WEBVTT 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:12.619 Thanks for tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on 00:00:12.619 --> 00:00:30.559 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:33.320 tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:38.679 Please stand by. This episode of HamTalk Live 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:42.320 is brought to you by Tower Electronics. For connectors, 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:48.140 cables, and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit 00:00:48.140 --> 00:00:54.020 pl -259 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, 00:00:54.299 --> 00:00:59.240 logged it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash 00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:03.100 amateur for more information about ICOM radios. 00:01:35.209 --> 00:01:37.390 Good evening once again, ladies and gentlemen. 00:01:37.950 --> 00:01:40.849 It's time for another episode of HamTalk Live. 00:01:41.049 --> 00:01:45.670 It's episode number 139, News and Views with 00:01:45.670 --> 00:01:50.890 CQ's Rich Moses and W2VU, recorded live on Thursday, 00:01:50.930 --> 00:01:55.650 November 1st, 2018. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, 00:01:55.890 --> 00:01:59.489 WB9 VPG. Thanks for tuning in to this episode 00:01:59.489 --> 00:02:03.849 of HamTalk Live. Tonight, We're joined by Rich 00:02:03.849 --> 00:02:08.650 Mosison, W2VU from CQ Magazine, and we will take 00:02:08.650 --> 00:02:12.930 your calls live in just a few minutes. Last week 00:02:12.930 --> 00:02:17.169 here on the show, Glenn Petrie, KE4KY and Gene 00:02:17.169 --> 00:02:21.199 Spinelli, K5GS were here to talk about the Do 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:24.060 see Island at the Expedition. We thank Gene for 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:26.659 calling in live from the island last week. And 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:29.159 if you missed that, you can still listen anytime 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:33.560 at HamTalkLive .com or you can check out our 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:37.599 podcast edition on your favorite podcasting app. 00:02:37.620 --> 00:02:41.580 And we're also on YouTube. So a few announcements 00:02:41.580 --> 00:02:44.900 here before we get started. Uh, this is your 00:02:44.900 --> 00:02:49.099 last chance to order the, uh, limited edition 00:02:49.099 --> 00:02:52.419 ham talk live t -shirt, uh, the may the grid 00:02:52.419 --> 00:02:56.419 square be yours on the back. Um, we're getting 00:02:56.419 --> 00:02:59.840 ready to order those. So if you want your size, 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:02.520 uh, you need to get that order in here in the 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:05.439 next day. Um, we're getting ready to order those. 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:08.800 I will order some extras, but, uh, to make sure 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:12.900 that you have the right size. Go ahead and pre 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:16.560 -order there. To do that, go to HamTalkLive .com, 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:18.539 click on the show schedule link, and there's 00:03:18.539 --> 00:03:21.919 also a link there for the shirts. Or you can 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:24.740 go to our Facebook or Twitter. It's the first 00:03:24.740 --> 00:03:27.060 thing when you land there on our Facebook page 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:30.159 or Twitter feed. and you can get a link to the 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:32.639 Google form there to fill out to order that. 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:35.659 So make sure you do that if you're interested 00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:38.860 in one of those. And also a reminder that the 00:03:38.860 --> 00:03:42.099 ARRL division director ballots should have arrived 00:03:42.099 --> 00:03:45.280 in the mail by now. So if you're an ARRL member 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:48.159 in the Central, Hudson, New England, Northwestern 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:51.780 or Roanoke divisions, you should have a ballot. 00:03:51.900 --> 00:03:55.740 So be sure to vote. and those are due back in 00:03:55.740 --> 00:03:59.020 Newington by November 16th. So check your mail 00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:01.000 and if you didn't receive that, make sure you 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:04.699 let the ARRL staff know because otherwise they're 00:04:04.699 --> 00:04:07.620 just going to assume there's nothing wrong. So 00:04:07.620 --> 00:04:10.740 make sure you get out there and vote. So get 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:13.280 your questions ready to go. We're going to talk 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:16.939 a variety of topics here. Uh, but you can give 00:04:16.939 --> 00:04:19.180 us a call. The phone number is eight one two 00:04:19.180 --> 00:04:21.860 net ham one eight one two six three eight four 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:25.660 two six one. Um, and you can also tweet us. We're 00:04:25.660 --> 00:04:29.160 at ham talk live on Twitter. And if you were 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:32.439 following along, Skype's making some, some changes 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:36.060 in their software and the new software isn't 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:39.660 doing what we need it to. So we were a little 00:04:39.660 --> 00:04:42.920 worried about, uh, taking calls on tonight's 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:45.259 show and we did get a backup plan in place, but 00:04:45.310 --> 00:04:50.569 So far Skype is behaving so Skype's cooperating 00:04:50.569 --> 00:04:53.470 with us tonight so you can call in the usual 00:04:53.470 --> 00:04:58.149 number 812 -638 -4261 after we talk to Rich for 00:04:58.149 --> 00:05:01.350 a little while and ask your questions right after 00:05:01.350 --> 00:05:04.490 this word from Tower Electronics right here on 00:05:04.490 --> 00:05:10.050 HamTalk Live. Hey honey, have you seen the PL259s 00:05:10.050 --> 00:05:14.089 anywhere? No I haven't. Come on kids, let's go! 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:18.920 There's just one place to go for all of your 00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:22.180 connector needs. Tower electronics. Tower electronics. 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:25.439 Tower electronics. A giant warehouse of connectors 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:28.459 and adapters for every occasion. Thousands to 00:05:28.459 --> 00:05:30.779 choose from in every shape, size, and color. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.740 And they have antennas, soldering supplies, cables, 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:36.740 meters, and more. Where do you go if you want 00:05:36.740 --> 00:05:39.079 to buy a connector at a fraction of retail cost? 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:43.079 Tower electronics. Tower electronics. Tower electronics. 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:45.779 And this weekend only, take advantage of our 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:48.720 Special liquidation sale. Buy nine solder type 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:52.019 PL -259s. Get the tenth one for just one penny. 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:59.899 They make great Christmas presents. And what 00:05:59.899 --> 00:06:02.459 better way to say I love you than with the gift 00:06:02.459 --> 00:06:07.050 of a PL -259. Tower Electronics. Tower Electronics. 00:06:07.149 --> 00:06:11.629 Tower Electronics. Hi, I'm Scott Cole, KB9 AMM, 00:06:11.870 --> 00:06:14.629 president of Tower Electronics. I like the company 00:06:14.629 --> 00:06:17.170 so much that I bought it. Tower Electronics, 00:06:17.470 --> 00:06:20.310 coming to a hand fest near you, or online at 00:06:20.310 --> 00:06:24.930 pl -259 .com. And we're in the Yellow Pages under... 00:06:24.569 --> 00:06:27.889 Amateur radio connectors. My, wherever did you 00:06:27.889 --> 00:06:31.790 get that lovely PL259? Tower Electronics, pl 00:06:31.790 --> 00:06:38.670 -259 .com or call 920 -435 -2973. Do we sell 00:06:38.670 --> 00:06:55.959 PL259 connectors? Coming up the ham fest schedule 00:06:55.959 --> 00:07:00.100 for tower electronics Lawrenceville, Georgia 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:03.319 or better known as Stone Mountain this weekend 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:06.959 November 3rd and 4th November 9th and 10th Montgomery, 00:07:07.100 --> 00:07:11.920 Alabama and November 17th and 18th Fort Wayne 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:17.040 Indiana or you can visit them anytime at PL -259 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:22.750 .com Rich Mosison W2VU is our guest tonight. 00:07:22.970 --> 00:07:27.769 He is the editor of CQ Magazine and the editorial 00:07:27.769 --> 00:07:31.769 director at CQ Communications Incorporated. He's 00:07:31.769 --> 00:07:34.389 been a ham since, sorry, he's been a ham since 00:07:34.389 --> 00:07:41.610 1970. Knows previously WN2QQN, WA2QQN, N2BFG 00:07:41.610 --> 00:07:46.199 and NW2L. He's active on all bands from 80 all 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:51.180 the way to 70 centimeters and Rich served eight 00:07:51.180 --> 00:07:55.259 years as an ARRL section manager for the Northern 00:07:55.259 --> 00:07:59.019 New Jersey section and former member of and past 00:07:59.019 --> 00:08:02.120 chairman of the ARRL Public Relations Committee. 00:08:02.860 --> 00:08:06.660 He's been a CQ staffer since 1992 and was the 00:08:06.660 --> 00:08:11.720 founding editor of CQVHF magazine. and wrote 00:08:11.720 --> 00:08:14.860 and produced the seven introductory ham radio 00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:19.620 programs in the CQ video library and was CQ magazine's 00:08:19.620 --> 00:08:24.079 50th anniversary coordinator in 1995. And we 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:27.319 haven't had him on the show yet. So Rich, thanks 00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:29.680 for coming on the show tonight. Good evening, 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:34.259 Neil. It's great to be here. And I mentioned 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:36.980 the 50th anniversary. We're coming up on our 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:42.039 75th very soon. Uh, so it's, uh, time flies when 00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:47.779 you're having fun. Yeah. We're working on it. 00:08:47.820 --> 00:08:49.919 We're working on it and anybody has specific 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:53.799 ideas or we're listening. Um, and speaking of 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:56.360 fun, I hope a lot of people out there had fun 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:59.440 in the CQ world, YDX contest this past weekend. 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:03.580 Uh, I know I did. Yeah, I did too. It was a lot 00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:05.700 of fun. We had a chance to talk about a little 00:09:05.700 --> 00:09:08.799 bit before the show and, uh, Probably talk about 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:12.679 a little bit more here in just a bit, but I hope 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:17.100 everybody did Enjoy that and get some more countries 00:09:17.100 --> 00:09:21.240 in the log and some contacts well, we've got 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:25.220 a variety of topics here to talk about tonight 00:09:25.220 --> 00:09:31.039 and one of them that has come up is this Type 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:35.929 acceptance issue the FCC came along and issued 00:09:35.929 --> 00:09:41.129 kind of a warning that you know if radios weren't 00:09:41.129 --> 00:09:45.330 properly uh type accepted and approved that um 00:09:45.289 --> 00:09:48.309 Those weren't going to be allowed to be imported. 00:09:48.870 --> 00:09:51.889 And so, um, then some news came out that they 00:09:51.889 --> 00:09:55.309 were kind of backing off of it. And then it was 00:09:55.309 --> 00:09:58.870 all kind of wishy washy. So, uh, fill us in a 00:09:58.870 --> 00:10:01.470 little bit on, on what we know about that. And, 00:10:01.470 --> 00:10:03.090 and, you know, some people have been kind of 00:10:03.090 --> 00:10:05.070 arguing back and forth. Well, those are, those 00:10:05.070 --> 00:10:07.129 are real legal and no, they're not. And yes, 00:10:07.129 --> 00:10:10.090 they are. No, they're not. So, so give us the 00:10:10.090 --> 00:10:13.029 rundown a little bit on that. Well, it's, it's 00:10:13.029 --> 00:10:16.000 kind of. Difficult because nobody really knows 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:18.100 exactly what's going on. I mean the league has 00:10:18.100 --> 00:10:20.860 been talking with the FCC people about getting 00:10:20.860 --> 00:10:25.100 some clarification from them and You know as 00:10:25.100 --> 00:10:29.200 of the executive committee meeting About a week 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:31.419 and a half ago. They still hadn't heard anything 00:10:31.419 --> 00:10:34.940 back and the a double RL letter we came out today 00:10:34.940 --> 00:10:37.080 Reported on that meeting and didn't have any 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:39.080 updates. So I presume they still haven't gotten 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:42.960 a clarification You know what's different here? 00:10:42.830 --> 00:10:48.629 is that in the past, and it's a long -standing 00:10:48.629 --> 00:10:53.990 FCC policy, that any radios imported, marketed, 00:10:54.809 --> 00:10:58.210 sold have to be authorized. You used to call 00:10:58.210 --> 00:11:00.509 it type acceptance, now it's equipment authorization. 00:11:02.870 --> 00:11:06.759 And the only exception being stuff. specifically 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:10.679 for ham use. That gives us the flexibility to 00:11:10.679 --> 00:11:13.779 experiment and build our own gear. I mean, we're 00:11:13.779 --> 00:11:18.360 extremely lucky as hams that we're the only people 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:21.500 with licenses to transmit on the radio who get 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:25.539 to build our own gear without having it go through 00:11:25.539 --> 00:11:28.759 FCC certification process and stuff like that. 00:11:30.460 --> 00:11:35.480 But this new notice that came out, I guess about 00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:41.700 five or six weeks ago now, says that in addition 00:11:41.700 --> 00:11:45.860 to importing or selling them, it says because 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:48.679 these devices must be but have not been authorized 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:52.000 by the FCC, the devices may not be imported into 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.259 the United States, retailers may not advertise 00:11:54.259 --> 00:11:57.460 or sell them, and no one may use them. And that 00:11:57.460 --> 00:12:04.789 is what's different than from the past. guidance 00:12:04.789 --> 00:12:11.789 from the FCC had always been that if a radio 00:12:11.789 --> 00:12:16.450 is designed for use on the amateur bands and 00:12:16.450 --> 00:12:18.889 is not type accepted and operates outside the 00:12:18.889 --> 00:12:21.789 amateur bands, it's still legal for hams to use 00:12:21.789 --> 00:12:28.909 it on the ham bands. And this notice seems to 00:12:28.909 --> 00:12:33.559 change that, but it's not... Super clear because 00:12:33.559 --> 00:12:36.259 later on, you know, it says unless the devices 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:38.720 operate exclusively on frequencies reserved for 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:47.799 amateur licensees Equipment with the technical 00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:50.299 requirements cannot be certified and thus cannot 00:12:50.299 --> 00:12:53.019 be imported advertised sold or used and then 00:12:53.019 --> 00:12:57.159 there's the amateur radio exception, but it really 00:12:57.159 --> 00:13:03.779 isn't clear as to what they mean in terms of 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:06.519 hams using these radios on amateur frequencies 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:10.559 for which equipment authorization is not required. 00:13:11.139 --> 00:13:18.899 So it's really very mucky. To say the least. 00:13:19.220 --> 00:13:24.279 Yeah. And the league has been going after the 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:27.679 FCC to clarify this and they haven't gotten any 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:35.029 clarification from them. So, it's murky. I wouldn't 00:13:35.029 --> 00:13:38.090 say don't use the radios on the handbands. I 00:13:38.090 --> 00:13:41.110 laughed when I saw the thing in this announcement 00:13:41.110 --> 00:13:44.490 that said the Bureau will take very seriously 00:13:44.490 --> 00:13:47.029 any reports of failures of two -way radio operators 00:13:47.029 --> 00:13:49.350 to comply with all relevant rules and requirements 00:13:49.350 --> 00:13:52.629 when using devices in the amateur bands. Give 00:13:52.629 --> 00:13:55.350 me a break. They don't enforce anything in the 00:13:55.350 --> 00:14:02.049 amateur bands. You know interference and things 00:14:02.049 --> 00:14:05.409 like that. They're they're Absent when it comes 00:14:05.409 --> 00:14:07.909 to enforcement and how are they going to know 00:14:07.909 --> 00:14:10.269 what brand radio you're using if you're using 00:14:10.269 --> 00:14:16.610 it in the amateur band You know, there's I suppose 00:14:16.610 --> 00:14:20.549 if they wanted to Really invest a tremendous 00:14:20.549 --> 00:14:24.269 amount of resources into it there we've run an 00:14:24.269 --> 00:14:27.710 article in the past and seek you on radio fingerprinting 00:14:27.710 --> 00:14:31.970 every Radio has its own key up characteristics 00:14:31.970 --> 00:14:35.370 and if they really wanted to get on a repeater 00:14:35.370 --> 00:14:38.970 and listen and figure out what brand of radio 00:14:38.970 --> 00:14:42.750 everybody's using I Suppose that technically 00:14:42.750 --> 00:14:44.730 they could do it, but we know they don't have 00:14:44.730 --> 00:14:46.970 the resources for that They don't have the resources 00:14:46.970 --> 00:14:49.389 to do the enforcement. We want them to be doing 00:14:49.389 --> 00:14:57.070 so I Laughed when I saw that 50 ,000 new FCC 00:14:57.070 --> 00:15:01.929 agents We'll get out there and start scanning 00:15:01.929 --> 00:15:07.950 the streets for those. Yeah. My personal view, 00:15:07.950 --> 00:15:11.470 I'm not a lawyer. I can't give legal advice. 00:15:12.269 --> 00:15:14.149 My personal view is that if you're operating 00:15:14.149 --> 00:15:16.330 on amateur frequencies and you're operating legally, 00:15:16.649 --> 00:15:20.809 you have nothing to worry about. We'll see what 00:15:20.809 --> 00:15:25.149 the commission eventually tells the league, but 00:15:25.149 --> 00:15:29.559 it's kind of silly. And, you know, we've also 00:15:29.559 --> 00:15:34.879 had for a long time the flexibility to be able 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:39.220 to operate our radios in certain cases off of 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:41.799 amateur frequencies. For example, members of 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:47.419 Mars do not operate on amateur frequencies when 00:15:47.419 --> 00:15:51.340 they're acting as Mars members. The Mars frequencies 00:15:51.340 --> 00:15:55.879 are just off, you know, just outside the amateur 00:15:55.879 --> 00:16:00.009 bands, for example. on the two meter band, I 00:16:00.009 --> 00:16:03.870 believe the Mars frequencies are just above 148. 00:16:04.870 --> 00:16:10.809 So if you're authorized to operate in Mars, then 00:16:10.809 --> 00:16:13.490 you're authorized to operate on the frequency. 00:16:14.149 --> 00:16:19.350 And again, there is no practical way for the 00:16:19.350 --> 00:16:21.909 FCC to know what brand of radio you're using 00:16:21.909 --> 00:16:25.009 or what model of radio you're using. And as long 00:16:25.009 --> 00:16:29.190 as you're operating legally, Otherwise, you know, 00:16:29.190 --> 00:16:32.990 I can't imagine that there would be any real 00:16:32.990 --> 00:16:38.129 problem But as far as as you know, are these 00:16:38.129 --> 00:16:42.970 radios legal to use? We have to wait to eventually 00:16:42.970 --> 00:16:47.190 get Clarification from the FCC if you want to 00:16:47.190 --> 00:16:51.909 be super careful about it Use it to listen Actually, 00:16:51.909 --> 00:16:53.789 if you read that very closely, you can't even 00:16:53.789 --> 00:16:56.350 use it to listen. It says you may not use it 00:16:56.080 --> 00:17:00.259 Yeah Okay, FCC. I've got one of those radios 00:17:00.259 --> 00:17:05.299 and I use it to listen come get me Now do you 00:17:05.299 --> 00:17:08.720 think they were talking about like Just ones 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:10.720 in the future. You think they were just talking 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.220 about Importing them, you know in the future 00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:16.319 you really think they were no they're talking 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.119 about Radios that are out there now with the 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:23.319 the real concern is that there are radios that 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:29.630 are being marketed as amateur gear, but really 00:17:29.630 --> 00:17:33.890 being promoted for use outside the amateur bands, 00:17:33.890 --> 00:17:44.029 whether it's FRS or MERS or GMRS or frequencies 00:17:44.029 --> 00:17:49.890 that are not authorized for general usage. That's 00:17:49.890 --> 00:17:51.990 the real problem. And there is a real problem 00:17:51.990 --> 00:17:56.640 there that these radios, certain radios are kind 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:00.599 of wide open and you can transmit anywhere with 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:05.819 them, and if you don't have the proper licensing 00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:09.339 and don't know the regulations regarding what 00:18:09.339 --> 00:18:12.619 frequencies are okay to use and what frequencies 00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:17.339 are not okay to use, and what radios are okay 00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:20.920 to use, then yes, there is a lot of potential 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:23.700 interference problems and stuff like that. So 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:27.910 it's a valid concern. Basically, I think they're 00:18:27.910 --> 00:18:31.150 trying to push these manufacturers to get the 00:18:31.150 --> 00:18:38.250 equipment certified and to restrict access to 00:18:38.250 --> 00:18:42.069 frequencies that are not intended for use by 00:18:42.069 --> 00:18:44.190 members of the public, whether they be amateurs 00:18:44.190 --> 00:18:50.410 or users of FRS or GMRS, to restrict the operation 00:18:50.410 --> 00:18:57.259 to the proper frequencies. This appears to be 00:18:57.259 --> 00:19:01.880 an overly broad interpretation of their long 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:05.000 -standing rule I mean, you know, this is not 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:07.140 a new thing. There have been a lot of radios 00:19:07.140 --> 00:19:10.359 out there that for years and years and years 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:15.240 ever since Synthesizers replaced crystals that 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:19.720 you know, there's been stuff available Online 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:22.480 as long as there's been an online and even before 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:24.380 that there were other places where you could 00:19:24.380 --> 00:19:28.079 get you know, information on how to clip this 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:31.900 diode out of your radio and open up transmit 00:19:31.900 --> 00:19:35.460 on the entire frequency coverage of the radio. 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:40.839 So this is not something new. The fact that they 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:47.259 are making a big deal out of the situation is 00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:53.119 fairly new. There is a real problem. It's not 00:19:54.230 --> 00:19:59.009 problem on the hand bands. It's a problem with 00:19:59.009 --> 00:20:03.190 radios being used for unauthorized purposes that 00:20:03.190 --> 00:20:08.670 are being marketed as ham rigs, but not actually 00:20:08.670 --> 00:20:14.089 being limited to the hand bands. So there is 00:20:14.089 --> 00:20:17.789 a real problem. They're not just doing this to 00:20:17.789 --> 00:20:20.910 harass people. There definitely is a real problem, 00:20:21.210 --> 00:20:24.319 but the Solution that they have out here right 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:28.720 now is overly broad in my view Yeah, I've noticed 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:31.940 a few people, you know, and I would mention something 00:20:31.940 --> 00:20:36.440 about You know the radio and you know something 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:41.400 hammer related and they're like, huh? You know, 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:46.279 they don't even know what they have exactly And 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:49.000 I can't believe that we got through that entire 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:54.099 segment without playing the the balfang clip 00:20:54.099 --> 00:20:58.859 how did we do that there you go oh i said it 00:20:58.859 --> 00:21:05.220 you said it okay there's the running gag for 00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:07.500 those of you playing along at home we we We got 00:21:07.500 --> 00:21:10.200 it in there. So, well, let's switch a little 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:16.019 bit over to a WWV. Um, I know, um, I got, uh, 00:21:16.019 --> 00:21:19.039 and somehow I didn't tell you this, but somehow 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:22.019 I think I got on the CQ mailing list like six 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:25.880 times at different addresses. So every time I 00:21:25.880 --> 00:21:30.359 get one of these mailings, I get it like six 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:34.720 times. And so about six times I got this email 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:39.180 about Be sure to sign the petition for WWV which 00:21:39.180 --> 00:21:43.279 I'd already had but I know you guys were really 00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:46.839 encouraging people to sign the petitions to to 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:49.660 keep WWV around and it just kind of came out 00:21:49.660 --> 00:21:54.359 of nowhere of oh, let's Let's make some budget 00:21:54.359 --> 00:22:00.660 cuts. Let's let's turn off WWV so You tried to 00:22:00.660 --> 00:22:04.019 do some some reporting on that and find out some 00:22:04.019 --> 00:22:08.289 things I also did for Amateur Radio Newsline. 00:22:08.509 --> 00:22:11.369 I tried to contact several different people. 00:22:12.930 --> 00:22:16.769 And Rich, what did we come up with? There is 00:22:16.769 --> 00:22:19.450 about as much clear information on this as there 00:22:19.450 --> 00:22:24.690 is on the FCC's restrictions on the imported 00:22:24.690 --> 00:22:27.829 radios that I won't mention by name. It's another 00:22:27.829 --> 00:22:30.769 one of these stories where there is not a lot 00:22:30.769 --> 00:22:34.240 of... authoritative information out there as 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:36.720 to the status. And it's one thing I want to mention, 00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:39.680 in addition to that petition, which we did encourage 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:42.220 people to sign at the time, we really encouraged 00:22:42.220 --> 00:22:46.200 people to contact their congressional representatives, 00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:49.619 because that is really where the decisions will 00:22:49.619 --> 00:22:53.839 be made. The petitions would only, if they had 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:56.680 gotten enough signatures, which they didn't, 00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:00.579 basically would have waved a little flag in front 00:23:00.579 --> 00:23:04.240 of the Secretary of Commerce to say, hey, there's 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:07.039 a bunch of people out here who have a problem 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:11.079 with what you're proposing. The actual decisions 00:23:11.079 --> 00:23:15.220 on budget and on funding are made by Congress, 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:18.559 specifically, particularly the House of Representatives. 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:26.900 So it's really important to get in touch with 00:23:26.900 --> 00:23:29.809 your representatives in Congress. They're kind 00:23:29.809 --> 00:23:32.849 of busy right now trying to get reelected, but 00:23:32.849 --> 00:23:36.109 hopefully their staff members will be available 00:23:36.109 --> 00:23:41.269 to talk with you. And let them know just how 00:23:41.269 --> 00:23:45.990 important the services provided by WWV and WWVH 00:23:45.990 --> 00:23:50.130 and WWVB really are. You know, it's not just 00:23:50.130 --> 00:23:52.190 us hams who are going to be affected by this 00:23:52.190 --> 00:23:55.829 shutdown. If you have one of these self -setting 00:23:55.829 --> 00:23:58.769 watches or clocks, these so -called atomic clocks 00:23:58.769 --> 00:24:06.250 that aren't really, they all rely on WWVB to 00:24:06.250 --> 00:24:10.009 keep their time set. There are some varieties 00:24:10.009 --> 00:24:14.930 of clocks that actually use WWV signals, but 00:24:14.930 --> 00:24:19.710 they do it over the air from WWVB generally, 00:24:19.710 --> 00:24:25.769 and they will not be Have their their time synchronized 00:24:25.769 --> 00:24:31.829 if WWVB goes away You know the National Institute 00:24:31.829 --> 00:24:35.950 of Standards and Technology Sends out time signals 00:24:35.950 --> 00:24:38.589 over the internet, which is wonderful if you 00:24:38.589 --> 00:24:42.589 have internet access but we're not always in 00:24:42.589 --> 00:24:47.009 places where we have internet access and There 00:24:47.009 --> 00:24:49.910 are times when the internet goes away as we hams 00:24:49.910 --> 00:24:55.730 all know So, it's really important to continue 00:24:55.730 --> 00:24:57.549 to have this. The amount of money they would 00:24:57.549 --> 00:25:02.529 save is pocket change in the overall NIST budget. 00:25:07.369 --> 00:25:11.549 The logic in the budget proposal was really kind 00:25:11.549 --> 00:25:15.710 of mind -boggling because they would say at one 00:25:15.710 --> 00:25:21.119 point that what we that the services we provide 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:23.900 can't be duplicated by anyone else and they're 00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:29.640 very important. And then two paragraphs down 00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:36.599 they say, so we're gonna get rid of them. Reading 00:25:36.599 --> 00:25:44.380 this was an exercise in doublespeak. And really 00:25:44.380 --> 00:25:51.009 kind of Very strange logic if you can even call 00:25:51.009 --> 00:25:53.109 it that because there wasn't really much logic 00:25:53.109 --> 00:25:59.569 behind it As I was reading that It was like, 00:25:59.569 --> 00:26:03.049 okay, they're telling the importance of this 00:26:03.049 --> 00:26:06.210 and Then they turned around and say okay. We're 00:26:06.210 --> 00:26:11.049 gonna turn it off. It was almost like to me it 00:26:11.049 --> 00:26:15.269 was like here's how really important this thing 00:26:15.269 --> 00:26:20.480 is and and and You're forcing us to cut our budget. 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:23.720 So we're going to, you know, we're going to turn 00:26:23.720 --> 00:26:26.779 this thing off. It was almost like they were 00:26:26.779 --> 00:26:29.779 trying to tell somebody, okay, you don't want 00:26:29.779 --> 00:26:32.980 to cut our budget. Yeah. That's the impression 00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:38.319 I have as well is that, uh, it was not a voluntary 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:41.779 thing. I have a feeling they must have gotten 00:26:41.779 --> 00:26:46.829 the directive from the Department of Commerce 00:26:46.829 --> 00:26:53.109 under which NIST resides to cut your budget by 00:26:53.109 --> 00:27:02.329 15%. This is what they've come up with. Essentially, 00:27:03.490 --> 00:27:07.009 sometimes people in the federal government, particularly 00:27:07.009 --> 00:27:15.180 in the agencies, will resist a blanket request 00:27:15.180 --> 00:27:22.359 or directive to cut their budgets by threatening 00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:26.839 to cut or proposing to cut things that are really 00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:31.000 essential and then hoping that with their explanations 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:36.460 in their proposal as to cut them, that members 00:27:36.460 --> 00:27:40.259 of Congress will say, well, you can't possibly 00:27:40.259 --> 00:27:43.000 cut this. It's too important and restore the 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:50.259 money. So hopefully that's what their purpose 00:27:50.259 --> 00:27:55.359 is here in this confusing budget document is 00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:58.819 to give Congress all the reasons they need to 00:27:58.819 --> 00:28:05.220 not cut the money that's being proposed. But 00:28:05.220 --> 00:28:08.819 I don't know and haven't been able to find out 00:28:08.819 --> 00:28:11.940 and you haven't been able to find out what the 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:19.299 status is. of the NIST budget proposal. So I 00:28:19.299 --> 00:28:24.579 would say that since no one is yet saying that 00:28:24.579 --> 00:28:28.119 it's too late, that the budget has been adopted, 00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:31.619 that there's still time for people to contact 00:28:31.619 --> 00:28:35.099 their representatives and urge them to maintain 00:28:35.099 --> 00:28:40.359 funding for these stations. And you mentioned 00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:43.029 they've got a big anniversary coming up. Yeah. 00:28:43.890 --> 00:28:47.390 If you go to the WWV website, they don't talk 00:28:47.390 --> 00:28:51.589 about shutting down. They talk about 2019 being 00:28:51.589 --> 00:28:55.869 their 100th anniversary and the WWV is the longest 00:28:55.869 --> 00:28:59.150 continually operating radio station in the United 00:28:59.150 --> 00:29:02.329 States. So let's see. How should we celebrate 00:29:02.329 --> 00:29:04.890 our centennial of being continuously on the air? 00:29:05.069 --> 00:29:12.650 Hey, let's shut it down. Oh my goodness. Yeah. 00:29:13.210 --> 00:29:15.549 And every time I tried to ask somebody it's like, 00:29:15.869 --> 00:29:18.670 well, you have to talk to my supervisor. Well, 00:29:18.950 --> 00:29:22.369 you have to talk to my supervisor and I just 00:29:22.369 --> 00:29:31.289 got nowhere. Yeah. I put together in our October 00:29:31.289 --> 00:29:39.640 issue about almost two page analysis of the ridiculousness 00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:43.619 of this proposal and the different things that 00:29:43.619 --> 00:29:47.200 are on different pages of the proposal that are 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:56.400 basically self -contradictory. So I have here 00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:59.000 the logic behind the proposed cuts is mystifying, 00:29:59.380 --> 00:30:01.559 as is the structure of the report, which on one 00:30:01.559 --> 00:30:03.500 hand explains how these services are essential 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:06.220 to the country and cannot be duplicated by anyone 00:30:06.220 --> 00:30:09.200 else. And on the other hand, proposes significant 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:12.799 cuts to those very programs. Yeah, that's the 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:15.039 only thing I can figure was, you know, they're 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:19.180 trying to say, you know, okay, you can cut this, 00:30:19.180 --> 00:30:22.880 you know, and if you do, 50 million devices are 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:27.740 going to quit working. Right. Do you really want 00:30:27.740 --> 00:30:32.619 to do that? Do you? And this is, I haven't been 00:30:32.619 --> 00:30:36.420 able to dig up the specifics, but I seem to remember 00:30:36.420 --> 00:30:41.740 that this has happened before. Maybe six or seven 00:30:41.740 --> 00:30:46.579 years ago, I seem to remember that there was 00:30:46.579 --> 00:30:54.660 a similar proposal to shut down the WWVs and 00:30:54.660 --> 00:30:57.559 that they were successful in getting Congress 00:30:57.559 --> 00:31:05.180 to retain the funding for it. did some looking 00:31:05.180 --> 00:31:08.180 back and couldn't find the specifics of it, but 00:31:08.180 --> 00:31:12.839 I Do believe this is not the first time this 00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:18.039 has happened Well, we're running a little overtime 00:31:18.039 --> 00:31:20.079 here, so we're going to stop and take a break 00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:23.329 and we'll come back We'll talk a little CQ worldwide 00:31:23.329 --> 00:31:26.930 and take your calls live. If you have those, 00:31:27.069 --> 00:31:28.430 I'll go ahead and give you the phone number. 00:31:28.569 --> 00:31:32.990 It's 812 -638 -4261. That's the number you can 00:31:32.990 --> 00:31:36.730 call when we come back with Rich Moses and W2VU 00:31:36.730 --> 00:31:40.390 from CQ Magazine right here on HamTalk Live after 00:31:40.390 --> 00:31:43.650 these words from ICOM. For the love of the holidays, 00:31:43.849 --> 00:31:46.509 surprise your favorite ham this season with the 00:31:46.509 --> 00:31:49.130 gift that's on their hot list. The holidays are 00:31:49.130 --> 00:31:51.910 just around the corner and ICOM has plenty of 00:31:51.910 --> 00:31:56.829 cheer for everyone. The IC7610, the SDR every 00:31:56.829 --> 00:31:59.509 ham wants and just in time for the holidays. 00:31:59.730 --> 00:32:02.569 This high performance SDR has the ability to 00:32:02.569 --> 00:32:05.690 pick out the faintest of signals even in the 00:32:05.690 --> 00:32:08.690 presence of stronger adjacent ones. 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Now here's 00:33:30.619 --> 00:33:35.880 more HamTalk Live. listening to ham talk live 00:33:35.880 --> 00:33:52.759 gives me a real standing wave ratio thanks to 00:33:52.759 --> 00:33:55.480 I come America for sponsoring the show again 00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:57.880 tonight and we're on the air every Thursday night 00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:01.579 at 9 p .m. Eastern Time right here at HamTalkLive 00:34:01.579 --> 00:34:04.220 .com. Be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, 00:34:04.859 --> 00:34:08.360 and Instagram. It's time for your calls now. 00:34:08.440 --> 00:34:12.119 So if you have a question or a comment for Rich, 00:34:12.780 --> 00:34:17.119 give us a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:24.800 -638 -4261. Or you can call us on Skype. At least 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:28.389 tonight you can. uh... at ham talk live and and 00:34:28.389 --> 00:34:31.150 hopefully will will figure out what what's going 00:34:31.150 --> 00:34:33.610 to happen with that and uh... you can also tweet 00:34:33.610 --> 00:34:38.329 us over at ham talk live on twitter as well and 00:34:38.329 --> 00:34:39.849 uh... we're going to talk a little bit about 00:34:39.849 --> 00:34:43.010 cq worldwide so while we're waiting on the calls 00:34:43.010 --> 00:34:46.070 to come in here rich uh... let let's talk about 00:34:46.070 --> 00:34:49.570 cq worldwide it sounds like we had similar experiences 00:34:49.570 --> 00:34:52.599 we were able to to get on at different times, 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:55.800 though, but didn't get the whole weekend in. 00:34:56.019 --> 00:34:58.780 But we were able to get on the air and make some 00:34:58.780 --> 00:35:02.340 pretty good contacts. Yeah, you know, one of 00:35:02.340 --> 00:35:06.039 the great things about contests is that they 00:35:06.039 --> 00:35:12.800 really give you a demonstration of what the bands 00:35:12.800 --> 00:35:17.840 truly are like at any given time. You know, this 00:35:18.800 --> 00:35:21.280 we're at the bottom of the sunspot cycle right 00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:27.619 now and Supposedly the upper HF bands are dead 00:35:27.619 --> 00:35:32.380 don't even bother going there Except that during 00:35:32.380 --> 00:35:41.780 contests Because you know when when I got on 00:35:41.780 --> 00:35:46.619 Saturday morning I got on mid -morning 20 meters 00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:52.130 was packed and I have a small lot here, and I 00:35:52.130 --> 00:35:54.829 run 100 watts in a multi -band vertical, and 00:35:54.829 --> 00:36:01.030 that's about all I can fit here. And I can't 00:36:01.030 --> 00:36:04.449 compete with the bigger signals at the bottom 00:36:04.449 --> 00:36:07.710 of the Sun -Sulbis cycle, in particular, when 00:36:07.710 --> 00:36:11.329 on 20 meters, it just, I don't get through. I 00:36:11.329 --> 00:36:13.630 went through the band once, made no contacts, 00:36:14.250 --> 00:36:17.500 and said, I'm gonna try 15. even though it's 00:36:17.500 --> 00:36:20.420 supposed to be dead. And, you know, I went up 00:36:20.420 --> 00:36:23.420 to 15, and sure enough, there was only one signal 00:36:23.420 --> 00:36:26.360 that I could hear on the band, but it was loud. 00:36:26.739 --> 00:36:30.079 And it was Delta 4 Charlie in Cape Verde Islands. 00:36:30.079 --> 00:36:33.460 That's 3 ,500 miles away from me. So this is 00:36:33.460 --> 00:36:37.820 not a dead band when the only signal you hear 00:36:37.820 --> 00:36:40.940 is from a station 3 ,500 miles away from you. 00:36:41.139 --> 00:36:44.119 I worked him, so he heard me as well as I heard 00:36:44.119 --> 00:36:48.360 him. and then started going up the band, and 00:36:48.360 --> 00:36:51.699 as I was tuning up, I was hearing stations starting 00:36:51.699 --> 00:36:54.300 to come up out of the noise. It's always one 00:36:54.300 --> 00:36:57.039 of my favorite things in a contest is watching 00:36:57.039 --> 00:37:01.739 a band wake up. When it wakes up to 3 ,500 miles, 00:37:02.119 --> 00:37:06.519 it's not dead. And later on in the afternoon, 00:37:07.219 --> 00:37:11.139 I had some very nice contacts on 10 meters, which, 00:37:11.179 --> 00:37:13.829 you know... All the so -called experts will tell 00:37:13.829 --> 00:37:15.989 you, oh, don't even bother with 10 meters and 00:37:15.989 --> 00:37:18.489 anything except local contacts for the next four 00:37:18.489 --> 00:37:22.090 years. Well, I worked all over Central and South 00:37:22.090 --> 00:37:25.510 America and the Caribbean. No, I didn't work 00:37:25.510 --> 00:37:27.630 Europe and Asia on 10 meters. It's all North 00:37:27.630 --> 00:37:31.489 -South. But there was plenty of good DX to be 00:37:31.489 --> 00:37:35.949 worked. I got every zone in Central and South 00:37:35.949 --> 00:37:38.449 America except for zone 10. I think the Peruvians 00:37:38.449 --> 00:37:45.809 were asleep. But there's plenty of DX out there. 00:37:47.630 --> 00:37:50.769 Interesting question as to whether contests make 00:37:50.769 --> 00:37:54.269 their own propagation. I'm going to be suggesting 00:37:54.269 --> 00:37:57.530 in my December editorial, which I just finished 00:37:57.530 --> 00:38:00.110 writing, that maybe that's a good topic for some 00:38:00.110 --> 00:38:04.750 actual scientific research. We have the tools 00:38:04.750 --> 00:38:07.150 for it with things like the Reverse Beacon Network 00:38:07.150 --> 00:38:12.230 and Whisper. To actually see, my feeling is that 00:38:12.230 --> 00:38:14.809 even at the bottom of the sunspot cycle, there 00:38:14.809 --> 00:38:19.170 are openings. They may not be of as long duration 00:38:19.170 --> 00:38:23.030 or as long distance as you get during better 00:38:23.030 --> 00:38:26.789 parts of the cycle, but they're there. It's just 00:38:26.789 --> 00:38:28.389 that there is kind of like, you know, what if 00:38:28.389 --> 00:38:32.789 you gave a party and nobody came? Nobody's on 00:38:32.789 --> 00:38:36.570 to know about the openings. They're either all 00:38:36.570 --> 00:38:39.619 just listening. and not transmitting or they're 00:38:39.619 --> 00:38:43.960 off on other bands. What happens during a contest 00:38:43.960 --> 00:38:46.940 is the stations are there and they're transmitting. 00:38:47.300 --> 00:38:52.599 So anytime there is an opening, somebody is there 00:38:52.599 --> 00:38:55.619 to take advantage of it and other people hear 00:38:55.619 --> 00:38:58.300 them and you have a lot of good DX going on. 00:38:58.739 --> 00:39:03.119 It would be a fascinating thing to do a scientific 00:39:03.119 --> 00:39:09.619 study of actual band openings that maybe nobody 00:39:09.619 --> 00:39:13.019 knows about on the upper HF bands during the 00:39:13.019 --> 00:39:16.380 bottom of the sunspot cycle My feeling is they're 00:39:16.380 --> 00:39:19.239 there and we're just missing them because we're 00:39:19.239 --> 00:39:24.860 not on the air calling CQ Well Nathaniel if you're 00:39:24.860 --> 00:39:27.800 listening, maybe that's your next research topic 00:39:27.800 --> 00:39:35.360 Once once this solar eclipse data is all processed. 00:39:35.659 --> 00:39:39.940 Maybe you can grab a hold of some data on this 00:39:39.940 --> 00:39:45.860 over at NJIT. But it sounds like we had kind 00:39:45.860 --> 00:39:48.519 of a similar experience. I think I had, you know, 00:39:48.599 --> 00:39:50.679 like you said, all the zones north to south, 00:39:52.099 --> 00:39:56.380 but not much over toward Europe. But it was a 00:39:56.380 --> 00:40:01.090 fun time. And talk a little bit about CQ's sponsorship 00:40:01.090 --> 00:40:07.869 of that one? Well, we've been sponsoring the 00:40:07.869 --> 00:40:12.130 CQ worldwide since the late 1940s. You know, 00:40:12.130 --> 00:40:15.329 it's the biggest contest in the world. And in 00:40:15.329 --> 00:40:19.610 fact, as far as we can figure out, it is the 00:40:19.610 --> 00:40:23.750 largest participation sporting event that there 00:40:23.750 --> 00:40:32.909 is. We get typically About 15 ,000 logs in each 00:40:32.909 --> 00:40:36.929 of the CW and SSB contests and then there's all 00:40:36.929 --> 00:40:39.989 the people they talk to Because not everyone 00:40:39.989 --> 00:40:43.690 sends in a log but you will see close to a hundred 00:40:43.690 --> 00:40:47.329 thousand different call signs show up in these 00:40:47.329 --> 00:40:52.090 logs and There's really no other sporting event 00:40:52.090 --> 00:40:56.829 that has that kind of participation in it and 00:40:56.829 --> 00:41:02.210 of course We have the the unique capability on 00:41:02.210 --> 00:41:06.550 radio For the participants in this event to be 00:41:06.550 --> 00:41:10.929 scattered over the entire planet So it's it's 00:41:10.929 --> 00:41:15.210 a tremendous opportunity to showcase What we 00:41:15.210 --> 00:41:19.550 can do with ham radio? You know contesting is 00:41:19.550 --> 00:41:24.289 part of CQ's blood has been from the beginning 00:41:24.289 --> 00:41:28.190 that CQ worldwide is the Number one contest in 00:41:28.190 --> 00:41:31.190 the world in terms of participation the CQ WPX 00:41:31.190 --> 00:41:36.170 contest is number two We also have our RIDI contests 00:41:36.170 --> 00:41:40.869 two of them CQ worldwide and WPX and our 160 00:41:40.869 --> 00:41:46.929 meter contest and our VHF contest Our Fox hunting 00:41:46.929 --> 00:41:52.389 weekend and the all -year long DX marathon, so 00:41:52.389 --> 00:41:59.860 we encourage people to get on the air and operate, 00:42:00.159 --> 00:42:07.000 do stuff, either competitively or just to work 00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:10.260 your own, to compete against yourself perhaps, 00:42:10.539 --> 00:42:14.980 if not against your friends and other hams. We 00:42:14.980 --> 00:42:19.960 have a whole bunch of DX awards as well for various 00:42:19.960 --> 00:42:23.340 accomplishments in terms of talking to a certain 00:42:23.340 --> 00:42:27.380 number of Countries or counties we have the USA 00:42:27.380 --> 00:42:32.320 counties award the DX field award for making 00:42:32.320 --> 00:42:36.059 contacts with a certain number of grid fields, 00:42:36.079 --> 00:42:40.960 which are the large, you know, like en is a field 00:42:40.960 --> 00:42:49.199 and WPX award and The course that it worked all 00:42:49.199 --> 00:42:53.610 zones award waz. That's the second oldest Award 00:42:53.610 --> 00:42:56.610 program in amateur radio only behind worked all 00:42:56.610 --> 00:43:03.389 continents. So From our earliest days CQ has 00:43:03.389 --> 00:43:08.170 been promoting getting on the air having fun 00:43:08.170 --> 00:43:13.230 Improving your skills and your station by competing 00:43:13.230 --> 00:43:18.170 either with yourself or with others to Make the 00:43:18.170 --> 00:43:23.049 most of the hobby and of your capabilities so 00:43:23.049 --> 00:43:26.389 that when the time comes that your services are 00:43:26.389 --> 00:43:28.989 needed to help other people, you're not just 00:43:28.989 --> 00:43:31.429 starting to learn how to use the gear. You know 00:43:31.429 --> 00:43:33.389 how to use it, you know what you can do with 00:43:33.389 --> 00:43:36.429 it, you know what bands to be on, and you know 00:43:36.429 --> 00:43:39.530 how to get a message through. And that's really 00:43:39.530 --> 00:43:43.329 what all this is about, besides being fun. Yeah, 00:43:43.329 --> 00:43:51.090 absolutely. KD9HQT chimes in here on chat. 15 00:43:51.090 --> 00:43:54.670 meters always seems to be the least active band 00:43:54.670 --> 00:44:00.170 since he gets S7 QRM, but today there's nothing 00:44:00.170 --> 00:44:03.909 and then all of a sudden Spain shows up and got 00:44:03.909 --> 00:44:08.389 him on one shot. So you just never know. You 00:44:08.389 --> 00:44:11.449 throw your call out there and see what you get. 00:44:12.909 --> 00:44:17.150 I mean, that's the marvels of HF propagation. 00:44:18.829 --> 00:44:22.969 And you see it on 15, you see it on 10 and 12, 00:44:23.829 --> 00:44:26.369 and sometimes on six, although six, you're dealing 00:44:26.369 --> 00:44:29.929 with sporadic E more than F -layer propagation, 00:44:30.030 --> 00:44:31.849 except during the peaks of the sunspot cycles. 00:44:34.309 --> 00:44:36.289 That's the fun. You know, it's like fishing. 00:44:36.550 --> 00:44:38.809 You cast your line out and you never know what's 00:44:38.809 --> 00:44:42.929 going to bite. It may be nothing. or it may be 00:44:42.929 --> 00:44:47.949 some very far away station and That's that's 00:44:47.949 --> 00:44:52.690 the joy of ham radio to me Yeah, I agree eight 00:44:52.690 --> 00:44:54.989 one two six three eight four two six one is the 00:44:54.989 --> 00:44:57.090 phone number We're just about to finish up here. 00:44:57.090 --> 00:44:59.989 So if you're gonna make a call do that right 00:44:59.989 --> 00:45:03.570 now eight one two six three eight four two six 00:45:03.570 --> 00:45:11.130 one and Rich remind everybody the The website 00:45:11.130 --> 00:45:14.389 and how they can find CQ magazine in case they 00:45:14.389 --> 00:45:19.989 want to read that that editorial about Contesters 00:45:19.989 --> 00:45:23.050 making their own propagation that sounds intriguing 00:45:23.050 --> 00:45:27.909 To me to read anyway, so I'm sure there's some 00:45:27.909 --> 00:45:38.530 others our website is www .cq -amateur -radio 00:45:38.530 --> 00:45:41.780 .com And remember to spell amateur correctly. 00:45:41.960 --> 00:45:46.800 It's E -U -R, not U -E -R. And there you can 00:45:46.800 --> 00:45:53.579 find ways to subscribe. Our editorials are always 00:45:53.579 --> 00:45:57.159 on the website as well. This is the December 00:45:57.159 --> 00:45:59.519 editorial, so it won't be up for another month 00:45:59.519 --> 00:46:04.739 yet. And you can find out about subscribing to 00:46:04.739 --> 00:46:10.380 our print edition, our digital edition. and all 00:46:10.380 --> 00:46:12.199 sorts of other goodies. We've got calendars, 00:46:12.340 --> 00:46:16.699 we've got books, we've got DVDs, lots of stuff. 00:46:18.239 --> 00:46:24.699 And of course, Best Magazine. Of course. And 00:46:24.699 --> 00:46:28.699 we've got another one of your... Your writers 00:46:28.699 --> 00:46:33.460 coming on the show as he usually does He doesn't 00:46:33.460 --> 00:46:35.619 wear the dr. Seuss hat when he's on the show 00:46:35.619 --> 00:46:40.420 at least that I know of but But I know It's radio 00:46:40.420 --> 00:46:44.429 so you never know Yep. Yep. You never know, but, 00:46:44.530 --> 00:46:46.710 uh, Joe's going to be on here. I believe it's 00:46:46.710 --> 00:46:50.369 in two weeks to talk about some, uh, kits for 00:46:50.369 --> 00:46:53.150 the holidays. So we'll, we'll look forward to 00:46:53.150 --> 00:46:56.349 Joe being on here and you can catch his kit building 00:46:56.349 --> 00:47:00.369 article in the CQ magazine as well. Uh, we do 00:47:00.369 --> 00:47:03.030 have another, uh, mention on the chat here. Uh, 00:47:03.070 --> 00:47:07.690 Troy Simpson, W9KVR said, uh, we need, uh, During 00:47:07.690 --> 00:47:09.610 school club roundup. We need to get some more 00:47:09.610 --> 00:47:13.210 schools on so we can get some propagation. So 00:47:13.210 --> 00:47:17.369 Maybe that would work like a good idea. Yeah 00:47:17.369 --> 00:47:21.030 school club roundup was terrible propagation 00:47:21.030 --> 00:47:25.650 absolutely terrible this year, but We still found 00:47:25.650 --> 00:47:28.630 a way to to get some contacts and we finally 00:47:28.630 --> 00:47:31.690 got through to Alaska that there's a school up 00:47:31.690 --> 00:47:38.519 in Alaska dawn Gallon is up there KL 7 DG I think 00:47:38.519 --> 00:47:43.099 is his call and he always tries to get on With 00:47:43.099 --> 00:47:46.059 his school kids and after school. It's pretty 00:47:46.059 --> 00:47:50.159 late for us over here in the Eastern time zone, 00:47:50.159 --> 00:47:54.079 but We were able to finally pull it off after 00:47:54.079 --> 00:47:58.019 four nights of horrible propagation So maybe 00:47:58.019 --> 00:48:05.039 we need some more It would be good And let's 00:48:05.039 --> 00:48:07.940 see Troy says we got on during sideband your 00:48:07.940 --> 00:48:11.579 nine land record is safe. Okay. Good. I feel 00:48:11.579 --> 00:48:16.360 better now Well rich thanks so much for coming 00:48:16.360 --> 00:48:19.400 on the show it's always great to visit with you 00:48:19.400 --> 00:48:23.860 it seems like We're both too busy at Dayton and 00:48:23.860 --> 00:48:26.960 I hardly get to see you but Huntsville we usually 00:48:26.960 --> 00:48:30.829 end up Getting to talk a little bit and it's 00:48:30.829 --> 00:48:34.090 great to see you and Jason At Huntsville again 00:48:34.090 --> 00:48:37.010 and look forward to seeing you again soon and 00:48:37.010 --> 00:48:39.130 and thanks for coming on and you're welcome back 00:48:39.130 --> 00:48:42.269 anytime My pleasure. I really enjoyed it and 00:48:42.269 --> 00:48:45.650 look forward to next time All right. Well, that 00:48:45.650 --> 00:48:49.400 is a wrap for this week's edition of HamTalk 00:48:49.400 --> 00:48:53.199 Live. Thanks to Rich Moses and W2VU and everybody 00:48:53.199 --> 00:48:55.260 out there in cyberspace for listening and calling 00:48:55.260 --> 00:48:58.300 in. Oh, Joe's on next week. I invite you back 00:48:58.300 --> 00:49:01.360 next Thursday night at 9 p .m. when Joe Eisenberg, 00:49:01.380 --> 00:49:04.559 KZeroNEB, will be here to talk about kits for 00:49:04.559 --> 00:49:08.039 the holidays. So if you want to know who the 00:49:08.039 --> 00:49:10.880 upcoming guests are, just go to HamTalkLive .com 00:49:10.880 --> 00:49:13.860 and you can click on the... Show schedule link 00:49:13.860 --> 00:49:17.500 there and find out who's coming up next and if 00:49:17.500 --> 00:49:20.219 you like ham talk live, please leave us a review 00:49:20.219 --> 00:49:24.599 on face or on iTunes or Wherever you listen that 00:49:24.599 --> 00:49:27.440 helps others find us faster and and you can like 00:49:27.440 --> 00:49:31.099 us on Facebook and Twitter as well So this is 00:49:31.099 --> 00:49:34.719 Neil rap WB 9 VPG for now saying seven three 00:49:34.719 --> 00:49:40.230 seven five and may the good DX be yours Thanks 00:49:40.230 --> 00:49:51.170 for watching!