WEBVTT 00:00:11.630 --> 00:00:14.369 Thanks for tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on 00:00:14.369 --> 00:00:32.310 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:32.310 --> 00:00:35.049 tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:35.350 --> 00:01:15.269 Please stand by. It's ha - Good evening to everyone. 00:01:15.430 --> 00:01:18.709 This is HamTalk Live episode number eight. The 00:01:18.709 --> 00:01:22.450 Palmara The Expedition with Craig Thompson K9CT 00:01:22.450 --> 00:01:27.450 recorded live on Thursday, April 7th, 2016. I'm 00:01:27.450 --> 00:01:30.950 your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning 00:01:30.950 --> 00:01:34.609 in to this episode of HamTalk Live. Tonight on 00:01:34.609 --> 00:01:37.390 the show, Craig Thompson K9CT will be here to 00:01:37.390 --> 00:01:40.819 talk about co -leading the recent Palmyra Atold 00:01:40.819 --> 00:01:45.140 the Expedition K5P will take your calls live 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:48.319 in just a few minutes. Last week on the Big Show, 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:51.359 Rosalie White, K1STO was here to talk about taking 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:54.519 amateur radio into space aboard the International 00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:56.859 Space Station. If you missed that show or any 00:01:56.859 --> 00:01:59.459 future show, you can listen to the replay on 00:01:59.459 --> 00:02:04.120 HamTalkLive .com or on Spreaker, iTunes, Stitcher, 00:02:04.340 --> 00:02:06.959 SoundCloud, Google Play, TuneIn or YouTube or 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:10.569 everywhere. search for HamTalk Live. Tonight 00:02:10.569 --> 00:02:12.930 we want to take your calls as always so in just 00:02:12.930 --> 00:02:16.250 a few minutes be ready to call in. You can call 00:02:16.250 --> 00:02:20.449 us on Skype at the username HamTalk Live or it's 00:02:20.449 --> 00:02:22.389 very simple you can just use your telephone. 00:02:23.050 --> 00:02:29.909 The number to call is 812 -NET -HAM -1 812 -NET 00:02:29.909 --> 00:02:36.319 -HAM -1 that's 812 -638 -4261 Need to tell you 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:38.740 about some exciting plans we have coming up soon. 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:42.659 Our Dayton Hamvention Preview will start in just 00:02:42.659 --> 00:02:48.020 two weeks. Next week Don Wilbanks AE5DW is brave 00:02:48.020 --> 00:02:51.020 enough to return. He's going to talk about the 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:54.319 Bill Pasternak Young Ham of the Year Award by 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:57.319 Amateur Radio Newsline. And then the following 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:00.419 week we will start our Dayton Hamvention Preview 00:03:00.419 --> 00:03:03.379 where each week we will feature something that's 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:06.810 been that's going to be happening at Hamvention 00:03:06.810 --> 00:03:09.150 this year. We'll be joined by the general chairman 00:03:09.150 --> 00:03:12.629 of Hamvention, the spokesperson. the awards chair, 00:03:12.930 --> 00:03:16.389 and a couple of the forum presenters. And the 00:03:16.389 --> 00:03:19.569 night before Hamvention, just announcing this, 00:03:19.990 --> 00:03:23.069 we will be broadcasting live from Dayton with 00:03:23.069 --> 00:03:25.830 you the listeners. You'll have a chance to visit 00:03:25.830 --> 00:03:29.069 a live broadcast of the show if you're already 00:03:29.069 --> 00:03:31.770 in Dayton or you can call in while you're on 00:03:31.770 --> 00:03:34.789 your way to Dayton or stuck at home. So keep 00:03:34.789 --> 00:03:36.949 listening and watch our Facebook and Twitter 00:03:36.949 --> 00:03:41.379 feed for all the details on that. My guest this 00:03:41.379 --> 00:03:44.060 evening is Craig Thompson, K9CT from Trevoli, 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:47.060 Illinois, not too far from Peoria. Craig is an 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:49.180 extra class license holder and been a ham for 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:52.479 48 years. He has a degree in electronics engineering 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.379 technology from Bradley University, as well as 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:58.800 worked for an MBA. After serving as operations 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:01.500 manager and vice president of a small company, 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:05.180 Craig started his own business in 1980. Thompson 00:04:05.180 --> 00:04:07.699 Electronics Company is a solutions provider for 00:04:07.699 --> 00:04:10.900 security, communications, audio, video, fire 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:14.259 alarm systems for industrial, government, education, 00:04:14.539 --> 00:04:17.160 hospital, and religious markets in central Illinois. 00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:21.720 His combination of ham radio and electronics 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:24.620 career has allowed him to build an impressive 00:04:24.620 --> 00:04:27.740 contesting station and participate in several 00:04:27.740 --> 00:04:30.899 de -expeditions. His latest journey was co -leading 00:04:30.899 --> 00:04:33.420 a trip at the end of January to Cooper Island 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:37.319 in the Palmyra Atoll located a thousand miles 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:42.230 south of Hawaii. The Nature Conservancy bought 00:04:42.230 --> 00:04:46.290 Palmyra in 2000 from the Fullard Leo family who 00:04:46.290 --> 00:04:49.129 had previously turned down offers to have the 00:04:49.129 --> 00:04:53.350 atoll used as a nuclear waste site and a casino. 00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:58.829 What a combination. Today Palmyra is a national 00:04:58.829 --> 00:05:02.009 marine monument and the Conservancy and the U 00:05:02.009 --> 00:05:04.129 .S. Fish and Wildlife Service are partnering 00:05:04.129 --> 00:05:08.439 to protect it. So, Craig, welcome to HamTalk 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:14.540 Live this evening. Thanks, Neil. Yeah, and thank 00:05:14.540 --> 00:05:19.560 you for joining us. I know you had to leave a 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:22.439 dinner a little early, so we appreciate you taking 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:27.579 the time to join us tonight. First, why don't 00:05:27.579 --> 00:05:30.660 you just give us a little rundown of how you 00:05:30.660 --> 00:05:35.160 got started in ham radio. Well, like a lot of 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:38.420 probably listeners of the same age as I we lived 00:05:38.420 --> 00:05:42.500 in a time when math and science in school were 00:05:42.500 --> 00:05:47.120 really Emphasized because it was the space race 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:50.819 with Sputnik having been launched and we were 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:54.639 going to be on the moon and I was always intrigued 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:57.519 with technology and science and that sort of 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:01.649 thing. So My father surprised me one day, actually 00:06:01.649 --> 00:06:05.250 on my birthday when I was young, maybe 12 years 00:06:05.250 --> 00:06:08.089 old or so, and gave me some ham radio books. 00:06:08.629 --> 00:06:13.129 And I read them, and over time, learned the code 00:06:13.129 --> 00:06:15.689 on my own. I don't believe I ever heard code. 00:06:15.970 --> 00:06:18.410 I just had the radio telegraph code book from 00:06:18.410 --> 00:06:21.110 ADRL, and I figured out what it sounded like. 00:06:23.709 --> 00:06:26.529 My parents found a family that lived in a neighboring 00:06:26.529 --> 00:06:28.970 village and they took me over there and I met 00:06:28.970 --> 00:06:33.850 the husband and wife were both hams and the lady 00:06:33.850 --> 00:06:39.949 was W9USR, Lucy Hilbert was her name and she 00:06:39.949 --> 00:06:42.910 had me sit down in front of her Collins and my 00:06:42.910 --> 00:06:46.589 jaw dropped and we listened to CW and we practiced 00:06:46.589 --> 00:06:48.009 code for a little bit and she says, why don't 00:06:48.009 --> 00:06:49.959 you come back in a couple of weeks? We'll take 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:52.680 the test. So that's how I got started. And of 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:56.279 course, after I saw a beautiful Collins station 00:06:56.279 --> 00:07:00.399 and really nice people, I wanted to be a ham 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:02.920 radio operator. So that's how I got started. 00:07:04.339 --> 00:07:08.040 And when I decided to go to school after high 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:11.259 school, I picked Bradley University because I 00:07:11.259 --> 00:07:13.360 wanted to study electrical engineering technology. 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:15.819 And lo and behold, they had a ham radio station 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:18.360 there. And I quite kiddingly tell people that 00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:21.279 I majored in ham radio and I might earn in electrical 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:27.160 engineering. In fact, I still have friends today 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:29.279 from that. In fact, one of the guys that was 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:32.220 in my club actually works for me to this day. 00:07:33.220 --> 00:07:37.199 We were friends for life, but it was a great 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:40.279 time. I learned how to DX. I learned how to contest 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:44.319 with that group. That was a great way to get 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:45.959 started in ham radio. I think a lot of people 00:07:45.959 --> 00:07:48.819 that are probably in my age probably started 00:07:48.819 --> 00:07:52.199 in a similar fashion. So ham radio has been good 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:55.279 to me because it got me into a technical career 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:59.519 and actually helped me get interested in the 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:02.750 business that I'm in. So I've never been in RF 00:08:02.750 --> 00:08:07.110 except for a hobby and I do other things that 00:08:07.110 --> 00:08:09.430 are not RF related in my business. So that's 00:08:09.430 --> 00:08:11.850 how I've kept them separate, but they're all 00:08:11.850 --> 00:08:15.370 electrical electronics, you know, so absolutely. 00:08:15.649 --> 00:08:18.250 Yeah. And I know the, um, the, the club at Bradley 00:08:18.250 --> 00:08:20.509 is still going because we, we hear them, uh, 00:08:20.509 --> 00:08:23.490 during school club roundup a lot, uh, at my job. 00:08:24.370 --> 00:08:26.970 So, uh, I've been visiting them, uh, I invited 00:08:26.970 --> 00:08:30.850 them out to my contest station and, uh, In fact, 00:08:31.029 --> 00:08:33.690 we invited one of them out to operate in a couple 00:08:33.690 --> 00:08:37.990 of weeks after that, which was very cool. I love 00:08:37.990 --> 00:08:40.029 young people and it was great and I know you 00:08:40.029 --> 00:08:43.409 do too, Neil. But I actually went back and visited 00:08:43.409 --> 00:08:46.049 the club at their station. They still have the 00:08:46.049 --> 00:08:53.379 same antenna that we put on the university. trying 00:08:53.379 --> 00:08:56.139 to help them, uh, get some equipment and get 00:08:56.139 --> 00:08:57.779 them more modernized, but they actually have 00:08:57.779 --> 00:09:00.980 an active club now. So I'm very happy for that. 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:03.840 Yeah. Yeah. That's great. And yeah, it might 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:07.299 be time for a, for a new antenna. Yes, sir. Just 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:10.840 maybe. So, so tell us how you got into, uh, the, 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:14.360 the de -expeditions. Well, you know, that's, 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:17.409 that's, uh, That's interesting and it's also 00:09:17.409 --> 00:09:20.649 challenging because I get often asked by people. 00:09:20.730 --> 00:09:22.769 In fact, I just got an inquiry today from somebody 00:09:22.769 --> 00:09:25.330 that certainly competent and qualified enough 00:09:25.330 --> 00:09:31.529 to go on a de -expedition. But I decided I wanted 00:09:31.529 --> 00:09:37.909 to do that. The skill set is learned by contesting 00:09:37.909 --> 00:09:43.200 because you need to make accurate. fairly rapid 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.200 contacts when you're on these trips because you're 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:48.620 you have a limited amount of time so I really 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:52.940 liked contesting and so I figured that I had 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:56.259 some of the skills necessary to actually go on 00:09:56.259 --> 00:09:59.539 a trip like that and some of my friends had been 00:09:59.539 --> 00:10:02.340 on trips like this before and I listened to many 00:10:02.340 --> 00:10:03.879 of their presentations and I thought you know 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:07.299 this this is maybe a way I can give back to ham 00:10:07.299 --> 00:10:11.100 radio is to participate Because these when you 00:10:11.100 --> 00:10:15.200 go on as a team member you're you are obligated 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:18.059 to financially contribute you're obligated to 00:10:18.059 --> 00:10:22.120 help out and to be a good team member and so 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:25.179 you know not every young person can do that because 00:10:25.179 --> 00:10:27.639 you know it when you're young you don't have 00:10:27.639 --> 00:10:29.240 enough money you're taking you're raising your 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:32.220 family and building a career and and You don't 00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:33.620 have the time because you have to work every 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:36.360 day so I'd reached a point in my life where I 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:38.159 felt I had the time and I had some extra money 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:41.220 and and maybe had the skills. So I started looking 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:46.840 around for opportunities and I'd made a connection 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:50.000 with someone that had gone on some de -expeditions 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:51.679 and this is probably the right way to do it is 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:56.059 to network with people that you know go on trips 00:10:56.059 --> 00:11:00.639 and he called this fellow called me up one day 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:03.659 and he says there's an opportunity to go and 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:06.360 this is what's what's involved and so that's 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:10.360 how I got connected. is from networking. And 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:13.720 that was the expedition to Cocos Island, which 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:15.659 was very interesting. It was quite challenging 00:11:15.659 --> 00:11:19.039 because the license was canceled before we got 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.159 to the island, actually before we got to the 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:23.879 country. We'd already left, we'd flown out and 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:27.120 they canceled the license. So I learned a lot 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:33.440 about political issues and we had to meet, actually 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:38.500 had to go to San Jose, Costa Rica. and thank 00:11:38.500 --> 00:11:40.220 goodness we had a couple of very good Spanish 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:42.899 speaking people in our team and we were able 00:11:42.899 --> 00:11:48.340 to negotiate our license and then we also had 00:11:48.340 --> 00:11:51.720 to negotiate permission to actually land on the 00:11:51.720 --> 00:11:55.159 island because it's a protected island. So that 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:57.259 was a real eye -opening experience for me. I 00:11:57.259 --> 00:11:59.019 learned a lot from that experience and it was 00:11:59.019 --> 00:12:03.019 a boat ride but subsequent to that I got involved 00:12:03.690 --> 00:12:06.049 us in a similar fashion to go to Midway Island 00:12:06.049 --> 00:12:09.570 and that was an interesting process because it 00:12:09.570 --> 00:12:12.350 was unusual in that you put your name on a list 00:12:12.350 --> 00:12:15.470 to be a team member and I was asked to be a team 00:12:15.470 --> 00:12:19.789 member and that's how I got acquainted with a 00:12:19.789 --> 00:12:22.090 lot of the people I actually go on the expeditions 00:12:22.090 --> 00:12:28.590 today and the next de -expedition I did, I actually 00:12:28.590 --> 00:12:31.990 co -led with one of the other operators on that 00:12:31.990 --> 00:12:38.169 scene, Joe Wagex, and I co -led several de -expeditions. 00:12:40.450 --> 00:12:44.690 We both had different qualities that we brought 00:12:44.690 --> 00:12:49.049 to the table. I like managing projects, which 00:12:49.049 --> 00:12:52.590 is what this is all about anyhow. He was really 00:12:52.590 --> 00:12:55.779 great at PR, public relations, getting permission, 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:59.379 corresponding with people, getting great team 00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:04.600 members assembled, fundraising. And so that's 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:08.720 how I got involved in these projects. And of 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:11.220 course, they're all very challenging. You learn 00:13:11.220 --> 00:13:13.580 a lot about geography. You learn a lot about 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:18.539 logistics and raising money and why are things 00:13:18.539 --> 00:13:22.220 so expensive. dealing with foreign governments 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:25.820 and even the US departments like Fish and Wildlife 00:13:25.820 --> 00:13:31.659 can be very challenging. But if anybody ever 00:13:31.659 --> 00:13:34.059 gets a chance, I would highly recommend that 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:36.419 you have this experience so that you can appreciate 00:13:36.419 --> 00:13:40.159 what some of these guys go through to go on de 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:43.299 -expeditions for us de -exers that like to work 00:13:43.299 --> 00:13:46.740 foreign countries. So it's like the guys that 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:49.240 are on Herd Island right now or down on Wanda 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:52.129 Nova. You know, they both have their challenges. 00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:56.250 One is very cold and the weather is extreme with 00:13:56.250 --> 00:13:59.509 high winds and they had to take many days by 00:13:59.509 --> 00:14:02.669 boat to get there. And the other team is every 00:14:02.669 --> 00:14:06.929 day dealing with high heat and really rugged 00:14:06.929 --> 00:14:11.230 conditions. And it's hard for us sitting at our 00:14:11.230 --> 00:14:17.549 nice home behind our radio appreciating the sometimes 00:14:17.549 --> 00:14:19.470 very difficult conditions that these guys have 00:14:19.470 --> 00:14:22.149 to go through so I think it's always good that 00:14:22.149 --> 00:14:24.629 anybody gets a chance to walk in the shoes of 00:14:24.629 --> 00:14:27.850 the people on the other end so you can appreciate 00:14:27.850 --> 00:14:30.769 what these guys are doing for us. Oh absolutely 00:14:30.769 --> 00:14:33.730 and you've had a chance to you know you started 00:14:33.730 --> 00:14:37.409 off leading and co -leading these pretty early 00:14:37.409 --> 00:14:42.610 on so you've you've been thrown right in. Yeah 00:14:42.610 --> 00:14:46.909 you know it's uh It's funny how that happens. 00:14:49.169 --> 00:14:51.090 There's been some really interesting projects 00:14:51.090 --> 00:14:54.710 and what happens is that the team members are 00:14:54.710 --> 00:14:57.950 as intrigued as we are as leaders in what can 00:14:57.950 --> 00:15:01.470 we do next. We try to keep the same team members 00:15:01.470 --> 00:15:04.950 if we can because we know that we got along well, 00:15:05.610 --> 00:15:07.850 that who's a good operator, who's not a good 00:15:07.850 --> 00:15:09.649 operator, that sort of thing. But it's so important 00:15:09.649 --> 00:15:11.230 that everybody gets along because it's quite 00:15:11.230 --> 00:15:14.909 stressful when you. are setting up in heat or 00:15:14.909 --> 00:15:18.350 not the best conditions or you have to be safe 00:15:18.350 --> 00:15:23.289 because landing in coral and you know there's 00:15:23.289 --> 00:15:26.549 no medical help with you know very easy to get 00:15:26.549 --> 00:15:29.610 to and we often bring a medical doctor with us 00:15:29.610 --> 00:15:30.830 but there's so many things you have to think 00:15:30.830 --> 00:15:33.470 of when you're the leader you're responsible 00:15:33.470 --> 00:15:37.029 for all of these things and you have to think 00:15:37.029 --> 00:15:40.409 about all of that and when we assemble a team 00:15:40.409 --> 00:15:41.970 we want to make sure that everybody's going to 00:15:41.970 --> 00:15:47.299 be safe and Everybody's quite aware. So when 00:15:47.299 --> 00:15:50.720 you look back, there's just kind of a history 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:54.100 of learning every time you go out and you learn 00:15:54.100 --> 00:15:57.159 from some of the best people in the world. It's 00:15:57.159 --> 00:15:59.480 been an honor actually to be on some of these 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:01.500 teams where there's de -expeditions of the year 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:07.679 like K4UEE. He's a de -expeditioner. uh uh uh 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:11.580 extraordinaire and w zero gj or k zero ir or 00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:14.419 some of these guys uh are have led the expeditions 00:16:14.419 --> 00:16:18.799 for years and uh you learn so much from uh going 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:23.519 with them um so you know as time goes on uh you 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:26.259 you know uh you learn from your mistakes and 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:28.840 you you try not to repeat anything you know and 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:31.659 just do a better job so and it's always a learning 00:16:31.659 --> 00:16:35.539 experience yep And if you note, like if you just 00:16:35.539 --> 00:16:39.200 take a look at our website from Palmyra Island, 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:45.159 that's palmyra2016 .org, and look at that, you'll 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:48.299 see the team that we assembled. But not only 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:50.940 that, if you look at the volunteers that helped 00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:53.519 us, when you look, if you scroll down from the 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:55.500 team members, you'll see the entire support team 00:16:55.500 --> 00:17:00.679 we've had. Like K6TU, Stu Phillips has done a 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:03.940 remarkable job with propagation forecasts. And 00:17:03.940 --> 00:17:06.039 you have to have all these logistical things 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:08.680 with help. And when we go through Hawaii, when 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:13.859 we went both to Wake and Midway and to Swains 00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:19.480 Island, Paul Myra, KH7U, Kimo Chum has helped 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:24.099 so many people. with equipment on Hawaii and 00:17:24.099 --> 00:17:26.019 making sure it gets on the boats and gets to 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:30.960 the planes. There's just a lot of great people 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.119 that are willing to help out actually all over 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:36.519 the world. So it's not just the team members 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:37.960 that go. A lot of times there's a lot of people 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:41.680 that put together the website or help pilot the 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:44.920 team and make sure that we get the right information. 00:17:45.339 --> 00:17:47.680 Like was there an opening in Africa we missed 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:52.079 or was there an opening in in Eastern Europe 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:56.440 that we missed. You just have to assemble a big 00:17:56.440 --> 00:17:58.579 team and get a lot of information to do these 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:02.380 things right. Not to mention all the cards. Yes. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:06.640 Actually, I learned a lot of lessons. I thought 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:12.119 I would do the QSL cards for Paul Myra because 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:15.000 I'm on the NCDXF board and I wanted to do a little 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.839 research study on the effectiveness of OQRS and 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:23.140 direct QSLing and LOTW and all of these different 00:18:23.140 --> 00:18:27.079 things. So I've been keeping track of how well 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:30.559 all of this has worked and I wanted to know how 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:33.480 difficult it was to do and so I learned a lot 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:37.599 and I have a lot of data now about the QSL process 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:40.339 and how much money can be raised from doing that. 00:18:41.420 --> 00:18:45.109 I was really surprised, for instance, We had 00:18:45.109 --> 00:18:47.329 sent out all of the QSOs and uploaded them to 00:18:47.329 --> 00:18:54.190 LOTW, and we had 75 ,000 QSOs from Palmyra, and 00:18:54.190 --> 00:18:58.109 almost 45 ,000 had been confirmed by LOTW now 00:18:58.109 --> 00:19:02.210 in just a couple of months. Isn't that remarkable? 00:19:03.049 --> 00:19:07.470 The percentage of active hams that are on LOTW. 00:19:07.609 --> 00:19:10.210 I looked back at some of the previous de -expeditions. 00:19:10.250 --> 00:19:13.170 This is the highest percentage I've ever seen. 00:19:14.029 --> 00:19:18.369 It's remarkable. Yeah. Yeah, we've been at school. 00:19:18.369 --> 00:19:22.950 We've been watching LOTW like every day. We're 00:19:22.950 --> 00:19:27.109 still trying to get our CQ Worldwide contacts 00:19:27.109 --> 00:19:31.109 confirmed on some of those because we're closing 00:19:31.109 --> 00:19:36.609 in on DXCC. And it's been incredible how many 00:19:36.609 --> 00:19:41.609 we've been able to do that way. It makes makes 00:19:41.609 --> 00:19:44.769 our lives a lot easier. So I'm glad to hear that 00:19:44.769 --> 00:19:47.170 that's being successful. You know, you think 00:19:47.170 --> 00:19:52.170 about the cost for hams for postage and The most 00:19:52.170 --> 00:19:55.470 the highest cost is somebody's actually sending 00:19:55.470 --> 00:19:59.849 a QSL card to the QSL manager and then for them 00:19:59.849 --> 00:20:04.809 to process the card it is so much work and Lotw 00:20:04.809 --> 00:20:08.359 is by far the easiest night and I know that It's 00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:11.799 also the least expensive. But I also know that 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:16.099 people want a card and I appreciate that. So 00:20:16.099 --> 00:20:20.779 the OQRS systems that have been created, I think 00:20:20.779 --> 00:20:23.480 have been a godsend because of the cost of postage. 00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:29.759 I would prefer not to get a card and have to 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:32.579 look up all the data when the data can be matched 00:20:32.579 --> 00:20:36.789 right online and then just receive a confirmed 00:20:36.789 --> 00:20:40.970 ADiff file that I can issue a card and mail it 00:20:40.970 --> 00:20:44.269 to the person. It's a much very effective. We 00:20:44.269 --> 00:20:49.309 can do, I'll bet you we could do a thousand QSL 00:20:49.309 --> 00:20:53.730 cards by OQRS for the same amount of work that 00:20:53.730 --> 00:20:58.569 we would do for 250 cards direct. It's just so 00:20:58.569 --> 00:21:02.390 much more work and at a higher cost per card. 00:21:02.829 --> 00:21:07.230 So OQRS has really been a good thing too. Yeah, 00:21:07.230 --> 00:21:09.609 absolutely. Well, tell us a little bit about 00:21:09.609 --> 00:21:15.650 the island itself and about your stations there 00:21:15.650 --> 00:21:22.529 at K5P. Well, this was idyllic. It's hard to 00:21:22.529 --> 00:21:26.309 believe. You know, a lot of times people would 00:21:26.309 --> 00:21:30.390 think of Tahiti or someplace like that as a destination, 00:21:30.390 --> 00:21:32.609 location that would just be a beautiful place 00:21:32.609 --> 00:21:37.019 to go. But I would cast Palmyra Atoll in that 00:21:37.019 --> 00:21:40.359 same category. And what's so remarkable about 00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:45.079 this is that in World War II, it was a Navy base. 00:21:45.299 --> 00:21:49.279 And I actually have pictures in part of my PowerPoint 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:53.920 presentation of the island was almost stripped. 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:56.960 And they built an airstrip. Actually, that airstrip 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:01.079 still exists. And it was many, many buildings 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:05.049 and several thousand soldiers or Navy. people 00:22:05.049 --> 00:22:08.509 and engineers and support staff. And there was 00:22:08.509 --> 00:22:12.970 hardly any palm trees or anything like that on 00:22:12.970 --> 00:22:18.049 the entire island. And they actually had cleared 00:22:18.049 --> 00:22:21.630 a channel, dredged a channel so that large ships 00:22:21.630 --> 00:22:25.250 could come in and dock and bring supplies and 00:22:25.250 --> 00:22:30.170 then get back out. And you contrast that today. 00:22:30.650 --> 00:22:34.390 to just a beautiful place. Now, I have to tell 00:22:34.390 --> 00:22:36.950 you, if you walk into the jungle, you might run 00:22:36.950 --> 00:22:42.970 into a jeep that was left from World War II era 00:22:42.970 --> 00:22:48.369 or buildings that are covered in vines that might 00:22:48.369 --> 00:22:51.890 be a generator building or was maybe an old barracks, 00:22:52.049 --> 00:22:56.750 underground barracks. So it takes you back in 00:22:56.750 --> 00:22:59.059 history. All you have to do is just get off the 00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:03.019 beaten path a little bit. But actually, I got 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:05.319 to tell you, it was a complete surprise to us. 00:23:06.019 --> 00:23:08.720 You can look online, and you can try to find 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:11.880 out about Palmyra. And if you look, you'll find 00:23:11.880 --> 00:23:15.259 out that, of course, fish and wildlife controls 00:23:15.259 --> 00:23:18.559 the area. But in fact, the Nature Conservancy 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:27.480 owns a significant portion of the atoll. And 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:33.859 so in the area that they control, they have built 00:23:33.859 --> 00:23:39.200 cottages, little huts in the palm trees, and 00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:45.000 they have a research area that people from universities 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:48.220 will come and do different research for several 00:23:48.220 --> 00:23:51.400 weeks at a time during the, usually about April 00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:55.349 1st on until into the later fall. They do research 00:23:55.349 --> 00:23:58.089 projects and it might be on island or it might 00:23:58.089 --> 00:24:01.269 be in the coral or something that they're studying, 00:24:01.349 --> 00:24:04.930 whether it's weather or environmental aspects 00:24:04.930 --> 00:24:09.470 of testing that they want to do. So they spend 00:24:09.470 --> 00:24:11.670 a lot of the time that we were, in the period 00:24:11.670 --> 00:24:15.690 of the time that we were there, there were six 00:24:15.690 --> 00:24:19.349 people there doing work, maintenance work, building, 00:24:20.809 --> 00:24:24.539 cleaning, rehab of different things. And the 00:24:24.539 --> 00:24:27.619 place really was spotless. So we land on this 00:24:27.619 --> 00:24:30.339 beautiful runway. They meet us. They actually 00:24:30.339 --> 00:24:32.279 threw out a red carpet for us when we landed. 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:35.039 And the population at the time before we landed 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:37.519 was six. And then with our nine, it was 15. And 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:39.920 they had a little greeting sign that said population 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:45.660 15 for us. And so you walk through the, they 00:24:45.660 --> 00:24:49.480 led us in kind of a walkway through palm trees 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:53.630 and right next to the lagoon, I'll call it. which 00:24:53.630 --> 00:24:59.430 was just shallow water, shallower water. And 00:24:59.430 --> 00:25:01.869 of course, you could see it. It's as clear as 00:25:01.869 --> 00:25:04.990 can be. So you could see sharks and different 00:25:04.990 --> 00:25:08.730 things, sea life swimming right next to you as 00:25:08.730 --> 00:25:12.230 you walked along. And so then they'd say, well, 00:25:12.309 --> 00:25:13.950 here's your cabins. And they assigned a cabin 00:25:13.950 --> 00:25:16.369 to us. And each of us had our own at the time. 00:25:16.529 --> 00:25:19.970 But each actually had two beds, so two people 00:25:19.970 --> 00:25:23.359 could stay. In one of these little huts, but 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:26.579 you know, they're just really basic and And then 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:29.220 we had a meeting and they told us in a this meeting 00:25:29.220 --> 00:25:34.759 was held in a kitchen kind of a dining area and 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:38.720 that overlooked the lagoon and That's every day 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:41.339 was important in terms of we met there for our 00:25:41.339 --> 00:25:43.740 meals We had a breakfast lunch and dinner and 00:25:43.740 --> 00:25:47.839 if any conversation was had with everybody That 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:51.890 was expected to happen at that time So you can 00:25:51.890 --> 00:25:55.789 imagine there's a laundry and showers. There 00:25:55.789 --> 00:26:01.049 were, of course, toilets and that sort of thing. 00:26:02.750 --> 00:26:05.630 But so we were kind of civilized way more than 00:26:05.630 --> 00:26:08.390 we expected. But some of these buildings were 00:26:08.390 --> 00:26:12.450 constructed even clear back in the 70s. There 00:26:12.450 --> 00:26:15.730 were buildings. There was actually a murder. 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:20.319 a famous murder that was on the island had occurred 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:23.339 and we in the lagoon is where the people that 00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:26.799 had their boat where they have they have a famous 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:29.680 swimming hole and those that's where those people 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:31.259 had tied up there and those were the people that 00:26:31.259 --> 00:26:35.019 were docked and and the people that were accused 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:38.400 of the murder we found out where they had docked 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:41.200 and so we were kind of able to walk around and 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:47.519 and be part of what we'd read about So there's 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:49.660 a lot of history here, but it's a very quiet, 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:53.859 eerie place. Some people think it's spooky and 00:26:53.859 --> 00:26:59.940 has different paranormal connotations associated 00:26:59.940 --> 00:27:01.259 with it. But I got to tell you, I just considered 00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:06.059 it a paradise. I think all of us did. But we 00:27:06.059 --> 00:27:09.519 ended up operating out of a research lab that 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:13.150 was vacant. It was very nice. completely unexpected 00:27:13.150 --> 00:27:15.569 that we would have access to such a nice facility, 00:27:15.869 --> 00:27:19.049 but Like I said, they maintain this very well 00:27:19.049 --> 00:27:24.190 now the island You had it obviously at night. 00:27:24.190 --> 00:27:26.690 It's very dark. There are there are no lights 00:27:26.690 --> 00:27:29.410 So when you walked around you had to have a headlamp 00:27:29.410 --> 00:27:31.329 or a flashlight and you had to watch out for 00:27:31.329 --> 00:27:34.269 crabs because there were crabs everywhere and 00:27:34.269 --> 00:27:37.549 it was dangerous for both the crab and you if 00:27:37.549 --> 00:27:42.059 you should step on them, so That's one thing 00:27:42.059 --> 00:27:45.799 that you would not want to be surprised about 00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:48.039 if you were to visit the island. And then they 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:50.339 showed us the cane spiders, which are about as 00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:52.660 big as your palm of your hand. And evidently, 00:27:52.660 --> 00:27:55.940 they don't bite, but they are sure scary. And 00:27:55.940 --> 00:27:59.000 I had one in my hut, and you're not going to 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:02.140 keep them out of anything, but they were around. 00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:07.150 Of course, One of the things that we found out 00:28:07.150 --> 00:28:08.950 about that they had gotten rid of all the rats 00:28:08.950 --> 00:28:11.410 and they the rats used to be really bad there 00:28:11.410 --> 00:28:14.509 and we never once they have rat traps everywhere 00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:17.910 but they haven't seen a rat in a couple of years. 00:28:18.779 --> 00:28:21.319 They said the rats were so thick that they used 00:28:21.319 --> 00:28:25.740 to be hanging in the palm trees eating the coconuts 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:28.579 and they were just, I forget the number of how 00:28:28.579 --> 00:28:31.859 many there were per square meter or square whatever, 00:28:32.420 --> 00:28:35.940 but it was just ridiculously bad and I'm so glad 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:39.519 that they got rid of them. This is basically, 00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:42.220 if something gets introduced there that's not 00:28:42.220 --> 00:28:46.039 supposed to be there, it doesn't have its counter. 00:28:46.250 --> 00:28:49.009 to get rid of it. So they're very careful. In 00:28:49.009 --> 00:28:52.049 other words, when we arrived on the island, we 00:28:52.049 --> 00:28:56.650 had to have our clothing frozen and things like 00:28:56.650 --> 00:28:58.089 that. So we'd make sure that we didn't bring 00:28:58.089 --> 00:29:02.910 in any seeds or any bugs or spiders with us that 00:29:02.910 --> 00:29:07.109 might cause another problem for them. So they're 00:29:07.109 --> 00:29:10.390 very careful about the balance of nature on the 00:29:10.390 --> 00:29:14.329 island. They had some trails that you could walk. 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:20.640 and you could walk through the islands and you 00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:25.359 could see a lot of the World War II where they 00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:28.839 had taken the coral and piled it up and leveled 00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:32.140 it off and they had head officers quarters and 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:34.579 things like that. You could see gun mounts that 00:29:34.579 --> 00:29:38.480 had fallen into the ocean. A lot of this was 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:42.539 now sunken. The ocean was taking it back, but 00:29:42.539 --> 00:29:47.920 you could see a lot of these things. If we had 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:51.380 any time, we could go for a walk. But with our 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:54.119 operating schedule, especially the first few 00:29:54.119 --> 00:29:56.819 days where you're setting everything up and you're 00:29:56.819 --> 00:29:59.920 so eager to get on the air and work as many people 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:03.160 as possible, our schedule was actually three 00:30:03.160 --> 00:30:06.289 hours on. and then or excuse me four hours on 00:30:06.289 --> 00:30:08.230 and then eight hours off and then four hours 00:30:08.230 --> 00:30:10.789 on and we had three teams of three that would 00:30:10.789 --> 00:30:13.769 do that and then we'd get to a three hour on 00:30:13.769 --> 00:30:16.609 and six hour off and then our time would shift 00:30:16.609 --> 00:30:20.230 so that we all had a chance to operate at different 00:30:20.230 --> 00:30:24.089 times and see what different propagation was 00:30:24.089 --> 00:30:27.410 during the day and be on different bands so you 00:30:27.410 --> 00:30:29.890 can see that if your eight hours was in the middle 00:30:29.890 --> 00:30:32.509 of the day you might not get any rest just because 00:30:32.509 --> 00:30:36.160 of the your body clock But so sometimes we'd 00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:40.900 walk around and and take a look at things or 00:30:40.900 --> 00:30:43.000 we'd be working on tenants and fixing things. 00:30:43.339 --> 00:30:49.279 But that was a surprise to see how nice it was 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:53.460 and how the food was good. They treated us well. 00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:57.880 And we actually had chores we always we had to 00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:00.259 pitch in. We didn't know any of this ahead of 00:31:00.259 --> 00:31:04.160 time. We just but we are glad to do it. Um, we, 00:31:04.220 --> 00:31:06.400 we were expected to clean up the kitchen and, 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:08.940 uh, clean the restrooms and clean the showers 00:31:08.940 --> 00:31:11.299 and all of the other things. We even one day 00:31:11.299 --> 00:31:14.880 had it, we took a break off the radio and helped 00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:18.339 rake. Uh, they normally get a lot of rain there. 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:21.039 Um, and they were actually surprised while we 00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:25.160 were there that we didn't get as much rain. Uh, 00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:28.700 it's nice to have all of those things there. 00:31:30.059 --> 00:31:32.859 Yes. So that you can, you don't mind cleaning 00:31:32.859 --> 00:31:35.160 them. What do you have though? Those, those, 00:31:35.259 --> 00:31:37.799 those things there that, uh, you don't have on, 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:40.779 on other trips. So, yeah, it was, oh yeah. Compared 00:31:40.779 --> 00:31:44.920 to a lot of them. This was a very pleasant experience. 00:31:45.140 --> 00:31:47.380 You know, compared to Navasa last year where 00:31:47.380 --> 00:31:49.799 it was a deserted Island, it's a, you know, it's 00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:54.000 actually desert and, um, there's no water, uh, 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:57.240 no food. So this flies in contrast to that, but. 00:31:57.369 --> 00:32:01.250 Just so you know, we had to pay them to get the 00:32:01.250 --> 00:32:05.869 food there. And we had to pay them so much a 00:32:05.869 --> 00:32:10.769 day per person for our quarters. And the reason 00:32:10.769 --> 00:32:18.170 is we're a burden to them. So there's a fee associated 00:32:18.170 --> 00:32:19.670 with doing these things. We had to pay for the 00:32:19.670 --> 00:32:24.910 flight in. The flight had to be approved. But 00:32:24.910 --> 00:32:28.130 like I said there was we didn't have it was hard 00:32:28.130 --> 00:32:30.609 to set the expectations But it was a way better 00:32:30.609 --> 00:32:32.349 than a lot of the expeditions. I'll put it that 00:32:32.349 --> 00:32:36.349 way Very nice sounds like it really was well, 00:32:36.349 --> 00:32:39.390 we're way over so I need to take a break here 00:32:39.390 --> 00:32:42.289 We'll get back with more from Craig Thompson 00:32:42.289 --> 00:32:45.369 canine CT and your chance to call in Right after 00:32:45.369 --> 00:32:47.930 this word from the ham station here on am talk 00:32:47.930 --> 00:32:50.630 live This episode of HamTalk Live is brought 00:32:50.630 --> 00:32:54.390 to you by the HamStation. 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Join the conversation. 00:33:42.849 --> 00:33:46.309 Call us on voice with Skype at HamTalk Live or 00:33:46.309 --> 00:33:50.789 give us a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 00:33:50.789 --> 00:33:56.950 -638 -4261. Now here's more HamTalk Live. Welcome 00:33:56.950 --> 00:33:58.789 back to HamTalk Live. Thanks to the support of 00:33:58.789 --> 00:34:01.549 the Ham Station for bringing you HamTalk Live. 00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:07.460 Jeff and Dan, a call at 800 -729 -4373. Craig 00:34:07.460 --> 00:34:10.139 Thompson, K9CT, is our guest this evening talking 00:34:10.139 --> 00:34:13.920 about the Palmyra D Expedition and we want to 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:17.179 start taking calls now, so it's time to call. 00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:19.679 Give us a call. The best way to do that is Skype. 00:34:19.719 --> 00:34:22.900 Call in at HamTalk Live or you can call us by 00:34:22.900 --> 00:34:27.320 telephone. It's 812 -NET -HAM -1. 812 -NET -HAM 00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:31.099 -1. Give us a call and ask your questions to 00:34:31.389 --> 00:34:36.690 Craig Thompson canine CT. So a couple of things 00:34:36.690 --> 00:34:40.389 that we were going to talk about real quick the 00:34:40.389 --> 00:34:44.449 stations on the island and Some of the interference 00:34:44.449 --> 00:34:50.269 problems you ran into Yes, thanks Neil actually 00:34:50.269 --> 00:34:54.269 we plan the stations very early based upon the 00:34:54.269 --> 00:34:56.010 number of people we're going to have and and 00:34:56.010 --> 00:34:58.829 the look and how much of a site layout will we 00:34:58.829 --> 00:35:02.650 would have on the island and So a lot of planning 00:35:02.650 --> 00:35:06.050 goes into that. We were limited by Fish and Wildlife 00:35:06.050 --> 00:35:08.030 as to what antennas we could have because of 00:35:08.030 --> 00:35:12.050 the birds. They wanted us to be very careful 00:35:12.050 --> 00:35:15.750 about using horizontal antennas. So primarily, 00:35:17.150 --> 00:35:20.010 well, I would say entirely, we use stepper vertical 00:35:20.010 --> 00:35:26.030 antennas. And we had a Battle Creek special for 00:35:26.030 --> 00:35:30.940 160. And we created a 80 meter vertical using 00:35:30.940 --> 00:35:36.800 a spider pole. And we put them as close to the 00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:42.559 lagoon as possible. So we had actually three 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:48.860 stepper 80 through 10 meter verticals separated 00:35:48.860 --> 00:35:52.519 by probably a football field in three directions. 00:35:53.299 --> 00:35:55.219 And so that would allow at least three stations 00:35:55.219 --> 00:35:57.059 to be on at the same time. And because we were 00:35:57.059 --> 00:35:58.840 in the same location, we knew we couldn't be 00:35:58.840 --> 00:36:01.920 on the same band. So we wouldn't be on CW and 00:36:01.920 --> 00:36:04.940 sideband on 20 meters at the same time because 00:36:04.940 --> 00:36:07.000 we end up burning up the front end of a radio. 00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:10.260 So anyhow, Stepper was one of our sponsors and 00:36:10.260 --> 00:36:12.159 that was a great thing because that gave us a 00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:14.760 lot of versatility. And the Battle Creek special, 00:36:14.760 --> 00:36:16.460 of course, comes from Battle Creek, Michigan 00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:20.360 and some guys up in that area, W8UVZKAGG, who 00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:23.480 make sure that the expeditions get these antennas. 00:36:24.360 --> 00:36:29.280 And then we had an all -EllaCraft setup. In fact, 00:36:29.300 --> 00:36:31.340 we were very fortunate. We ended up with the 00:36:31.340 --> 00:36:35.719 K3S, which is their newest model. And we interface 00:36:35.719 --> 00:36:38.579 those with the computers and with their new USB 00:36:38.579 --> 00:36:41.500 interfaces. They have a codec. And we were able 00:36:41.500 --> 00:36:47.239 to do RIDI and CW and very easily using the new 00:36:47.239 --> 00:36:53.679 interface on the K3S. So we actually took stations 00:36:53.679 --> 00:36:58.380 for four. So we could do four setups. You'll 00:36:58.380 --> 00:37:01.280 notice that we had three operators on at a time. 00:37:01.340 --> 00:37:03.340 So the four station was actually a six meter 00:37:03.340 --> 00:37:06.119 beacon that we ran the entire time. It was our 00:37:06.119 --> 00:37:11.219 spare radio. And then we had a network computer 00:37:11.219 --> 00:37:13.699 system for all the logging. So that was our layout, 00:37:14.380 --> 00:37:17.119 and everything was in fairly close proximity 00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:20.400 to this lab that I was talking about. And we 00:37:20.400 --> 00:37:23.039 tried to keep as many antennas on the water as 00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:26.699 possible so that we'd get the best effect, the 00:37:26.699 --> 00:37:29.519 enhancement from the water. We had one special 00:37:29.519 --> 00:37:31.760 antenna that we had set up for Europe on 20 meters. 00:37:32.559 --> 00:37:39.219 It was SVDA, which is a two vertical elements 00:37:39.219 --> 00:37:41.980 with gain and we set that up to go to Europe 00:37:41.980 --> 00:37:45.139 because for Europe it's a very difficult path. 00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:51.960 It's over the pole. When we talk about interference, 00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:54.599 of course, the first thing a lot of DXers think 00:37:54.599 --> 00:37:57.360 about is the intentional interference that might 00:37:57.360 --> 00:38:00.239 occur. There was also some interference that 00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:03.710 we had from We'll call it the Chinese dragon 00:38:03.710 --> 00:38:06.250 radar and I think you might have some audio of 00:38:06.250 --> 00:38:09.090 that Yeah, I have a clip of that. We'll play 00:38:09.090 --> 00:38:29.650 that sure and then Well that as you can see was 00:38:29.650 --> 00:38:34.239 a showstopper When that came on, you tried to 00:38:34.239 --> 00:38:38.039 find a place where the radar was not. We could 00:38:38.039 --> 00:38:41.139 actually, because Europe was so rare, sometimes 00:38:41.139 --> 00:38:43.119 this would occur right when we just got that 00:38:43.119 --> 00:38:45.000 great opening to Europe and it would only last 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:47.579 maybe half an hour or 45 minutes, and all of 00:38:47.579 --> 00:38:49.920 a sudden that would come on and now you're done. 00:38:50.760 --> 00:38:52.920 So you needed to move to another band or someplace 00:38:52.920 --> 00:38:56.480 where the radar was not operating. We were very 00:38:56.480 --> 00:38:59.889 cautious about DQRM. We know that a lot of it 00:38:59.889 --> 00:39:03.130 is caused by frustration, and we thought we had 00:39:03.130 --> 00:39:05.909 a really good team of operators. When you keep 00:39:05.909 --> 00:39:09.829 the QSO rates high and people have a good feeling 00:39:09.829 --> 00:39:12.150 that they're going to get in the log, generally 00:39:12.150 --> 00:39:15.090 the level of frustration is reduced. So we try 00:39:15.090 --> 00:39:18.730 to make sure we ran at a very good clip and get 00:39:18.730 --> 00:39:20.650 as many people in the log as possible, and we 00:39:20.650 --> 00:39:24.449 think we did that. The other interference we 00:39:24.449 --> 00:39:27.550 had was mostly on the low bands, 80 and 160. 00:39:28.079 --> 00:39:32.780 And I didn't say this, but about nine months 00:39:32.780 --> 00:39:37.599 prior to us arriving, they had installed solar 00:39:37.599 --> 00:39:42.119 power and batteries and inverters for powering 00:39:42.119 --> 00:39:46.579 the little camp that we were staying at. And 00:39:46.579 --> 00:39:48.679 so in the building that we were on, there were 00:39:48.679 --> 00:39:51.969 inverters all along the very top. And I mean 00:39:51.969 --> 00:39:54.510 solar panels along the roof. And then in the 00:39:54.510 --> 00:39:56.369 adjacent building, there were inverters. And 00:39:56.369 --> 00:39:59.650 we kept wondering what all the noise was. Well, 00:40:00.110 --> 00:40:04.829 we could actually see it on the Ellicraft P3, 00:40:04.889 --> 00:40:07.949 which is a band scope, that we could see some 00:40:07.949 --> 00:40:11.030 very unusual noise. So they had an AM radio. 00:40:11.050 --> 00:40:13.929 And I went around with this AM radio. And I found 00:40:13.929 --> 00:40:17.619 that it was all of these inverters. So we had 00:40:17.619 --> 00:40:24.460 sponsor Array Solutions out of Texas who had 00:40:24.460 --> 00:40:28.519 loaned us an SAL -30, which is a receiving antenna. 00:40:29.500 --> 00:40:32.780 And we set that up about 200 or 300 feet away 00:40:32.780 --> 00:40:36.579 in an open area. And we virtually eliminated. 00:40:37.009 --> 00:40:40.369 any of the noise issues. So we are very excited 00:40:40.369 --> 00:40:42.210 that we thank goodness we brought along that 00:40:42.210 --> 00:40:43.869 antenna because it made all the difference in 00:40:43.869 --> 00:40:46.469 the world. So I highly recommend anybody make 00:40:46.469 --> 00:40:48.050 sure you got a good receive antenna and you get 00:40:48.050 --> 00:40:51.110 it away from the noise. It really was, it made 00:40:51.110 --> 00:40:53.429 a big difference for us. Sounds like it's a lifesaver. 00:40:53.670 --> 00:40:55.690 Okay, I need to take another quick break and 00:40:55.690 --> 00:40:58.030 then we'll be back with more with Craig Thompson 00:40:58.030 --> 00:41:00.429 right after this from Tower Electronics. This 00:41:00.429 --> 00:41:02.750 episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you by 00:41:02.750 --> 00:41:05.590 Tower Electronics. Tower Electronics has been 00:41:05.590 --> 00:41:09.130 the Ham's dime store since 1978, bringing connectors, 00:41:09.489 --> 00:41:11.869 antennas, cables and other parts to the world. 00:41:12.090 --> 00:41:14.489 Scott and Jill travel the country bringing their 00:41:14.489 --> 00:41:17.210 store to you at HamFest, but you can also order 00:41:17.210 --> 00:41:24.710 online at PL -259 .com or by calling 920 -435 00:41:24.710 --> 00:41:30.210 -2973. Stock up on those supplies like PL -259 00:41:30.210 --> 00:41:33.329 and end connectors, audio cables, mobile antennas 00:41:33.329 --> 00:41:36.610 and hamsticks. Their silver plated end connectors 00:41:36.610 --> 00:41:39.369 are even in use on the International Space Station. 00:41:39.579 --> 00:41:43.199 Tower Electronics is a dealer for MFJ, Comet, 00:41:43.579 --> 00:41:46.940 Daiwa, OPEC, Workman and HamPro technologies. 00:41:47.500 --> 00:41:51.980 Tower Electronics online at PL -259 .com. Proud 00:41:51.980 --> 00:41:55.699 to sponsor this episode of HamTalk Live. If a 00:41:55.699 --> 00:41:57.980 man says something in the woods and there are 00:41:57.980 --> 00:42:00.920 no women there, is he still wrong? You're listening 00:42:00.920 --> 00:42:13.329 to HamTalk Live with Neil Rapp. And thanks to 00:42:13.329 --> 00:42:15.449 Tower Electronics for sponsoring the show. Don't 00:42:15.449 --> 00:42:18.570 miss Jill at the Mobile Alabama HamFest on Saturday. 00:42:19.070 --> 00:42:24.809 Or visit their website at PL -259 .com. Craig 00:42:24.809 --> 00:42:28.150 Thompson K9CT is with us and we just have a couple 00:42:28.150 --> 00:42:34.110 of minutes here, Craig. So what else can you 00:42:34.110 --> 00:42:36.650 tell us about your experience from home, Ira? 00:42:38.150 --> 00:42:42.210 Well, I'd say that it was obviously a success 00:42:42.210 --> 00:42:45.349 and a lot of that has to do with the team of 00:42:45.349 --> 00:42:47.530 operators that we brought along. Everybody pitched 00:42:47.530 --> 00:42:51.809 in and everybody carried an equal load and did 00:42:51.809 --> 00:42:55.590 a super job. So I'd highly recommend that you 00:42:55.590 --> 00:42:57.710 take a look at our website and see who they are. 00:42:57.849 --> 00:43:01.010 You probably know a lot of them. The co -leader 00:43:01.010 --> 00:43:05.820 was Lou N2TU. He is just a terrific guy and did 00:43:05.820 --> 00:43:08.900 a lot of the work. He got the permissions and 00:43:08.900 --> 00:43:12.559 he did all of that. And I congratulate him for 00:43:12.559 --> 00:43:17.039 the part he brought to the table. So it was just 00:43:17.039 --> 00:43:20.360 a great team effort. Like I said, we made 75 00:43:20.360 --> 00:43:24.219 ,000 QSOs. It was really not very easy the first 00:43:24.219 --> 00:43:27.719 week because propagation was difficult. There 00:43:27.719 --> 00:43:34.289 was a lot of geomagnetic disturbance. And so 00:43:34.289 --> 00:43:36.130 you know what that means. There's just more absorption 00:43:36.130 --> 00:43:40.550 and it made it more difficult. But as we got 00:43:40.550 --> 00:43:43.409 into the second week, conditions improved and 00:43:43.409 --> 00:43:46.269 we got a lot of more, especially Europeans in 00:43:46.269 --> 00:43:49.250 particular, because it was so difficult of a 00:43:49.250 --> 00:43:54.550 path through the rural oval. So we felt that 00:43:54.550 --> 00:43:58.429 we had made a huge dent. Obviously we were at 00:43:58.429 --> 00:44:03.019 number nine most wanted. location and we wanted 00:44:03.019 --> 00:44:05.300 to make sure that because it may not there may 00:44:05.300 --> 00:44:06.920 not be another de -expedition there for another 00:44:06.920 --> 00:44:09.619 ten years so we wanted to make sure that anybody 00:44:09.619 --> 00:44:12.239 that really needed it we got him in the log and 00:44:12.239 --> 00:44:15.159 and I can tell you we especially several stations 00:44:15.159 --> 00:44:18.239 in Europe we worked very hard to get them in 00:44:18.239 --> 00:44:21.519 the log and we it might have taken several days 00:44:21.519 --> 00:44:25.679 but inevitably we got them in the log on some 00:44:25.679 --> 00:44:29.110 band somehow so From that standpoint, it was 00:44:29.110 --> 00:44:34.150 very successful the equipment got back We the 00:44:34.150 --> 00:44:37.590 sponsors were terrific We please support our 00:44:37.590 --> 00:44:41.530 sponsors that without them donating and allowing 00:44:41.530 --> 00:44:45.469 us to Use their great equipment these things 00:44:45.469 --> 00:44:47.449 wouldn't happen because you can imagine the cost 00:44:48.699 --> 00:44:51.480 I mean, these are expensive anyhow, but the additional 00:44:51.480 --> 00:44:54.340 cost it would be without our sponsors. We are 00:44:54.340 --> 00:44:57.659 out of time. Okay. Craig, thanks. And thanks 00:44:57.659 --> 00:44:59.059 to all the listeners out there and we'll see 00:44:59.059 --> 00:44:59.760 you next week.