WEBVTT 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:12.560 Thanks for tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:30.500 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:30.500 --> 00:00:33.259 tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:51.719 Please stand by. Thanks for tuning in. HamTalk 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:54.140 Live will be on the air shortly. Please stand 00:00:54.140 --> 00:00:58.140 by. This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:01.500 you by Tower Electronics. For cables, connectors 00:01:01.500 --> 00:01:08.620 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:01:08.620 --> 00:01:12.659 .com and by the HamStation. Get your new radio 00:01:12.659 --> 00:01:18.719 or antenna by calling 800 -729 -4373 or go to 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:53.799 hamstation .com. Good evening, everyone. It's 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:56.819 time for another edition of HamTalk Live. It's 00:01:56.819 --> 00:02:02.180 episode number 41. ARRL retired COO and key collector, 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:06.700 Harold Kramer, WJ1B recorded live on Thursday, 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:11.300 December 1st, 2016. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:15.360 WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning into this episode of 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:18.860 HamTalk Live. Tonight, we'll be joined by Harold 00:02:18.860 --> 00:02:22.990 Kramer, WJ1B. and we'll take your calls live 00:02:22.990 --> 00:02:26.310 in just a few minutes. Last week was Thanksgiving 00:02:26.310 --> 00:02:29.909 so we took the week off to give thanks and two 00:02:29.909 --> 00:02:33.990 weeks ago we were honored by the presence of 00:02:33.990 --> 00:02:38.129 Last Man Standing producer John Amadeo in N6JA 00:02:38.129 --> 00:02:41.509 who was here to talk about Ham Radio on the set 00:02:41.509 --> 00:02:44.009 of Last Man Standing so if you missed that show 00:02:44.009 --> 00:02:48.129 you can listen anytime at HamTalkLive .com Or 00:02:48.129 --> 00:02:50.469 you can download it from iTunes, Stitcher, Google 00:02:50.469 --> 00:02:53.789 Play, TuneIn, SoundCloud, or you can listen on 00:02:53.789 --> 00:02:56.729 YouTube, as well as all the other episodes. Get 00:02:56.729 --> 00:02:59.050 your questions ready to go for Harold. After 00:02:59.050 --> 00:03:01.789 the interview you can call us on Skype. That 00:03:01.789 --> 00:03:04.370 username is HamTalkLive or you can call us by 00:03:04.370 --> 00:03:07.430 telephone. That's probably the easiest way. That's 00:03:07.430 --> 00:03:11.550 812 -NET -HAM -1. Again, the phone number 812 00:03:11.550 --> 00:03:17.270 -638 -4261. You can also tweet your questions 00:03:17.270 --> 00:03:21.490 to us. Our Twitter handle is at HamTalkLive. 00:03:21.569 --> 00:03:25.069 So I'll be back. with Harold Kramer, WJ1B, right 00:03:25.069 --> 00:03:27.930 after this word from Tower Electronics right 00:03:27.930 --> 00:03:30.949 here on HamTalk Live. This episode of HamTalk 00:03:30.949 --> 00:03:33.990 Live is brought to you in part by Tower Electronics. 00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:36.639 Tower Electronics has been the Ham's Dime Store 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:40.020 since 1978. When you need connectors, mobile 00:03:40.020 --> 00:03:43.300 and handheld antennas, cables or adapters, visit 00:03:43.300 --> 00:03:46.860 Scott or Jill at a HamFest near you. 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Hey we'd like to thank Scott and Jill at 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:54.240 Tower Electronics for sponsoring the show tonight. 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:57.259 to help bring you HamTalk Live. They'll be at 00:04:57.259 --> 00:05:01.300 the Ocala Florida HamFest this weekend and next 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:05.660 weekend they'll be in Tampa or you can call 920 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:12.360 -435 -2973 or visit their website at pl -259 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:16.319 .com and be sure to mention HamTalk Live. HamTalk 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:19.399 Live is on the air every Thursday night at 9 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:22.699 p .m. Eastern Time right here on HamTalkLive 00:05:22.699 --> 00:05:25.519 .com And if you missed the show, you can listen 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:28.399 to the archive on the website or download it 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:33.389 from most popular podcasting websites. Our guest 00:05:33.389 --> 00:05:37.629 tonight is Harold Kramer, WJ1B. He's been a amateur 00:05:37.629 --> 00:05:42.350 radio operator since 1962. He's the retired chief 00:05:42.350 --> 00:05:46.410 operating officer of the ARRL. Prior to working 00:05:46.410 --> 00:05:49.949 at the ARRL, he was in the cable television and 00:05:49.949 --> 00:05:53.170 broadcast industries, including some time in 00:05:53.170 --> 00:05:56.910 Connecticut Public Radio. He was hired as chief 00:05:56.910 --> 00:05:59.589 operating officer of the American Radio Relay 00:05:59.589 --> 00:06:03.889 League and the publisher of QST. and QEX magazines 00:06:03.889 --> 00:06:09.670 in February of 2005. Harold retired as the COO 00:06:09.670 --> 00:06:14.490 in March of 2016. He is now a contributing editor 00:06:14.490 --> 00:06:19.110 for QST Magazine. Harold holds an amateur extra 00:06:19.110 --> 00:06:23.269 class license and a general radio telephone license, 00:06:23.550 --> 00:06:27.170 and he is an official emergency station, a volunteer 00:06:27.170 --> 00:06:31.290 examiner, a life member of ARRL, and a past emergency 00:06:31.290 --> 00:06:35.730 coordinator. He has also been an adjunct faculty 00:06:35.730 --> 00:06:38.240 member at the University of Hartford and other 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:41.779 local colleges teaching communications and electronics. 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:43.939 He's also involved in local government in the 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:46.819 city where he resides, Cheshire, Connecticut, 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:50.379 and he holds an AAS from the University of Hartford 00:06:50.379 --> 00:06:53.660 and a BA and an MA from the University of Connecticut. 00:06:54.300 --> 00:07:00.839 Usually operates CW, PSK 31 and 63. Ready JT65 00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:05.360 or JT9. And he has quite an impressive collection 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:09.379 of telegraph keys and other telegraphic apparatus. 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:13.319 So Harold, thank you and welcome to HamTalk Live. 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:17.139 Oh, thanks, Neil. Thanks for inviting me. Well, 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:23.610 in your 11 years as the COO of ARRL, What are 00:07:23.610 --> 00:07:26.209 some of the highlights of some of those things 00:07:26.209 --> 00:07:29.589 that you accomplished that you wanted to see 00:07:29.589 --> 00:07:33.550 happen at the league? Well, I think one of the 00:07:33.550 --> 00:07:37.089 things I'm really proud of is that I really increased 00:07:37.089 --> 00:07:39.569 the emphasis and involvement on public service 00:07:39.569 --> 00:07:42.149 and emergency communications. You know, as you 00:07:42.149 --> 00:07:45.910 said in my intro there, I was an EC here in Connecticut 00:07:45.910 --> 00:07:50.449 and public service was always my thing in amateur 00:07:50.449 --> 00:07:54.560 radio. So help start things with the staff like 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:57.480 the Ares e -letter that wasn't there until I 00:07:57.480 --> 00:08:01.259 got there. So now we have a source of electronic 00:08:01.259 --> 00:08:03.939 newsletter, things like Ham Aid, which former 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:06.680 chief development officer Mary Hobart helped 00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:10.459 start right around Katrina's, which gives equipment 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:13.040 to people who lose their equipment in disasters. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:16.459 And we ship that stuff all over the world. And 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:18.980 we now I'm going to use the pronoun we because 00:08:18.980 --> 00:08:22.250 it gets a little tough. Sure. I'm used to using 00:08:22.250 --> 00:08:26.269 it for 11 years. It's a team effort. Yep. And 00:08:26.269 --> 00:08:29.449 the ARL has now, when I started, didn't really 00:08:29.449 --> 00:08:31.990 have any full -time emergency management people, 00:08:31.990 --> 00:08:34.149 but now it has two full -time staff members. 00:08:34.889 --> 00:08:36.889 It has really improved the relationship with 00:08:36.889 --> 00:08:42.049 many of the served agencies. I think also, it 00:08:42.049 --> 00:08:44.730 was kind of a bumpy start in 2011, I think it 00:08:44.730 --> 00:08:48.639 was. helped get a new website up for the ARL. 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:50.519 The old website was getting pretty long in a 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:53.419 tooth and ironically this one is now six years 00:08:53.419 --> 00:08:55.399 old so that's it's getting a little long in a 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:58.279 tooth but it was a tough job to get that new 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:02.799 website up there. I remember that was that was 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:06.720 quite the quite the ordeal to get all that all 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:11.139 that done and and keep it all formatted and consistent 00:09:11.139 --> 00:09:15.460 and yeah yeah it was a big deal. Maybe almost 00:09:15.460 --> 00:09:21.700 200 embedded databases. Yeah Of course the 2014 00:09:21.700 --> 00:09:24.720 centennial year was a real highlight, you know 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:28.419 with the Centennial Convention in Hartford To 00:09:28.419 --> 00:09:31.500 hear guys like Craig Fugate speak, you know the 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:35.320 head of FEMA and Joe Taylor That was a really 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:37.659 amazing event and it was the first time the ARL 00:09:37.659 --> 00:09:40.700 put on a national convention of its own Since 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:45.500 I believe the 30s So that was a pretty amazing 00:09:45.500 --> 00:09:49.080 effort. And the Centennial QSO party, which made 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:52.379 over a million QSOs and involved every single 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:54.620 ARL member, was worth a point, if you remember. 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:57.460 I used to like that. I was worth, I think, 140 00:09:57.460 --> 00:10:00.200 points or something. Yeah, you got the bonus. 00:10:00.820 --> 00:10:05.559 Yeah, that was great. Helping the education department, 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:11.159 building that up a bit, you know, Eris contacts. 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:14.549 I went out to a couple of those. pretty amazing 00:10:14.549 --> 00:10:19.210 to see and working with instructors. I think 00:10:19.210 --> 00:10:22.009 with the great staff of the ARL really worked 00:10:22.009 --> 00:10:25.230 to improve the quality of our publications and 00:10:25.230 --> 00:10:28.950 our content. I had worked in TV and radio for 00:10:28.950 --> 00:10:31.450 many years, so I had a background in content 00:10:31.450 --> 00:10:33.990 production and had some really good people at 00:10:33.990 --> 00:10:36.909 the ARL. So I think I would list as one of my 00:10:36.909 --> 00:10:40.289 accomplishments is improving the quality of the 00:10:40.289 --> 00:10:44.039 books and getting many of the books Online is 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:49.220 Kindle editions, which Every month I was there 00:10:49.220 --> 00:10:53.259 would continue to to sell even more Kindle editions 00:10:53.259 --> 00:10:55.820 of the ARL books And I think more of them need 00:10:55.820 --> 00:10:57.960 to be in electronic form. I mean, that's the 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:00.980 way the world is going Yeah, it's it's always 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:04.139 going somewhere is you know, it hops from one 00:11:04.139 --> 00:11:07.879 technology to the next so right? Yeah, that's 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:11.779 that's a that's a big deal. And you know, I was 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:15.919 just thinking back, um, yesterday, I think it 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:20.220 was that there was this thing called call book. 00:11:20.659 --> 00:11:24.039 Oh yeah. If you want to look somebody up, you 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:26.539 didn't just, you know, hop on the internet and 00:11:26.539 --> 00:11:30.279 go to, you know, QRZ or whatever, and, and, and 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:35.240 look it up. Yeah. get out this big phone book 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:39.000 and look it up and hope that they hadn't moved 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:43.919 since the last year you bought one and how much 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:48.019 that's changed. Oh yeah. Well, you mentioned 00:11:48.019 --> 00:11:49.759 phone books. We don't use those anymore either. 00:11:49.940 --> 00:11:54.519 Yeah, exactly. In line with that, I think I'd 00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:58.860 say the digital edition of QST was one of the 00:11:58.860 --> 00:12:01.919 things I helped accomplish with the staff. And 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:05.399 that was not an easy thing to do either. Figuring 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:07.940 out what the business model would be and which 00:12:07.940 --> 00:12:10.320 vendor to use and how it's going to be distributed 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:13.500 and what extra content would be added. You know, 00:12:13.500 --> 00:12:15.820 it has a couple of videos every month in it now, 00:12:15.899 --> 00:12:18.279 usually by the lab guys talking about the new 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:24.019 products. So that was a pretty big leap. Other 00:12:24.019 --> 00:12:27.440 things that come to mind is improvements in the 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:29.980 lab. You know, we were talking about Rob Sherwood 00:12:29.980 --> 00:12:33.799 earlier, but with Ed Hare and Bob Allison and 00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:38.320 Zach Lau and Mike Gruber, I think during my time, 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:42.600 we really improved the lab. The type of test 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:46.779 equipment was all upgraded, and particularly 00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:50.659 being able to evaluate some of the newer rigs. 00:12:50.659 --> 00:12:52.960 You know, they were getting beyond the measurement 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:56.740 of the test equipment that existed. So I would 00:12:56.740 --> 00:13:00.309 list that. is something that Ed Hare, who's still 00:13:00.309 --> 00:13:04.289 the lab manager, W1RFI, working with him, we 00:13:04.289 --> 00:13:06.710 really, and the board, who had to allocate the 00:13:06.710 --> 00:13:10.210 money to do it, really improved the, and Bob 00:13:10.210 --> 00:13:13.070 Allison, who's the test engineer, really improved 00:13:13.070 --> 00:13:16.889 the capabilities of the lab. And also, I would 00:13:16.889 --> 00:13:22.029 put down the physical building of W1AW needed 00:13:22.029 --> 00:13:24.610 a lot of work when I was there. And working with 00:13:24.610 --> 00:13:27.649 Joe Karschia, Did a lot of that and by physical 00:13:27.649 --> 00:13:29.889 I mean things like the roof, you know, just like 00:13:29.889 --> 00:13:32.350 any other building Yeah, you know, it's not a 00:13:32.350 --> 00:13:35.929 monument the roof had to be done Things like 00:13:35.929 --> 00:13:39.950 the windows the sidewalks the heat systems lots 00:13:39.950 --> 00:13:42.830 of things got improved at w1aw over the last 00:13:42.830 --> 00:13:46.250 ten years and and not just antennas and rigs 00:13:46.250 --> 00:13:52.149 but the building itself And I think I would list 00:13:52.149 --> 00:13:55.909 the strategic plan the new strategic plan that 00:13:55.909 --> 00:13:59.009 I worked on the last year with a board committee. 00:13:59.629 --> 00:14:01.830 I think it's a pretty solid effort. It's available 00:14:01.830 --> 00:14:06.009 for anybody to see out on the website. And I 00:14:06.009 --> 00:14:08.610 think working through that and trying to determine 00:14:08.610 --> 00:14:10.909 what the ARL is going to be doing the next five 00:14:10.909 --> 00:14:14.549 years and a little further out than that, having 00:14:14.549 --> 00:14:16.350 the privilege to work with some of the guys on 00:14:16.350 --> 00:14:18.470 that committee, like Jim Fenstermaker, who's 00:14:18.470 --> 00:14:23.580 now a VP of the ARRL, and Greg Wyden. who is 00:14:23.580 --> 00:14:26.539 now a VP of the ARL. It was an amazing effort. 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:32.159 We started out by having a company, Redex, a 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:34.600 third party do a survey of the membership to 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:39.220 determine what their thinking was and kind of 00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:42.419 based a lot of our effort on that. So I think 00:14:42.419 --> 00:14:45.039 I'd list those things. One more personal thing 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:48.960 that I wouldn't list in print or anything, but 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:52.539 I enjoyed doing it. I think I licensed up I taught 00:14:52.539 --> 00:14:55.600 license courses in the building. So I think I 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:59.340 probably licensed 15 to 20 people. Sure. With 00:14:59.340 --> 00:15:02.799 tech or general licenses. And that was very rewarding 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:06.059 things to do. And I felt it was important for 00:15:06.059 --> 00:15:08.679 staff members, to be honest, even if they never 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:12.299 went on the air, but to go through the process 00:15:12.299 --> 00:15:16.879 of learning about amateur radio, taking the exam. 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:20.000 dealing with VEs, getting a license and a call 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:23.200 sign so that when they spoke to members or did 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:25.720 other things they had gone through the process 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:28.580 themselves and understood what it was involved 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:30.440 and how proud you feel when you finally get that 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:33.919 call sign. So that's kind of where I'm coming 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:38.679 from. Sure absolutely and you know I was so so 00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:41.399 fortunate to uh to come out there for a week 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:45.080 and in the Teachers Institute and and got a glimpse 00:15:45.080 --> 00:15:49.360 at that lab and went over to W1AW every day on 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:54.460 lunch and saw a lot of those upgrades and those 00:15:54.460 --> 00:16:03.659 were very, very well done and just amazed. at 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:11.860 those upgrades. So good job. That was one of 00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:16.480 the highlights. I've always said that I've never 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:18.720 been to a professional development better than 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:23.419 that one and the opportunity to do that out in 00:16:23.419 --> 00:16:27.019 Newington at headquarters and get to go over 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:32.460 on lunch and get on W1AW and show some of these 00:16:32.460 --> 00:16:37.200 other teachers how it's done. We had two or three 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:39.539 of those teachers become hams by the end of the 00:16:39.539 --> 00:16:43.419 week and they took their test right there and 00:16:43.419 --> 00:16:46.879 ran upstairs and filed it and got their call 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:51.000 sign. So this is a great way to get into ham 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:54.179 radio. for them. Yeah, those TIs as we call them, 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:57.480 you know, part of that education that I mentioned. 00:16:58.139 --> 00:16:59.720 We have some great instructors. I don't know 00:16:59.720 --> 00:17:01.700 who your instructor was, so we had some great 00:17:01.700 --> 00:17:05.339 instructors. Deborah Johnson, K1 DMJ, runs that 00:17:05.339 --> 00:17:07.380 program for the ARL and she really developed 00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:10.640 a good core of instructors. And they do between 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:13.579 two and four a year of a teacher's institute. 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:17.380 If people don't know what they are, they train 00:17:17.380 --> 00:17:21.569 teachers in Not just ham radio and not primarily 00:17:21.569 --> 00:17:24.009 ham radio because you've been through it pretty 00:17:24.009 --> 00:17:27.609 much electronics Fundamentals digital technology 00:17:27.609 --> 00:17:30.829 a little bit of robotics And then a little bit 00:17:30.829 --> 00:17:33.789 of ham radio thrown in there. So I think those 00:17:33.789 --> 00:17:35.890 are pretty good programs You know, I also was 00:17:35.890 --> 00:17:38.450 thinking about it here. One of the other things 00:17:38.450 --> 00:17:42.710 I think I'm proud of is just a business thing 00:17:42.710 --> 00:17:46.210 in that I really worked with Dave Patton and 00:17:46.210 --> 00:17:51.440 n1n and Sharon over at the Awards Department 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:57.180 to improve the ARAL's award processing and participation. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:06.319 DXCC WAS applications are now flowing much better 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:10.740 than when I started. So that took a lot of work 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:13.099 to get right. People used to wait a long time, 00:18:13.099 --> 00:18:16.769 but pretty much changed a lot of the process. 00:18:17.069 --> 00:18:20.430 Now you can submit DXCC cards through the website 00:18:20.430 --> 00:18:24.390 online. Of course Logbook of the World, when 00:18:24.390 --> 00:18:28.670 I started, I think had 25 ,000 users. Now it's 00:18:28.670 --> 00:18:33.309 up over 90 ,000 users. So a lot of stuff in 11 00:18:33.309 --> 00:18:35.769 years. And certainly I didn't do it all. Like 00:18:35.769 --> 00:18:38.609 I said, I had a great team at the ARL. Really 00:18:38.609 --> 00:18:42.700 outstanding group of very dedicated people. Yeah, 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:45.799 well Mark Spencer was my instructor for that 00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:50.220 he he built the whole thing and yes He did a 00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:53.799 fabulous job. Well, I do want to before time 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:57.000 gets away Too much further do want to switch 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.940 over to your key collection for a little bit 00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:03.759 So tell us about some of your prized keys and 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:07.259 which one is is your favorite and and Let's talk 00:19:07.259 --> 00:19:10.200 about the keys for a few minutes here. Okay You 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:12.640 know, one time I was at a company presentation 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:14.720 and somebody was introducing me and they said 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:16.480 I was a key collector and people thought I meant 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:18.900 the kind of keys that went into locks. Yeah. 00:19:19.779 --> 00:19:23.579 Well, I have car keys. I have door keys. Yeah. 00:19:23.579 --> 00:19:25.700 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I just say, no, no, it's telegraph 00:19:25.700 --> 00:19:33.539 keys. Well, anyway, I think I like a lot of the 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:37.940 keys that I have. I like the ones best that really 00:19:37.940 --> 00:19:41.549 tell the story about Who owned the key or the 00:19:41.549 --> 00:19:44.329 history of the key that his collectors say have 00:19:44.329 --> 00:19:46.589 some kind of provenance You know, there's a story 00:19:46.589 --> 00:19:50.630 associated with it I think those are the those 00:19:50.630 --> 00:19:53.009 are the kind I like to collect the most and I've 00:19:53.009 --> 00:19:56.230 really Got a good collection of and I'm never 00:19:56.230 --> 00:19:58.650 sure how he pronounces. It's either McElroy or 00:19:58.650 --> 00:20:06.619 McElroy. I've heard both But he Ted McElroy was, 00:20:06.900 --> 00:20:09.660 at one time, Bill is the world's fastest telegrapher. 00:20:10.099 --> 00:20:11.940 They used to have contests, like at the World's 00:20:11.940 --> 00:20:14.200 Fair and stuff. This guy could copy, I think, 00:20:14.339 --> 00:20:18.200 like 90 words a minute on a mill. Wow. Amazing. 00:20:18.299 --> 00:20:20.839 And he started a company. He made beautiful keys. 00:20:22.299 --> 00:20:26.519 Tear -shaped stream keys, they're called. And 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:32.119 beautiful bugs. And they, so I have a lot of 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:34.079 those that I've collected through the years that 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:39.660 I've found. They kind of tie in with the other 00:20:39.660 --> 00:20:41.839 part of my collection that I like, which are 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:45.059 keys from New England. Actually, all of McElroy 00:20:45.059 --> 00:20:48.599 keys were built around the Boston area, so they're 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:51.599 all kind of New England keys. And I have a couple 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:55.559 from Connecticut. At one time, Connecticut and 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:57.039 where I'm from in Waterbury used to be called 00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:00.650 the brass city of the world. Lots of metal was 00:21:00.650 --> 00:21:02.690 made in Connecticut and worked in Connecticut. 00:21:02.690 --> 00:21:04.849 We had the skilled craftsmen and we had the water 00:21:04.849 --> 00:21:08.690 power to do it so there were lots of shops that 00:21:08.690 --> 00:21:13.269 made metal things and One of them was in clocks 00:21:13.269 --> 00:21:15.650 One of them was called the New Haven clock company 00:21:15.650 --> 00:21:17.769 and I have one of their telegraph keys, which 00:21:17.769 --> 00:21:20.490 is kind of rare I just kept watching looking 00:21:20.490 --> 00:21:22.890 for one and I finally found one so I like that 00:21:22.890 --> 00:21:26.210 and then in the town next door to me Meriden, 00:21:26.569 --> 00:21:28.109 Connecticut, there was a company called the Connecticut 00:21:28.109 --> 00:21:33.650 Telephone and Telegraph Company that made toy 00:21:33.650 --> 00:21:35.730 keys and practice keys. They're on my website 00:21:35.730 --> 00:21:39.170 and I've managed to find a couple of those through 00:21:39.170 --> 00:21:43.089 the years, which is pretty cool to have these 00:21:43.089 --> 00:21:48.670 fairly elaborate toy keys that were made by that 00:21:48.670 --> 00:21:52.069 company that's right next door to me. There's 00:21:52.069 --> 00:21:56.759 also some Toy keys that I like as well and I 00:21:56.759 --> 00:21:59.259 wrote a QST article on my toy keys I got a pretty 00:21:59.259 --> 00:22:01.799 good response to it Some of these are from like 00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:04.420 the Boy Scouts and some of them are from they're 00:22:04.420 --> 00:22:06.799 sort of toy and practice keys I have a couple 00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:10.180 from Russia one of my boss actually two of my 00:22:10.180 --> 00:22:12.640 boss Dave Sumner brought back when in one of 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:15.200 his trips to Eastern Europe and They're little 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:17.839 wooden base keys with little cheap metal things 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:20.920 little plastic handles on them that they used 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:23.380 to train the equivalent of the Russian Boy Scouts 00:22:24.129 --> 00:22:27.509 So those are kind of cool. And I have a toy practice 00:22:27.509 --> 00:22:30.650 key from A .C. Gilbert, which is also a New Haven 00:22:30.650 --> 00:22:32.710 company here in Connecticut, or was a New Haven 00:22:32.710 --> 00:22:35.809 company. And people know A .C. Gilbert company 00:22:35.809 --> 00:22:39.789 from Erector Sets, you know. Most boys had Erector 00:22:39.789 --> 00:22:41.529 Sets when we grew up, or at least those of us 00:22:41.529 --> 00:22:42.849 who were interested in those kind of things. 00:22:42.910 --> 00:22:46.349 Sure, sure. So that's kind of the way I've focused 00:22:46.349 --> 00:22:51.490 it. You know, the McElroy Keys and Keyswood stories. 00:22:51.630 --> 00:22:55.299 I have a little... Naval key Navy key, you know, 00:22:55.299 --> 00:22:57.619 it's a made for the US Navy and it just does 00:22:57.619 --> 00:23:02.680 very innocuous looking straight key and The guy 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:05.099 I bought it from sent me this whole story about 00:23:05.099 --> 00:23:07.220 it was his father's key in World War two and 00:23:07.220 --> 00:23:09.619 he was in Hawaii and then when they Moved into 00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:11.500 Japan. He took the key with him there and he 00:23:11.500 --> 00:23:13.900 worked in intelligence, you know, and it's so 00:23:13.900 --> 00:23:16.039 very innocuous looking device But it's got quite 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:19.390 a little history to it Sure. And the one we posted 00:23:19.390 --> 00:23:24.869 on Twitter and Facebook was one that was a clothespin, 00:23:24.890 --> 00:23:29.049 pretty much. Oh, yes. That was a gift that's 00:23:29.049 --> 00:23:32.329 called a wild witty key. I didn't see that. I'll 00:23:32.329 --> 00:23:36.390 have to take a look at that. But those were hand 00:23:36.390 --> 00:23:39.369 -built by Dave Ingram. Dave wrote two or three 00:23:39.369 --> 00:23:43.009 books about telegraph keys, maybe more. And I 00:23:43.009 --> 00:23:46.549 met Dave, actually, in Huntsville. Because he 00:23:46.549 --> 00:23:50.150 was from the Huntsville area and you know, I 00:23:50.150 --> 00:23:52.170 had read all his books and I had him here on 00:23:52.170 --> 00:23:56.549 the shelf and We had a really great conversation 00:23:56.549 --> 00:23:58.910 and we kept in touch for many years, you know 00:23:58.910 --> 00:24:01.970 Dave passed away a few years ago We kept in touch 00:24:01.970 --> 00:24:06.269 for many years via email and he gave his friends 00:24:06.269 --> 00:24:09.410 as he said these wild woody keys and They were 00:24:09.410 --> 00:24:12.190 made from a clothespin. That's kind of an unusual 00:24:12.190 --> 00:24:16.680 usual key. I have some other Unusual keys are 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:19.640 one -of -a -kind keys, which I really like Jerry 00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:23.599 McGregor kd5jh e it's on my website too. It's 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:25.799 like a wooden base with like almost like a hacksaw 00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:30.900 blade for the for the lever and a like a knob 00:24:30.900 --> 00:24:34.720 you buy in a hardware store for your bureau so 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:39.019 that one's pretty cool and I have It's not rare 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:41.779 Kent engineers makes a replica of the first key 00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:46.720 made by Alfred Vale And a army scissors key which 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:50.980 looks like a scissors. So there's no end Well, 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:55.220 maybe now but there was no end to the even now 00:24:55.220 --> 00:24:58.059 people make custom keys to the inventiveness 00:24:58.059 --> 00:25:01.279 of people who make Telegraph keys, which are 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:04.400 really just single pole Single throw switches 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:07.539 or if you use a paddle to single pole double 00:25:07.539 --> 00:25:11.950 throw switch But there's really some very ingenious, 00:25:12.210 --> 00:25:15.390 and in some cases, very beautiful designs. Day 00:25:15.390 --> 00:25:18.809 to day, here at my home station, I use a Begali 00:25:18.809 --> 00:25:21.950 Simplex key, which is a dual lever paddle, which 00:25:21.950 --> 00:25:26.470 is a great key. And I have another station, a 00:25:26.470 --> 00:25:28.490 smaller station up at my mother -in -law's house, 00:25:28.690 --> 00:25:31.509 which is about 40 miles from here, and there 00:25:31.509 --> 00:25:33.990 I have a Bencher BY1 paddle that I use every 00:25:33.990 --> 00:25:39.220 day. So, ah. I started this, I had collected 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:41.299 them before I worked for the league, kind of 00:25:41.299 --> 00:25:44.579 on and off on a casual basis. But then when you 00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:48.900 go to a lot of hamfests, they're small and they're 00:25:48.900 --> 00:25:53.940 cheap. Rather than hauling back a receiver or 00:25:53.940 --> 00:25:56.980 a transceiver from Iowa or something or Colorado 00:25:56.980 --> 00:26:00.480 back to Connecticut. In my suitcase, I sort of 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:02.319 got in the habit of looking around for keys at 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:04.859 the flea markets and that's how I've accumulated 00:26:04.859 --> 00:26:07.500 most of them, to tell you the truth. TSA doesn't 00:26:07.500 --> 00:26:12.559 know what they are sometimes. Yeah, like a gossip 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:16.720 problem. Yeah, they're easily explained. All 00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:18.759 right. Well, we do need to take a break here, 00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:21.680 but we're going to talk about some of your telegraph 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:24.519 equipment besides the keys and, and we're going 00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:27.940 to take some calls when we come back. So, uh, 00:26:27.940 --> 00:26:31.000 we'll be back here in just a moment after this 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:33.559 message from the ham station right here on ham 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:36.579 talk live. This episode of ham talk live is brought 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:40.680 to you by the ham station for over 37 years. 00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:43.339 The ham station has sold new and used radios, 00:26:43.480 --> 00:26:46.259 antennas, accessories, and equipment. to Ham's 00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:51.220 everywhere. Give Dan or Jeff a call at 800 -729 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:57.920 -4373 or order online at HamStation .com. HamStation 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:01.299 carries all the major brands like Icom, Yezu 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:04.539 and Kenwood and they have a wide selection of 00:27:04.539 --> 00:27:08.559 radio scanners, MFJ accessories, Heil sound products, 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:12.079 amplifiers by Mirage and Ameritron, Cushcraft 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:15.329 antennas and more. Easy online ordering is at 00:27:15.329 --> 00:27:21.750 hamstation .com or call 1 -800 -729 -4373 to 00:27:21.750 --> 00:27:24.430 place an order and talk it over with the experts. 00:27:24.589 --> 00:27:27.569 The Ham Station, proud to sponsor this episode 00:27:27.569 --> 00:27:32.809 of Ham Talk Live. Oh yeah. You're talking ham 00:27:32.809 --> 00:27:37.470 radio, baby. You're listening to Ham Talk Live 00:27:37.470 --> 00:27:42.890 with Neil Rapp. Join the conversation. Call us 00:27:42.890 --> 00:27:46.190 on voice with Skype at HamTalk Live or give us 00:27:46.190 --> 00:27:52.930 a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 -638 -4261. 00:27:53.190 --> 00:27:57.109 Now, here's more HamTalk Live. Welcome back to 00:27:57.109 --> 00:27:59.430 HamTalk Live. The Ham Station has you covered 00:27:59.430 --> 00:28:01.690 for both new and used equipment. Give Dan or 00:28:01.690 --> 00:28:07.430 Jeff a call at 800 -729 -4373. or go to HamStation 00:28:07.430 --> 00:28:09.990 .com and tell them you heard it on HamTalk Live. 00:28:10.589 --> 00:28:13.069 And be sure to listen here at HamTalk Live every 00:28:13.069 --> 00:28:16.509 Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern Time. At HamTalkLive 00:28:16.509 --> 00:28:19.210 .com also check out our Facebook page and Twitter 00:28:19.210 --> 00:28:23.150 feed. Just search for HamTalk Live. Well, it's 00:28:23.150 --> 00:28:25.269 time for your calls now. If you have a question 00:28:25.269 --> 00:28:29.289 for Harold Kramer, WJ1B, give us a call. The 00:28:29.289 --> 00:28:33.430 phone number is 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 00:28:33.430 --> 00:28:37.839 -638 -4212. 261 we will start taking calls here 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:41.240 in just a minute You can also Skype us at ham 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:45.200 talk live or you can tweet If you'd rather type 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:49.539 than call you can tweet us at ham talk live So 00:28:49.539 --> 00:28:52.279 let us know but I do want to pick up Harold with 00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:54.480 one thing we wanted to do before the break and 00:28:54.480 --> 00:28:58.220 that's You have some telegraph equipment besides 00:28:58.750 --> 00:29:01.069 key. So tell us a little bit about that while 00:29:01.069 --> 00:29:03.869 we're taking some calls here. Well, you know, 00:29:04.190 --> 00:29:07.509 before there was electronic telegraphy, when 00:29:07.509 --> 00:29:11.069 oscillators were invented, there was landline 00:29:11.069 --> 00:29:13.789 telegraphy that was pretty much electromechanical. 00:29:15.329 --> 00:29:19.289 So I have a bunch of devices called sounders, 00:29:19.809 --> 00:29:22.990 which are really the current goes in, there's 00:29:22.990 --> 00:29:25.589 a couple as a magnet, it then pulls on the lever. 00:29:25.809 --> 00:29:27.750 Oh, I should I should have brought one over here 00:29:27.750 --> 00:29:35.630 so you can hear what it sounds like. Live demo 00:29:35.630 --> 00:29:38.769 here. Let's see if you can hear this. And your 00:29:38.769 --> 00:29:45.630 statics back. Better now? Yeah, I think you got 00:29:45.630 --> 00:29:50.509 it now. OK. Can you hear that? Yeah. That's what 00:29:50.509 --> 00:29:55.849 a sounder sounds like. Originally, telegraphy 00:29:55.980 --> 00:30:01.079 the sounders punched a paper tape, and a long 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:04.420 strip would be a dit, a dah, and a short little 00:30:04.420 --> 00:30:08.119 bit on the paper tape would be a dit in the office, 00:30:08.180 --> 00:30:10.200 and then they pulled off the tape and transcribed 00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:12.099 the message. But after a while, they were able 00:30:12.099 --> 00:30:17.180 to hear this and copy it by ear, and they eliminated 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:21.269 the paper tape. But I got a bunch of sounders. 00:30:21.269 --> 00:30:23.390 They all have magnetic coils. They have a little 00:30:23.390 --> 00:30:26.349 bar that pulls down Some are vertical some are 00:30:26.349 --> 00:30:28.670 horizontal. Like I said earlier a lot of them 00:30:28.670 --> 00:30:32.390 have a story People will tell me when my father 00:30:32.390 --> 00:30:34.869 worked in the telephone office telegraph office 00:30:34.869 --> 00:30:38.630 or my grandfather and this was his sounder The 00:30:38.630 --> 00:30:40.930 first one I got was from my wife's uncle Jake 00:30:40.930 --> 00:30:43.789 who worked on the railroad he was a postal guy 00:30:43.789 --> 00:30:46.569 on the railroad in Springfield, Massachusetts 00:30:46.569 --> 00:30:51.200 and That was the first sounder that I was given. 00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:53.819 I had never had any before. So sounders were 00:30:53.819 --> 00:30:57.799 part of the electromechanical era of telegraphy. 00:30:57.980 --> 00:30:59.920 In each office, Adam, if you ever see an old 00:30:59.920 --> 00:31:01.900 movie or something that's authentic, you hear 00:31:01.900 --> 00:31:03.599 a lot of sounders in the background going click, 00:31:03.660 --> 00:31:08.420 click, click, click, click. The other things 00:31:08.420 --> 00:31:12.390 that I have for electro. Non electronic telegraphy. 00:31:12.390 --> 00:31:15.269 I have a bunch of ko B's which are called key 00:31:15.269 --> 00:31:18.369 on board which is a board with a sounder and 00:31:18.369 --> 00:31:22.289 a Telegraph key that was used either for practice 00:31:22.289 --> 00:31:26.329 or some Telegraphers carried them around like 00:31:26.329 --> 00:31:28.589 mechanics carry around their toolboxes today 00:31:28.589 --> 00:31:30.690 And when they showed up in an office They just 00:31:30.690 --> 00:31:32.390 plug it in and they had their own sounder and 00:31:32.390 --> 00:31:35.349 their own key and they're all on wooden boards 00:31:35.349 --> 00:31:37.990 Some of them are really nicely finished and stuff. 00:31:38.509 --> 00:31:41.109 So that was kind of a different Different era 00:31:41.109 --> 00:31:43.470 and then I have a bunch of other stuff. I've 00:31:43.470 --> 00:31:46.829 just sort of bumped into through the years What 00:31:46.829 --> 00:31:49.609 I have a Western Union mechanical call box. I 00:31:49.609 --> 00:31:51.490 don't know if you've ever heard of that, but 00:31:51.490 --> 00:31:54.990 it's it's on my website and it's a box Where 00:31:54.990 --> 00:31:56.990 it was mounted on the wall of a business and 00:31:56.990 --> 00:31:59.910 you turn the handle and it would wind back like 00:31:59.910 --> 00:32:02.970 a little clock But it would send a number a specific 00:32:02.970 --> 00:32:05.269 number of pulses back to the telegraph office 00:32:06.259 --> 00:32:08.759 And they'd look up where the numbers were from 00:32:08.759 --> 00:32:10.500 and a messenger would be sent to your business 00:32:10.500 --> 00:32:14.680 to pick up your telegraph to send. Also have 00:32:14.680 --> 00:32:20.599 a number of buttons and pins. Telegraphy before 00:32:20.599 --> 00:32:24.640 radio really was a startling technology. It was 00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:29.380 the internet of its day. Before telegraphy existed, 00:32:29.980 --> 00:32:32.960 the fastest you can move data was probably a 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:38.690 horse. And then a locomotive, you know, but telegraphy 00:32:38.690 --> 00:32:40.650 electricity moves pretty much at the speed of 00:32:40.650 --> 00:32:45.069 light and All of a sudden the world was connected 00:32:45.069 --> 00:32:48.329 together under sea cables and lots of other things 00:32:48.329 --> 00:32:51.549 happen So to me, it's always been an amazing 00:32:51.549 --> 00:32:54.710 technology to kind of study and learn about and 00:32:54.710 --> 00:32:57.329 acquire some of these devices Which are actually 00:32:57.329 --> 00:32:59.289 pretty cheap to acquire unless you're into some 00:32:59.289 --> 00:33:04.529 really esoteric stuff so it really was a technology 00:33:04.529 --> 00:33:08.250 like the internet that changed the world. So 00:33:08.250 --> 00:33:13.109 that's what some of the other... Stuff I've accumulated 00:33:13.109 --> 00:33:15.730 through the years. Yeah, very good. Well, give 00:33:15.730 --> 00:33:19.250 us a call now It's eight one two Nat Ham one 00:33:19.250 --> 00:33:21.710 eight one two six three eight four two six one 00:33:21.710 --> 00:33:24.349 Give us a call right now and we'll get you on 00:33:24.349 --> 00:33:27.109 the air and you can ask your question or if you've 00:33:27.109 --> 00:33:30.890 got a comment about a Key or whatever for Harold. 00:33:30.890 --> 00:33:33.569 Why give us a call again. It's eight one two 00:33:33.569 --> 00:33:38.009 Nat Ham one or Skype us at ham talk live and 00:33:38.009 --> 00:33:40.410 we've mentioned your website a couple of times 00:33:40.859 --> 00:33:43.700 Let's go ahead and give the address for that. 00:33:44.059 --> 00:33:47.799 So you do have several of your keys up there 00:33:47.799 --> 00:33:55.720 on the website. www .wj1b .com. Okay, so wj1b 00:33:55.720 --> 00:34:00.940 .com. I get a lot of people asking me. Yeah, 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:03.339 thank you. I get a lot of people contacting me 00:34:03.339 --> 00:34:05.099 through the website. There's a contact form there 00:34:05.099 --> 00:34:10.099 asking me to identify keys or value keys. Probably 00:34:10.099 --> 00:34:13.000 get a couple increase a week off that website 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:16.000 with questions, you know People send me a picture 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:18.639 of a sounder and say what is this? You know, 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:22.539 I found it in the attic You know, they've googled 00:34:22.539 --> 00:34:28.000 it so Gotten I've also acquired some pieces that 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:30.099 way people say, you know, I found this or I had 00:34:30.099 --> 00:34:34.800 this and are you willing to buy it? So a few 00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:37.019 people are looking at the website, I guess if 00:34:37.019 --> 00:34:40.980 you Google keys, it comes up somewhere in the 00:34:40.980 --> 00:34:45.619 list I guess. Sure. You've got some great pictures 00:34:45.619 --> 00:34:50.000 up there. So give us a call 812 -NATAM -1 812 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:55.300 -638 -4261 if you have a key question or anything 00:34:55.300 --> 00:35:02.400 about Harold's operations and his... Passed it 00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:05.519 at the league why give us a call eight one two 00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:07.920 net ham one eight one two six three eight four 00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:12.380 two six one or you can Tweet us at ham talk live 00:35:12.380 --> 00:35:16.679 While you're while we're waiting for some calls 00:35:16.679 --> 00:35:21.639 here I asked you about your favorite key, and 00:35:21.639 --> 00:35:26.179 you said you're using the The bagala is that 00:35:26.179 --> 00:35:30.280 is that your favorite? It's my favorite to use 00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:36.019 yes So what's your favorite to own? I have a 00:35:36.019 --> 00:35:41.900 beautiful McElroy 300 stream key that's chrome 00:35:41.900 --> 00:35:45.960 which is really a beautiful key in my opinion 00:35:45.960 --> 00:35:48.440 so that's my favorite one I have a picture of 00:35:48.440 --> 00:35:53.260 me holding it on my QSL card and it's really 00:35:53.260 --> 00:35:56.199 a nice looking key but you know real telegraphers 00:35:56.199 --> 00:35:59.579 don't like chrome keys because of the reflection 00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:03.539 That's why a lot of keys are black Because if 00:36:03.539 --> 00:36:06.960 you're sitting in a office all day and the Sun 00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:09.760 hits the chrome it supposedly, you know can get 00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:13.099 in your eyes and distract you So there are an 00:36:13.099 --> 00:36:16.639 awful lot more gray and black keys than there 00:36:16.639 --> 00:36:20.019 are chrome So I only have two or three chrome 00:36:20.019 --> 00:36:23.920 keys in my collection But that McElroy is a really 00:36:23.920 --> 00:36:27.429 nice little key All the way around I've never 00:36:27.429 --> 00:36:29.590 used it on the air I guess I should try it on 00:36:29.590 --> 00:36:31.309 the air one day if I could remember how to send 00:36:31.309 --> 00:36:34.349 with a straight key I'm so used to using a paddle 00:36:34.349 --> 00:36:37.110 An iambic paddle that I'd have to remember how 00:36:37.110 --> 00:36:40.289 to do it, you know The other the other will take 00:36:40.289 --> 00:36:43.449 some getting used to and those bugs the bugs. 00:36:43.650 --> 00:36:46.329 Oh, yeah That's an adjustment period on those 00:36:46.329 --> 00:36:49.690 things. Yeah I've never been able to send well 00:36:49.690 --> 00:36:52.409 with a bug, you know, I'm so used to using I've 00:36:52.409 --> 00:36:55.320 used a paddle for so many years And I've got 00:36:55.320 --> 00:36:57.420 a bunch of keyers here in the collection that 00:36:57.420 --> 00:36:59.960 I've acquired. Again, mostly at Hamfest, people 00:36:59.960 --> 00:37:03.519 saw them for 20 bucks, 10 bucks, you know, older 00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:08.400 keyers. You couldn't really have a paddle. I 00:37:08.400 --> 00:37:11.500 saw the one that I used for a long time, the 00:37:11.500 --> 00:37:14.739 old Heath kit. Yeah. The old Heath kit keyer. 00:37:15.059 --> 00:37:17.380 Yeah. Yeah. You couldn't really have a keyer 00:37:17.380 --> 00:37:19.840 until someone invented the, you couldn't really 00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:21.820 use a paddle until someone invented the electronic 00:37:21.820 --> 00:37:25.440 keyer. I've heard different Stories about who 00:37:25.440 --> 00:37:27.679 the first one did how our crafters had a very 00:37:27.679 --> 00:37:30.719 early one Just think now. It's one chip in doing 00:37:30.719 --> 00:37:34.599 in every transceiver, right? You don't need it 00:37:34.599 --> 00:37:36.280 Pretty easy to do these days. You don't need 00:37:36.280 --> 00:37:39.440 a big box with a power supply in a bunch of tubes 00:37:39.440 --> 00:37:43.579 in a multi vibrator circuit Quite a change in 00:37:43.579 --> 00:37:50.469 technology Well, what are some things, switching 00:37:50.469 --> 00:37:53.789 over back to the league for a minute, what are 00:37:53.789 --> 00:37:58.849 some things that you're hoping to see happen 00:37:58.849 --> 00:38:02.530 in the next few years, now that you've left, 00:38:02.690 --> 00:38:06.130 but maybe you got started on and handed it off, 00:38:06.690 --> 00:38:10.969 what are some things that you hope to see go 00:38:10.969 --> 00:38:15.500 on or continue over at the league? Okay, well 00:38:15.500 --> 00:38:17.300 some of the things I started that I'd like to 00:38:17.300 --> 00:38:22.019 see continue or expand I'd like to see more social 00:38:22.019 --> 00:38:24.940 media usage. I think that's the future. I think 00:38:24.940 --> 00:38:28.340 that's where I Used to say young people are but 00:38:28.340 --> 00:38:30.360 I'm not so sure I think it's across the spectrum 00:38:30.360 --> 00:38:35.099 now, you know But they have a very good Facebook 00:38:35.099 --> 00:38:38.340 page That was started when I was there Sean cut's 00:38:38.340 --> 00:38:42.539 go kx9x runs that now any keeps expanding and 00:38:42.539 --> 00:38:44.699 expanding. But I'd like to see even more. They 00:38:44.699 --> 00:38:49.159 just started a podcast, probably do more podcasts. 00:38:50.039 --> 00:38:53.760 And I'd like to see some more online courses, 00:38:54.119 --> 00:38:57.500 which were started stumbling along for a while 00:38:57.500 --> 00:39:00.980 because they're so difficult to do. But we used 00:39:00.980 --> 00:39:05.400 to have an online technician course. And one 00:39:05.400 --> 00:39:07.159 of the things I was trying to work on before 00:39:07.159 --> 00:39:09.260 I left was getting another one back up and running. 00:39:09.500 --> 00:39:11.820 That was a pretty popular course, but when the 00:39:11.820 --> 00:39:15.820 question pool changed, it became obsolete. So 00:39:15.820 --> 00:39:17.820 that's one area I'd like to work on. The other 00:39:17.820 --> 00:39:20.480 one is we talked about a little bit earlier, 00:39:20.840 --> 00:39:23.639 the more digital publications. You know, why 00:39:23.639 --> 00:39:26.159 isn't there some kind of digital version of the 00:39:26.159 --> 00:39:28.500 handbook? You know, maybe it's three or four 00:39:28.500 --> 00:39:31.380 blue books, but right now you've got to buy that 00:39:31.380 --> 00:39:33.940 big heavy book and it's got so much information 00:39:33.940 --> 00:39:39.099 in it. But digital books and Leak publishes QEX 00:39:39.099 --> 00:39:43.840 and NCJ as periodicals. To me, QEX would be great 00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:47.340 in digital. You could add a lot more stuff to 00:39:47.340 --> 00:39:53.079 it, schematics and software programming and all 00:39:53.079 --> 00:39:55.539 kinds of things. The business model has to be 00:39:55.539 --> 00:39:58.619 figured out and the technology, and I didn't 00:39:58.619 --> 00:40:00.440 think it was there when I left, but I think it's 00:40:00.440 --> 00:40:05.659 gonna get there. Very good, yeah. Oh, I've got 00:40:05.659 --> 00:40:11.920 a call. We got a call here. All right. We have 00:40:11.920 --> 00:40:15.679 a call. It is Marty Salloway. Mr. Chicken with 00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:18.739 fries. Good evening, Marty. Good evening, Neil. 00:40:19.940 --> 00:40:22.940 Yeah. What's what's your question here for Harold? 00:40:23.739 --> 00:40:25.699 Yeah, I've been listening to the conversation 00:40:25.699 --> 00:40:28.059 all evening and it's been absolutely terrific. 00:40:28.460 --> 00:40:31.039 And I just had actually have a lot of questions, 00:40:31.059 --> 00:40:34.159 but I'll keep it too short ones here. And I guess 00:40:34.159 --> 00:40:38.440 what I wanted to really ask was This is purely 00:40:38.440 --> 00:40:42.219 opinion, but I wanted your opinion on the way 00:40:42.219 --> 00:40:46.119 in which licensing is regulated in the U .S. 00:40:47.199 --> 00:40:49.840 I'm intrigued, by the way, how other countries 00:40:49.840 --> 00:40:54.639 have created things like the foundation license 00:40:54.639 --> 00:40:58.320 and other more simple licenses than what the 00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:02.199 U .S. has that allows low -power HF licensing, 00:41:02.440 --> 00:41:07.369 etc. What you think as far as the way in which 00:41:07.369 --> 00:41:09.929 we are licensed in the US compared to other countries? 00:41:10.349 --> 00:41:12.750 How effective do you think that is? Are we doing 00:41:12.750 --> 00:41:17.269 it right? Hmm, that's a question and on top of 00:41:17.269 --> 00:41:22.210 that I can give you two minutes. Oh boy That's 00:41:22.210 --> 00:41:26.849 a hard question to answer I Don't think our license 00:41:26.849 --> 00:41:30.989 classes are are optimized now. I think the technician 00:41:30.989 --> 00:41:34.619 license is not a good entry license You know, 00:41:34.619 --> 00:41:38.079 you really just get a little bit of HF. You get 00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:41.860 some VHF, some UHF. You can do public service. 00:41:43.199 --> 00:41:47.039 I don't think it's great. I'm not sure more HF 00:41:47.039 --> 00:41:50.280 is the answer. I mean, right now with the technician 00:41:50.280 --> 00:41:52.280 license, you can run a lot of power on two meters, 00:41:52.300 --> 00:41:57.179 but you can't do 25 watt JT65 or PSK31 very easily. 00:41:58.420 --> 00:42:03.530 So, you know, I'm not... Really sure where it's 00:42:03.530 --> 00:42:05.889 gonna go. I know the aro board right before I 00:42:05.889 --> 00:42:08.650 left put together. There are a committee to study 00:42:08.650 --> 00:42:11.889 that so Some they'd probably appreciate some 00:42:11.889 --> 00:42:15.630 input. I don't think there's an easy answer To 00:42:15.630 --> 00:42:18.590 that question. I know Australia has that foundation 00:42:18.590 --> 00:42:21.409 license that you mentioned and I don't know if 00:42:21.409 --> 00:42:24.710 it's been all that successful I know some countries 00:42:24.710 --> 00:42:27.489 have more stringent a lot more stringent requirements 00:42:27.489 --> 00:42:31.539 than we do they require people to actually Get 00:42:31.539 --> 00:42:35.820 on the air or part have a certain amount of participation 00:42:35.820 --> 00:42:40.199 and activity before they can upgrade So I don't 00:42:40.199 --> 00:42:41.880 have a good answer to that, but I don't think 00:42:41.880 --> 00:42:46.239 it's a hundred percent right quite yet Yeah, 00:42:46.500 --> 00:42:48.920 yeah, I think that that's terrific and I'm interested 00:42:48.920 --> 00:42:51.800 to see as far as I think you hit the nail on 00:42:51.800 --> 00:42:53.219 the head and I know we're running out of time 00:42:53.219 --> 00:42:55.780 here, but I'm just Intrigued to see where it 00:42:55.780 --> 00:42:58.119 goes and I think you raise a very good point 00:42:58.119 --> 00:43:01.639 as far as the way in which kind of the licenses 00:43:01.639 --> 00:43:05.539 as much information as they may have, how little 00:43:05.539 --> 00:43:09.619 they actually apply to what we do in ham radio, 00:43:09.639 --> 00:43:12.159 actually. And the other thing I wanted your opinion 00:43:12.159 --> 00:43:15.559 on is you kind of briefly hinted at it. You can't 00:43:15.559 --> 00:43:19.579 run 25 watts on JT65 with a technician license 00:43:19.579 --> 00:43:23.139 on 20 meters, but it's completely legal to run 00:43:23.139 --> 00:43:26.400 1500 watts on 10 gigahertz. I find that mildly 00:43:26.400 --> 00:43:29.079 concerning. Yeah, it doesn't quite make sense, 00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:32.929 does it? No, thank you. I think that technician 00:43:32.929 --> 00:43:36.570 license was put in when those upper bands were 00:43:36.570 --> 00:43:40.570 not considered as worth as much and before digital 00:43:40.570 --> 00:43:44.730 modes existed. So I think the whole thing needs 00:43:44.730 --> 00:43:47.949 a good looking hat, you know? And I know they 00:43:47.949 --> 00:43:49.769 put, right when I was leaving, they put together 00:43:49.769 --> 00:43:51.769 that board committee at the last board meeting 00:43:51.769 --> 00:43:55.369 I attended. Tom Frenet, the New England director, 00:43:55.969 --> 00:43:59.010 put a motion in. K1KI, yep. Yeah, the study. 00:43:59.260 --> 00:44:02.420 the whole situation. I'm going to have to, I'm 00:44:02.420 --> 00:44:04.659 going to have to end it there, Errol, but thank 00:44:04.659 --> 00:44:07.320 you. And Marty, thank you for calling in and, 00:44:07.320 --> 00:44:09.980 uh, and a shout out to the phasing line podcast. 00:44:10.039 --> 00:44:13.409 Episode two just came out. So. So check out Marty 00:44:13.409 --> 00:44:17.309 on that. And that's a wrap for this week's edition 00:44:17.309 --> 00:44:19.349 of HamTalk Live. I'd like to thank my guest, 00:44:19.469 --> 00:44:22.650 Harold Kramer, WJ1B, and everyone out there for 00:44:22.650 --> 00:44:25.010 listening and calling in, and invite you back 00:44:25.010 --> 00:44:27.530 next Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern time when 00:44:27.530 --> 00:44:31.170 Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, will be here to talk about 00:44:31.170 --> 00:44:34.210 MCOM and the Hurricane WatchNet. For a list of 00:44:34.210 --> 00:44:36.469 all of our upcoming guests, visit hamtalklive 00:44:36.469 --> 00:44:40.289 .com. So for now, this is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, 00:44:40.389 --> 00:44:45.119 saying 7 -3. 7 -5 and may the good DX be yours!