WEBVTT 00:00:09.340 --> 00:00:12.179 Thanks for tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:30.140 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:30.140 --> 00:00:32.880 tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:38.460 Please stand by. This episode of HamTalk Live 00:00:38.460 --> 00:00:42.079 is brought to you by Tower Electronics. For connectors, 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:47.920 cables and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:53.619 PL -259 .com and by ICOM. Heard it? Worked it? 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:59.000 Logged it! Visit www .icomamerica .com slash 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:02.880 amateur for more information about ICOM radios. 00:01:33.290 --> 00:01:36.129 Good evening, everyone. It's time for HamTalk 00:01:36.129 --> 00:01:40.930 Live. It's episode number 174. It's Ruth Willett, 00:01:41.010 --> 00:01:45.450 KM4LAO, the 2018 Hiram Percy Maxim Award winner 00:01:45.450 --> 00:01:50.810 recorded live on Thursday, July 25th, 2019. I'm 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:54.069 your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning 00:01:54.069 --> 00:01:57.989 in to this episode of HamTalk Live. Tonight we're 00:01:57.989 --> 00:02:02.959 joined by Ruth KM4LAO. As she's known on Twitter, 00:02:03.060 --> 00:02:06.519 it's just KM4Ruth and we'll take your calls live 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:09.020 in just a few minutes. Last week here on the 00:02:09.020 --> 00:02:13.159 show, Bill Stern's NE4RD was here to give an 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:15.900 update from the World Scout Jamboree and they 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:18.419 are rolling. They've been doing balloon launches 00:02:18.419 --> 00:02:22.680 and HF contacts and the satellite contacts and 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:26.039 everything. So if you hear NA1WJ, give them a 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:29.319 call. But he was here to update us on everything 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:33.419 and also Brian Tarascal, KG5HVO, called in from 00:02:33.419 --> 00:02:37.580 Carousel. He's on the Youth DX Adventure and 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:40.419 gave us an update on the totals there and they're 00:02:40.419 --> 00:02:43.939 back home. But if you missed the show... You 00:02:43.939 --> 00:02:47.240 can listen anytime at HamTalkLive .com or on 00:02:47.240 --> 00:02:50.939 your favorite podcast app or YouTube. Or you 00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:55.840 can catch the rebroadcast on WTWW. That's 5085 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:00.759 AM Saturday evenings about 630 PM Eastern Time. 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:03.860 So get your questions ready for Ruth. If you're 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:08.639 joining us tonight live on Thursday, you can 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:11.539 give us a call after the interview by telephone 00:03:11.539 --> 00:03:15.330 at 812 -NET - Ham 1. I'll give you the number 00:03:15.330 --> 00:03:19.150 here again in a minute, but you can give us a 00:03:19.150 --> 00:03:21.569 call and ask your question a little later on. 00:03:21.669 --> 00:03:24.689 It's not time to call just yet, but we'll announce 00:03:24.689 --> 00:03:29.409 when it is time. That number again, 812 -NET 00:03:29.409 --> 00:03:36.270 -HAM -1. 812 -638 -4261. You can also tweet us. 00:03:36.449 --> 00:03:39.650 It's at HamTalkLive on Twitter. I'll be checking 00:03:39.650 --> 00:03:42.719 that. throughout the night. So I'll be back with 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:46.500 Ruth right after this word from ICOM right here 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:50.479 on HamTalk Live. Heard it! Worked it, logged 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:53.219 it. It's time to get the transceiver that is 00:03:53.219 --> 00:03:56.259 best suited for your lifestyle. ICOM offers a 00:03:56.259 --> 00:03:59.400 variety of high performance and innovative products. 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:02.939 Make the most of contest season with one of these 00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:08.039 ICOMs today. The IC7610 is the SDR every ham 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:10.979 wants. This high performance SDR has the ability 00:04:10.979 --> 00:04:13.639 to pick out the faintest of signals even in the 00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:17.379 presence of stronger adjacent ones. The IC7610 00:04:17.379 --> 00:04:20.180 is a direct sampling software -defined radio 00:04:20.180 --> 00:04:22.680 that will change the world's definition of an 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:27.000 SDR transceiver. It has RF direct sampling, 110 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:31.120 dB RMDR, independent dual receiver, and dual 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:34.699 digit cell. And the IC7300 is changing the way 00:04:34.699 --> 00:04:37.879 entry -level HF is designed. This high -performance, 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:41.300 innovative HF transceiver with a compact design 00:04:41.300 --> 00:05:03.579 will far exceed your expectations. We're not 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:05.959 sure what's up with the fifth dentist, but four 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:08.800 out of five dentists recommend listening to HamTalk 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:28.569 Live. Welcome back to HamTalk Live. Thanks to 00:05:28.569 --> 00:05:31.790 ICOM America for sponsoring the show again tonight. 00:05:31.870 --> 00:05:35.750 Make sure you check them out at icomamerica .com 00:05:35.750 --> 00:05:40.589 slash amateur. Tonight's guest is Ruth Willett, 00:05:40.649 --> 00:05:45.699 KM4 LAO. Ruth is now a senior at Kettering University 00:05:45.699 --> 00:05:49.519 studying engineering physics and mechanical engineering. 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:52.879 Originally from Georgia, Ruth spends a lot of 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:55.980 her operating time at school in Michigan and 00:05:55.980 --> 00:06:00.040 her co -op job in Georgia or back home now in 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:04.620 Virginia. She is the 2018 Hiram Percy Maxim Award 00:06:04.620 --> 00:06:08.279 winner, which is presented by the ARRL to recognize 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:12.740 young hands. She's also spoken at many club meetings 00:06:12.740 --> 00:06:17.160 and conventions including Suodexa, the DX dinner 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:19.519 that's always held during Hamvention Weekend 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:23.300 and the Hamvention Youth Forum. She's been a 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:27.180 member on the Dave called her Memorial Youth 00:06:27.180 --> 00:06:29.980 DX Adventure team. We were just talking about 00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:35.360 Bryant KG5HVO that just got back from that and 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:38.540 they're going back to Saba, which is where Ruth 00:06:38.540 --> 00:06:43.079 went when she did her DX Adventure. And she's 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:45.620 also revived the Kettering University Amateur 00:06:45.620 --> 00:06:49.329 Radio Club. She is the president of that. And 00:06:49.329 --> 00:06:51.689 she's been licensed for four years and enjoys 00:06:51.689 --> 00:06:54.810 all kinds of operating, especially CW and satellite. 00:06:56.050 --> 00:06:59.089 She's a member of many clubs, including CW ops 00:06:59.089 --> 00:07:03.189 and is featured in the heiress video. Now the 00:07:03.189 --> 00:07:07.670 heiress video is played just before each US school. 00:07:08.210 --> 00:07:10.550 actually makes the contact with the astronaut. 00:07:10.649 --> 00:07:12.610 So it's to kind of get you hyped up and ready 00:07:12.610 --> 00:07:16.810 to go for that astronaut contact on the International 00:07:16.810 --> 00:07:20.189 Space Station and Ruth and Chris are on that. 00:07:20.250 --> 00:07:22.329 I got to see that at Hamvention. That was pretty 00:07:22.329 --> 00:07:26.629 cool. So Ruth, welcome to the show. Thank you 00:07:26.629 --> 00:07:28.629 so much, Neil. It's really fun to be on tonight. 00:07:30.990 --> 00:07:34.069 Dodging coughing here. So if you hear the mic 00:07:34.069 --> 00:07:36.089 drop out, it's probably because I have to cough 00:07:36.089 --> 00:07:39.529 But anyway, Ruth, it's good to have you on tonight 00:07:39.529 --> 00:07:41.990 We want to talk a little bit about some of the 00:07:41.990 --> 00:07:44.470 things you've been doing and some of the things 00:07:44.470 --> 00:07:50.850 that has happened to you so First let's talk 00:07:50.850 --> 00:07:52.910 a little bit about the award the Hiram Percy 00:07:52.910 --> 00:07:58.930 Maxim award is from ARL for hams under 21 and 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:02.439 Tell us a little bit about that award and some 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:04.519 of the opportunities it's brought to you and 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:10.579 what that means to you. It was really an incredible 00:08:10.579 --> 00:08:14.939 honor to be named the 2018 A .W .R .L. Hiram 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:18.860 Percy Maxim Memorial Award recipient. As my friends 00:08:18.860 --> 00:08:21.339 and family can attest, I was on cloud nine for 00:08:21.339 --> 00:08:24.199 weeks after I heard the news that I'd won it. 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:26.740 There's so many active young hams in the hobby 00:08:26.740 --> 00:08:30.120 and I'm so grateful that the AWRL Board of Directors 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:33.419 selected me last year. So the award presentation 00:08:33.419 --> 00:08:37.519 came last year in November at the Stone Mountain 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:40.740 Hamfest, and it was so special to receive the 00:08:40.740 --> 00:08:43.639 actual award plaque surrounded by friends and 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:45.759 people who just loved and mentored me for so 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:49.259 many years. This award definitely has given me 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:51.500 a platform that I'm really grateful for. It enabled 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:53.899 me to share him radio with a lot of people. I 00:08:53.899 --> 00:08:55.759 just love this hobby and I really want to do 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:58.360 whatever I can to help it grow and get stronger. 00:09:00.379 --> 00:09:02.740 This award has allowed me to connect with more 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:05.419 youth in the hobby, offering mentorship and friendship. 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:07.679 I've been working on writing different articles 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:09.860 and creating presentations that are hopefully 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:14.210 both exciting and informational. I'm very thankful 00:09:14.210 --> 00:09:17.529 for more leadership opportunities that are upcoming 00:09:17.529 --> 00:09:20.210 because it's very important for me to keep learning 00:09:20.210 --> 00:09:24.110 and growing and improving my skills because there's 00:09:24.110 --> 00:09:26.929 always always something new to learn. Just knowing 00:09:26.929 --> 00:09:32.419 that someone may be looking up at me and watching 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:35.379 my track record in the hobbies exciting because 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:37.960 it motivates me to just keep being myself, keep 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:40.879 loving the hobby, enjoying all types of activities, 00:09:41.419 --> 00:09:43.539 and above all, learning as much as I can and 00:09:43.539 --> 00:09:47.580 having a lot of fun along the way. That's cool 00:09:47.580 --> 00:09:51.120 and and and that happens I mean, you know It 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:53.600 seems like it kind of snowballs once people find 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:56.440 out about you then all of a sudden It just kind 00:09:56.440 --> 00:09:59.879 of kind of snowballs and everybody's watching 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:06.440 Pretty cool. Well Speaking of that, you were 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:10.879 able to revive the Amateur Radio Club at Kettering 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.860 where you're going to school right now. So tell 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:17.159 us a little bit about that adventure. Oh yes, 00:10:17.259 --> 00:10:20.639 that's been awesome. It's been a really good 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:22.860 learning experience for me getting to restart 00:10:22.860 --> 00:10:25.580 the Kettering University Amateur Radio Club or 00:10:25.580 --> 00:10:28.320 K8HPS. So there was a club at school a number 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:30.620 of years ago that had been been inactive for 00:10:30.620 --> 00:10:33.149 quite a while. So when I started at Kettering 00:10:33.149 --> 00:10:36.529 back in 2016, I was active in the hobby. I was 00:10:36.529 --> 00:10:39.250 like, I want to start the club up again. So through 00:10:39.250 --> 00:10:41.509 the next couple of years, I just worked to recruit 00:10:41.509 --> 00:10:44.070 members, apply for club recognition, and just 00:10:44.070 --> 00:10:47.090 get the word out there around campus. We were 00:10:47.090 --> 00:10:49.409 approved and our first term as an active club 00:10:49.409 --> 00:10:52.269 was the spring of 2018. So we've been going for 00:10:52.269 --> 00:10:55.139 just over a year. So far we've been able to do 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:57.399 interesting presentations on a variety of topics 00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:00.179 with hams from around the country, usually skyping 00:11:00.179 --> 00:11:02.639 in and such. It's been awesome. We've hosted 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:04.960 a licensing class and gotten a couple of students 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:07.259 licensed and we have plans to do another one. 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:09.960 We've experimented with different types of operating 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:13.659 and kit building and we even got to put K8HPS 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:15.639 back on the air during the School Club Roundup 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:18.570 last year. That was made possible thanks to some 00:11:18.570 --> 00:11:20.509 Kettering alumni that brought radio equipment 00:11:20.509 --> 00:11:23.370 for us to use. It was just a whole lot of fun. 00:11:23.990 --> 00:11:27.149 I just love that I can share this amazing hobby 00:11:27.149 --> 00:11:30.789 with my fellow students and faculty and teachers 00:11:30.789 --> 00:11:34.009 and alumni. It's just a lot of fun. Restarting 00:11:34.009 --> 00:11:37.090 the club has definitely been an adventure. Science 00:11:37.090 --> 00:11:40.070 and engineering students were notoriously busy 00:11:40.070 --> 00:11:43.580 and trying to add in clubs to be active in through 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:46.259 our already shortened semester. We only have 00:11:46.259 --> 00:11:49.580 11 weeks for semesters because we alternate between 00:11:49.580 --> 00:11:52.919 school and co -op. Adding in clubs can be a challenge. 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:56.360 So it's definitely been good for me learning 00:11:56.360 --> 00:12:00.379 how to communicate and get more students interested. 00:12:01.250 --> 00:12:03.970 But we have a good group of officers now and 00:12:03.970 --> 00:12:06.850 we're working on some cool ideas for the fall, 00:12:06.870 --> 00:12:09.610 this fall term. So I'm hoping we can do some 00:12:09.610 --> 00:12:13.529 fun events and attract some more students. Yeah, 00:12:13.669 --> 00:12:18.470 I've gone through this process. I restarted W9MOK. 00:12:19.230 --> 00:12:21.710 the University of Southern Indiana when I was 00:12:21.710 --> 00:12:25.750 there and they had a mop closet. It was literally 00:12:25.750 --> 00:12:28.429 a mop closet. There was actually water running 00:12:28.429 --> 00:12:34.889 through the drains in this closet. That was our 00:12:34.889 --> 00:12:39.970 station. And we were able to upgrade it and get 00:12:39.970 --> 00:12:42.710 some antennas back up and get through all the 00:12:42.710 --> 00:12:47.909 red tape of the university and all the student 00:12:47.909 --> 00:12:50.909 boards and everything to get approval and so 00:12:50.909 --> 00:12:54.690 that is one of the challenges of the college 00:12:54.690 --> 00:12:59.450 clubs as well as the school clubs is keeping 00:12:59.450 --> 00:13:03.110 it going. You get somebody in there and you know 00:13:03.110 --> 00:13:05.370 will run it while they're there and then who 00:13:05.370 --> 00:13:09.370 takes over next and so these clubs are often 00:13:09.370 --> 00:13:13.370 you know shut down and restarted and it's no 00:13:13.370 --> 00:13:17.659 small feat so congratulations on getting that 00:13:17.659 --> 00:13:21.279 going and we've talked about that quite a bit 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:23.600 and told me some of the things that you went 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:27.960 through to get that going and you had Dan come 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:33.340 in and KB6NU and do the tech class and some things 00:13:33.340 --> 00:13:37.240 up there to get things rolling and the university 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:42.470 was able to publicize that some. Yes, they've 00:13:42.470 --> 00:13:45.350 been very excited that we're doing the club I 00:13:45.350 --> 00:13:47.730 was not expecting the university to take it and 00:13:47.730 --> 00:13:49.809 run with it and they've been so excited whenever 00:13:49.809 --> 00:13:51.610 we do stuff They're like let us know we want 00:13:51.610 --> 00:13:54.610 to support you all So yeah, definitely the hardest 00:13:54.610 --> 00:13:56.870 thing is trying to keep it going But I've got 00:13:56.870 --> 00:13:59.769 another two years of school left So I am hopeful 00:13:59.769 --> 00:14:02.009 that I will we will be able to recruit more students 00:14:02.009 --> 00:14:06.309 and keep it going now when you get on the air, 00:14:06.330 --> 00:14:10.990 I hear you on satellite because That's usually 00:14:10.990 --> 00:14:14.210 where I end up is I have this little 10 minute 00:14:14.210 --> 00:14:16.629 window of time that I can get on the air and 00:14:16.629 --> 00:14:20.269 then back to work. And so I usually hear you 00:14:20.269 --> 00:14:22.809 on there, but I know you're on CW. I know you're 00:14:22.809 --> 00:14:26.309 on sideband as well. So, so let's talk a little 00:14:26.309 --> 00:14:30.789 bit about your operating and we'll talk about 00:14:30.789 --> 00:14:32.909 satellites a little bit too. What do you enjoy 00:14:32.909 --> 00:14:38.389 about those? Oh, for sure. I just love trying 00:14:38.389 --> 00:14:43.450 to experience as many types of operating as I 00:14:43.450 --> 00:14:46.570 can. So definitely my peak interests are definitely 00:14:46.570 --> 00:14:49.289 single side bands, CW, and satellites. I got 00:14:49.289 --> 00:14:51.370 into the hobby as many of you probably know. 00:14:51.370 --> 00:14:53.509 I got my amateur radio license in the first place 00:14:53.509 --> 00:14:55.529 four years ago because I wanted to learn Morse 00:14:55.529 --> 00:14:57.750 code. That's all I knew about the hobby. But 00:14:57.750 --> 00:15:00.169 since then I've really, really expanded and really 00:15:00.169 --> 00:15:02.649 enjoyed trying as much as I can whenever I'm 00:15:02.649 --> 00:15:06.090 at co -op or home usually or with friends who 00:15:06.090 --> 00:15:08.870 have of HF stations. I'm on the air on HF. I 00:15:08.870 --> 00:15:11.830 love doing single sideband in CW, especially 00:15:11.830 --> 00:15:14.529 CW because that's my first love. But you are 00:15:14.529 --> 00:15:16.789 right, satellites have been quite big for me 00:15:16.789 --> 00:15:19.450 the last couple of years. They've been incredibly 00:15:19.450 --> 00:15:22.639 fun because Operating on satellites really is 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.080 the perfect fit for my busy lifestyle kind of 00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:26.700 like you've already you've mentioned yourself 00:15:26.700 --> 00:15:28.600 They really allow me to get on the air easily 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:31.820 wherever I am using this incredible form of communication 00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:35.820 That's always changing challenging but fun and 00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:38.639 adaptable to the gear that I will have on hand 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:42.860 So I have portable equipment. I have handhelds 00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:46.700 as well as some FT -817s and some handheld aero 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:49.299 antennas and whether I'm at school in Michigan 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:52.480 in between classes if I'm on lunch break at work 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:55.480 or driving home, if I'm home in Virginia, or 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:58.320 just driving around the country, exploring or 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:01.100 moving in between these places. I can just get 00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:03.879 on the air wherever I am, and it's so much fun 00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:06.440 just having this easily portable equipment that 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:09.919 I can just get on, have fun, get some rover credit, 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:15.659 and make adventures. I just love this thrill 00:16:15.659 --> 00:16:17.799 of communicating with someone through a satellite 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:21.460 that's literally orbiting the Earth. The community 00:16:21.460 --> 00:16:24.440 of satellite operators is pretty small so there's 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:26.120 people always willing to share their knowledge 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:28.720 and advice and they've really helped me to become 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:30.899 the satellite operator I am today. There's so 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:33.179 many people that I've asked questions about different 00:16:33.179 --> 00:16:35.080 aspects and they've just been so willing to help 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:38.860 me or send me files with frequencies if I can't 00:16:38.860 --> 00:16:41.289 find them easily and so forth. So I've currently 00:16:41.289 --> 00:16:44.610 only made voice and digital QSOs on satellites, 00:16:44.909 --> 00:16:47.850 but I am gearing up and my next goal is to make 00:16:47.850 --> 00:16:51.129 some low power, definitely low power, CW contacts 00:16:51.129 --> 00:16:53.190 on a linear satellite as well, just so I can 00:16:53.190 --> 00:16:56.590 say I've done it all, and low power so that I 00:16:56.590 --> 00:16:59.120 don't... Flip any satellite. Yeah, you don't 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:04.440 flip the satellite. Yeah, especially You overwhelm 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:07.359 it and it's going to flip modes on you and that's 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:09.920 not good. So what's the goal at some point? So 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:14.519 I love it. It's so much fun Well, you know, I 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:18.059 enjoy hearing you on and when you get on I hear 00:17:18.059 --> 00:17:20.500 people calling you like crazy you've got the 00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:23.359 yl factor going for you so you get the extra 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:29.650 3db and you create a pile up, whatever you're 00:17:29.650 --> 00:17:32.630 on. And I always enjoy hearing that. And I try 00:17:32.630 --> 00:17:35.289 to jump in there as well. And I'm going to have 00:17:35.289 --> 00:17:37.490 to get some more grids from you over the years 00:17:37.490 --> 00:17:41.910 here. But let's talk about this Eris video for 00:17:41.910 --> 00:17:44.809 a little bit. This was a really cool project. 00:17:45.309 --> 00:17:47.569 I actually had kind of heard about the project 00:17:47.569 --> 00:17:51.529 before it got rolling and they wanted... some 00:17:51.529 --> 00:17:55.509 young people to be on the video and get kids 00:17:55.509 --> 00:17:59.990 excited about talking to the astronauts on the 00:17:59.990 --> 00:18:01.630 space station. So tell us a little bit about 00:18:01.630 --> 00:18:05.109 this video. Yes, I'm so glad you brought it up 00:18:05.109 --> 00:18:07.410 because I absolutely love that I got to be a 00:18:07.410 --> 00:18:09.950 part of this project. It's definitely been one 00:18:09.950 --> 00:18:12.450 of the most unique experiences I've had in ham 00:18:12.450 --> 00:18:14.890 radio and I'm just, like I said, so happy I got 00:18:14.890 --> 00:18:18.329 to do it. So back in 2017, I believe it was, 00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:21.650 the AWL was working with ARIS and they wanted 00:18:21.650 --> 00:18:23.950 to, like you said, create a video, a short video 00:18:23.950 --> 00:18:27.029 that's shown before ARIS context to get people 00:18:27.029 --> 00:18:30.509 interested. So the video we have explains to 00:18:30.509 --> 00:18:32.950 students how ham radio is making their contact 00:18:32.950 --> 00:18:35.690 happen and just a general overview of what the 00:18:35.690 --> 00:18:39.269 QSO is going to be like. So I heard about this 00:18:39.269 --> 00:18:43.210 because Chris, KD8YVJ and myself were invited 00:18:43.210 --> 00:18:46.599 to be the student hosts on the camera. So we 00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:48.640 were gonna be in front of the camera and talking 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:52.339 to the kids. I'm so thrilled that they asked 00:18:52.339 --> 00:18:57.099 me to be a part of it. I always loved space and 00:18:57.099 --> 00:18:59.559 PAM radio and the ISS and just getting to be 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:02.319 part of this was thrilling. So we ended up shooting 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:06.220 the video back in 2017 at the Dayton Amateur 00:19:06.220 --> 00:19:09.420 Radio Association Clubhouse with an awesome team 00:19:09.420 --> 00:19:13.029 after the Dayton Hamvention that year. It worked 00:19:13.029 --> 00:19:16.369 out well since we were all in the area. So they 00:19:16.369 --> 00:19:18.670 had made up sample scripts for Chris and me to 00:19:18.670 --> 00:19:21.029 use, and we worked through them to create the 00:19:21.029 --> 00:19:25.089 video. So Tom, Whiskey8WhiskeyTangoDelta, he 00:19:25.089 --> 00:19:28.859 was the video director and he was Superbly directing 00:19:28.859 --> 00:19:31.480 this entire thing with his video crew and it 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:34.240 was just such a fascinating process working with 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:37.619 them figuring out if Chris or me would say which 00:19:37.619 --> 00:19:40.980 lines Interacting with each other and just being 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:44.460 filmed for the entire thing. I Love as you may 00:19:44.460 --> 00:19:46.859 have told I just love sharing my excitement for 00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:49.599 ham radio with others and this video really gave 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:53.680 me a unique way to do that I'm just thrilled 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:57.500 that eras uses the video now I've heard so many 00:19:57.500 --> 00:20:00.539 positive comments from teachers that they it 00:20:00.539 --> 00:20:02.759 works so well and the students getting so excited 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:04.960 about the Contacts and they understand what's 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:07.240 going on and the teacher are so excited to have 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:10.480 something to show and I've had a couple people 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:13.339 who recognized me from doing the video which 00:20:13.339 --> 00:20:15.539 was like I was like wow this was a couple years 00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:19.440 ago and it's just cool and I'm just so thankful 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:23.519 that in this small way, I can be a part of these 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.579 hundreds of successful ARSS contacts that take 00:20:26.579 --> 00:20:29.880 place like every day. It's just really awesome. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:33.059 Well, and we're going to have to get you involved 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:36.259 in one of those contacts, but we'll talk more 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:39.380 about that later. So we're going to take a break 00:20:39.380 --> 00:20:42.099 right now and we're going to come back and take 00:20:42.099 --> 00:20:45.180 your questions for Ruth. And I think maybe we'll 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:47.720 we'll talk a little Wimploda or something when 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:51.779 we get back. So we'll take a break and get your 00:20:51.779 --> 00:20:54.480 questions ready to go and we'll open up the phone 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:57.480 lines here in just a minute after this word from 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:00.940 Tower Electronics right here on HamTalk Live. 00:21:03.180 --> 00:21:05.799 I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm having an antenna 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:09.500 party and I ran out of PL259s. Oh, come in. Thank 00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:14.119 you. Would silver -plated PL259s from Tower Electronics 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:17.180 be too good for your guests? Those will be fine. 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:20.759 Thank you. You saved my life the other night. 00:21:21.099 --> 00:21:24.900 Oh, the PL -259s from Tower Electronics? Yes, 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:27.240 they were very successful at the antenna party. 00:21:27.619 --> 00:21:30.720 My antenna works like a charm. Then, how can 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:33.359 you ever thank me? I'll try to think of something. 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:36.980 Don't be caught without PL -259s. Visit Tower 00:21:36.980 --> 00:21:39.579 Electronics at a ham fest near you. Or visit 00:21:39.579 --> 00:21:43.700 them online anytime at PL -259 .com. or call 00:21:43.700 --> 00:21:49.140 920 -435 -2973. They have adapters, cables, antennas, 00:21:49.420 --> 00:21:52.420 soldering supplies, and meters too. What's that 00:21:52.420 --> 00:21:57.299 call sign again? WB9VPG. That's right, Delium 00:21:57.299 --> 00:22:02.200 9 -Bainte Pterodactyl Nat, right? Join the conversation. 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:07.019 Give us a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 00:22:07.019 --> 00:22:32.920 -638 -4261. Now, here's more HamTalk Live. Thanks 00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:35.980 as always to Tower Electronics for bringing HamTalk 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:39.900 Live your way each and every week. Their HamFest 00:22:39.900 --> 00:22:41.680 schedule coming up, they're going to be back 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.900 out on the road soon. August 4th, they're in 00:22:44.900 --> 00:22:48.339 Berryville, Virginia. August 10th, Huntington, 00:22:48.500 --> 00:22:52.640 West Virginia. And August 17th and 18th at Huntsville, 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:56.519 Alabama. But you can catch them anytime at PL 00:22:56.519 --> 00:23:02.029 -259. And you can catch HamTalk Live anytime 00:23:02.029 --> 00:23:05.509 on the podcast, but we're live every Thursday 00:23:05.509 --> 00:23:09.450 night at 9 p .m. Eastern Time at HamTalkLive 00:23:09.450 --> 00:23:12.369 .com. And be sure to check us out on Facebook, 00:23:12.549 --> 00:23:16.849 Twitter, and Instagram. And it's time for your 00:23:16.849 --> 00:23:19.250 calls now. So if you have a question for Ruth, 00:23:19.309 --> 00:23:26.160 call 812 -NET -HAM -1. 812. 6 3 8 4 2 6 1 now 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:31.339 is the time to call 8 1 2 6 3 8 4 2 6 1 or you 00:23:31.339 --> 00:23:34.240 can tweet us it's at ham talk live on twitter 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:36.220 and if you're listening to us on the podcast 00:23:36.220 --> 00:23:41.599 or on wtww you call the number nobody's going 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:44.660 to answer because we're not there anymore it's 00:23:44.660 --> 00:23:48.059 thursday night live right now So we won't be 00:23:48.059 --> 00:23:50.640 there. We've got a couple of tweets here and 00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:54.380 let's let's start off first with this one. Ruth, 00:23:54.460 --> 00:23:59.640 this is Jacob KG7EQN tweeted in earlier today 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:02.799 and he says, what advice do you have for a father 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:10.559 of two girls, one age six and one age four? That 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:14.049 is a great question. So I'll go I'll start with 00:24:14.049 --> 00:24:16.430 the ham radio side of things just because I figure 00:24:16.430 --> 00:24:20.190 that's half the question First off congrats on 00:24:20.190 --> 00:24:21.990 having two daughters. It's awesome. I have two 00:24:21.990 --> 00:24:26.289 older sisters myself. So girls are awesome so 00:24:26.509 --> 00:24:29.329 Hand radio wise, there's just so much to enjoy 00:24:29.329 --> 00:24:31.529 in the hobby. And since you're already licensed, 00:24:31.630 --> 00:24:33.410 I'm guessing you may want to get your daughter's 00:24:33.410 --> 00:24:35.910 license. So I just encourage you to take your 00:24:35.910 --> 00:24:38.309 time, introduce them to different aspects of 00:24:38.309 --> 00:24:41.250 the hobby. There's so much to enjoy. And they 00:24:41.250 --> 00:24:43.089 may like different things that you never even 00:24:43.089 --> 00:24:45.390 thought you might enjoy. So definitely I would 00:24:45.390 --> 00:24:49.509 encourage you to, when they're ready, to introduce 00:24:49.509 --> 00:24:51.210 them to different parts of the hobby that they 00:24:51.210 --> 00:24:55.380 may be interested in. And of course a big huge 00:24:55.380 --> 00:24:58.079 thing for me was finding good clubs with supporting 00:24:58.079 --> 00:25:01.740 hams. I've had so many incredible mentors who 00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:03.880 have turned into honorary grandparents and uncles 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:06.460 and aunts and just friends and they've truly 00:25:06.460 --> 00:25:10.400 changed my life. So I know there aren't good 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:12.279 clubs everywhere and depending on where you live 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:14.920 but if you can try to find some good clubs that'll 00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:17.980 be encouraging and welcome you and your family 00:25:17.980 --> 00:25:20.980 in the hobby. I'd say the biggest thing is definitely 00:25:21.679 --> 00:25:23.619 don't over pressure them if they want to get 00:25:23.619 --> 00:25:26.660 their licenses because that will turn them away. 00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:29.400 That will turn them away if it's too much pressure. 00:25:29.819 --> 00:25:31.579 But just show them through what you're doing, 00:25:31.700 --> 00:25:33.880 how fun it is. Help them get on the air using 00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:36.500 third party, using your own call sign and be 00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:38.940 ready and able to help them when and if they 00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:41.240 want to get their licenses so you can have a 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:44.140 lot of fun together. Some of my best memories 00:25:44.140 --> 00:25:46.740 in the hobby had been when my mom got licensed 00:25:46.740 --> 00:25:48.900 I got licensed first and then my mom got licensed 00:25:48.900 --> 00:25:53.559 after me as Sharon came for TVU and I just had 00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:55.900 so many adventures in the hobby and that most 00:25:55.900 --> 00:25:58.220 of them are Were made even better because she 00:25:58.220 --> 00:26:02.259 was there Anything other than ham radio, I would 00:26:02.259 --> 00:26:06.299 just encourage them To try to help your daughters 00:26:06.299 --> 00:26:09.299 be well -rounded. It's it's a wonderful thing 00:26:09.299 --> 00:26:13.079 to experience many different types of life. And 00:26:13.079 --> 00:26:16.319 I love the fact that my parents were committed 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:18.940 so that I could enjoy both science things and 00:26:18.940 --> 00:26:22.559 music. And those are two things specifically 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:25.700 that I've enjoyed and carried now into adulthood. 00:26:26.619 --> 00:26:28.900 Definitely enjoy that precious childhood time. 00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:31.200 I have so many good memories from when I was 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:33.240 those ages. And just encourage them to follow 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:35.039 their passions and be supportive of whatever 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:37.980 they end up doing. So that's the best I've got. 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:43.160 I think that's some good advice, which I've told 00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:45.299 this story a million times, so I'll tell the 00:26:45.299 --> 00:26:48.519 short version of the story and not bore everybody 00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:52.019 with it, but I got my license when I was five 00:26:52.019 --> 00:26:56.369 and had it not been for a good radio club. I 00:26:56.369 --> 00:26:58.730 don't think that would have ever happened. You 00:26:58.730 --> 00:27:01.589 know, they had the class set up and they had 00:27:01.589 --> 00:27:05.049 an age limit of 13 on it, but they were willing 00:27:05.049 --> 00:27:09.150 to let me come in and just be there with dad. 00:27:10.690 --> 00:27:13.869 And all of a sudden things started to fall together 00:27:13.869 --> 00:27:16.630 and they figured out, hey, this kid can do this. 00:27:16.869 --> 00:27:20.210 And so if it hadn't have been for that club that 00:27:20.210 --> 00:27:23.670 was... you know willing to work with my dad and 00:27:23.670 --> 00:27:26.369 say yeah you can bring him along he you know 00:27:26.369 --> 00:27:29.109 as long as he doesn't make any noise and you 00:27:29.109 --> 00:27:31.869 know disrupt the class you can bring him along 00:27:31.869 --> 00:27:35.230 and you don't have to get a sitter you know and 00:27:35.230 --> 00:27:38.869 it turned into uh you know doing this and the 00:27:38.869 --> 00:27:41.450 other thing that i'm going to throw in here is 00:27:41.450 --> 00:27:43.289 people always ask me how in the world did you 00:27:43.289 --> 00:27:45.089 study for the test when you were five and it 00:27:45.089 --> 00:27:48.940 was flashcards So we matched up flashcards. So 00:27:48.940 --> 00:27:51.200 we had the question on a card, answer on a card, 00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:54.960 and matched them up. And of course Morse code, 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:56.960 I just had to learn Morse code. I mean, that 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:00.900 was the class part of it. But the theory, we 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:03.420 kind of made up questions and made up answers 00:28:03.420 --> 00:28:06.960 and matched them up. And so I could figure out 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:09.359 how to do those. So if you make it into a kind 00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:12.680 of a game kind of thing, maybe that will help 00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:15.160 if you're looking into that. So I don't want 00:28:15.160 --> 00:28:20.980 to take... take away from Ruth's time here, but 00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:24.259 just had to throw that in. We've got some more 00:28:24.259 --> 00:28:27.500 tweets and some comments and Chris Bloxham's 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:29.700 listening tonight. So Chris, thanks for listening. 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:31.400 And he says, hi, Jill, even though I haven't 00:28:31.400 --> 00:28:34.279 seen Jill say anything yet, but Jill is probably 00:28:34.279 --> 00:28:39.880 listening. So hi, Jill. And Katie, wy7yl is listening 00:28:39.880 --> 00:28:44.359 tonight. So thanks for doing that, Katie. And 00:28:44.359 --> 00:28:47.000 here it comes. We were talking about this during 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:51.079 the break, Ruth. We have a question that's come 00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:57.099 in from Sean, KX9X. So here you go. She was saying, 00:28:57.259 --> 00:28:59.599 Sean was telling her that, you know, he was going 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:01.799 to give her all these tough questions tonight. 00:29:02.660 --> 00:29:07.059 So here's your question from KX9X. What aspect 00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:11.619 of ham radio intrigues you that you haven't tried 00:29:11.619 --> 00:29:16.880 yet? Ooh, that is a good one. Thank you. So, 00:29:17.099 --> 00:29:20.539 let's see. I think the biggest aspect of the 00:29:20.539 --> 00:29:22.900 hobby that I have not had the chance to do much 00:29:22.900 --> 00:29:26.680 yet of are fox hunts. They just, the whole search 00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:28.940 and rescue and trying to find things and hide 00:29:28.940 --> 00:29:31.539 and seek and going, wandering around with this 00:29:31.539 --> 00:29:33.359 antenna that I'm used to carrying around anyway 00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:36.180 for satellite contacts. So I think the biggest 00:29:36.180 --> 00:29:38.519 thing that I'm intrigued by would be fox hunts, 00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:41.480 that whole theory behind it now that I've done 00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:44.619 more of those types of classes in college, as 00:29:44.619 --> 00:29:47.519 well as just wanting to experience it. So I definitely 00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:52.200 say Fox hunts. Okay. Yeah. We enjoy Fox hunts 00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:56.019 at school. We, uh, we do them and excuse, excuse 00:29:56.019 --> 00:30:00.460 to drive around for the first part. Yeah. Multiple 00:30:00.460 --> 00:30:02.720 clubs I'm in have done them, but I've managed 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:05.200 to be like my club in Georgia did one, but I 00:30:05.200 --> 00:30:07.980 was in Michigan and then, so I managed to be 00:30:07.980 --> 00:30:09.339 in the wrong part of the country when they're 00:30:09.339 --> 00:30:12.259 doing them. So. I'm definitely, it's on my bucket 00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:15.740 list, top of the list probably. Yeah. Well, I 00:30:15.740 --> 00:30:18.099 know, I know that, uh, you're going to have an 00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:20.740 opportunity to do that down the road. And again, 00:30:20.859 --> 00:30:23.799 we'll talk about that later, but. I know you're 00:30:23.799 --> 00:30:26.619 gonna get a chance to do that, and you'll probably 00:30:26.619 --> 00:30:29.500 have several more chances to do that, but they're 00:30:29.500 --> 00:30:32.539 a lot of fun. It gets, you know, the high schoolers, 00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:35.119 they like to drive because that's new, and so 00:30:35.119 --> 00:30:38.940 they like to go out and do that and go find those 00:30:38.940 --> 00:30:41.160 hidden transmitters, so that sounds like a lot 00:30:41.160 --> 00:30:45.380 of fun. 812 -638 -4261 is the phone number if 00:30:45.380 --> 00:30:48.079 you'd like to call in, or you can tweet us at 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:51.079 HamTalkLive, and we'll take some more of your 00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:54.450 questions, but Want to talk about some special 00:30:54.450 --> 00:30:56.670 events because I know you really like special 00:30:56.670 --> 00:30:59.269 events And and if you want to call in go ahead 00:30:59.269 --> 00:31:03.329 and call in what we won't worry about the interruption 00:31:03.329 --> 00:31:08.549 and oh and Jill says she's in the chat room ham 00:31:08.549 --> 00:31:12.210 chicks rule. Okay, so Katie a QGA she's here 00:31:12.210 --> 00:31:18.490 so great But you do a lot of special events and 00:31:18.490 --> 00:31:21.849 and I guess got to talk about one of my favorites 00:31:22.089 --> 00:31:24.589 because it's one of my favorites. It's Wemploda 00:31:24.589 --> 00:31:28.769 and I know you were out of the country for Wemploda 00:31:28.769 --> 00:31:31.769 this year, but you were still helping out trying 00:31:31.769 --> 00:31:35.750 to help get it publicized and organized and everything. 00:31:36.369 --> 00:31:38.289 Talk a little bit about some of these special 00:31:38.289 --> 00:31:41.190 events and let's at least start off with the 00:31:41.190 --> 00:31:44.750 Walmart parking lots on the air. That's a great 00:31:44.750 --> 00:31:47.569 one to start with. Yes, I love special events. 00:31:48.150 --> 00:31:50.970 Just connecting with History or something randomly 00:31:50.970 --> 00:31:53.430 fun like Walmart parking lots It's just exciting 00:31:53.430 --> 00:31:55.869 to me like this past couple weeks has been a 00:31:55.869 --> 00:31:59.130 thrill just chasing all the Apollo 11 50th anniversary 00:31:59.130 --> 00:32:02.069 stations Yes, Walmart parking lots on the air. 00:32:02.069 --> 00:32:03.869 That is very fun. So it started for the first 00:32:03.869 --> 00:32:06.369 time last year I know you talked in the show 00:32:06.369 --> 00:32:09.109 about it, but basically salad operators we were 00:32:09.109 --> 00:32:11.690 all like well there's we were operating from 00:32:11.690 --> 00:32:15.089 Walmart parking lots a lot because They're very 00:32:15.089 --> 00:32:17.250 flat and you get a fairly good horizon if you're 00:32:17.250 --> 00:32:19.490 on one side of the parking lot or the other So 00:32:19.490 --> 00:32:22.769 we decided to on spur of the moment on Twitter 00:32:22.769 --> 00:32:25.630 at like 11 PM at night as these things happen, 00:32:25.630 --> 00:32:28.750 we decided to create Walmart parking lots on 00:32:28.750 --> 00:32:33.509 the air and it has gone from there. So much fun. 00:32:33.849 --> 00:32:35.809 It's basically we just go to a Walmart parking 00:32:35.809 --> 00:32:38.210 lot on the air, go to a Walmart parking lot and 00:32:38.210 --> 00:32:42.190 put it on the air. And we can find like a Walmart 00:32:42.190 --> 00:32:45.170 store or designator online, easy enough to do. 00:32:45.450 --> 00:32:47.670 And you get different bonuses for doing different 00:32:47.670 --> 00:32:51.609 things like working at transatlantic contact 00:32:51.609 --> 00:32:54.849 which I did last year because my very first transatlantic 00:32:54.849 --> 00:32:57.690 contact on a satellite was during Walmart parking 00:32:57.690 --> 00:33:00.690 lots on the air which was thrilling. You can 00:33:00.690 --> 00:33:04.289 get bonuses for good things like buying stuff 00:33:04.289 --> 00:33:06.869 from Walmart or putting shopping carts away or 00:33:06.869 --> 00:33:11.069 completely loony things like operating shopping 00:33:11.069 --> 00:33:13.509 cart mobile which of course I had to do which 00:33:13.509 --> 00:33:18.190 was a thrill. So yeah I've operated that we've 00:33:18.190 --> 00:33:21.279 had Two, no, we had three Walmart parking lot 00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:23.960 events, Walmart parking lot on the air events. 00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:26.299 Just because the schedule I've operated in one 00:33:26.299 --> 00:33:29.700 of them had a ton of fun. It turned out that 00:33:29.700 --> 00:33:32.500 I was on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and 00:33:32.500 --> 00:33:34.599 in some rare grids too. So I got to activate 00:33:34.599 --> 00:33:37.599 rare grids from a Walmart parking lot right next 00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:40.420 to the ocean. It was beautiful. So it's a lot 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:43.319 of fun. It's definitely a bit nerdy, but it's 00:33:43.319 --> 00:33:47.140 very enjoyable and just. Just a lot of fun to 00:33:47.140 --> 00:33:49.819 do and keep looking for it. We're planning to 00:33:49.819 --> 00:33:52.940 hopefully do it again next year there's two things 00:33:52.940 --> 00:33:59.880 that I love about this and You know one is it 00:33:59.880 --> 00:34:03.880 Allows you to do some some crazy things, you 00:34:03.880 --> 00:34:07.900 know, there's you know, you go build your own 00:34:07.900 --> 00:34:12.989 antenna the MacGyver award, you know or And there's 00:34:12.989 --> 00:34:16.010 something with like a tinfoil hat or something. 00:34:16.190 --> 00:34:19.349 Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The alien war or something. 00:34:19.769 --> 00:34:23.150 Well, Martians or something. I don't remember. 00:34:23.369 --> 00:34:27.289 But anyway, but, but the other thing that really 00:34:27.289 --> 00:34:32.789 made this fun was everybody just kind of started 00:34:32.789 --> 00:34:38.130 making up rules and awards and bonuses and stuff. 00:34:38.969 --> 00:34:41.920 And they would make up these awards that were 00:34:41.920 --> 00:34:46.460 either impossible to get or impossible for anybody 00:34:46.460 --> 00:34:49.699 else to get but themselves. And it was just, 00:34:49.699 --> 00:34:53.119 you know, the ol' Roy with Roy, you know, you 00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:56.460 take your dog with you to the activation, but 00:34:56.460 --> 00:35:00.000 your name has to be Roy also. Yeah, I have no 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:03.639 shot at that one. Yeah, I'm out of luck. I'm 00:35:03.639 --> 00:35:10.009 gone. But but for Roy, it worked, you know. It 00:35:10.009 --> 00:35:12.849 was just so much fun to make all these things 00:35:12.849 --> 00:35:15.710 up. Oh yeah. Having fun, not taking yourself 00:35:15.710 --> 00:35:18.010 too seriously and learning stuff along the way. 00:35:18.289 --> 00:35:20.050 I mean, there's, there's, there's an, a MacGyver 00:35:20.050 --> 00:35:23.329 award for buying parts in Walmart and putting 00:35:23.329 --> 00:35:25.730 together an antenna and making a contact. And 00:35:25.730 --> 00:35:28.030 a lot of people did that and it was so fascinating. 00:35:28.090 --> 00:35:30.170 That was like my favorite part was going through 00:35:30.170 --> 00:35:32.269 and looking all these pictures that people had 00:35:32.269 --> 00:35:35.989 built their own little arrow antenna from Walmart. 00:35:37.080 --> 00:35:41.119 Stuff it's very fascinating Yeah, you go to the 00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:43.780 camping area and get you know in the kitchen 00:35:43.780 --> 00:35:48.679 area and get like, you know forks and you know 00:35:48.679 --> 00:35:52.079 rods and stuff and you just put it together and 00:35:52.079 --> 00:35:57.780 it works so It is a good time. So we'll have 00:35:57.780 --> 00:36:01.659 to talk about some more special events here Uh, 00:36:01.900 --> 00:36:04.639 and men and yes, all Roy is the name of their 00:36:04.639 --> 00:36:07.699 dog food. That's why, why Roy got involved. But 00:36:07.699 --> 00:36:12.039 then there was an operator, um, named Roy on, 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:14.599 on satellites. Uh, Jill threw that in there. 00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:17.559 Um, but we've got a couple of tweets here, so 00:36:17.559 --> 00:36:20.420 let's, let's get those. And then if we have time, 00:36:20.420 --> 00:36:22.320 we'll come back to some of the special events. 00:36:22.699 --> 00:36:26.719 Uh, Carl KD9HQT says we need to add more cats 00:36:26.719 --> 00:36:32.079 on our QRZ pages, just like Ruth's. And I will 00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:38.480 second that motion completely. Allie is laying 00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:42.300 here about eight feet away, and she is sound 00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:45.960 asleep. But she has been known to meow on the 00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:49.840 show. That's great. And if you haven't seen this, 00:36:49.940 --> 00:36:53.219 you may not have seen this. This summer, I'm 00:36:53.219 --> 00:37:02.159 working on some video to use at Julie and I's 00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:05.639 wedding next summer and I found some old home 00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:11.300 movies and had them digitally converted and Bert, 00:37:11.659 --> 00:37:16.340 my cat who actually looks a lot like Allie, you 00:37:16.340 --> 00:37:21.039 know, I'm sitting there copying Morse code and 00:37:21.039 --> 00:37:24.139 Bert gets up on top of the radio and starts batting 00:37:24.139 --> 00:37:29.170 the top of my pencil. To where I couldn't copy 00:37:29.170 --> 00:37:32.349 code because the cat was you know getting in 00:37:32.349 --> 00:37:35.389 the way and it's hilarious So so I put it up. 00:37:35.389 --> 00:37:38.889 I put that up on YouTube. So yeah, you have to 00:37:38.889 --> 00:37:43.789 check that out But yeah, we need the ham cats 00:37:44.639 --> 00:37:47.920 I try to do my part to that. Yeah, my cats, half 00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:50.500 the time my radios are, when I'm home, my radios 00:37:50.500 --> 00:37:52.780 are like, they're perched so that they can look 00:37:52.780 --> 00:37:54.719 out the window, but they always come in when 00:37:54.719 --> 00:37:57.099 I'm on the air. So definitely, ham cats are the 00:37:57.099 --> 00:38:05.139 best. They are. I haven't got Allie on too often, 00:38:05.340 --> 00:38:07.760 but she does meow from time to time. Oh, she 00:38:07.760 --> 00:38:11.860 got up and walked off. So, oh well. All right, 00:38:11.860 --> 00:38:16.030 here's another tweet from Somebody here's Dave 00:38:16.030 --> 00:38:20.510 W4DTR and wants to know what did you like the 00:38:20.510 --> 00:38:25.090 most about Impoda and what was the most fun part 00:38:25.090 --> 00:38:27.610 and what did you learn about ham radio from national 00:38:27.610 --> 00:38:30.969 parks on the air? Oh, it's also a really good 00:38:30.969 --> 00:38:33.989 question. So that's Dave W4DTR. That was my very 00:38:33.989 --> 00:38:36.590 first mentor actually in the hobby. So hi, Dave. 00:38:36.829 --> 00:38:40.070 I'm glad you're listening. Yay. So national parks 00:38:40.070 --> 00:38:43.489 in the air was incredible. Absolutely absolutely 00:38:43.489 --> 00:38:45.809 incredible. It was at the perfect time because 00:38:45.809 --> 00:38:48.550 I'd just gotten my license my technician license 00:38:48.550 --> 00:38:52.510 in 2015 and I upgraded to general the first week 00:38:52.510 --> 00:38:55.650 of January So I get general and there's all these 00:38:55.650 --> 00:38:58.170 people on the air and they're fun It's fun to 00:38:58.170 --> 00:39:00.010 work because I absolutely love national parks. 00:39:00.110 --> 00:39:04.030 Our family has visited so many parks so I think 00:39:04.030 --> 00:39:05.929 the most the one I like the most about national 00:39:05.929 --> 00:39:08.650 parks in the air was connection with history. 00:39:09.210 --> 00:39:11.510 You're working parks and you can go look up the 00:39:11.510 --> 00:39:13.829 park and see what it's all about and learn about 00:39:13.829 --> 00:39:17.570 it and just connecting with the park and seeing 00:39:17.570 --> 00:39:20.369 connecting with the people that are there. So 00:39:20.369 --> 00:39:22.210 that was definitely the historical part that 00:39:22.210 --> 00:39:25.190 I loved. What was the most fun part for me was 00:39:25.190 --> 00:39:27.829 getting to meet up with other hams to activate 00:39:27.829 --> 00:39:30.989 parks. So at that point in time I still don't 00:39:30.989 --> 00:39:34.010 actually but I didn't have any mobile HF equipment 00:39:34.010 --> 00:39:37.300 but I wanted to activate a park. I wasn't going 00:39:37.300 --> 00:39:39.619 to let this whole year -long event happen without 00:39:39.619 --> 00:39:43.219 me activating a park. So every single one of 00:39:43.219 --> 00:39:47.539 my 20 activations were due to somebody else lending 00:39:47.539 --> 00:39:49.780 me equipment and letting me get on the air from 00:39:49.780 --> 00:39:53.039 a park. Either we would meet up like we did with 00:39:53.039 --> 00:39:57.199 Bill and Will, and we met up with Dave a number 00:39:57.199 --> 00:40:01.519 of times, and we met up with Stuart, KB1HQS up 00:40:01.519 --> 00:40:04.460 in Virginia. They were willing to help me, and 00:40:04.460 --> 00:40:06.480 so I could activate a park with their equipment. 00:40:07.139 --> 00:40:10.420 Or we took my own equipment, piled it all in 00:40:10.420 --> 00:40:12.719 the car. This was actually on the way to and 00:40:12.719 --> 00:40:14.800 from my school, my freshman year of college. 00:40:14.920 --> 00:40:16.780 On the way to school, I was activating parks. 00:40:17.719 --> 00:40:21.380 And Dave let me borrow some of his mobile antennas 00:40:21.380 --> 00:40:23.119 and batteries. And I brought my own radio and 00:40:23.119 --> 00:40:25.679 got to activate it from the car. So that was 00:40:25.679 --> 00:40:28.579 the most fun, just getting to activate. And thanks 00:40:28.579 --> 00:40:31.039 to the community of operators that were there 00:40:31.039 --> 00:40:33.650 and willing to help me operate it. And what did 00:40:33.650 --> 00:40:36.190 I learn about Ham Radio? Oh, a whole lot, because 00:40:36.190 --> 00:40:39.289 it was my first year on general. I mean, my first 00:40:39.289 --> 00:40:41.070 year as a general and then an extra and my first 00:40:41.070 --> 00:40:44.550 year on HF. So it really taught me how to operate 00:40:44.550 --> 00:40:47.469 on HF, what the protocol was, how to handle a 00:40:47.469 --> 00:40:49.389 pile -up, because the first time I got on, I 00:40:49.389 --> 00:40:51.510 got a pile -up and I was like, whoa, I didn't 00:40:51.510 --> 00:40:54.309 know I'd be this popular. And then I worked on 00:40:54.309 --> 00:40:56.650 Kay Craigie, who's... former president of ARRL 00:40:56.650 --> 00:40:59.130 and I was like, whoa, I was stunned. It was incredible. 00:40:59.590 --> 00:41:02.030 So just getting to learn how to operate on HF 00:41:02.030 --> 00:41:05.389 on single sideband and CW, just that invaluable 00:41:05.389 --> 00:41:11.869 on air time has been invaluable and has been 00:41:11.869 --> 00:41:14.849 the basis for so many adventures in the hobby. 00:41:16.860 --> 00:41:19.920 812 -638 -4261 is the phone number if you have 00:41:19.920 --> 00:41:22.599 a question for Ruth or tweet us at HamTalkLive. 00:41:22.679 --> 00:41:25.619 We're just about out of time. So if you're gonna 00:41:25.619 --> 00:41:29.179 do that, you need to do so right now. It's 812 00:41:29.179 --> 00:41:34.300 -638 -4261. I had a similar experience on Napoda. 00:41:34.980 --> 00:41:38.659 I went to my hometown and I was thinking, oh, 00:41:38.659 --> 00:41:40.920 you know, I need to go down there because no 00:41:40.920 --> 00:41:44.519 one's gonna activate this park. You know, it's... 00:41:44.699 --> 00:41:47.139 kind of, you know, out in the middle of nowhere 00:41:47.139 --> 00:41:50.300 and, and nobody's going to go to Vincent's Indiana 00:41:50.300 --> 00:41:54.860 to activate the park. And I get there, there's 00:41:54.860 --> 00:41:58.340 already somebody there and they're like, yeah, 00:41:58.440 --> 00:42:00.920 this is like our third time down here at the 00:42:00.920 --> 00:42:03.800 park. You know, and they let me use their, their 00:42:03.800 --> 00:42:06.699 antenna cause my ham stick setup wasn't working 00:42:06.699 --> 00:42:08.840 like it should have. And so they stayed around, 00:42:08.940 --> 00:42:12.039 let me use their antenna just long enough to 00:42:12.559 --> 00:42:18.480 to grab a few contacts and yeah there were all 00:42:18.480 --> 00:42:21.139 kinds of people out there doing it so that was 00:42:21.139 --> 00:42:24.159 that was cool so kind of a similar experience 00:42:24.159 --> 00:42:27.739 there well before we go Ruth let's let's get 00:42:27.739 --> 00:42:30.360 back to the special events what what other special 00:42:30.360 --> 00:42:34.880 events are kind of your your favorite ones Ooh, 00:42:35.139 --> 00:42:38.960 so I love the 13 colonies. I've operated at a 00:42:38.960 --> 00:42:40.920 Georgia station a couple years ago. Again, I 00:42:40.920 --> 00:42:42.440 was out of the country this year, so I wasn't 00:42:42.440 --> 00:42:44.900 able to do that this year. But I love that event. 00:42:44.980 --> 00:42:47.099 I've gotten clean sweeps on it a couple of times, 00:42:47.099 --> 00:42:49.659 and I was literally bouncing up and down in my 00:42:49.659 --> 00:42:51.519 room and waking the rest of my family up. The 00:42:51.519 --> 00:42:55.000 one year that I managed to get the Great Britain 00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:57.380 station, I was thrilled. Oh, yeah. So that's 00:42:57.380 --> 00:43:03.969 a lot. Or as Paul calls it, unobtanium. You can't 00:43:03.969 --> 00:43:08.630 ever hear them. Yeah, but it made this challenge 00:43:08.630 --> 00:43:13.510 good. I also have worked the, I can't remember 00:43:13.510 --> 00:43:16.670 the route, it's Route 61 or something on the 00:43:16.670 --> 00:43:20.670 air. 66? Yeah, 66, Route 66. I haven't driven 00:43:20.670 --> 00:43:22.510 that way, so I don't know road names over there. 00:43:22.949 --> 00:43:25.269 Route 66, I've worked out a couple of times. 00:43:25.349 --> 00:43:27.329 I've never gotten all of the stations, but I've 00:43:27.329 --> 00:43:30.889 worked a number of them. And then, oh, the Navajo 00:43:30.889 --> 00:43:34.329 Code Talkers. That one is so much fun because 00:43:34.329 --> 00:43:37.829 the Navajo Code Talkers were Code Talkers in 00:43:37.829 --> 00:43:40.889 World War II, and I read an incredible book about 00:43:40.889 --> 00:43:43.210 them, and that book was talking about Morse code, 00:43:43.269 --> 00:43:45.650 and that was one of the books I was reading right 00:43:45.650 --> 00:43:49.150 before I started teaching myself Morse code before 00:43:49.150 --> 00:43:51.929 I got into ham radio. So I worked that special 00:43:51.929 --> 00:43:54.840 event the last couple of years. Like they're 00:43:54.840 --> 00:43:57.260 running it out in Arizona and I've been able 00:43:57.260 --> 00:43:59.159 to make contact with them for a couple of years 00:43:59.159 --> 00:44:01.119 and gotten the QSL card. So that's been very 00:44:01.119 --> 00:44:05.480 special to me as well. Okay, very good. Well, 00:44:05.480 --> 00:44:08.480 I think we've got all the questions in and the 00:44:08.480 --> 00:44:11.539 clock is ticking here. So we're going to finish 00:44:11.539 --> 00:44:15.079 things up, but I think we've got all the questions 00:44:15.079 --> 00:44:17.940 answered that have come in tonight. So thank 00:44:17.940 --> 00:44:22.400 you. to all of those who participated in the 00:44:22.400 --> 00:44:25.320 show tonight. And Ruth, any final comments before 00:44:25.320 --> 00:44:28.800 we go? I think I'm good. We just about covered 00:44:28.800 --> 00:44:31.280 a lot of things. Thanks again for having me on. 00:44:31.519 --> 00:44:35.360 It's a pleasure to be here. Great to talk on 00:44:35.360 --> 00:44:37.239 what I like to do in the hobby, talk with you 00:44:37.239 --> 00:44:39.619 more, and get to interact with more folks in 00:44:39.619 --> 00:44:41.980 ham radio through questions and et cetera. So 00:44:41.980 --> 00:44:45.599 really appreciate you having me on, and have 00:44:45.599 --> 00:44:49.949 a great evening. All right. Well, that is a wrap 00:44:49.949 --> 00:44:53.849 for this week's edition of HamTalk Live. Thanks 00:44:53.849 --> 00:44:58.849 to my guest, Ruth Willett, KM4LAO. And oh, wait 00:44:58.849 --> 00:45:01.309 a minute. We didn't get the unicorn in tonight. 00:45:03.630 --> 00:45:05.909 There were no unicorns used in the making of 00:45:05.909 --> 00:45:10.050 the show. So everybody on Twitter's is like, 00:45:10.230 --> 00:45:13.769 wait a minute, there's no unicorn on there. So 00:45:13.769 --> 00:45:16.159 we don't have the unicorn. Yep, no, I'm known 00:45:16.159 --> 00:45:19.280 as unicorn on satellites just because I'm a while 00:45:19.280 --> 00:45:21.519 I'm on the air a lot and people get so excited 00:45:21.519 --> 00:45:25.599 to work me so It's fun. Yeah Well, thanks to 00:45:25.599 --> 00:45:29.059 Ruth the km4 lao for being on the show and everybody 00:45:29.059 --> 00:45:32.719 out there in cyberspace for listening and calling 00:45:32.719 --> 00:45:35.880 in and typing in all that and Invite you back 00:45:35.880 --> 00:45:38.500 next Thursday night at 9 p .m Eastern time mark 00:45:38.500 --> 00:45:41.329 Brown and for BCD is going to be here to give 00:45:41.329 --> 00:45:45.170 us a preview of the upcoming Huntsville HamFest. 00:45:45.710 --> 00:45:48.170 And for a list of all of our upcoming guests, 00:45:48.630 --> 00:45:51.070 just go to HamTalkLive .com. And if you like 00:45:51.070 --> 00:45:54.329 the show, please leave us a review on iTunes 00:45:54.329 --> 00:45:57.010 or wherever you listen. That helps others find 00:45:57.010 --> 00:46:01.010 us faster. So for now, this is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, 00:46:01.170 --> 00:46:04.550 saying seven three, seven five, and may the good 00:46:04.550 --> 00:46:22.429 DX be yours. Thanks for watching.