WEBVTT 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:12.880 Thanks for tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:30.820 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:30.820 --> 00:00:33.560 tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:33.859 --> 00:00:42.770 Please stand by. This episode of HamTalk Live 00:00:42.770 --> 00:00:46.530 is brought to you by Tower Electronics. For connectors, 00:00:46.909 --> 00:00:49.869 cables, and more, visit them at a hamfest near 00:00:49.869 --> 00:00:58.210 you or call 920 -435 -2973 or online at pl -259 00:00:58.210 --> 00:01:34.400 .com. Good evening everyone coming to you live 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:39.040 Not from Dayton anymore, which is kind of a bummer. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:44.219 It's ham talk live episode number 116 amateur 00:01:44.219 --> 00:01:48.319 radio calm recorded live on Thursday May 24th 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:53.579 2018 I am your host Neil rap WB 9 VPG Thanks 00:01:53.579 --> 00:01:56.799 for tuning in to this episode of ham talk live 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:01.120 tonight. We're joined by Matt Thomas W1 MST the 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:04.939 founder and managing editor of amateurradio .com 00:02:04.939 --> 00:02:08.080 and we'll take your calls live in just a few 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:11.180 minutes. Well, yeah, I'm home from Hamvention. 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:14.580 Last week was our live Hamvention Eve episode 00:02:14.580 --> 00:02:17.879 with weather, traffic, parking, and more. And 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:20.520 if you missed that, it's still online. You can 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:25.120 listen at hamtalklive .com or on any of the podcast 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:29.349 outlets. But we would like to hear from you about 00:02:29.349 --> 00:02:33.669 that episode and about next year So we'd like 00:02:33.669 --> 00:02:37.990 to know do you want another show? next year that 00:02:37.990 --> 00:02:40.430 has all the information like we did this time 00:02:40.430 --> 00:02:43.810 all the Ham invention conditions the night before 00:02:43.810 --> 00:02:47.939 all in one place Or would you rather go back 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:51.020 to the interviews and taking calls and telling 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:54.840 stories about Hamvention? So let us know on our 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:58.240 polls. We've got a poll on Facebook and one on 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:01.879 Twitter. So you've got a few more days to vote 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:05.580 on there. Please let us know and even put some 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:08.259 comments in there if you have something specific 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:12.620 we'd like to know. what to plan for for next 00:03:12.620 --> 00:03:16.259 year. So if that was helpful to you, let us know. 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:21.159 If it was not, let us know and we'll take a look 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:24.280 at those and figure it out. If you don't do Facebook 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:27.099 or Twitter, you can email us. Just email us at 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:32.460 survey at hamptalklive .com and we'll read the 00:03:32.460 --> 00:03:36.000 emails there too. So I'd like to hear from you 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:38.819 about that. Well get your questions ready to 00:03:38.819 --> 00:03:43.099 go about blogging and amateurradio .com and after 00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:45.960 the interview you can give us a call We'll go 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:48.259 ahead and give you the phone number. It's 812 00:03:48.259 --> 00:03:51.740 net ham one eight one two six three eight four 00:03:51.740 --> 00:03:56.180 two six one or you can call us on Skype our Skype 00:03:56.180 --> 00:03:59.379 name is ham talk live You can also tweet us. 00:03:59.379 --> 00:04:02.199 We're at ham talk live on Twitter. So we'll be 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:06.590 looking for your submissions throughout the show. 00:04:06.990 --> 00:04:09.409 So I'll be back with Matt right after this word 00:04:09.409 --> 00:04:12.610 from Tower Electronics right here on HamTalk 00:04:12.610 --> 00:04:15.710 Live. This episode of HamTalk Live is brought 00:04:15.710 --> 00:04:19.379 to you in part by Tower Electronics. Tower Electronics 00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:22.600 has been the Ham's Dime Store since 1978. When 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:25.339 you need connectors, mobile and handheld antennas, 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:28.800 cables, or adapters, visit Scott or Jill at a 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:32.120 HamFest near you. Or you can order online at 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:39.879 PL -259 .com or call 920 -435 -2973. Stock up 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:43.100 on those supplies like PL -259 and end connectors, 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:46.699 SMA adapters, audio cables, soldering supplies, 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:49.699 mobile antennas, and hamsticks. Their silver 00:04:49.699 --> 00:04:52.620 plated in connectors are even used on the International 00:04:52.620 --> 00:04:55.939 Space Station. Tower Electronics carries MFJ, 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:00.319 Comet, Daiwa, OPEC, Workman and HamPro products. 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:04.120 And don't miss their 0 % off sale going on now. 00:05:04.259 --> 00:05:08.680 Tower Electronics online at PL -259 .com. Proud 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:12.660 to sponsor this episode of HamTalk Live. This 00:05:12.660 --> 00:05:17.310 is your announcer, Andy Morrison, K9AWM. Why 00:05:17.310 --> 00:05:19.850 else would I be talking like this? You're listening 00:05:19.850 --> 00:05:35.889 to Ham Talk Live with Neil Rapp. Thanks to Scott 00:05:35.889 --> 00:05:38.029 and Jill at Tower Electronics for sponsoring 00:05:38.029 --> 00:05:40.829 the show tonight to help bring you Ham Talk Live. 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:44.879 You can give them a call their number nine two 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:49.480 zero four three five twenty nine seventy three 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:54.420 or visit their website pl -259 .com and tell 00:05:54.420 --> 00:05:57.519 them you heard it on ham talk lives good to see 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:01.199 them over at hamvention and catch up with them 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:06.079 and Got hammy out there for a while and got some 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:09.839 pictures and gave away some some t -shirts so 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:13.759 That was great. And thanks to our new hammy. 00:06:14.060 --> 00:06:17.120 Now, last year's hammy is graduating high school 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:21.899 tonight. That's Tyler and 7TMW. But Teresa was 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:25.060 our hammy this year. And so if you're listening, 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:29.480 Teresa, thank you again for a great job. And 00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:32.120 we look forward to hopefully getting her back 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:35.779 next year. So we'll give that a shot. Well, tonight 00:06:35.779 --> 00:06:41.420 our guest is Matt Thomas. W1MST, he is the managing 00:06:41.420 --> 00:06:45.879 editor at amateurradio .com. Matt lives in Maine 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:49.819 and has been a ham for 17 years and enjoys VHF 00:06:49.819 --> 00:06:53.379 work chasing amateur radio satellites, which 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:57.060 is something I've been getting into lately, software 00:06:57.060 --> 00:07:00.519 -defined radio and building with Arduino's and 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:04.560 other microcontrollers. So Matt, thanks for coming 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:07.310 on the show tonight. Neil, thank you so much 00:07:07.310 --> 00:07:08.990 for having me on the show. You know, we were 00:07:08.990 --> 00:07:11.589 talking before it started. I was kind of embarrassed. 00:07:11.990 --> 00:07:15.629 I've never made the 16 hour trek from Maine to 00:07:15.629 --> 00:07:18.610 Dayton. And, uh, and I feel real bad about that 00:07:18.610 --> 00:07:20.529 because it sounds like you guys had a lot of 00:07:20.529 --> 00:07:24.149 fun. Well, we did have a lot of fun and, uh, 00:07:24.189 --> 00:07:28.250 there were so many things I could go on and on 00:07:28.250 --> 00:07:32.189 about things that just absolutely went totally 00:07:32.189 --> 00:07:42.899 wrong. This weekend, audio problems and my girlfriend's 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:45.000 grandmother had a stroke right in the middle 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:49.980 of one of the forums and we had to go take care 00:07:49.980 --> 00:07:52.980 of that. But luckily, the hospital they took 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:58.000 her to was in Dayton. So it is just crazy how 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:02.110 this stuff works sometimes. Um, so we, we, we 00:08:02.110 --> 00:08:04.550 made it through all that and still managed to 00:08:04.550 --> 00:08:08.509 have a good time. So, uh, yeah, you ha you have 00:08:08.509 --> 00:08:11.410 to go. We had some, uh, some craziness going 00:08:11.410 --> 00:08:14.910 on over at the, uh, news line booth with all 00:08:14.910 --> 00:08:19.230 these, I'm not Will Banks buttons and, and all 00:08:19.230 --> 00:08:22.810 this craziness, but it was fun. And we had Hammy 00:08:22.810 --> 00:08:26.610 going around. Hammy's the, uh, the, uh, pig. 00:08:27.379 --> 00:08:31.120 mascot of the show. And so Hammy was going around 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:34.080 giving out t -shirts and stickers and stuff and 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:37.019 getting pictures taken. And she even made the 00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:41.399 newspaper, the Xenia Gazette. They got a picture 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:46.620 of her going around greeting everybody and promoting 00:08:46.620 --> 00:08:50.039 the show. So it was a lot of fun. So I'll have 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:53.379 to check it out. You got to put it on the list 00:08:53.379 --> 00:08:58.350 of things to do. Absolutely. Well, now at amateurradio 00:08:58.350 --> 00:09:04.029 .com, you cover all this stuff and more and it's 00:09:04.029 --> 00:09:08.830 been around for 20 some years. So tell us how 00:09:08.830 --> 00:09:12.289 this all got started. Sure. You know, I got involved 00:09:12.289 --> 00:09:16.669 in the early two thousands and kind of saw an 00:09:16.669 --> 00:09:19.070 area that needed needed some extra attention. 00:09:19.149 --> 00:09:22.549 I felt like there was a lot of great bloggers 00:09:22.549 --> 00:09:26.299 out there that kind of They were kind of blogging 00:09:26.299 --> 00:09:28.360 to themselves, really. Unfortunately, there wasn't 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:32.360 a lot of promotion. And what I wanted to do is 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:35.240 kind of bring all those great voices together 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:38.740 in one place and kind of take advantage of an 00:09:38.740 --> 00:09:42.860 economy of scale where we could kind of have 00:09:42.860 --> 00:09:45.720 one big promotion and let everyone's voice be 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:48.320 heard in one place. And I think it's worked pretty 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:53.600 well. We have, gosh, probably Three dozen bloggers 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:57.259 who contribute right now they're very generous 00:09:57.259 --> 00:09:59.440 with writing for us and allowing us to share 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:04.559 their writing and We've just continued to grow 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:10.419 and I've been been very blessed by that So Tell 00:10:10.419 --> 00:10:12.340 us about some of these regular contributors. 00:10:12.340 --> 00:10:15.820 I know I see several of them on Twitter a lot 00:10:16.570 --> 00:10:19.470 Tell us about some of the your regulars and some 00:10:19.470 --> 00:10:22.350 of the columns that you'll see on amateurradio 00:10:22.350 --> 00:10:26.889 .com. Yeah, you know, I have to say I don't really 00:10:26.889 --> 00:10:29.309 have a favorite. I mean, they're all fantastic. 00:10:29.350 --> 00:10:31.809 And that's the amazing thing about ham radio 00:10:31.809 --> 00:10:38.090 is the is the the quality of the writing is is 00:10:38.090 --> 00:10:42.309 something that has always amazed me. People like, 00:10:42.450 --> 00:10:45.870 you know, you must know Kale K4. HCK he writes 00:10:45.870 --> 00:10:49.929 a fantastic roundup each week of blog posts ham 00:10:49.929 --> 00:10:54.230 radio weekly And he shares that with us and and 00:10:54.230 --> 00:10:58.110 we transmit that out in our newsletter He does 00:10:58.110 --> 00:11:03.269 a fantastic job, you know, I think that We've 00:11:03.269 --> 00:11:09.350 lost a lot of valuable publications 73 for whatever 00:11:09.350 --> 00:11:11.590 you think of the publication. I think really 00:11:11.950 --> 00:11:15.149 was a great contribution to our hobby and so 00:11:15.149 --> 00:11:17.309 I feel like we've had some consolidation of that 00:11:17.309 --> 00:11:22.190 and these extra outlets for those voices have 00:11:22.190 --> 00:11:24.370 been something that I think that the ham radio 00:11:24.370 --> 00:11:27.830 community needed and I'm hoping that we provide 00:11:27.830 --> 00:11:30.669 some of that. Well, it's funny that you mentioned 00:11:30.669 --> 00:11:33.789 73 because in the last couple of weeks we've 00:11:33.789 --> 00:11:36.970 been going through well a couple of us have been 00:11:36.970 --> 00:11:41.789 going through the 73 magazine archive and Trying 00:11:41.789 --> 00:11:44.929 to dig up we were actually looking for some prices 00:11:44.929 --> 00:11:48.029 of some equipment from way back when to see right 00:11:48.029 --> 00:11:50.549 You know what it was actually going forward when 00:11:50.549 --> 00:11:54.029 we never did find it but but it was it was kind 00:11:54.029 --> 00:11:58.269 of cool to go back through and see some of the 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:00.340 You know, the old, Oh, I used to have one of 00:12:00.340 --> 00:12:03.600 those, you know, and, and, uh, and some of the, 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:06.799 some of the pictures that, uh, that, that Wayne 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:09.320 put on the cover to get, where I have attention 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:13.980 was, was kind of unusual. A lady in a swimsuit 00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:17.559 holding a handheld next to a pool, uh, was one. 00:12:18.059 --> 00:12:23.840 Never say die. And so, so then I started going 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:27.659 over to. Some other magazines trying to find 00:12:27.659 --> 00:12:30.919 this information that I was looking for. Ham 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:34.519 Radio, Ham Radio Horizons, which was kind of 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:38.419 the one for the newcomers from Ham Radio. And 00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:42.340 those were published up in up in your area. And 00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:47.440 so, you know, those have gone away as well, which 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:50.440 you got to be an old geezer like me, I guess, 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:55.090 to remember those. But You know there was the 00:12:55.090 --> 00:13:00.470 the W5YI report there was You know several other 00:13:00.470 --> 00:13:03.669 Magazines and now you know mainstream. We're 00:13:03.669 --> 00:13:08.789 looking at it. You know CQ and Q Street, so It's 00:13:08.789 --> 00:13:15.450 it is You know a situation where we've got less 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:20.320 printed publications, but yet with the internet 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:25.879 and all the blogging and and Podcasting and and 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:29.740 all these new outlets that there's there's all 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:32.779 kinds of stuff out there You do see you know, 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:37.639 I remember great magazines not particularly ham 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:41.179 related, but like Monitoring Times, the Grove 00:13:41.179 --> 00:13:44.179 Enterprise magazine, you know, that has kind 00:13:44.179 --> 00:13:47.659 of had a reincarnation in a way with the Spectrum 00:13:47.659 --> 00:13:52.820 Monitor. And those were valuable publications. 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:56.639 And I think it's sad that maybe the heyday of 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:59.360 that sort of publication was behind us and maybe 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:03.940 in favor of some maybe more loosely organized 00:14:03.940 --> 00:14:08.039 writing and Think that again is is was kind of 00:14:08.039 --> 00:14:12.539 the impetus for For trying to organize it a little 00:14:12.539 --> 00:14:14.980 more in one place with some with a little bit 00:14:14.980 --> 00:14:18.320 at least editorial direction But the economics 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:21.580 are hard, you know, honestly, you know, you can't 00:14:21.580 --> 00:14:23.759 I mean this isn't you know, this isn't my full 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:26.639 -time job, you know, I I certainly do this as 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:31.490 a labor of love and It's It's something that 00:14:31.490 --> 00:14:34.190 takes a lot of time and effort, and I know with 00:14:34.190 --> 00:14:38.149 our site, with amateurradio .com, we don't have 00:14:38.149 --> 00:14:40.309 a system where someone has to log in to comment. 00:14:41.129 --> 00:14:46.370 It's been very much a place where people are 00:14:46.370 --> 00:14:49.289 respectful and there's not a lot of shouting 00:14:49.289 --> 00:14:51.649 back and forth that you see on so many other 00:14:51.649 --> 00:14:55.720 of the forums. online and that's, it's been refreshing 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:58.019 for me as someone that's had to manage it. And 00:14:58.019 --> 00:15:01.600 I hope it's also been a refreshing for, for our, 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:05.940 our, our readers. Oh yeah. Uh, there's a lot 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:11.620 of, there's a lot of back and forth on, on another 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:15.159 site that I know that it's not necessarily, um, 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:18.559 totally news related, uh, or opinion related, 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.210 but uh... whether some some opinions on their 00:15:22.210 --> 00:15:25.909 but uh... you know that's uh... definitely is 00:15:25.909 --> 00:15:29.090 is refreshing to see that well i know you've 00:15:29.090 --> 00:15:31.190 you've got this passion for blogging in like 00:15:31.190 --> 00:15:33.730 me you know i've got the passion for for radio 00:15:33.730 --> 00:15:36.509 and and see if you know i this is not mine full 00:15:36.509 --> 00:15:39.590 -time job by any means and but i've been listening 00:15:39.590 --> 00:15:41.830 to the passion your first episode ever since 00:15:41.830 --> 00:15:44.490 you had doctor i think it was scott right and 00:15:44.490 --> 00:15:47.960 yes it's your first One of your first guess at 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:49.820 least and I really enjoyed that interview. So 00:15:49.820 --> 00:15:53.580 I think, uh, you've, you've managed to, to beat 00:15:53.580 --> 00:15:56.860 the odds of a lot of podcasts that kind of begin 00:15:56.860 --> 00:16:00.100 and fizzle out and you've continued and you must 00:16:00.100 --> 00:16:01.940 be up to well over a hundred episodes. I would 00:16:01.940 --> 00:16:05.740 imagine by now. Yep. This is one 16 now. And 00:16:05.740 --> 00:16:09.240 I remember you, uh, covering, uh, when, when 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:12.899 we first announced, uh, that the show was, uh, 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:20.559 coming out and, um, Dr. Scott Wright was my first 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:25.240 interview by choice and got to see him this weekend 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:31.159 as well. You do these things because you're passionate 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:34.100 about them, you're interested in it. It's not 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:37.259 a job where you're like, well, okay, I got to 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:41.100 do this to bring in the paycheck. Thank goodness. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:46.559 Thank goodness, exactly. So I know that you feel 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:53.519 like the ham radio blogs are very important to 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:57.899 ham radio and they continue to grow in number 00:16:57.899 --> 00:17:03.320 and in breadth. So tell us a little bit about 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:08.940 that and how you feel about the importance of 00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:12.200 all of this. And then I know that another one 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:16.700 of your things with related to this is how to 00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:19.900 start up your own blog and how to contribute 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:22.380 to that. So why don't you talk a little bit about 00:17:22.380 --> 00:17:25.420 that? Yeah, you know, there's really an unlimited 00:17:25.420 --> 00:17:29.220 number of reasons why someone would want to start 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:32.059 a ham radio related blog. I mean, if you have 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:35.880 a passion for a specific part of the hobby and 00:17:36.109 --> 00:17:39.130 As we know you know this hobby has an amazing 00:17:39.130 --> 00:17:42.970 amount of of Sub -interest and sub sub interest 00:17:42.970 --> 00:17:45.650 below that so there's there's no shortage of 00:17:45.650 --> 00:17:49.950 things to write about for sure I think I think 00:17:49.950 --> 00:17:52.049 a mistake some people make when they get into 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:56.589 blogging They I think everyone has a the long 00:17:56.589 --> 00:17:59.799 -lost relative or a co -worker who likes to post 00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:01.559 everything about what they've eaten and where 00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:05.240 they go and what they're wearing and And you 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:07.420 know, no one really cares about your you know, 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:11.019 latest fantastic lunch, unfortunately um, so 00:18:11.019 --> 00:18:14.039 I I think that that if I had to give one piece 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:15.740 of advice for someone thinking about getting 00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:19.240 into blogging is is it's good to have some focus 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:23.960 and and Have a fairly specific point. Um, you 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:25.539 know, let me give you an example. Let's say you're 00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:29.950 doing um summits on the air activations or you 00:18:29.950 --> 00:18:33.690 maybe enjoy working QRRP portable and you carry 00:18:33.690 --> 00:18:36.009 your gear on hikes and you operate there. You 00:18:36.009 --> 00:18:37.910 know people with similar interests I think are 00:18:37.910 --> 00:18:40.569 going to be interested and follow your stuff. 00:18:43.910 --> 00:18:48.250 Yeah, I think that there's a lot out there and 00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:53.190 then you're trying to kind of compile all that 00:18:53.190 --> 00:18:56.450 to put it all in into one place. Kind of on a 00:18:56.450 --> 00:18:59.069 related note, Neil, I think I'm pretty intrigued 00:18:59.069 --> 00:19:02.589 by your topic next week. Walmart parking lots 00:19:02.589 --> 00:19:05.710 on the air. Oh, my goodness. That sounds like 00:19:05.710 --> 00:19:08.910 a a must listen episode if I ever heard one, 00:19:08.970 --> 00:19:12.589 because that sounds fascinating. The the whole 00:19:12.589 --> 00:19:16.990 Walmart parking lot on the air thing is has just 00:19:16.990 --> 00:19:24.109 been a conversation on Twitter that just took 00:19:24.109 --> 00:19:29.990 off. And, and, and I'm just getting started into 00:19:29.990 --> 00:19:34.609 satellites for real. I've done a couple of satellite 00:19:34.609 --> 00:19:37.150 contacts here and there, but I'm just starting 00:19:37.150 --> 00:19:40.470 out. I bought my arrow at Dayton this year. So 00:19:40.470 --> 00:19:44.160 I've been doing, uh, A lot of the satellite just 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:49.440 from school on a vertical or actually in the 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:53.960 car. I've done some mobile ones just in the car 00:19:53.960 --> 00:19:57.920 with my standard mobile antenna. It's a lot of 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:00.819 fun. It is. It's a lot of fun and I'm really 00:20:00.819 --> 00:20:05.000 enjoying it but the Walmart parking lots on the 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:08.480 air thing just... Kind of made me want to go 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:12.579 out and and okay. Here is a day in a time. There's 00:20:12.579 --> 00:20:17.039 a purpose That's when I went out and started 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:20.619 getting Portable and getting on the air, you 00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:23.720 know, I might listen while I'm driving and yeah, 00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:26.319 okay once in a while, you know pull over and 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:30.059 make a contact or two, but But now it's like 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:32.480 okay. I got to go out there and and activate 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:36.799 it and it's stuff like this that You know is 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:39.720 like okay let's have some fun with this let's 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:43.039 let's do something that that will create some 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:46.599 interest. Exactly i think that that's you know 00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:49.900 i think soda sounds fantastic i have been involved 00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:51.960 with that but it sounds like a lot of fun but 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:57.539 with with this it seems to have the added. Not 00:20:57.539 --> 00:20:59.799 to mention it's easy to get to a Walmart parking 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:05.660 lot much more so than maybe a 8000 foot. mountain 00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:08.599 summit, certainly. But, uh, you can add that 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:11.220 component of, of sharing the hobby with the public. 00:21:11.859 --> 00:21:14.920 And Lord knows there are a lot of people at a 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:17.220 Walmart parking lot. So I can only imagine the 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:23.500 kind of gawking interest you'd get. Yeah, they 00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:26.619 did. And when they had the one where, where you 00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:29.319 actually operated from a shopping cart, that, 00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:33.180 that drew some attention. So, so things like 00:21:33.180 --> 00:21:35.880 this, you know, you, you. You blog about them, 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:38.519 you put stuff out there, you put the pictures 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:41.700 out there, you put the information out there 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:46.859 and share it with people so that they know what's 00:21:46.859 --> 00:21:52.259 going on and ideas like this catch on. And, you 00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:58.059 know, before all of the social media and blogging 00:21:58.059 --> 00:22:01.140 and all this kind of stuff, I'm not sure that 00:22:01.140 --> 00:22:04.960 kind of an event would have happened. Yeah exactly, 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:06.819 you know and people like to be entertained and 00:22:06.819 --> 00:22:09.440 they enjoy reading about other people's adventures 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:12.940 and Getting ideas about their own adventures 00:22:12.940 --> 00:22:20.289 for sure so so if we Now we've got another Walmart 00:22:20.289 --> 00:22:23.529 parking lots on the air coming up in July. So 00:22:23.529 --> 00:22:26.170 are we going to read about this on the blog? 00:22:26.329 --> 00:22:28.630 You know, I hope so. I hope so. And I may have 00:22:28.630 --> 00:22:32.250 to outfit my own shopping cart and have to activate 00:22:32.250 --> 00:22:36.690 my nearby Walmarts as well. You know, we can 00:22:36.690 --> 00:22:39.029 talk a little bit about kind of some nitty gritty, 00:22:39.109 --> 00:22:43.190 some specifics about how you might get a blog 00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:46.470 kind of online for someone that might not know 00:22:46.470 --> 00:22:50.240 much about that. Sure. Sure. Yeah. Let's, let's 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:52.599 talk a little bit about getting your own started. 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:56.160 And also one thing, you know, what about submitting 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:59.819 it for your site once you do? Yeah, no, absolutely. 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:02.779 Absolutely. You know, and that's, I mean, I certainly, 00:23:03.779 --> 00:23:06.599 I certainly think that, that getting started, 00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:09.319 there's a couple of ways to go about it. I think 00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:11.619 that the first thing you've got to decide is, 00:23:11.619 --> 00:23:14.980 um, do you want to kind of Submit your articles 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:17.160 or your post to a place a place like amateur 00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:19.019 radio .com or do you want to have your own kind 00:23:19.019 --> 00:23:22.000 of your own? WordPress blog and I would encourage 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:25.960 people to To have their own have their own place 00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:29.000 have their own Home online instead of writing 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:33.339 on Facebook or writing on some of the other There 00:23:33.339 --> 00:23:35.940 are some other ham radio related sites out there 00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:38.099 that will take some of your submission so I would 00:23:38.099 --> 00:23:41.000 encourage you to have a kind of a library a place 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:44.450 where you can Kind of consolidate your posts 00:23:44.450 --> 00:23:47.250 and then You know if you have something that 00:23:47.250 --> 00:23:49.589 someone's interested in kind of share those things 00:23:49.589 --> 00:23:52.569 maybe To a wider audience through either our 00:23:52.569 --> 00:23:57.450 site or some of the others Pretty much WordPress 00:23:57.450 --> 00:23:59.650 you probably have heard of that and probably 00:23:59.650 --> 00:24:01.490 most people that listen to this have heard of 00:24:01.490 --> 00:24:05.250 WordPress WordPress is kind of the de facto standard 00:24:05.250 --> 00:24:09.170 for blogging And it's been that way for quite 00:24:09.170 --> 00:24:12.769 a long time. They've not been dethroned as kind 00:24:12.769 --> 00:24:15.410 of the blogging platform. You kind of have two 00:24:15.410 --> 00:24:22.849 choices. You can host your own WordPress software 00:24:22.849 --> 00:24:26.769 on your own server, or you can use WordPress 00:24:26.769 --> 00:24:29.150 .com. We'll do that for you. And there's some 00:24:29.150 --> 00:24:32.009 advantages and disadvantages to both. The cost 00:24:32.009 --> 00:24:34.390 is going to be roughly the same. Everyone's going 00:24:34.390 --> 00:24:37.490 to want to take their piece. from you for the 00:24:37.490 --> 00:24:40.250 server space, but whether you host it yourself 00:24:40.250 --> 00:24:43.529 and kind of have more customization options, 00:24:43.670 --> 00:24:46.109 more control, but maybe some more headaches as 00:24:46.109 --> 00:24:49.769 far as doing updates and patches, or you maybe 00:24:49.769 --> 00:24:51.849 give up some of that control and let WordPress 00:24:51.849 --> 00:24:54.170 .com do it, that's kind of up to you. Either 00:24:54.170 --> 00:24:57.230 way, I think it's important right off the bat 00:24:57.230 --> 00:24:59.990 when someone gets started in blogging. to have 00:24:59.990 --> 00:25:03.890 your own domain name, your own .com or .org. 00:25:04.789 --> 00:25:06.529 And often people will choose their call sign, 00:25:06.670 --> 00:25:10.690 especially if it's a call sign you intend to 00:25:10.690 --> 00:25:13.109 hang on to for a while. And that kind of gives 00:25:13.109 --> 00:25:17.490 you something that people can identify with and 00:25:17.490 --> 00:25:20.430 it helps with search engines and that sort of 00:25:20.430 --> 00:25:22.589 thing. So I would highly recommend you start 00:25:22.589 --> 00:25:25.839 right away. and get your own domain name and 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:29.180 start blogging kind of under your own identity. 00:25:31.779 --> 00:25:36.500 Very good. And then there are some other ones 00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:40.920 out there that you can use that are free but 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:46.940 maybe don't have the same customization options 00:25:46.940 --> 00:25:51.069 and some of the more advanced features. Yeah, 00:25:51.109 --> 00:25:54.309 you know, that's that is is true and sometimes 00:25:54.309 --> 00:25:58.349 I think that I've noticed people start off with 00:25:58.349 --> 00:26:02.730 the with the free option and I kind of end up 00:26:02.730 --> 00:26:06.609 wishing they had spent a little bit more and 00:26:06.609 --> 00:26:09.710 and gone with their own kind of there again their 00:26:09.710 --> 00:26:11.970 own domain their own maybe their own hosting 00:26:11.970 --> 00:26:15.150 and I think that you've got to kind of decide 00:26:15.150 --> 00:26:18.740 is this something that you are going to give 00:26:18.740 --> 00:26:21.880 some effort to and it's worth three or four dollars 00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:27.019 a month in hosting to do. I would say that probably 00:26:27.019 --> 00:26:30.279 if you're willing to invest five bucks a month 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:33.559 in the whole endeavor maybe it's not worth getting 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:36.819 into because I think that you're going to spend 00:26:36.819 --> 00:26:41.000 a lot of time and effort creating those posts 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:45.900 and that content. You might as well have a a 00:26:45.900 --> 00:26:47.680 place that it looks, you know, professional. 00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:51.180 And, uh, I guess it probably is a juxtaposition 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:53.400 when you say professional and in amateur radio, 00:26:53.900 --> 00:26:56.539 but you certainly, you do certainly want it to 00:26:56.539 --> 00:27:00.359 look, uh, to look somewhat presentable. Absolutely. 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:01.980 All right. Well, we're going to take a break. 00:27:02.019 --> 00:27:04.160 And then when we come back, uh, we'll talk some 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:07.049 more with Matt and we'll give, uh, you a chance 00:27:07.049 --> 00:27:10.750 to call in or tweet in and ask some questions 00:27:10.750 --> 00:27:15.230 with W1MST from amateurradio .com and we'll come 00:27:15.230 --> 00:27:18.190 back after this word from the National Voice 00:27:18.190 --> 00:27:21.410 of America Museum of Broadcasting and Amateur 00:27:21.410 --> 00:27:24.650 Radio Newsline right here on AmToc Live. The 00:27:24.650 --> 00:27:27.269 National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, 00:27:27.849 --> 00:27:31.009 located in Westchester, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati, 00:27:31.509 --> 00:27:35.509 is only two minutes off I -75. The museum is 00:27:35.509 --> 00:27:38.150 the former home of the Voice of America Bethany 00:27:38.150 --> 00:27:41.509 Relay Station. Tours are now available every 00:27:41.509 --> 00:27:44.130 Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p .m. Eastern 00:27:44.130 --> 00:27:48.210 Time. You can see the control room. a 200 ,000 00:27:48.210 --> 00:27:51.150 watt transmitter, and the most comprehensive 00:27:51.150 --> 00:27:54.329 collection of inventions by the iconic Powell 00:27:54.329 --> 00:27:58.470 -Crosley Jr. Also on display is a huge antique 00:27:58.470 --> 00:28:02.210 radio exhibit and R .L. Drake's personal collection 00:28:02.210 --> 00:28:06.259 of most every Drake amateur rig ever made. This 00:28:06.259 --> 00:28:09.519 is a unique opportunity to see amateur radio 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:12.160 in action and have a chance to get on the air 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:18.599 from WC8VOA. Admission is only $5 a person. The 00:28:18.599 --> 00:28:22.539 museum is located close to historic WLWAM and 00:28:22.539 --> 00:28:25.680 tons of shopping and restaurants. Take a trip 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:30.640 to the VOA museum or visit us online at voamuseum 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:34.009 .org. Nominations are now open for the amateur 00:28:34.009 --> 00:28:37.230 radio news line, Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF Young 00:28:37.230 --> 00:28:40.549 Ham of the Year Award. I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW. 00:28:40.690 --> 00:28:43.130 Since 1986, we've had the honor of celebrating 00:28:43.130 --> 00:28:45.130 the accomplishments of Youth and Ham Radio when 00:28:45.130 --> 00:28:46.829 we want to know about your exceptional Young 00:28:46.829 --> 00:28:49.210 Ham. You'll find the rules and a nominating form 00:28:49.210 --> 00:28:52.509 by clicking the Y -H -O -T -Y tab on ARNewsline 00:28:52.509 --> 00:28:55.440 .org. Fill it out, send it in, and we'll see 00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:57.579 you and an amazing young ham at the Huntsville 00:28:57.579 --> 00:29:00.920 Alabama Ham Fest in August. Thanks and 73 from 00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:07.079 Amateur Radio Newsline. Oh baby, you put a 5 00:29:07.079 --> 00:29:13.019 -9 in my log book. Now enjoy more HamTalk Live. 00:29:35.259 --> 00:29:37.759 HamTalk Live is on the air every Thursday night 00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:41.200 at 9 p .m. Eastern right here at HamTalkLive 00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:44.539 .com. Be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, 00:29:44.660 --> 00:29:49.059 and Instagram. And it's time for your calls now. 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:52.740 So if you have a question for Matt, give us a 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:59.980 call at 812 -NET -HAM -1, 812 -638 -4261. Or 00:29:59.980 --> 00:30:03.200 you can Skype us your question. You can give 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:06.180 us a call with Skype at HamTalk Live, or you 00:30:06.180 --> 00:30:10.660 can tweet us at HamTalk Live. We'll check that 00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:18.059 here as fact as we speak. And oh, we have a tweet 00:30:18.059 --> 00:30:24.200 here from another editor, the one that I work 00:30:24.200 --> 00:30:29.339 with commonly, and that's Karen Eve Murray KD2GUT 00:30:29.339 --> 00:30:32.720 from Amateur Radio Newsline and she says Matt 00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:36.519 you got to make that long drive next year, but 00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:40.660 Meanwhile, please give your thoughts on embedded 00:30:40.660 --> 00:30:47.480 multimedia content and blogs So mp3s photo carousels 00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:52.960 video clips that kind of thing Well, you know 00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:56.559 I'm kind of old school in the sense and in a 00:30:56.559 --> 00:30:58.720 way old school because it seems like for a while 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:02.440 there were there was lots of of Auto play audio 00:31:02.440 --> 00:31:04.279 and video and those sorts of things that come 00:31:04.279 --> 00:31:08.440 out of favor. I think in fact Chrome and other 00:31:08.440 --> 00:31:12.940 web browsers were starting to maybe Kind of shut 00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:16.380 those things off the the videos that that automatically 00:31:16.380 --> 00:31:18.599 play I think everyone's been to a news site news 00:31:18.599 --> 00:31:24.079 sites are especially Guilty of auto playing their 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:27.440 their their video and it can sometimes be pretty 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:30.400 annoying So I and I like to kind of control that 00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:33.519 myself and decide what I want to kind of what 00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:37.240 I want to see that The other thing that's been 00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:42.839 big Lately especially are our ad blockers and 00:31:42.839 --> 00:31:45.940 these these ad blockers that people install as 00:31:45.940 --> 00:31:50.619 extensions to their browsers Are great in a lot 00:31:50.619 --> 00:31:54.940 of ways But they they tend to kind of cast a 00:31:54.940 --> 00:32:01.539 wide net with some of these Multimedia Components 00:32:01.539 --> 00:32:04.400 and sometimes they'll they'll cause them to malfunction 00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:08.799 or break or maybe disable them all together I 00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:11.619 think that certainly the web has become much 00:32:11.619 --> 00:32:15.259 more multimedia Certainly, you know, I know with 00:32:15.259 --> 00:32:19.349 your show Neil It's available across a wide variety 00:32:19.349 --> 00:32:22.910 of platforms, most of which, including YouTube 00:32:22.910 --> 00:32:26.670 and SoundCloud and all those, you can embed into 00:32:26.670 --> 00:32:29.769 a website and I think it's neat that you could 00:32:29.769 --> 00:32:33.130 do that. I do think however you can go overboard 00:32:33.130 --> 00:32:39.329 and kind of make things a little too entertaining, 00:32:39.450 --> 00:32:41.490 a little too busy, and I think that's what you 00:32:41.490 --> 00:32:45.849 have to try to avoid doing. Yeah that in fact 00:32:45.849 --> 00:32:51.670 When I worked on a doctorate and maybe one day 00:32:51.670 --> 00:32:56.089 I'll get to finish it it was on cognitive load 00:32:56.089 --> 00:33:02.430 theory and how how textbooks will Overload you 00:33:02.430 --> 00:33:05.170 with information. It's like, you know, you're 00:33:05.170 --> 00:33:07.789 reading along and then there's this picture over 00:33:07.789 --> 00:33:09.710 here and this little caption over here and this 00:33:09.710 --> 00:33:14.870 special over here and and and it's like It's 00:33:14.870 --> 00:33:19.049 overload. But yet you don't want line after line 00:33:19.049 --> 00:33:21.470 after line after line after line after line after 00:33:21.470 --> 00:33:24.990 line of flat text either. And so there's a balance 00:33:24.990 --> 00:33:28.670 there. It's so true. I was working on a learning 00:33:28.670 --> 00:33:30.910 management system which is kind of technical 00:33:30.910 --> 00:33:34.829 jargon for kind of online course software. And 00:33:34.829 --> 00:33:39.859 the psychology behind those systems and how they 00:33:39.859 --> 00:33:42.000 present information is something that I had no 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:45.339 appreciation for. For example, whether or not 00:33:45.339 --> 00:33:47.980 you should display the text of what you're also 00:33:47.980 --> 00:33:50.359 narrating and that sort of thing to encourage 00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:54.519 learning. And it's pretty complicated. And it's 00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:59.640 really an amazing science. One of my favorite 00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:07.170 things that I use in my class to demonstrate 00:34:07.170 --> 00:34:11.969 some of this stuff is a comedian by the name 00:34:11.969 --> 00:34:14.590 of Don McMillan. He's an engineer. He's a former 00:34:14.590 --> 00:34:22.150 IBM computer engineer. And he actually has nerd 00:34:22.150 --> 00:34:26.869 comedy. And he has this thing, his big claim 00:34:26.869 --> 00:34:30.309 to fame is this life after death by PowerPoint. 00:34:31.160 --> 00:34:34.760 And he has this video and instead of going on 00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:37.280 about okay now you need to make sure that you've 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:40.260 got good Contrast and you don't have you know 00:34:40.260 --> 00:34:43.000 all these spinny things and all these busy backgrounds 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:46.340 and everything Instead of doing that I show this 00:34:46.340 --> 00:34:52.099 10 minute clip on YouTube from him That shows 00:34:52.099 --> 00:34:57.409 exactly what not to do and why you don't do it. 00:34:57.570 --> 00:35:01.829 So he's got these graphs and charts and spinning 00:35:01.829 --> 00:35:08.170 texts and written every word out so that you 00:35:08.170 --> 00:35:10.610 have to go through like five slides to get through 00:35:10.610 --> 00:35:17.989 one thought and it's just total overload. And 00:35:17.989 --> 00:35:21.550 so I really like Don McMillan's thing. He has 00:35:21.550 --> 00:35:27.369 all these even a font analysis what what font 00:35:27.369 --> 00:35:30.389 makes you you know what what does that font say 00:35:30.389 --> 00:35:35.130 about you and um there's a lot of that stuff 00:35:35.130 --> 00:35:38.469 out there that that just it just goes crazy and 00:35:38.469 --> 00:35:41.010 you get too many of the you know the big thing 00:35:41.010 --> 00:35:46.730 a long time ago were those animated uh gifs on 00:35:46.730 --> 00:35:50.789 web page. And now they're back, it seems as in 00:35:50.789 --> 00:35:52.510 texting and that sort of thing. It seems like 00:35:52.510 --> 00:35:55.449 everyone's sending animated GIFs again. And I 00:35:55.449 --> 00:35:57.909 appreciate that you do call them GIFs, not GIFs, 00:35:57.969 --> 00:36:05.110 Neil. Yes. Well, I mean, they work well in conversations 00:36:05.110 --> 00:36:06.989 and stuff. So they've kind of made the comeback 00:36:06.989 --> 00:36:10.670 there. But but on the web page, it's like you 00:36:10.670 --> 00:36:14.889 had to put 20 animations on your on your website. 00:36:14.889 --> 00:36:19.570 And it's like It's overload, you know, in a conversation 00:36:19.570 --> 00:36:23.590 and in a vertical sense, you know, it works. 00:36:24.090 --> 00:36:27.389 But when you, you know, well, I mean, one of 00:36:27.389 --> 00:36:30.329 the most popular websites back in the back in 00:36:30.329 --> 00:36:33.030 the day was hamster dance. And that's all it 00:36:33.030 --> 00:36:37.670 was, was a whole bunch of animated gifts in a 00:36:37.670 --> 00:36:42.929 line spinning around with hamsters. Well, they're 00:36:42.929 --> 00:36:46.889 entertaining, I guess. And that's kind of appropriate 00:36:46.889 --> 00:36:51.789 with Karen being the hamster guru, so I guess 00:36:51.789 --> 00:36:55.190 maybe she enjoyed the hamster dance. Thank you, 00:36:55.190 --> 00:37:00.329 Karen. Thank you, Karen, for writing in and asking 00:37:00.329 --> 00:37:05.670 that because that's a very valid point. We got 00:37:05.670 --> 00:37:09.210 a bit off topic, though I feel bad. Well, you 00:37:09.210 --> 00:37:15.230 know, that happens. I'm gonna bring it back around 00:37:15.230 --> 00:37:18.070 again. So we've been talking about how to start 00:37:18.070 --> 00:37:21.090 up your blog and the next thing on the agenda 00:37:21.090 --> 00:37:26.690 was do's and don'ts. So we actually kind of got 00:37:26.690 --> 00:37:30.110 there. Yeah, absolutely. You know, I put together 00:37:30.110 --> 00:37:33.750 a web page or a video for folks to kind of give 00:37:33.750 --> 00:37:36.130 them an idea of how to start, how to start up 00:37:36.130 --> 00:37:39.880 a blog. And it's at amateurradio .com slash ham 00:37:39.880 --> 00:37:42.800 talk live one word so if people want to kind 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:44.539 of get some more information about how they can 00:37:44.539 --> 00:37:47.179 do that step -by -step they can go to that that's 00:37:47.179 --> 00:37:49.860 I'll say that one more time amateurradio .com 00:37:49.860 --> 00:37:54.019 slash ham talk live and we post a link to that 00:37:54.019 --> 00:37:57.559 on our social media so you can find that as well 00:37:57.559 --> 00:38:01.400 as my desk wrapped in saran wrap that you noticed 00:38:01.400 --> 00:38:04.530 earlier you know I really I think that if you 00:38:04.530 --> 00:38:07.489 haven't been to Neil's Twitter feed, I'm not 00:38:07.489 --> 00:38:09.429 sure maybe it's posted in other places. You do 00:38:09.429 --> 00:38:14.570 need to see that they have wrapped, no pun intended, 00:38:15.489 --> 00:38:20.630 wrapped his desk in Saran wrap. So it's definitely 00:38:20.630 --> 00:38:25.190 worth checking out. The two things I think, and 00:38:25.190 --> 00:38:27.050 we've covered them a little bit, the two things 00:38:27.050 --> 00:38:31.190 I think that are the biggest mistakes, the biggest 00:38:31.190 --> 00:38:35.289 pitfalls. Again, or the lack of focus and and 00:38:35.289 --> 00:38:38.329 not having a regular schedule not kind of deciding 00:38:38.329 --> 00:38:42.070 that I'm going to get on this blog and I'm going 00:38:42.070 --> 00:38:46.909 to write Once a week once a month, whatever it 00:38:46.909 --> 00:38:52.389 is to kind of establish a schedule Where you 00:38:52.389 --> 00:38:53.869 kind of expect from yourself that you're gonna 00:38:53.869 --> 00:38:56.030 write because if you don't you'll kind of end 00:38:56.030 --> 00:38:58.889 up putting it off and putting it off and then 00:38:58.889 --> 00:39:02.659 eventually you'll you'll join the ranks of of 00:39:02.659 --> 00:39:05.579 probably a million other blogs that have been 00:39:05.579 --> 00:39:08.679 kind of left to languish. And I think if you 00:39:08.679 --> 00:39:11.280 start off thinking about something you're really 00:39:11.280 --> 00:39:16.360 interested in writing about and you set a schedule 00:39:16.360 --> 00:39:19.800 and you stick to it, I think that the blog will 00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:22.940 get traction. You'll get interaction with readers 00:39:22.940 --> 00:39:25.960 and it'll become more fulfilling. But it does, 00:39:26.199 --> 00:39:28.199 you know, I think I'm sure that you experienced 00:39:28.199 --> 00:39:29.920 it a little bit too, Neil, when you first started, 00:39:29.940 --> 00:39:31.760 you probably felt like you were talking to an 00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:36.400 echo chamber until your podcast got some real 00:39:36.400 --> 00:39:39.039 traction. And it's the same thing with any blog 00:39:39.039 --> 00:39:43.039 or any site on the internet, for sure, that until, 00:39:43.380 --> 00:39:45.280 you know, you don't, I mean, we didn't wake up 00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:48.349 with, you know, 15 ,000 social media followers 00:39:48.349 --> 00:39:52.289 and 7 ,000 newsletter subscribers. I mean, you 00:39:52.289 --> 00:39:55.750 know, it took a lot of time to get that traction 00:39:55.750 --> 00:39:59.309 to be able to do that. So stick with it. If it's 00:39:59.309 --> 00:40:01.050 something you're passionate about and interested 00:40:01.050 --> 00:40:06.599 in, stick with it until it succeeds. 812 -638 00:40:06.599 --> 00:40:10.239 -4261 is the phone number if you have a question 00:40:10.239 --> 00:40:15.980 or a comment for Matt. W1MST from amateurradio 00:40:15.980 --> 00:40:20.119 .com and you can give us a call or you can tweet 00:40:20.119 --> 00:40:25.960 us at hamtalklive as well. So if somebody wants 00:40:25.960 --> 00:40:30.420 to submit something for amateurradio .com, how 00:40:30.420 --> 00:40:33.989 would they go about doing that? they just send 00:40:33.989 --> 00:40:36.690 me an email my email is editor at amateur radio 00:40:36.690 --> 00:40:40.409 comm and we can have a conversation and and Talk 00:40:40.409 --> 00:40:43.269 about what they're writing and you know, we're 00:40:43.269 --> 00:40:45.869 very appreciative people that want to submit 00:40:45.869 --> 00:40:49.869 things I've been incredibly impressed by the 00:40:49.869 --> 00:40:52.269 the generosity and the in the caliber of the 00:40:52.269 --> 00:40:55.329 things people write and we are more than happy 00:40:55.329 --> 00:41:00.269 to use you know, it's it's not a it's not a giant 00:41:00.269 --> 00:41:03.889 voice certainly, but it's a It's a reasonably 00:41:03.889 --> 00:41:07.230 good sized voice and to help you kind of get 00:41:07.230 --> 00:41:10.550 some traction and maybe decide if this is something 00:41:10.550 --> 00:41:14.909 that you want to do more of. So if you want to 00:41:14.909 --> 00:41:18.090 send us an article and have us take a look and 00:41:18.090 --> 00:41:20.550 consider publishing it, we'd be really happy 00:41:20.550 --> 00:41:25.429 to do that and hopefully give you some feedback 00:41:25.429 --> 00:41:27.570 and some sense of whether it's something that 00:41:27.570 --> 00:41:31.780 people might want to hear more about. All right, 00:41:31.900 --> 00:41:36.440 well we're going to take one last call here for 00:41:36.440 --> 00:41:40.980 Matt W1 MST If you want to chime in now's the 00:41:40.980 --> 00:41:45.440 time 812 net ham one eight one two six three 00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:50.179 eight four two six one or tweet us at ham talk 00:41:50.179 --> 00:41:55.460 live Uh, so you were talking a bit about the, 00:41:55.460 --> 00:41:58.619 uh, the WordPress and setting up things and we 00:41:58.619 --> 00:42:00.480 went to break. Was there anything else that you 00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:03.739 wanted to add in on the, you know, how to set 00:42:03.739 --> 00:42:07.820 up and how to, to go about those things? Yeah. 00:42:08.579 --> 00:42:11.239 So it's actually, you know, I don't want to make 00:42:11.239 --> 00:42:13.920 it sound over overly complicated. It's actually 00:42:13.920 --> 00:42:17.280 pretty easy to set up. Uh, I, but I think that, 00:42:17.280 --> 00:42:22.050 like I said, uh, not. Not kind of starting off 00:42:22.050 --> 00:42:26.389 with your own identity, your own dot com is probably 00:42:26.389 --> 00:42:29.389 something you'll regret later to have to kind 00:42:29.389 --> 00:42:33.090 of, it's kind of like, I'm trying to think of 00:42:33.090 --> 00:42:36.070 a good example, kind of like having to reprint 00:42:36.070 --> 00:42:38.130 your business cards when you change your phone 00:42:38.130 --> 00:42:42.769 number. If you start off with kind of the information 00:42:42.769 --> 00:42:45.030 that you think you'll have long term, you'll 00:42:45.030 --> 00:42:47.170 be happier that everyone will have their links. 00:42:47.789 --> 00:42:49.670 Pointed correctly and that sort of thing. So 00:42:49.670 --> 00:42:52.190 you won't have to change it all later you know, 00:42:52.369 --> 00:42:55.789 even if even if you did have a a free blogging 00:42:55.789 --> 00:42:59.590 solution and you You had your your comm whether 00:42:59.590 --> 00:43:02.389 it's your call sign or whatever you choose point 00:43:02.389 --> 00:43:07.550 forward to that that at least Kind of gets you 00:43:07.550 --> 00:43:10.679 started in the right direction. I think Yeah, 00:43:10.679 --> 00:43:13.719 and that's kind of what we've done. Yeah, I think 00:43:13.719 --> 00:43:16.880 that's true. It's got it because Spreaker has 00:43:16.880 --> 00:43:20.920 this You know all automated and everything website, 00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:24.440 but the URL is just ridiculous so we'd set up 00:43:24.440 --> 00:43:29.860 hamtalklive .com just to go to there and It may 00:43:29.860 --> 00:43:33.739 change at some point we may get more into it, 00:43:33.739 --> 00:43:38.579 but at least that again gives a an easy place 00:43:38.579 --> 00:43:42.489 to go to that's always going to be the same address. 00:43:43.550 --> 00:43:45.829 Yeah, absolutely. You know, I also wanted to 00:43:45.829 --> 00:43:48.710 mention too that if someone was interested in 00:43:48.710 --> 00:43:52.389 signing up for our daily or weekly amateur radio 00:43:52.389 --> 00:43:55.670 dot com newsletter, we do do some frequent giveaways. 00:43:57.309 --> 00:44:00.969 About a month ago, we gave away 50 new elect 00:44:00.969 --> 00:44:05.650 software to find SDR radios. And those are pretty 00:44:05.650 --> 00:44:07.670 pretty cool little gadgets. I don't know if you've 00:44:07.670 --> 00:44:10.860 played around with those. those little USB dongles 00:44:10.860 --> 00:44:13.460 there that they sell. But they're pretty amazing 00:44:13.460 --> 00:44:19.320 and great to get people into thinking about the 00:44:19.320 --> 00:44:22.480 hobby for really not a lot of money. So that 00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:25.400 sort of thing is a lot of fun. And when you only 00:44:25.400 --> 00:44:28.179 have 1 ,000 entrants and you give away 50 radios, 00:44:28.480 --> 00:44:31.000 your chances of winning are pretty good. So that 00:44:31.000 --> 00:44:32.760 was a worldwide promotion, which is a lot of 00:44:32.760 --> 00:44:34.699 fun, too. And that's another thing about our 00:44:34.699 --> 00:44:40.110 hobby that I think is so fantastic is the bridging 00:44:40.110 --> 00:44:42.869 between so many different cultures and so many 00:44:42.869 --> 00:44:44.650 different countries and so many different people 00:44:44.650 --> 00:44:49.670 and it's just an amazing hobby, Neil. Yeah, it 00:44:49.670 --> 00:44:52.969 certainly is and you've got some good stuff there. 00:44:53.170 --> 00:44:56.329 So again, if you're interested in the newsletter 00:44:56.329 --> 00:45:00.010 from amateurradio .com, just sign up for that 00:45:00.010 --> 00:45:04.980 and then you may win something too. I hope. Yeah, 00:45:05.119 --> 00:45:08.699 we have another antenna we're going to be giving 00:45:08.699 --> 00:45:12.739 away. I brought home from Dayton, so we'll be 00:45:12.739 --> 00:45:18.179 releasing the details. No sneak previews? No, 00:45:18.219 --> 00:45:21.360 no sneak previews, but we have an antenna we're 00:45:21.360 --> 00:45:25.900 going to be giving away. It's right here, so 00:45:25.900 --> 00:45:31.090 we'll be doing that here soon. Well, Matt, thank 00:45:31.090 --> 00:45:33.210 you so much for coming on the show tonight. Thank 00:45:33.210 --> 00:45:36.469 you for, uh, what you do at, uh, amateur radio 00:45:36.469 --> 00:45:40.389 .com and, uh, we'll look forward to, uh, speaking 00:45:40.389 --> 00:45:43.510 with you again and, and hope to, to catch you 00:45:43.510 --> 00:45:46.949 at Hamvention one of these days. I absolutely 00:45:46.949 --> 00:45:49.269 hope that then I hope I meet, like, what was 00:45:49.269 --> 00:45:51.389 the name again of your, uh, character that's 00:45:51.389 --> 00:45:56.250 running around? I hope I get to meet Hammy at 00:45:56.250 --> 00:45:59.289 next year's Hamvention. So thank you so much, 00:45:59.429 --> 00:46:02.590 Neil, for having me. Yep. All right. That's a 00:46:02.590 --> 00:46:06.219 wrap. for this week's edition of HamTalk Live. 00:46:06.280 --> 00:46:09.860 Thanks to Matt Thomas, W1MST and everybody out 00:46:09.860 --> 00:46:12.059 there in cyberspace for listening and tweeting 00:46:12.059 --> 00:46:15.320 in and invite you back next Thursday night. As 00:46:15.320 --> 00:46:18.320 Matt said, nine o 'clock Eastern time. It's the 00:46:18.320 --> 00:46:21.760 full length Walmart parking lots on the air show. 00:46:22.260 --> 00:46:26.420 Adam Whitney, K0FFY will be here as well as a 00:46:26.420 --> 00:46:30.579 couple of the others that helped put that together 00:46:30.579 --> 00:46:34.760 for real. opposed to just a silly idea running 00:46:34.760 --> 00:46:37.860 around and so we're going to talk about how it 00:46:37.860 --> 00:46:43.739 went and the next one coming up July 2nd Walmart's 00:46:43.739 --> 00:46:50.019 birthday and world UFO day coincidence maybe 00:46:50.650 --> 00:46:54.130 So we'll talk about that, so don't miss that 00:46:54.130 --> 00:46:56.869 next week. For a list of all of our upcoming 00:46:56.869 --> 00:47:00.710 guests, just go to HamTalkLive .com and if you 00:47:00.710 --> 00:47:04.690 would, please leave us a review on iTunes or 00:47:04.690 --> 00:47:06.369 wherever you listen. We're trying to build that 00:47:06.369 --> 00:47:09.989 up a little bit and get it to where we're a little 00:47:09.989 --> 00:47:14.750 easier to find. If you would leave us a review, 00:47:15.090 --> 00:47:17.889 we would appreciate that. So for now, this is 00:47:17.889 --> 00:47:23.829 Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7375, and may the good 00:47:23.829 --> 00:47:41.960 DX be yours. Thanks for watching!