the experience for everybody. Very 00:41:39.389 --> 00:41:43.619 good. And Glenn? the same for you anything we've 00:41:43.619 --> 00:41:45.820 left off here that you want to get in tonight 00:41:45.820 --> 00:41:49.719 I'm not sure exactly what was covered but you 00:41:49.719 --> 00:41:51.420 know the Braveheart is going to deliver most 00:41:51.420 --> 00:41:55.420 of our stuff in the next week or so so and things 00:41:55.420 --> 00:41:57.699 have been moved up to our operating site and 00:41:57.699 --> 00:42:00.199 so that's going to save a couple days getting 00:42:00.199 --> 00:42:03.199 everything organized and getting us on the air 00:42:03.199 --> 00:42:06.860 and then some of our stuff is going to be packed 00:42:06.860 --> 00:42:10.369 up and put on the Braveheart and go to another 00:42:10.369 --> 00:42:13.630 de -expedition in the Antarctic. And then on 00:42:13.630 --> 00:42:15.949 the way back, our personal stuff will be picked 00:42:15.949 --> 00:42:19.269 up and taken back to New Zealand and shipped 00:42:19.269 --> 00:42:24.210 to us. So it's kind of a two -for -one for a 00:42:24.210 --> 00:42:26.170 couple de -expeditions. So we're looking forward 00:42:26.170 --> 00:42:29.389 to working with people at the Braveheart, people 00:42:29.389 --> 00:42:32.690 at Pitcairn Island, and the South Arctic de -expeditions 00:42:32.690 --> 00:42:37.710 coming up this fall. Okay, very good. And Ralph, 00:42:37.710 --> 00:42:43.659 again, Let's give out the website again and any 00:42:43.659 --> 00:42:46.900 other social media, maybe that's out there and 00:42:46.900 --> 00:42:52.039 then how you can donate to help defray the expenses 00:42:52.039 --> 00:42:55.940 of this trip. Okay. Well, once again, the, the 00:42:55.940 --> 00:43:00.360 website address is pitcarondx .com all one word 00:43:00.360 --> 00:43:04.900 pitcarondx .com. Uh, we have a Facebook site 00:43:04.900 --> 00:43:09.130 and, um, I think if you just go to Facebook and 00:43:09.130 --> 00:43:12.090 look up Pitcairn Island, the expedition, you 00:43:12.090 --> 00:43:15.409 should be able to find it. We've got over a thousand 00:43:15.409 --> 00:43:20.090 followers on that now. And there's a lot of interesting 00:43:20.090 --> 00:43:22.389 stories that pop up there that you may not find 00:43:22.389 --> 00:43:26.309 on the website. So check that out too. Do both 00:43:26.309 --> 00:43:29.389 places. And I think you'll find some fun and 00:43:29.389 --> 00:43:33.039 interesting things there. Contributions wise, 00:43:33.239 --> 00:43:36.099 we realize we're not a top 10 entity and we're 00:43:36.099 --> 00:43:40.940 not gonna command a huge amount of money coming 00:43:40.940 --> 00:43:43.400 from the ham population. We're getting some, 00:43:43.519 --> 00:43:45.679 we appreciate it greatly. If anybody would like 00:43:45.679 --> 00:43:49.719 to help us with this, we'd appreciate that. On 00:43:49.719 --> 00:43:52.199 the website you will find buttons that say donate 00:43:52.199 --> 00:43:58.369 on there and if you do that, great. Be sure you 00:43:58.369 --> 00:44:00.650 work us whether you donate or not. That's immaterial 00:44:00.650 --> 00:44:03.690 work us. Have fun Enjoy learn a little bit about 00:44:03.690 --> 00:44:06.750 pit care and say hello to us while we're there 00:44:06.750 --> 00:44:09.710 And hopefully during this bottom of the sunspot 00:44:09.710 --> 00:44:11.909 cycle will be some activity that you can enjoy 00:44:11.909 --> 00:44:18.099 him radio with Well said and and we'll leave 00:44:18.099 --> 00:44:22.039 it right there have some fun with it and Hopefully 00:44:22.039 --> 00:44:25.679 get pit Karen in the log so guys thanks so much 00:44:25.679 --> 00:44:29.079 for taking the time to come on and and Glenn 00:44:29.079 --> 00:44:33.340 for for for dodging the cows and and and and 00:44:33.340 --> 00:44:37.300 the cell towers and everything so Actually before 00:44:37.300 --> 00:44:40.179 we go we've got to talk about the cows for a 00:44:40.179 --> 00:44:42.480 minute. We'll tell tell tell everybody what's 00:44:42.480 --> 00:44:45.349 going on with the cows because Everybody didn't 00:44:45.349 --> 00:44:48.210 hear that. I grew up with, you know, raising 00:44:48.210 --> 00:44:50.989 Angus cattle, and I've always had an interest 00:44:50.989 --> 00:44:54.150 in that. One of my friends down here has a herd 00:44:54.150 --> 00:44:57.710 on his ranch, and it's calving time, so we just 00:44:57.710 --> 00:45:00.449 came down to kind of watch and help out if we 00:45:00.449 --> 00:45:05.170 could. So far, things went very well. And a bunch 00:45:05.170 --> 00:45:07.030 of new little calves. Oh, they're so cute. If 00:45:07.030 --> 00:45:09.570 you've never seen a newborn little calf, they're 00:45:09.570 --> 00:45:11.829 so innocent, you go up and cuddle with and hug. 00:45:13.370 --> 00:45:19.449 It's it's there's nothing like it Well, we wish 00:45:19.449 --> 00:45:22.889 you the best on the rest of your trip down there 00:45:22.889 --> 00:45:26.690 in Texas and Thanks so much for calling in and 00:45:26.690 --> 00:45:29.929 trying keep trying to get back with us and we're 00:45:29.929 --> 00:45:33.889 glad that you did Hopefully we'll have better 00:45:33.889 --> 00:45:39.500 propagation from pit Karen And Ralph, thanks 00:45:39.500 --> 00:45:42.159 as always. We appreciate you coming on and telling 00:45:42.159 --> 00:45:45.099 us about all of these and we hope to hear you 00:45:45.099 --> 00:45:48.820 from Pitcairn soon. Okay. Thank you, Neil. My 00:45:48.820 --> 00:45:54.030 pleasure. Well, that is, oh, thanks. That is 00:45:54.030 --> 00:45:57.070 a wrap for this week's edition of HamTalk Live. 00:45:57.090 --> 00:46:00.909 Thanks to my guests, Dr. Ralph Fedor, KZYR, and 00:46:00.909 --> 00:46:04.590 Dr. Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, and everybody out there 00:46:04.590 --> 00:46:07.510 in cyberspace for listening and typing in and 00:46:07.510 --> 00:46:10.730 invite you all back next Thursday night at 9 00:46:10.730 --> 00:46:14.849 p .m. Eastern Time when Howard Bernstein, WB2UZE, 00:46:15.030 --> 00:46:18.070 will be here to talk about the Long Island CW 00:46:18.070 --> 00:46:20.969 Club. And for a list of all of our upcoming guests, 00:46:21.320 --> 00:46:25.199 visit HamTalkLive .com and if you like the show 00:46:25.199 --> 00:46:28.079 please leave us a review that helps others find 00:46:28.079 --> 00:46:31.440 us a little bit faster so for now this is Neil 00:46:31.440 --> 00:46:37.800 Rapp WB9VPG saying 7 3 7 5 and may the good DX 00:46:37.800 --> 00:46:39.179 be yours