WEBVTT 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:11.220 Thanks for tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on 00:00:11.220 --> 00:00:29.160 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:31.899 tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:37.640 Please stand by. This episode of Ham Talk Live 00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:41.179 is brought to you by Tower Electronics. For cables, 00:00:41.219 --> 00:00:47.100 connectors and more call 920 -435 -2973 or visit 00:00:47.100 --> 00:00:52.259 pl -259 .com and by the Ham Station. Get your 00:00:52.259 --> 00:00:57.960 new radio or antenna by calling 800 -729 -4373 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:36.980 or go to hamstation .com. Good evening to everyone. 00:01:37.299 --> 00:01:42.400 It's HamTalk Live episode number 66. The search 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:47.980 for Amelia Earhart with Tom Vinson, NY0V. Recorded 00:01:47.980 --> 00:01:52.700 live on Thursday, May 25th, 2017. I'm your host, 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:56.939 Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning into this 00:01:56.939 --> 00:01:59.939 episode of HamTalk Live. Tonight we're joined 00:01:59.939 --> 00:02:04.579 by Tom Vinson, NY0V, and we'll take your calls. 00:02:04.700 --> 00:02:08.340 in just a few minutes. Last week our live show 00:02:08.340 --> 00:02:12.659 was from Dayton and thanks to everybody who stopped 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:15.939 in to visit. We had some people that drove over 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:20.120 to Spring Hill Suites and visited the show and 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:23.280 so we're real thankful for those people coming 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:29.439 by. We had a great time and We had one call in 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:32.939 and we talked to a lot of the Newsline crew about 00:02:32.939 --> 00:02:36.719 their travels and some Hamvention stories. So 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:39.360 if you enjoy some good stories from Hamvention, 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:44.080 give it a listen over at HamTalkLive .com. And 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:47.560 while we were at this year's Hamvention, we had 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:51.460 a great time. Hammy the Pig, the mascot was a 00:02:51.460 --> 00:02:55.319 big hit. We've got several pictures and if you 00:02:55.319 --> 00:02:57.719 haven't sent us your pictures yet with Hammy 00:02:57.719 --> 00:03:01.659 the Pig, why send them to us. You can tweet those 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:04.699 at HamTalk Live or put them on Facebook or Instagram 00:03:04.699 --> 00:03:07.860 and hashtag HamTalk Live or you can send them 00:03:07.860 --> 00:03:11.300 to our email if you want. But we'd love to see 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:13.199 those. But we've got quite a collection going 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:16.969 over. over there on Facebook. So you'll have 00:03:16.969 --> 00:03:19.889 to check those out. But we had a great time with 00:03:19.889 --> 00:03:23.210 that and really enjoyed hanging out with a lot 00:03:23.210 --> 00:03:27.250 of the Newsline crew this year. We got most everybody 00:03:27.250 --> 00:03:31.129 over there this year and was able to hang out 00:03:31.129 --> 00:03:37.430 with them for quite a while. And my usual education 00:03:37.430 --> 00:03:40.409 forums, the youth forum and the instructors forum. 00:03:41.659 --> 00:03:45.020 I got to go to those and also got to go visit 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:49.819 the Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting once 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:54.319 again and I got to share that experience with 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:57.680 some of my news line colleagues that hadn't been 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:02.759 there before. So that was a lot of fun. And if 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:06.629 you haven't been over to YouTube yet... And I 00:04:06.629 --> 00:04:09.349 really hated to miss the the concert but the 00:04:09.349 --> 00:04:11.889 spurious emissions band we had them on the show 00:04:11.889 --> 00:04:16.269 here a few weeks ago and If you haven't been 00:04:16.269 --> 00:04:19.949 over to YouTube to watch and listen to the spurious 00:04:19.949 --> 00:04:25.069 emissions band this year Don't cry for Hera arena 00:04:25.069 --> 00:04:30.180 is absolutely fabulous. So you got to listen 00:04:30.180 --> 00:04:32.939 to that one if you don't listen to anything else. 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:37.339 Becky W1BXY did the vocals on that and she absolutely 00:04:37.339 --> 00:04:43.139 nailed it. It was an excellent performance and 00:04:43.139 --> 00:04:47.300 the lyrics were just hilarious and so check out 00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:53.269 Don't Cry For Hara Arena over on YouTube. from 00:04:53.269 --> 00:04:56.569 the spurious emissions man and also a little 00:04:56.569 --> 00:05:00.910 biased but I really liked the medley called radio 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:05.689 waves because it had my suggestion in the middle 00:05:05.689 --> 00:05:10.540 it was bow fang so you know it was the the whole 00:05:10.540 --> 00:05:14.959 wild thing thing so it was it was pretty good 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.399 it was pretty cool to hear that and sounds like 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:21.680 the guys had a blast tossing around some lyrics 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:25.800 and trying to figure out the bow fang song so 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:28.379 get over there to youtube and check it out when 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:34.019 you can we had had a great time. Now I want to 00:05:34.019 --> 00:05:38.100 mention our winner here. We've got our last DX80 00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:42.279 radio waves off center fed dipole giveaway. We 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:46.459 did one every single week leading up to Hamvention 00:05:46.459 --> 00:05:49.639 for all of our Hamvention previews and we we 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:51.779 went through all the pictures that were sent 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:56.639 in and our crack staff has picked a winner and 00:05:56.639 --> 00:06:02.069 the winner of the final radio waves dx80 off 00:06:02.069 --> 00:06:05.870 -center fed dipole that we're giving away is 00:06:05.870 --> 00:06:13.269 Patrick Malone of Arvada Colorado KT1 GGR so 00:06:13.269 --> 00:06:21.089 congratulations to KT1 GGR you've won the final 00:06:21.089 --> 00:06:25.819 dx80 from radio waves and And we'll let Emmett 00:06:25.819 --> 00:06:29.019 know about that and get that to you. So congratulations 00:06:29.019 --> 00:06:33.860 and thanks for tweeting in your picture of Hammy 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:39.000 from the Hamvention. All right, well, get your... 00:06:38.920 --> 00:06:42.620 Questions ready to go here for Tom and after 00:06:42.620 --> 00:06:46.379 we talk a little bit you can call us on the old 00:06:46.379 --> 00:06:50.680 telephone That's eight one two net ham one eight 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:54.740 one two six three eight four two six one is the 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:58.459 phone number to call into the show and Participate 00:06:58.459 --> 00:07:01.699 and you can also Skype us at ham talk live You 00:07:01.699 --> 00:07:04.920 can also send in a tweet our Twitter handle is 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:08.819 at ham talk live And so we'll come back, we'll 00:07:08.819 --> 00:07:11.279 talk to Tom for a little bit and then I'll invite 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:16.240 you to use one of those methods to chime in and 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:18.519 be a part of the show tonight. So I'll be back 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:22.000 with Tom right after this word from the ham station 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.009 right here on HamTalk Live. This episode of HamTalk 00:07:26.009 --> 00:07:29.430 Live is brought to you by The Ham Station. For 00:07:29.430 --> 00:07:32.610 over 37 years, The Ham Station has sold new and 00:07:32.610 --> 00:07:35.750 used radios, antennas, accessories, and equipment 00:07:35.750 --> 00:07:39.569 to hams everywhere. Give Dan or Jeff a call at 00:07:39.569 --> 00:07:46.089 800 -729 -4373 or order online at hamstation 00:07:46.089 --> 00:07:49.670 .com. HamStation carries all the major brands 00:07:49.670 --> 00:07:53.449 like Icom, Yezu, and Kenwood. And they have a 00:07:53.449 --> 00:07:57.269 wide selection of radio scanners, MFJ accessories, 00:07:57.589 --> 00:08:00.709 Heil sound products, amplifiers by Mirage and 00:08:00.709 --> 00:08:04.170 Ameritron, Cushcraft antennas, and more. Easy 00:08:04.170 --> 00:08:07.589 online ordering is at hamstation .com or call 00:08:07.589 --> 00:08:13.209 1 -800 -729 -4373 to place an order and talk 00:08:13.209 --> 00:08:16.290 it over with the experts. The HamStation, proud 00:08:16.290 --> 00:08:20.300 to sponsor. this episode of Ham Talk Live. The 00:08:20.300 --> 00:08:23.420 early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse 00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:26.060 gets the cheese. You're listening to Ham Talk 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:38.039 Live with Neil Rapp. Welcome back to Ham Talk 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:40.940 Live, the ham station. They've got you covered. 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:43.940 We've got new equipment, used equipment, you 00:08:43.940 --> 00:08:49.360 name it, give Dan or Jeff a call, 800 -729 -4373 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:52.039 or go to HamStation .com. Tell them you heard 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:56.100 it on HamTalk Live and we appreciate that. Tell 00:08:56.100 --> 00:09:00.039 them Neal sent you. HamTalk Live is on the air 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:03.320 every Thursday night, 9 p .m. Eastern Time, right 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:06.929 here at HamTalkLive .com. If you missed the show 00:09:06.929 --> 00:09:09.149 you can listen to the archive. It's on the website 00:09:09.149 --> 00:09:13.769 or you can download it from most popular podcasting 00:09:13.769 --> 00:09:18.070 sites. And returning as my guest this evening 00:09:18.070 --> 00:09:22.389 is Tom Vinson in Y0V. He was on the show before 00:09:22.389 --> 00:09:26.970 talking about some scouting over in Myanmar. 00:09:27.909 --> 00:09:30.970 Tom's originally from Champaign, Illinois, now 00:09:30.970 --> 00:09:33.529 lives near Rochester, Minnesota. He spent most 00:09:33.529 --> 00:09:36.850 of his career working for Collins in Cedar Rapids, 00:09:36.850 --> 00:09:40.309 Iowa as an engineer and programs manager. And 00:09:40.309 --> 00:09:44.330 he's worked over 350 DXCC entities and has an 00:09:44.330 --> 00:09:48.809 eight band DXCC award. He's now retired and enjoys 00:09:48.809 --> 00:09:53.330 chasing DX and visiting his children and grandchildren 00:09:53.330 --> 00:09:57.070 and has been involved for a long time on this 00:09:57.070 --> 00:09:59.279 search. for Amelia Earhart that we're going to 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:02.320 talk about tonight. So Tom, thanks for coming 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:05.620 on the show again. Yeah, good to hear you again 00:10:05.620 --> 00:10:11.500 there, Neil. Well, the story of Amelia Earhart 00:10:11.500 --> 00:10:16.320 is kind of had a resurgence here lately. And 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:20.950 you've kind of re reinvigorated the search again. 00:10:21.789 --> 00:10:25.509 So, uh, tell us about the search and, and some 00:10:25.509 --> 00:10:28.509 of the history of the, of the search and your 00:10:28.509 --> 00:10:31.750 role in it. And then we'll get into some of the 00:10:31.750 --> 00:10:37.289 ham radio aspects. Oh, okay. Well, uh, like I 00:10:37.289 --> 00:10:39.870 say, we've been involved in it for quite a while. 00:10:40.230 --> 00:10:42.730 Uh, there's a team of us from Rockwell Collins. 00:10:43.230 --> 00:10:47.129 where we started investigating this on the request 00:10:47.129 --> 00:10:51.529 of Nauticus Corporation out of Cape Corpus, Maine. 00:10:52.129 --> 00:10:55.929 And we started in 1999 and they asked us to look 00:10:55.929 --> 00:11:00.889 at the HF radio aspects of this as she was running 00:11:00.889 --> 00:11:07.210 on 3105 and 6210 kilohertz. And our job was to 00:11:07.210 --> 00:11:12.220 look at that and analyze the problem. and see 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:14.419 if you could tell if she's getting closer to 00:11:14.419 --> 00:11:19.059 Howland Island, her target back there in 1937, 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:23.940 or going further away or what have you. And that 00:11:23.940 --> 00:11:29.120 turned into be over 3 ,000 hour project of volunteer 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:32.840 engineering labor on the part of the engineers 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:35.419 and scientists that we pulled together, all of 00:11:35.419 --> 00:11:38.559 them hams, all of them from the Rockwell Collins 00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:41.850 Amateur Radio Club. But all of them experts in 00:11:41.850 --> 00:11:44.850 their field, a couple of them were actually engineers 00:11:44.850 --> 00:11:50.190 of the year over time. So our job was to back 00:11:50.190 --> 00:11:52.750 calculate the distance between her aircraft, 00:11:52.950 --> 00:11:56.690 her Lockheed L -10E Electra and the Coast Guard 00:11:56.690 --> 00:11:59.009 Cutter Itasca that was stationed off Howland 00:11:59.009 --> 00:12:04.009 Island waiting for her. And that was quite a 00:12:04.009 --> 00:12:07.750 project, quite a project. But anyway, after we... 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:12.659 turned in all our information to Nauticos. We 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:15.779 were invited, a couple of us, Rod Bloxham, K0DAS 00:12:15.779 --> 00:12:19.919 and myself were invited out to the first expedition 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:24.419 in 2002 where we mapped out a 2 ,000 square mile 00:12:24.419 --> 00:12:28.179 area around Howland Island, less than 100 miles 00:12:28.179 --> 00:12:32.899 from Howland. And so we went on that expedition 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:36.600 and covered about I'm trying to remember roughly 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:42.379 650 square miles or so at that point. And then 00:12:42.379 --> 00:12:45.980 in 2006 we went out again. This is all doing 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:51.360 deep water sonar. And cumulatively at that time 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:56.320 we did 1 ,350 square miles of that 2 ,000. And 00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:00.419 then now just this year we finally... Acquired 00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:02.639 the funding that we needed to go out again. This 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:05.919 is not cheap going how an island is one of the 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:10.539 most remote islands in the world out there and 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:13.899 It takes over over two million dollars each time 00:13:13.899 --> 00:13:18.559 you go out almost three and This time we had 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:20.759 instead of having a towed array system. We had 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:24.940 an autonomous underwater vehicle That was from 00:13:24.940 --> 00:13:28.620 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution where we 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:32.620 spent seven weeks out takes a week a little well 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:36.320 eight days to get down to The Helen Island search 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.200 area and then to begin searching and then to 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:44.539 pull up and then to go get back home so this 00:13:44.539 --> 00:13:48.340 this survey was a little bit different with the 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:51.480 autonomous underwater vehicle because you could 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:55.610 Send that vehicle down and it would run depending 00:13:55.610 --> 00:13:57.850 on which batteries it was, but up to about 24 00:13:57.850 --> 00:14:03.409 hours at any one time under a laid out pattern 00:14:03.409 --> 00:14:06.289 with waypoints on the bottom of the ocean at 00:14:06.289 --> 00:14:10.929 18 ,000 feet. It would come up, surface, and 00:14:10.929 --> 00:14:14.529 we would retrieve it and then take the data off 00:14:14.529 --> 00:14:18.809 of the REMIS 6000 and send that up into operations. 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:22.600 where it would be analyzed in about 45 minutes 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:25.600 to an hour by probably two of the best sonar 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:28.980 experts and analysts in the world, Tom Detweiler 00:14:28.980 --> 00:14:34.080 and Jeff Morris. And so that was really quite 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:38.740 a process. And so at the end of this survey, 00:14:39.460 --> 00:14:42.679 we had covered the original 2000 square miles 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:45.940 that we had come up with as being an 80 to an 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:50.419 85 % probability area. and came up empty -handed. 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:54.960 Now all the data, all the inputs haven't changed. 00:14:55.779 --> 00:14:58.980 Her signal was still an S5, which back then was 00:14:58.980 --> 00:15:04.659 S9 on her last transmission on 0843 in the morning, 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:09.679 TASCA standard time. So she was very strong. 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:15.019 At one point, the chief radio operator, Leo Belertz, 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:19.009 in an interview said that she was so loud that 00:15:19.009 --> 00:15:21.769 he looked outside the shack, if you will, the 00:15:21.769 --> 00:15:25.330 radio room, of the Itasca, expecting her to fly 00:15:25.330 --> 00:15:30.450 through the rigging. So that's pretty loud. Especially 00:15:30.450 --> 00:15:36.570 when you're on 3105 with a 50 watt AM transmitter, 00:15:37.789 --> 00:15:42.070 transmitting into an 11 foot piece of wire two 00:15:42.070 --> 00:15:45.190 and a half hours after sunrise. So if you put 00:15:45.190 --> 00:15:49.620 all that together, she was close so we just didn't 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:52.019 run across it we had high expectations that we 00:15:52.019 --> 00:15:55.139 were going to find her but didn't on this one 00:15:55.139 --> 00:15:58.240 and so we go back to our decision tree matrix 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:02.379 and look at the analysis that we have and look 00:16:02.379 --> 00:16:04.879 at the next highest probabilities and go on from 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:11.840 there very very interesting so let's get into 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:18.509 a little bit of how the ham radio ties into this 00:16:18.509 --> 00:16:21.490 and, and I also want to get into a little bit 00:16:21.490 --> 00:16:26.730 about, um, what you're getting out of this. Uh, 00:16:26.730 --> 00:16:29.769 I know, I know you're getting a lot out of this 00:16:29.769 --> 00:16:32.649 besides just, you know, the raw information, 00:16:32.669 --> 00:16:36.669 but it's, it's, um, uh, good information to, 00:16:36.669 --> 00:16:40.509 um, use for educational purposes and that kind 00:16:40.509 --> 00:16:43.389 of thing. But, but first let's, let's get into, 00:16:43.389 --> 00:16:49.590 to how the, the ham radio ties into this search? 00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:54.669 Okay, well I've already mentioned the history 00:16:54.669 --> 00:16:59.110 of that and all being radio amateurs and this 00:16:59.110 --> 00:17:03.190 time along we also had Brian, K -E -0 -Y -S -Q 00:17:03.190 --> 00:17:08.630 and with the expertise there with Brian and some 00:17:08.630 --> 00:17:11.269 of the other engineers from Rockwell Collins 00:17:11.269 --> 00:17:13.890 and Cedar Rapids we put together a NAS system. 00:17:14.190 --> 00:17:19.329 And a lot of the IT work was all built in, if 00:17:19.329 --> 00:17:22.269 you will, the ability to send and receive emails 00:17:22.269 --> 00:17:24.910 off the ship with our own domain and what have 00:17:24.910 --> 00:17:29.170 you. But also, the primary thing that we have 00:17:29.170 --> 00:17:32.809 always been keen on is STEM education. That's 00:17:32.809 --> 00:17:35.309 the science, technology, engineering, and math 00:17:35.309 --> 00:17:40.809 to bring young people into the sciences. And 00:17:40.809 --> 00:17:44.329 we are keen on that. And Rockwell Collins actually 00:17:44.329 --> 00:17:48.890 has been sponsoring us through CWORD. That's 00:17:48.890 --> 00:17:53.430 a non -profit organization, a 501C3 arm of Nauticos 00:17:53.430 --> 00:17:56.509 Corporation. And it's the educational arm of 00:17:56.509 --> 00:18:01.309 Nauticos. And so CWORD has been receiving grant 00:18:01.309 --> 00:18:04.309 money from Rockwell Collins. And we this time 00:18:04.309 --> 00:18:08.410 set up an expedition web portal where we're able 00:18:08.410 --> 00:18:13.680 to upload videos. and have students actually 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:16.640 see those videos and interact with those. We 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:21.140 also had an educator from NASA, Goddard, developing 00:18:21.140 --> 00:18:24.279 curriculum materials. And then we used amateur 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:28.559 radio to actually conduct live classes, just 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:33.359 like HamTalk Live, but we had live classes where 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:36.920 the students on the other end would be, we would 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:41.339 conduct interviews. Via amateur radio and so 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:45.359 we actually got on 20 meters in the morning. 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:50.059 I had a good s9 signal into Hawaii and I would 00:18:50.059 --> 00:18:55.859 be on HF talking to Gary KH6 GMP. He's out in 00:18:55.859 --> 00:19:01.079 Kona and he has echo link and he echo linked 00:19:01.079 --> 00:19:06.460 into Antietam Elementary School in Woodbridge, 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:10.359 Virginia. And the teacher there, Kathy, she is 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:15.779 KM4TAY. Now she had gone through the ARRL teacher 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:19.880 education program and she had a group of fifth 00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:22.259 grade TAG students that's talented and gifted. 00:19:23.140 --> 00:19:26.619 And what we did is we conducted a Q &A session 00:19:26.619 --> 00:19:31.480 live during the expedition. And so I would speak 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:35.400 and go over 1 ,600 miles up to Hawaii. Then Gary 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:38.549 would tap us into the echo link. uh, switch us 00:19:38.549 --> 00:19:41.089 in on audio and it would travel another, what, 00:19:41.390 --> 00:19:44.430 4 ,000 miles out to Virginia to the classroom 00:19:44.430 --> 00:19:48.450 where she had EchoLink on her, uh, smartphone. 00:19:49.190 --> 00:19:51.529 And then the kids could ask a question and it 00:19:51.529 --> 00:19:54.650 would go back the other way over EchoLink and 00:19:54.650 --> 00:19:58.150 HF and we conducted Q &A that way with the students. 00:19:58.450 --> 00:20:00.990 So it was very cool. And it worked very well 00:20:00.990 --> 00:20:03.269 because there wasn't any other propagation except 00:20:03.269 --> 00:20:06.349 to Hawaii, that north -south path in the early 00:20:06.349 --> 00:20:08.849 mornings on 20 meters. And, of course, that would 00:20:08.849 --> 00:20:14.130 be the afternoon in Virginia. So that was a lot 00:20:14.130 --> 00:20:17.950 of fun to do the STEM education in that way. 00:20:18.369 --> 00:20:23.549 And we also then contacted Kenneth Ransom in 00:20:23.549 --> 00:20:27.460 5BHO down at Johnson Space Center. and we got 00:20:27.460 --> 00:20:30.440 some orbital paths of the ISS, the International 00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:33.640 Space Station, where Commander Shane Kimbrough 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:37.220 and others, Peggy Whitson, she's been up there 00:20:37.220 --> 00:20:39.240 now for quite a while, broke a lot of records, 00:20:39.740 --> 00:20:43.339 but they were on the ISS and we had some potential 00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:46.799 orbits that we might be able to meet. They kind 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:49.539 of stood us up for the first six, but on the 00:20:49.539 --> 00:20:51.440 seventh one they came through and we were able 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:56.549 to put different crewmen. on to the microphone 00:20:56.549 --> 00:20:59.890 with the space station and then Sally Smith from 00:20:59.890 --> 00:21:02.990 NASA Goddard asked them what would be their message 00:21:02.990 --> 00:21:06.230 to students as far as pursuing STEM education 00:21:06.230 --> 00:21:10.089 and especially young women who might shy away 00:21:10.089 --> 00:21:13.009 from something like that. So that was very cool. 00:21:13.130 --> 00:21:17.369 We made two separate ISS contacts via two meters 00:21:17.369 --> 00:21:20.970 of course. And up there you have horizon to horizon, 00:21:21.049 --> 00:21:25.289 so we'd have about nine minutes full good audio, 00:21:26.029 --> 00:21:30.710 full good strength on FM, two meter FM, where 00:21:30.710 --> 00:21:33.049 we had to hand point the antenna. One of us would 00:21:33.049 --> 00:21:36.230 stand outside and aim the antenna and time it, 00:21:36.230 --> 00:21:39.109 and the other rod would be on the inside on the 00:21:39.109 --> 00:21:42.710 mic or vice versa. And that worked out really 00:21:42.710 --> 00:21:45.130 well. In fact, when I was outside on the second 00:21:45.130 --> 00:21:48.829 one, I had a handy talkie on my waist and I could 00:21:48.829 --> 00:21:51.970 hear the space station fine on the handy talkie. 00:21:52.369 --> 00:21:54.710 Of course, they're only about 220 miles away 00:21:54.710 --> 00:21:58.589 when they pass. But it worked great. It was great. 00:21:59.230 --> 00:22:03.109 Only. Only. But I mean, it was 220 miles. I could 00:22:03.109 --> 00:22:04.930 hear him playing his day. So it was very nice 00:22:04.930 --> 00:22:07.809 on that little bitty handy talkie with a rubber 00:22:07.809 --> 00:22:12.140 ducky. I was aiming a 3L McYaggy at them. And 00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:14.980 inside we had an amplifier, so we're running 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:19.019 about 150 watts. So they heard us really well. 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:24.299 Yeah, very good. Well, that's some cool stuff 00:22:24.299 --> 00:22:28.599 and inspires kids to study that kind of thing 00:22:28.599 --> 00:22:36.640 and get into it. Really a great way to... to 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:40.140 promote the science, technology, engineering, 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:45.359 and math in schools. So that's just one of the 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:49.900 big takeaways that you were able to get. And 00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:54.839 I'm sure there were some kind of more pure scientific 00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:59.099 kinds of things that you get out of that trip 00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:01.440 as well, even though you came up empty handed. 00:23:03.470 --> 00:23:08.549 Well, that's right. The things that we were seeing 00:23:08.549 --> 00:23:11.029 down there, there were a couple of man -made 00:23:11.029 --> 00:23:14.710 objects, but the geology down there, no human 00:23:14.710 --> 00:23:18.890 eyes had ever seen. And so that data is now available 00:23:18.890 --> 00:23:23.450 for a geologist to be able to study that. We 00:23:23.450 --> 00:23:28.559 saw some pretty incredible Well, we saw one big 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:30.740 landslide that was probably a thousand meters 00:23:30.740 --> 00:23:34.680 wide big landslide off the Seamount You know 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:38.359 Howland Island is basically a top of an 18 ,000 00:23:38.359 --> 00:23:42.480 foot mountain and So a lot of interesting things 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:45.839 down there and of course some calderas and things 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.880 like that ridges that are very New to everyone 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:52.960 that was on board to just see that was very very 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:58.420 interesting the One of the cool things too is 00:23:58.420 --> 00:24:01.220 Sally Smith at Goddard came up with six modules 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:06.680 that teachers can use to help use the Amelia 00:24:06.680 --> 00:24:11.240 Earhart mystery for science, technology, engineering, 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:14.759 and math, STEM education, and those were all 00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:18.319 put up also on the Expedition web portal. People 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:21.720 can go to nauticoast .com. That's N -A -U -T 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:25.809 -I -C -O -S. and there's a launch button for 00:24:25.809 --> 00:24:28.730 the expedition portal and in there there's an 00:24:28.730 --> 00:24:32.450 education button that there's videos but there's 00:24:32.450 --> 00:24:35.690 six modules for instance one would be how do 00:24:35.690 --> 00:24:39.069 you tell a geological feature from a man -made 00:24:39.069 --> 00:24:44.329 feature in sonar and you have Jeff Morris explaining 00:24:44.329 --> 00:24:48.869 that in a video and then give you they give a 00:24:48.869 --> 00:24:52.390 couple of shots some sonar pictures if you will 00:24:52.589 --> 00:24:57.529 Yeah, images is a better word and the student 00:24:57.529 --> 00:25:00.769 can look and determine if it's man -made or if 00:25:00.769 --> 00:25:03.769 it's geology. Things like that all the way down 00:25:03.769 --> 00:25:07.769 the line and so that's all now up there that 00:25:07.769 --> 00:25:12.289 was developed while we were all out on the expedition. 00:25:13.490 --> 00:25:16.390 Actually interviewing these experts and then 00:25:16.390 --> 00:25:19.779 developing curriculum around that. So we're pretty 00:25:19.779 --> 00:25:22.400 excited about it. Our vision for that website 00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:26.079 for the next expedition would be to make it interactive. 00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:30.279 It's not yet interactive. And so, again, hopefully 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:33.500 continue to get good funding from different investors 00:25:33.500 --> 00:25:36.400 and people who are interested in STEM education 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:39.799 and getting young people excited in the sciences 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:45.240 and, you know, hopefully amateur radio and use 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:49.269 that vehicle to Uh, get them all encouraged to 00:25:49.269 --> 00:25:51.670 get into, uh, maybe engineering school when they 00:25:51.670 --> 00:25:55.210 get into college. So we'll see. Yeah, that sounds 00:25:55.210 --> 00:25:59.130 great. Um, now you did mention, you know, that 00:25:59.130 --> 00:26:04.750 you've got your, uh, your solution decision, 00:26:04.869 --> 00:26:08.329 the solution tree or that's a place here in town, 00:26:08.490 --> 00:26:13.089 but yeah, but your, uh, your, your, your decision 00:26:13.089 --> 00:26:17.559 -making matrix, you know, Kind of go back and 00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:23.299 see What you're gonna do next time so what's 00:26:23.299 --> 00:26:26.799 next time looking like do you know yet? Yeah, 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:29.440 that's pretty early. We've just basically gotten 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:34.920 back and then then I went to Dayton Yeah, and 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:38.000 you discovered all kinds of things mud traffic 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:43.099 But a lot of good food and a lot of good people 00:26:43.099 --> 00:26:46.789 and a lot of good stuff Yeah, it was great, great. 00:26:47.690 --> 00:26:51.150 But yeah, we have different tools. We have a 00:26:51.150 --> 00:26:54.930 Monte Carlo simulation because we can now take, 00:26:55.349 --> 00:26:58.630 we know where she isn't, for instance, and that's 00:26:58.630 --> 00:27:01.710 good information. And we can now take our Monte 00:27:01.710 --> 00:27:05.609 Carlo simulation and add in that to know those 00:27:05.609 --> 00:27:08.650 endpoints are no longer valid, those flight paths. 00:27:09.339 --> 00:27:11.859 So we have that, we have a statistical mapping 00:27:11.859 --> 00:27:14.880 that we use where we use multiple variables from 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:18.680 the problem, radio signal analysis, the line 00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:22.519 of position, accuracy, navigation, and things 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:27.359 like that, and come up with the hot areas, if 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:31.019 you will. And then we have a decision tree matrix 00:27:31.019 --> 00:27:35.420 that looks like a tree. It's a decision tree. 00:27:35.710 --> 00:27:40.230 And we had groups of pilots and navigators go 00:27:40.230 --> 00:27:43.730 through that and determine if she had to make 00:27:43.730 --> 00:27:47.630 it at each node, at each decision point, which 00:27:47.630 --> 00:27:51.190 is the most likely case in that scenario, what 00:27:51.190 --> 00:27:54.529 decision would they make? And then we would follow 00:27:54.529 --> 00:27:58.150 that down. All endpoints on the decision tree, 00:27:58.150 --> 00:28:03.579 of course, ends up in a crash. So now you just 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:05.960 follow the, you break off the branches that don't 00:28:05.960 --> 00:28:08.240 work, because you know the way in points and 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:11.400 you go to the next ones. And you know, you have 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:13.680 different things that come into play too, like 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:17.759 pilot fatigue. She's in the air and that egg 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:21.220 beater of an aircraft for those engines on either 00:28:21.220 --> 00:28:25.279 side of her for 20 hours and 43 minutes. And 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:28.420 the effects of fatigue have been studied by the 00:28:28.420 --> 00:28:32.690 Air Force quite at large. And your rationality 00:28:32.690 --> 00:28:37.529 or decision making is hampered. Your visual acuity 00:28:37.529 --> 00:28:42.210 drops. And so where she had gray eyes, where 00:28:42.210 --> 00:28:44.930 she might have had 25 mile visual acuity, it's 00:28:44.930 --> 00:28:49.490 maybe down to 15 now. Your strength drops. You 00:28:49.490 --> 00:28:51.769 don't have as much strength, you know, to pull 00:28:51.769 --> 00:28:53.910 back on the yoke if you're out of gas and you 00:28:53.910 --> 00:28:57.210 got to trim out the aircraft and try to stall 00:28:57.210 --> 00:29:00.119 that aircraft out above the water. Things like 00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:03.880 that. So we'll be studying all that putting it 00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:07.799 back together again Analyzing our assumptions 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:09.960 that went into it and see if they're still valid 00:29:09.960 --> 00:29:13.299 or not valid and then come with a new search 00:29:13.299 --> 00:29:17.019 area and then of course raising the funds you 00:29:17.019 --> 00:29:20.819 know fundraising is tough our Expedition lead 00:29:20.819 --> 00:29:24.160 and and the investor that really promoted helped 00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:28.619 us get out there. It was Alan Eustace and Alan 00:29:29.280 --> 00:29:33.920 not only was he at Google but he is the guy that 00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:38.440 was hauled up in a spacesuit to 136 ,000 feet 00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:41.920 about a year and a half ago and then released 00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:46.220 and as he fell back free fell he broke the sound 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:49.539 barrier with his body at 826 miles an hour and 00:29:49.539 --> 00:29:52.819 then and then you know the parachute opened and 00:29:52.819 --> 00:29:56.880 he landed safely in the desert in Arizona but 00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:03.700 anyway He was our prime sponsor and so we need 00:30:03.700 --> 00:30:07.339 to find, again, more multiple investors, I would 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:12.359 hope, and get back out there and get the job 00:30:12.359 --> 00:30:15.579 done. And the sea does not give its secrets up 00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:18.740 easily. At 18 ,000 feet, that is a very tough 00:30:18.740 --> 00:30:24.640 job. Very tough job. sounds like it but sounds 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:29.599 like some interesting work and you're able to 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:32.900 do a lot with it so sounds great well we're going 00:30:32.900 --> 00:30:35.660 to take a break and we're going to give you a 00:30:35.660 --> 00:30:39.720 chance the listener to ask some questions here 00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:44.339 with Tom and find out more about the search for 00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:48.099 Amelia Earhart and It's ties to ham radio, but 00:30:48.099 --> 00:30:50.900 first we're going to hear this word from tower 00:30:50.900 --> 00:30:54.099 electronics right here on ham talk live. This 00:30:54.099 --> 00:30:56.319 episode of ham talk live is brought to you in 00:30:56.319 --> 00:30:59.490 part by tower electronics. Tower Electronics 00:30:59.490 --> 00:31:02.710 has been the Ham's Dime Store since 1978. When 00:31:02.710 --> 00:31:05.430 you need connectors, mobile and handheld antennas, 00:31:05.690 --> 00:31:08.890 cables, or adapters, visit Scott or Jill at a 00:31:08.890 --> 00:31:12.230 hamfest near you. Or you can order online at 00:31:12.230 --> 00:31:19.990 PL -259 .com or call 920 -435 -2973. Stock up 00:31:19.990 --> 00:31:23.210 on those supplies like PL -259 and end connectors, 00:31:23.650 --> 00:31:26.809 SMA adapters, audio cables, soldering supplies, 00:31:27.029 --> 00:31:29.809 mobile antennas, and hamsticks. Their silver 00:31:29.809 --> 00:31:32.710 -plated end connectors are even used on the International 00:31:32.710 --> 00:31:36.049 Space Station. Tower Electronics carries MFJ, 00:31:36.250 --> 00:31:40.390 Comet, Daiwa, OPEC, Workman, and HamPro products. 00:31:40.609 --> 00:31:44.190 And don't miss their 0 % off sale going on now. 00:31:44.349 --> 00:31:48.769 Tower Electronics online at PL -259 .com. Proud 00:31:48.769 --> 00:31:53.910 to sponsor this episode of HamTalk Live. Oh yeah, 00:31:54.230 --> 00:31:58.119 you're talking ham radio, baby. You're listening 00:31:58.119 --> 00:32:04.519 to Ham Talk Live with Neil Rapp. Join the conversation. 00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:07.980 Call us on voice with Skype at Ham Talk Live 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:12.180 or give us a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 00:32:12.180 --> 00:32:17.819 812 -638 -4261. Now here's more Ham Talk Live. 00:32:19.660 --> 00:32:22.200 Thanks to Scott and Jill at Tower Electronics 00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:24.240 for sponsoring the show tonight to help bring 00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:27.119 you HamTalk Live. And if you go to the Facebook 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:29.440 page, you can even see a picture of Jill with 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:33.519 Hammy the Pig, the HamTalk Live mascot. Hey, 00:32:33.619 --> 00:32:38.299 they're taking a week off to recover from Dayton. 00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:43.240 Boy, I wish I had a full week to recover from 00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:47.920 Dayton. I needed it. That was fun. It was great. 00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:53.680 but boy was I tired. But June 4th they're going 00:32:53.680 --> 00:32:57.680 to be in Princeton, Illinois. June 10th they'll 00:32:57.680 --> 00:33:00.960 be in Newberry, Michigan. June 18th Monroe, Michigan. 00:33:01.140 --> 00:33:04.200 And then July 8th at Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Or 00:33:04.200 --> 00:33:06.940 if you can't make any of those and if you missed 00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:12.609 them at Dayton... Call 920 -435 -2973 or visit 00:33:12.609 --> 00:33:16.950 them at pl -259 .com and tell them you heard 00:33:16.950 --> 00:33:18.990 it on HamTalk Live. And I don't know how many 00:33:18.990 --> 00:33:20.950 people told me, they said, yeah, I went over 00:33:20.950 --> 00:33:22.650 to the tower electronics booth and told them 00:33:22.650 --> 00:33:25.930 I wanted the 0 % off sale going on now. And that 00:33:25.930 --> 00:33:30.130 was good. So I appreciate you supporting them. 00:33:31.659 --> 00:33:37.579 Give them a call. 920 -435 -2973. So it's time 00:33:37.579 --> 00:33:40.460 for your calls now. If you have a question for 00:33:40.460 --> 00:33:45.519 Tom, NY0V, give us a call. 812 -NET -HAM1. That's 00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:51.440 812 -638 -4261. Or you can Skype us. Just look 00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:53.700 for HamTalk Live. You'll find us there on Skype. 00:33:54.279 --> 00:33:58.779 You can also tweet something in at HamTalk Live. 00:33:59.619 --> 00:34:06.339 So give us a call 812 -638 -4261 and ask your 00:34:06.339 --> 00:34:10.219 questions about this search for Amelia Earhart. 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:14.340 And Tommy said you were able to do some HF while 00:34:14.340 --> 00:34:19.230 you were out there. Yeah, that's right. We had 00:34:19.230 --> 00:34:22.929 two ICOM 7000 stations. One of them had an Alpha 00:34:22.929 --> 00:34:27.510 91, which was loaned to us, 91 Bravo, by Kimo, 00:34:27.630 --> 00:34:32.489 KH7U. So good kudos and thanks to Kimo on that. 00:34:34.170 --> 00:34:40.030 And so I had brought my step IR vertical out, 00:34:40.550 --> 00:34:43.130 the big IR, and we mounted that horizontally 00:34:43.130 --> 00:34:46.659 off the starboard side of the ship. about 70 00:34:46.659 --> 00:34:49.900 feet off the water. And that thing worked out 00:34:49.900 --> 00:34:55.039 like gangbusters. So I got on, usually our sunset 00:34:55.039 --> 00:34:58.639 was the best if I wasn't working Gary up in the 00:34:58.639 --> 00:35:02.940 mornings on 20 meters. But get on our sunset 00:35:02.940 --> 00:35:07.920 and I was really working the world. About that 00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:09.840 time of night, it's gray line over in Eastern 00:35:09.840 --> 00:35:12.519 Europe. So I was able to work into Eastern Europe. 00:35:12.840 --> 00:35:17.309 So I worked like 50 DXCC countries. and over 00:35:17.309 --> 00:35:20.429 500 and some people. So I've got a special QSL 00:35:20.429 --> 00:35:24.250 card for those who worked us and from the expedition 00:35:24.250 --> 00:35:27.329 and got those printed now and just arrived. So 00:35:27.329 --> 00:35:29.670 I'll be good. I've got my work cut out for me 00:35:29.670 --> 00:35:33.530 there. I've got more work to do. Yeah, more work 00:35:33.530 --> 00:35:38.510 to do. But some of the best contacts, XX9 in 00:35:38.510 --> 00:35:42.150 Macau, nine in seven Nepal. And our antipode 00:35:42.150 --> 00:35:47.110 was over by the 9G5X guys over there in the Atlantic, 00:35:47.769 --> 00:35:51.469 ZD7V5, pretty close to the antipode when you're 00:35:51.469 --> 00:35:55.090 over just north of the equator and east of the 00:35:55.090 --> 00:36:00.050 dateline. So that was a lot of fun. I worked 00:36:00.050 --> 00:36:03.909 KH9, Wake Island, and there was a gentleman there. 00:36:04.329 --> 00:36:08.670 I think it was WW6RS portable RG portable KH9. 00:36:08.730 --> 00:36:15.369 He was running five watts of sideband. So I don't 00:36:15.369 --> 00:36:17.429 know how many he worked out there, but I don't 00:36:17.429 --> 00:36:21.130 think there were a lot. So that was pretty cool. 00:36:22.150 --> 00:36:28.190 Yeah, that's a good time to do that. And the 00:36:28.190 --> 00:36:33.150 stepper out there, that's fabulous. So that's 00:36:33.150 --> 00:36:36.539 a good deal. Yeah, we mounted horizontally because 00:36:36.539 --> 00:36:40.659 the ship has a GM DSS HF system and on the port 00:36:40.659 --> 00:36:43.880 side they have a porcupine set of verticals there 00:36:43.880 --> 00:36:46.699 sticking up off what we call the monkey deck 00:36:46.699 --> 00:36:50.519 and my station was up on the port side of the 00:36:50.519 --> 00:36:54.679 bridge up 70 feet in the air and so we mounted 00:36:54.679 --> 00:36:59.320 the vertical horizontally and it worked fine 00:36:59.320 --> 00:37:02.940 out there really good. The only problem was as 00:37:02.940 --> 00:37:05.619 the ship inclines back and forth there were some 00:37:05.619 --> 00:37:08.219 times that we rocked when we're up at the end 00:37:08.219 --> 00:37:12.559 of the pendulum 70 feet up it would go over 20 00:37:12.559 --> 00:37:16.699 25 degrees and of course then the distance from 00:37:16.699 --> 00:37:19.679 the HF antenna off the surface of the water varied 00:37:19.679 --> 00:37:25.019 from 70 feet to 50 feet to 90 feet the tips of 00:37:25.019 --> 00:37:29.340 it you know so the SWR would vary and we had 00:37:29.340 --> 00:37:33.650 put some radials on it for 40 meters to get it 00:37:33.650 --> 00:37:36.489 to resonate better, and those radials would go 00:37:36.489 --> 00:37:40.550 away from the ship when it was leaning to the 00:37:40.550 --> 00:37:42.809 starboard, and then it would come in on the port 00:37:42.809 --> 00:37:45.789 side, leaning port, and it would come in, and 00:37:45.789 --> 00:37:48.190 we had arcs going against the railings of the 00:37:48.190 --> 00:37:52.010 ship from the radial. From the high impedance 00:37:52.010 --> 00:37:56.690 points, they would just arc right over. So anyway, 00:37:57.050 --> 00:38:00.079 had a lot of fun. Fun with it. Ran quite a bit 00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:03.820 of CW. I like CW and so I would get on it when 00:38:03.820 --> 00:38:06.579 the Terminator, the Great Alliance coming across 00:38:06.579 --> 00:38:08.980 the states, which would be like one o 'clock 00:38:08.980 --> 00:38:11.619 in the morning, which wasn't always fun to get 00:38:11.619 --> 00:38:14.139 up and do that, but it was fun working the guys 00:38:14.139 --> 00:38:18.960 back in the states and running 40 CW. And I would 00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:23.199 usually be up around 7027. You wouldn't believe 00:38:23.199 --> 00:38:28.130 all the junk that's below 7025 out there. And 00:38:28.130 --> 00:38:30.809 so really, the clearest frequency was up above. 00:38:31.510 --> 00:38:34.929 And so I'd get up there and then work back into 00:38:34.929 --> 00:38:37.869 stateside. And some signals really just booming 00:38:37.869 --> 00:38:42.070 in, 10 over 9, 20 over 9 on some mornings on 00:38:42.070 --> 00:38:46.110 that gray line path. So that was great. And then, 00:38:46.170 --> 00:38:48.110 of course, the gray line at night going up into 00:38:48.110 --> 00:38:51.610 Europe and going north up over the poles. It's 00:38:51.610 --> 00:38:53.449 almost straight over the poles, so it's a very 00:38:53.449 --> 00:38:56.940 difficult path. They're working into Eastern 00:38:56.940 --> 00:38:59.739 Europe Western Europe was already in daylight 00:38:59.739 --> 00:39:04.840 too far. So I didn't hear any of the French or 00:39:04.840 --> 00:39:08.780 English Stations, you know the UK or any of those 00:39:08.780 --> 00:39:13.760 that for our West or their West It looks like 00:39:13.760 --> 00:39:17.440 East to me on the map. It's that far over the 00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:20.820 Sun was Already too high in the sky to work those 00:39:20.820 --> 00:39:26.780 guys at our sunset 812 net ham one is the phone 00:39:26.780 --> 00:39:29.239 number eight one two six three eight four two 00:39:29.239 --> 00:39:34.079 six one if you have something to contribute give 00:39:34.079 --> 00:39:39.440 us a call and Tom we knew this was gonna happen 00:39:39.440 --> 00:39:45.019 our good friend dr. Scott right k0md has been 00:39:45.019 --> 00:39:48.000 tweeting tonight we're gonna have to get him 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:52.380 to get him to call but he's saying these things 00:39:52.380 --> 00:39:56.739 like That the whole secret to it was was that 00:39:56.739 --> 00:40:01.800 it was an icon that you were using And he also 00:40:01.800 --> 00:40:06.780 says here that he worked to you during on CW 00:40:06.780 --> 00:40:11.699 during a pretty big solar eruption and and said 00:40:11.699 --> 00:40:16.679 He's like three three nine No, no five nine for 00:40:16.679 --> 00:40:20.239 that. I give you a five nine for that had me 00:40:20.710 --> 00:40:23.889 Well, the first time on the mornings it was really 00:40:23.889 --> 00:40:29.949 strong and we did have a solar event, CME, but 00:40:29.949 --> 00:40:33.210 Scott has a nice station over there. He's running 00:40:33.210 --> 00:40:38.070 a kilowatt and two elements up like 120 feet 00:40:38.070 --> 00:40:40.949 or 110 feet or something, but it's up there. 00:40:41.710 --> 00:40:45.130 He gave me a five zero nine and I've never had 00:40:45.130 --> 00:40:47.809 a five zero nine in my life You know where you 00:40:47.809 --> 00:40:50.909 can you can hear but there's no signal strength 00:40:50.909 --> 00:40:56.449 whatsoever You know, you're not moving the meter 00:40:56.449 --> 00:41:03.710 so yeah We wait that icon I was using that I 00:41:03.710 --> 00:41:06.909 borrowed the icon 7 ,000 from Scott. So that's 00:41:06.909 --> 00:41:11.559 why you say He's got the big ones at home. He's 00:41:11.559 --> 00:41:18.440 got the 7 ,800 and 7 ,851 I think. Anyway, so 00:41:18.440 --> 00:41:21.340 we worked each other a couple of times out there 00:41:21.340 --> 00:41:25.239 and it was good to be able to hear him. The first 00:41:25.239 --> 00:41:27.159 time he was blasting in and then the next time 00:41:27.159 --> 00:41:29.960 it was like, whoa, where'd he go? Just because 00:41:29.960 --> 00:41:32.920 of CME. The solar conditions have been pretty 00:41:32.920 --> 00:41:36.639 poor. Anybody that's been on HF lately knows 00:41:36.639 --> 00:41:40.989 how poor the conditions have been. They have 00:41:40.989 --> 00:41:46.690 been that. I can tell you they have been. So 00:41:46.690 --> 00:41:49.469 if you can get through there and get a five zero 00:41:49.469 --> 00:41:54.110 nine, I think I'll take it. Yeah. Theoretically, 00:41:54.190 --> 00:41:57.110 that means you're not hearing them. So theoretically, 00:41:57.449 --> 00:42:03.769 right? If you go by the list. Yeah, there was 00:42:03.769 --> 00:42:07.650 some awesome signals out of the states and I 00:42:07.650 --> 00:42:10.210 was on 17 meters one day where it was popcorn 00:42:10.210 --> 00:42:13.349 propagation where one minute it might be Maine 00:42:13.349 --> 00:42:15.469 and the next minute it'd be Texas and the next 00:42:15.469 --> 00:42:19.789 minute it'd be North Dakota and, you know, propagation 00:42:19.789 --> 00:42:22.949 was just bouncing all over the states and the 00:42:22.949 --> 00:42:25.449 cluster was showing that, you know, hey, there's 00:42:25.449 --> 00:42:28.030 an opening on 17 meters. Well, yeah, but it was 00:42:28.030 --> 00:42:33.400 only a spot propagation day. who knows where 00:42:33.400 --> 00:42:36.079 it was going to go at any one time was anybody's 00:42:36.079 --> 00:42:39.019 guess. So very interesting, especially out when 00:42:39.019 --> 00:42:40.900 you're out in the middle of nowhere like that. 00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:44.159 But that salt water really helps. I'm sure it 00:42:44.159 --> 00:42:46.079 helped my signal and of course the amplifier 00:42:46.079 --> 00:42:49.719 that I had. So being over that high conductivity 00:42:49.719 --> 00:42:53.380 salt water was the way, really nice way to go. 00:42:54.219 --> 00:42:58.349 Yeah and Scott also mentions the The number one 00:42:58.349 --> 00:43:00.909 thing, and we talked about this at contest university 00:43:00.909 --> 00:43:04.269 last week. The number one thing was, uh, that 00:43:04.269 --> 00:43:08.610 you're a really good CW ops. So that always makes 00:43:08.610 --> 00:43:13.070 a difference too. Well, I love CW. It's a lot 00:43:13.070 --> 00:43:16.429 of fun and it's a great skill to, uh, for everybody 00:43:16.429 --> 00:43:19.769 to have, I think. But, uh, anyway, it's fun to 00:43:19.769 --> 00:43:22.409 use it out there and, uh, it's fun to be on the 00:43:22.409 --> 00:43:24.289 expedition. I look forward to the expedition 00:43:24.289 --> 00:43:27.559 for. It's still the greatest unsolved mystery 00:43:27.559 --> 00:43:32.519 of the 20th century and Hopefully will be out 00:43:32.519 --> 00:43:36.119 again to get this thing done and get it solved 00:43:36.119 --> 00:43:41.539 We just get the you asked what what do you get 00:43:41.539 --> 00:43:45.619 out of it? Well, it's a quest. It's a quest and 00:43:45.619 --> 00:43:47.860 to help solve one of the greatest mysteries of 00:43:47.860 --> 00:43:51.179 the 20th century That's that's fine with me. 00:43:51.280 --> 00:43:54.460 That's fine with me And that's where we're going 00:43:54.460 --> 00:43:57.099 to leave it tonight. Tom, thanks for coming on 00:43:57.099 --> 00:44:01.039 the show. And that is a wrap for this week's 00:44:01.039 --> 00:44:03.659 edition of HamTalk Live. So thanks to Tom Vinson, 00:44:04.119 --> 00:44:07.840 NYZeroV and everyone out there listening and 00:44:07.840 --> 00:44:10.400 calling in and tweeting and invite you back next 00:44:10.400 --> 00:44:14.480 Thursday night, 9 p .m. Eastern time. Jerry Rosilius 00:44:14.480 --> 00:44:17.539 WB9Z is going to be on the show to talk about 00:44:17.539 --> 00:44:21.119 his recent induction into the CQDX Hall of Fame. 00:44:22.349 --> 00:44:24.550 Also coming up soon, Michael Coulter is going 00:44:24.550 --> 00:44:28.090 to be back from Dara to kind of recap Hamvention 00:44:28.090 --> 00:44:31.789 and talk a little bit about what changes they 00:44:31.789 --> 00:44:34.349 are thinking about making for next year. So that'll 00:44:34.349 --> 00:44:37.070 be coming up soon. And also Bryant, a 13 year 00:44:37.070 --> 00:44:40.219 old CW op. is going to be on. We're going to 00:44:40.219 --> 00:44:42.739 tell you his story, so make sure you tune in 00:44:42.739 --> 00:44:45.820 at HamTalkLive .com. But for now, this is Neil 00:44:45.820 --> 00:44:51.039 Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7375, and may the good DX 00:44:51.039 --> 00:44:52.219 be yours.