WEBVTT 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:14.939 Thanks for tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on 00:00:14.939 --> 00:00:32.859 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:32.859 --> 00:00:35.619 tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:35.899 --> 00:01:14.599 Please stand by. Good evening, everyone. This 00:01:14.599 --> 00:01:18.140 is ham talk live episode number five Bob often 00:01:18.140 --> 00:01:23.480 k4u ee Recorded live on Thursday, March 17th 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:28.519 2016. I'm your host Neil rap WB nine VPG Thanks 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:31.840 for tuning in to this episode of am talk live 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:35.519 Tonight on the show Bob often k4u ee will join 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:37.959 us Bob will be talking about how he's able to 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:41.609 organize All these big top 10 most wanted de 00:01:41.609 --> 00:01:45.430 -expeditions and the videos that he has that 00:01:45.430 --> 00:01:47.730 documents those trips and we'll be taking your 00:01:47.730 --> 00:01:51.390 calls live in just a few minutes. Last week on 00:01:51.390 --> 00:01:54.310 The Big Show, Tom Vinson NY0V was here to talk 00:01:54.310 --> 00:01:57.209 about his trip to Myanmar to work with Boy Scouts 00:01:57.209 --> 00:02:00.569 and Girl Guides and I hope you will support Tom 00:02:00.569 --> 00:02:04.170 in those efforts to bring ham radio back to Myanmar. 00:02:04.569 --> 00:02:07.189 If you missed that show or any future show you 00:02:07.189 --> 00:02:10.189 can listen to the replay on hamtalklive .com 00:02:10.189 --> 00:02:14.889 or it's also on Spreaker tune in iTunes SoundCloud 00:02:14.889 --> 00:02:19.750 or YouTube and This week we've added Stitcher 00:02:19.750 --> 00:02:22.509 and we've added everything for Google Play, but 00:02:22.509 --> 00:02:27.629 the Google Play podcast Option is not released 00:02:27.629 --> 00:02:30.590 yet. So it's ready to go as soon as they're ready 00:02:30.590 --> 00:02:36.090 to go. We'll be on it We're also pending on iHeartPodcast, 00:02:36.270 --> 00:02:40.289 so hopefully we'll be on there in the next week 00:02:40.289 --> 00:02:42.789 or so. Tonight we want to take your calls as 00:02:42.789 --> 00:02:45.069 always, so in just a few minutes be ready to 00:02:45.069 --> 00:02:48.930 call in. You can call us on Skype and the username 00:02:48.930 --> 00:02:52.889 is HamTalkLive, or you can call us by telephone. 00:02:52.990 --> 00:02:58.030 That phone number again is 812 -NET -HAM -1. 00:02:58.310 --> 00:03:06.610 That's 812 -638 - My guest this evening is Bob 00:03:06.610 --> 00:03:10.689 Alford, K4UEE, and Bob's home QTH is the metro 00:03:10.689 --> 00:03:14.270 Atlanta, Georgia area. Bob has either participated, 00:03:14.389 --> 00:03:18.729 led, or co -led the expeditions to 11 of the 00:03:18.729 --> 00:03:23.050 top 10 most wanted DXCC entities. Bob has 11 00:03:23.050 --> 00:03:26.050 The Expedition of the Year awards and has participated 00:03:26.050 --> 00:03:29.539 in 38 The Expeditions total. Since retiring, 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:33.020 Bob's made DXpeditions his full -time job, and 00:03:33.020 --> 00:03:37.159 he's a member of the CQDX Hall of Fame, as well 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:40.439 as many, many other recognitions. So Bob, welcome 00:03:40.439 --> 00:03:43.620 to HamTalk Live. Thank you, Neil. It's a pleasure 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:46.900 to be here. I appreciate the opportunity. Bob, 00:03:46.939 --> 00:03:53.020 take us back briefly and talk about how you got 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:56.639 started in Ham Radio and what your uh background 00:03:56.639 --> 00:04:02.740 is to just kind of bring us up to um the de -expeditions 00:04:02.740 --> 00:04:07.520 okie doke well it uh it started it started in 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:11.319 the boy scouts um uh i was probably nine years 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:14.300 old and the scout master happened to be a ham 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:17.879 and you know we had the radio merit badge radio 00:04:17.879 --> 00:04:20.000 merit badge back in those days so we built a 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.939 crystal set and um you know wrapped uh wrapped 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:26.790 the wire around that piece of cardboard that 00:04:26.790 --> 00:04:31.149 was in toilet paper tissue. I made a coil and 00:04:31.149 --> 00:04:33.629 I had some old World War II headphones. We had 00:04:33.629 --> 00:04:39.970 a little detector there, a germanium diode, and 00:04:39.970 --> 00:04:43.910 we started listening on that with an antenna 00:04:43.910 --> 00:04:48.029 hung out the window and I could hear music. I 00:04:48.029 --> 00:04:51.920 could hear people talking. It was coming through 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:54.360 the air, and I don't know. It just kind of hit 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:57.980 me at that age. It was magic. I just couldn't 00:04:57.980 --> 00:05:00.980 believe that you could hear intelligence coming 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:05.180 through the air. And frankly, here we are some 00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:10.680 57 years later, I guess. And it's still magic. 00:05:11.060 --> 00:05:13.560 Yeah, it is. And you don't let the magic smoke 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:16.399 out. No, that's right. You let the magic smoke 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:20.670 out, everything stops working. So that that was 00:05:20.670 --> 00:05:22.490 kind of the beginning now that was eight or nine 00:05:22.490 --> 00:05:26.370 years old and and you know, it took me I Guess 00:05:26.370 --> 00:05:30.230 I took my novice test when I was 14 so I kind 00:05:30.230 --> 00:05:32.189 of played around with it for three to five years 00:05:32.189 --> 00:05:37.649 as a SWL and finally found an Elmer Who said 00:05:37.649 --> 00:05:40.389 just take my arm young man and I'll show you 00:05:40.389 --> 00:05:43.500 what to do and I'll give you the test and I remember 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:48.060 waiting after taking the test. I think you knew 00:05:48.060 --> 00:05:50.740 whether you passed or not, but you didn't know 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:53.199 when the license was going to come. So I would 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:55.899 run to the mailbox every day for about five or 00:05:55.899 --> 00:06:00.060 six weeks. And one of my favorite stories, and 00:06:00.060 --> 00:06:03.519 I hope your listeners haven't heard it before. 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:07.339 It's kind of cute. I was ready to go. I got the 00:06:07.339 --> 00:06:11.899 license in the mail and I got KN4UE and I thought, 00:06:12.040 --> 00:06:14.980 well, Okay, that's, that's, that's all right. 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:18.540 Could have been worse. Could have been ZXV or 00:06:18.540 --> 00:06:22.939 something. So I went and called CQ. I had an 00:06:22.939 --> 00:06:25.779 80 meter transmitter and about 20 watts out. 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:30.759 Called CQ for about an hour on 80 meters, 35, 00:06:30.819 --> 00:06:36.300 14. And then somebody answered me. And I was 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:39.620 so excited that I got up and I ran around the 00:06:39.620 --> 00:06:43.019 house yelling. Somebody's calling me somebody's 00:06:43.019 --> 00:06:47.680 calling me. What do I do? And and my mom says 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:53.500 well, why don't you go answer him? Oh, okay And 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:56.920 it turned out to be a guy in I was in Birmingham 00:06:56.920 --> 00:06:59.160 at that point My dad was in the military. We 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:02.079 were stationed this guy that answered me was 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:04.699 in Gadsden, which is about 60 miles away But 00:07:04.699 --> 00:07:07.259 you know, I just thought that was big DX. And 00:07:07.259 --> 00:07:09.720 of course we were We were talking to each other 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:11.699 at about five and a half words a minute, so I'm 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:16.279 sure the conversation took forever. But I think, 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:19.759 you know, like I said earlier, it's magic even 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:23.019 today. And then later on, I got my general license 00:07:23.019 --> 00:07:26.100 three or four months later, and I continued to 00:07:26.100 --> 00:07:28.819 work on 80 meters. And I worked Europe on 80. 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:32.439 And I worked New Zealand and Australia on 80. 00:07:32.459 --> 00:07:34.819 And I worked all over South America on 80 meters. 00:07:34.899 --> 00:07:37.579 And I just, I said, this is really something. 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:40.740 And, of course, it's a lot easier on the higher 00:07:40.740 --> 00:07:44.079 bands, but I got interested in the low bands, 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:46.920 and I've always been a low band enthusiast, because 00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:49.079 I think that's where the big thrill is when you 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:52.459 make a QSO with a guy that's a long way away, 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:55.879 and, you know, he's in the noise and weak, weak, 00:07:55.939 --> 00:08:00.660 weak. That's just kind of my thing. And, of course, 00:08:00.660 --> 00:08:04.139 I'm a CW guy, and most of my QSOs are on CW. 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:08.050 So that's kind of how I got started. Shortly 00:08:08.050 --> 00:08:10.569 after that, my dad was transferred overseas. 00:08:11.449 --> 00:08:14.069 So I went and finished high school in Okinawa. 00:08:14.149 --> 00:08:18.410 Back then, Okinawa was a separate DXCC entity. 00:08:18.629 --> 00:08:23.990 It was KR -6. I was KR -6LY, KR -6 Lonesome Yankee. 00:08:25.170 --> 00:08:27.610 And that's the first time I've been on the other 00:08:27.610 --> 00:08:31.769 end of Pilops. And frankly, you know, I loved 00:08:31.769 --> 00:08:35.590 it. It was addictive. I think that's probably 00:08:35.590 --> 00:08:39.669 when the... when the bug the de -expedition bug 00:08:39.669 --> 00:08:44.110 bit and of course it when it bit it it it bit 00:08:44.110 --> 00:08:48.909 and is still biting today yeah it bit well so 00:08:48.909 --> 00:08:54.330 so how did you you go from from that to something 00:08:54.330 --> 00:09:00.909 so um treacherous i guess is the word i'm looking 00:09:00.909 --> 00:09:08.559 for as going to peter wan island Well, that's 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:14.000 a great question, Neil. Peter Wan was about 10 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:19.340 years ago and I had done a number of expeditions. 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:22.580 I'd been invited on them or had an opportunity 00:09:22.580 --> 00:09:27.039 to lead or co -lead a number. But I was always 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:29.700 interested in activating really the rare ones, 00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:33.779 the ones that only come on the air every 15 or 00:09:33.779 --> 00:09:36.700 20 years because They're really out of the way. 00:09:36.820 --> 00:09:38.639 They're hard to get to. It costs a lot of money. 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:42.539 There's nobody that lives there. And so I became 00:09:42.539 --> 00:09:47.179 fixated on Peter One, which is about 300 miles 00:09:47.179 --> 00:09:50.419 off the western coast of Antarctica, for those 00:09:50.419 --> 00:09:54.220 that are not quite sure where that is. We had 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:58.759 a couple of missteps with transportation and 00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:01.500 that kind of thing. And it took about three years 00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:05.980 to pull it off. And virtually, About all I did 00:10:05.980 --> 00:10:08.139 during that three years, I had retired at that 00:10:08.139 --> 00:10:12.379 point, and all I did was work on making that 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:18.779 come to happen. And finally, this time 10 years 00:10:18.779 --> 00:10:24.379 ago, February of 2006, we got it done and made 00:10:24.379 --> 00:10:28.440 about 80 ,000 QSOs, used helicopters to get on 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:31.840 and off the island. We did have some bad weather 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:34.039 and we were, you know, socked in a number of 00:10:34.039 --> 00:10:37.480 times. And in fact, our departure was delayed 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:41.100 because of bad weather. It was my second time 00:10:41.100 --> 00:10:43.740 down in that part of the world. And, you know, 00:10:43.740 --> 00:10:46.860 I really love it down there, but it is, as you 00:10:46.860 --> 00:10:50.620 said, it's very treacherous. Since then have 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:52.799 been a number of other expeditions. As you mentioned, 00:10:52.899 --> 00:10:56.200 I think in your introduction that I have activated 00:10:56.200 --> 00:11:00.100 or. I've been on a team that's activated 11 of 00:11:00.100 --> 00:11:02.039 the top tenors. Some people have a little trouble 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:06.419 with that math. How can you activate 11 top tenors? 00:11:07.379 --> 00:11:10.139 If I told you I was going to activate 12 and 00:11:10.139 --> 00:11:12.399 13 top tenors, then you know what I've got in 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:16.480 my future. Anyway, they don't stay in the top 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:18.480 10, of course, if you do a good job when you 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:23.799 go there. So new ones come up. But that's kind 00:11:23.799 --> 00:11:26.059 of what I do. I've got a spirit of adventure. 00:11:27.079 --> 00:11:29.279 I guess has a lot of it has to do with the fact 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:31.240 that I traveled a lot when my dad was in the 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:35.059 service and You know, I don't have any trouble 00:11:35.059 --> 00:11:37.659 getting on an airplane or getting on a boat or 00:11:37.659 --> 00:11:39.799 getting on a train or a bus and going someplace 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:43.500 new I think it's a great thrill. Oh Absolutely. 00:11:43.779 --> 00:11:46.639 Well, I have some connection and we were talking 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:50.620 before the show With the Peter one thing so we'll 00:11:50.620 --> 00:11:52.779 talk about that in a little bit But that's why 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:55.460 I brought that particular one up, but it just 00:11:55.460 --> 00:12:00.970 seemed so so treacherous. So how do you plan 00:12:00.970 --> 00:12:05.049 for this? Now in the video I you know I saw you 00:12:05.049 --> 00:12:08.450 know some footage of you guys sitting and uh 00:12:08.450 --> 00:12:10.370 I think it was a holiday inn or something in 00:12:10.370 --> 00:12:13.889 the conference room and and talking about those 00:12:13.889 --> 00:12:16.850 kinds of things. How do you go about organizing 00:12:16.850 --> 00:12:23.179 one of these trips? Well, that also is a very 00:12:23.179 --> 00:12:25.759 good question, and that's one of the reasons 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:29.259 that these things take so long to pull together. 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:34.039 First of all, to be in the top 10 or to be rare, 00:12:34.179 --> 00:12:39.039 you know, there's some reason for that. As I 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:41.299 said earlier, they're way out of the way, hard 00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:44.100 to get to, expensive. The other thing is that 00:12:44.100 --> 00:12:47.860 there's usually some kind of an impediment, either 00:12:47.860 --> 00:12:53.799 a government agency that has has a say over the 00:12:53.799 --> 00:12:59.139 island and controls access to the island or a 00:12:59.139 --> 00:13:01.279 government that doesn't allow amateur radio. 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:04.940 North Korea is a good example. But so one of 00:13:04.940 --> 00:13:06.960 the things that has to happen is you've got to 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:11.539 get a permit. And that can take, in the case 00:13:11.539 --> 00:13:14.279 of the last one we activated in Nevada a year 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:18.480 ago, it took 13 years to get the permit from 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:21.960 US Fish and Wildlife. A lot of the time is spent 00:13:21.960 --> 00:13:26.659 doing that. The other thing, of course, are having 00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:29.919 to do with the equipment and the personnel. And, 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:32.580 you know, I've got a list of people that I've 00:13:32.580 --> 00:13:35.700 been with before. And those people have a list 00:13:35.700 --> 00:13:38.080 of, you know, I'm on a number of lists. And so 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:40.700 if something comes up, I usually get a call and 00:13:40.700 --> 00:13:42.600 they know they're going to get a call. So these 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:44.659 are people that I've been with before and I know 00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:47.580 I can trust them. and I know if we have a serious 00:13:47.580 --> 00:13:49.600 situation of some kind that they're not going 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:52.840 to panic and I know that they've got the money 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:55.059 to pay their share and I know they've got the 00:13:55.059 --> 00:13:59.740 time you know to take six or seven weeks off 00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:02.059 because these trips particularly the Antarctic 00:14:02.059 --> 00:14:04.379 you know it takes two weeks to get there and 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:06.039 you're two weeks on the island and two weeks 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:08.100 back I mean that's six weeks out of your life 00:14:08.100 --> 00:14:10.860 away from away from work or home or whatever 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:15.679 so Once you can build a team then it's a matter, 00:14:16.299 --> 00:14:22.019 I just delegate and kind of take the position 00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:25.779 of the supervisor I guess and I ask people to 00:14:25.779 --> 00:14:29.019 do different jobs that have to be done and then 00:14:29.019 --> 00:14:31.820 they report back and we tweak it and change it 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:36.080 if necessary and everybody has a role to play. 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:41.899 Probably the most valuable thing I could tell 00:14:41.899 --> 00:14:44.960 you right now, Neo, is that what you have to 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:49.940 do is you have to envision every possible situation 00:14:49.940 --> 00:14:56.620 that you can find yourself in. For example, the 00:14:56.620 --> 00:15:00.820 easy things are we want to have how many stations? 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:03.799 that will require how many radios, how many amps, 00:15:03.980 --> 00:15:06.879 how many generators, how many antennas, and how 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:10.039 many operators. That's kind of easy. We've got 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:12.340 to feed the operators. We've got to house the 00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:15.259 operators. So now how are we going to do that? 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:17.360 How much food does it take? Who's going to handle 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:20.860 that? Who's going to find the shelters? Who's 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:25.759 going to erect the shelters? And then that's 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:27.740 all kind of straightforward. And we've done it 00:15:27.740 --> 00:15:29.870 enough that we've got Got it pretty well down 00:15:29.870 --> 00:15:34.450 pat. But when it comes to envisioning circumstances 00:15:34.450 --> 00:15:41.570 that are unlikely, but could be disastrous, that's 00:15:41.570 --> 00:15:43.970 a whole different deal because you've got to 00:15:43.970 --> 00:15:46.769 really think outside the box. You've got to say, 00:15:46.909 --> 00:15:50.809 well, what if this happens? What do we do? How 00:15:50.809 --> 00:15:53.769 are we prepared for that? How do we react to 00:15:53.769 --> 00:15:56.649 it? How do we recover from it? How do we get 00:15:56.649 --> 00:16:01.539 off the island? And that's also something you 00:16:01.539 --> 00:16:05.980 just kind of learn. And if you surround yourself 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:08.779 with good people, like I try to do, you know, 00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:11.240 we've got a lot of, I got a good brain power. 00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:14.679 So we're very fortunate to be able to say that 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:19.419 we've never had any serious accidents or, you 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:22.759 know, anything that has not gone pretty much 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:27.669 as we planned it. And... That's you know, I need 00:16:27.669 --> 00:16:32.049 to knock on wood and I'll do that right now So 00:16:32.049 --> 00:16:34.909 I hope that's helpful yeah, and we do try to 00:16:34.909 --> 00:16:38.350 capture that as much as we can in the videos 00:16:38.350 --> 00:16:42.110 Yeah, now speaking of the videos One of the things 00:16:42.110 --> 00:16:45.450 that that you know, I don't think you knew about 00:16:45.450 --> 00:16:50.450 until today was that There was a little connection 00:16:50.450 --> 00:16:53.429 with the video and some of the things that I 00:16:53.429 --> 00:16:56.870 do that I teach high school and I sponsor a high 00:16:56.870 --> 00:17:00.230 school amateur radio club and and one day I decided 00:17:00.230 --> 00:17:04.470 that I was going to show the video from the Peter 00:17:04.470 --> 00:17:08.849 Wan the expedition and So we watched it and and 00:17:08.849 --> 00:17:11.349 there was a little drama there at the end because 00:17:11.349 --> 00:17:13.869 Storm moved in and we're like, okay now how are 00:17:13.869 --> 00:17:15.549 we going to get everybody off the island? And 00:17:15.549 --> 00:17:18.720 we've got a couple people still over there and 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:20.599 some stuff still over there and how are we going 00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:23.839 to do that and and so that actually inspired 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:29.680 one of my students to turn his family vacation 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:33.720 that summer to Cyprus into a de -expedition and 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:37.759 so he took a radio and a battery and an antenna 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:41.359 and a buddy pole and and set up at different 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:45.539 places Around Cyprus and he ended up writing 00:17:45.539 --> 00:17:48.559 an article for QST that one of his pictures ended 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:53.519 up being the cover photo on QST and he got the 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:57.940 cover plaque award and One thing leads to another 00:17:57.940 --> 00:18:00.420 and he's speaking at Dayton about it. He's speaking 00:18:00.420 --> 00:18:03.720 at other clubs about it and Dr. Scott Wright 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:06.400 and I nominate him for the young ham of the year 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:08.319 award. He gets the young ham of the year award 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:10.460 He gets the Hiram Percy maxim award. He gets 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:13.400 the goldfarb scholarship it just sweeps everything 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:18.980 and it all comes back to that one video showing 00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:23.220 that one video of that d expedition sparked that 00:18:23.220 --> 00:18:29.400 whole chain of events wow i just i just heard 00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:32.940 this story uh you know before we went on the 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:38.819 air and i was really touched by it um I always 00:18:38.819 --> 00:18:41.440 think that these videos are gonna play a role 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:43.660 somehow in getting somebody interested in the 00:18:43.660 --> 00:18:49.660 hobby. I hope that they have that role. And now 00:18:49.660 --> 00:18:53.279 you've given me evidence of that. I think it's 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.980 a great story. And when I see you in Dayton, 00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:00.960 Neil, this year, if that young man is there, 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:03.789 I'd love to meet him. Well, I know his sister's 00:19:03.789 --> 00:19:06.430 gonna be there and his mother I'm not sure if 00:19:06.430 --> 00:19:10.049 he will he's a Actually at Cornell right now 00:19:10.049 --> 00:19:12.990 and his final exams are usually at that point 00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:15.309 But if there's a way to make that work, I will 00:19:15.309 --> 00:19:21.670 I will certainly make that happen. Yeah Great 00:19:21.670 --> 00:19:25.089 story makes me feel all good. Yeah, so those 00:19:25.089 --> 00:19:28.970 videos do play a wonderful role and if you haven't 00:19:28.970 --> 00:19:32.200 seen any of those videos they They make a great 00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:35.380 club meeting. You know, you can pop it in and 00:19:35.380 --> 00:19:39.240 let it go. And they're quite interesting. And 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:42.519 so talk about just briefly how people can get 00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:45.460 a hold of those videos and what the money goes 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:51.460 toward and which ones are out there. Yeah. Okay. 00:19:52.420 --> 00:19:54.960 I guess this is the commercial. Yes, this is 00:19:54.960 --> 00:20:01.920 the commercial part. On my website, k4ue .com, 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.660 there is a section that you can click on that 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:10.059 shows you the DVDs. We've done 10 of them over 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:16.359 the years, and they're all good. They're all 00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:20.220 interesting and different expeditions all over 00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:23.119 the world. In fact, I had an opportunity to look 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:25.380 at some that we did almost 10 years ago recently, 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:30.099 and I was amazed. I thought, what a good job 00:20:30.099 --> 00:20:38.539 we did. But the really big ones, Peter Wan and 00:20:38.539 --> 00:20:43.740 Amsterdam Island and Desacheo and Malpello and 00:20:43.740 --> 00:20:47.980 last year Navassa, they are all well chronicled 00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:51.400 in those DVDs and they run anywhere from about... 00:20:51.579 --> 00:20:55.539 35 or 40 minutes to as much as an hour. So you're 00:20:55.539 --> 00:20:58.599 getting your money's worth. And I do most of 00:20:58.599 --> 00:21:01.380 the filming. I'm not much of an editor. In fact, 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:05.460 I'm not an editor at all. So I hire professional 00:21:05.460 --> 00:21:09.000 editors to do the work. And I'm just real pleased 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:12.180 with the outcome. We sell them for 25 bucks a 00:21:12.180 --> 00:21:17.180 piece and include shipping worldwide. And our 00:21:17.180 --> 00:21:20.720 expenses are... when you figure in the cost of 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:25.619 the editor and duplicating and postage and all 00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:27.380 of that kind of stuff, we probably make about 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:31.220 four or five bucks on each one. And then we just 00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:33.859 kind of divide that up. And I take my portion 00:21:33.859 --> 00:21:37.259 and I put it in the de -expedition pot for the 00:21:37.259 --> 00:21:40.920 next adventure. So if you have an interest in 00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:44.160 that, as Neil said, they're great for club meetings. 00:21:44.779 --> 00:21:47.839 They're great for getting young people interested 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:50.599 in the hobby as we just heard a good example 00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:56.180 of that. So it's k4ue .com and then click on 00:21:56.180 --> 00:22:00.880 the DVD section and any orders that you place 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:02.920 would be greatly appreciated and we'll get the 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:06.400 DVDs out to you right away. And those are also 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:10.059 available at a few assorted places. I know I 00:22:10.059 --> 00:22:14.019 picked mine up at the Huntsville Hamfest. And 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:18.599 a Dayton I believe yeah DX engineering handles 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:23.519 them a double RL handles them Gigaparts handles 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:30.039 them MFJs handles them That's not their main 00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:32.960 business, but they've got them available So that's 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:34.940 another that's another way you could get a hold 00:22:34.940 --> 00:22:38.579 of them I guess I should mention also that if 00:22:38.579 --> 00:22:43.759 you if you order three at a time I discount the 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:48.279 price from 75 down to 60. So you can get them, 00:22:48.380 --> 00:22:50.579 three of them for an average of 20 bucks a piece. 00:22:50.660 --> 00:22:55.900 And if you order the whole set of 10, and a number 00:22:55.900 --> 00:23:02.339 of people have done that, it's $175. So your 00:23:02.339 --> 00:23:06.680 per DVD price is down to about 17 .50. So that's 00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:08.299 all on the website and it's something to think 00:23:08.299 --> 00:23:10.839 about. Thanks for the opportunity to talk about 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:14.079 this. It's it's fun. It's great stuff. Oh, absolutely 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:17.019 Well speaking of ads, it's time for us to take 00:23:17.019 --> 00:23:20.200 a break and get an ad in here And I know we've 00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:22.299 got at least one caller who's been trying to 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:26.559 get through and it's dr. Scott, right? He sent 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:28.720 me a tweet a while ago. So I know he's gonna 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:31.519 gonna ask you some questions and we'll take some 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:36.799 other Callers here. Oh, yeah. Oh Scott. Oh you 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:41.240 didn't hear that Uh, but it questions. Yeah. 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:44.200 Yeah. You'll ask the tough ones. So anyway, we'll, 00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:46.519 we'll take your calls here. Uh, when we come 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:49.339 back from the break, but right now, uh, let's 00:23:49.339 --> 00:23:52.700 hear a word from one of our sponsors, tower electronics 00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:55.920 right here on ham talk live. This episode of 00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:58.839 HamTalk Live is brought to you by Tower Electronics. 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:01.460 Tower Electronics has been the Ham's dime store 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:05.119 since 1978, bringing connectors, antennas, cables, 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:07.819 and other parts to the world. Scott and Jill 00:24:07.819 --> 00:24:09.920 travel the country bringing their store to you 00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:13.039 at HamFest, but you can also order online at 00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:22.630 pl -259 .com or by calling 920 -435 -2973. Stock 00:24:22.630 --> 00:24:25.890 up on those supplies like PL259 and end connectors, 00:24:26.470 --> 00:24:29.309 audio cables, mobile antennas, and hamsticks. 00:24:29.789 --> 00:24:32.009 Their silver -plated end connectors are even 00:24:32.009 --> 00:24:35.029 in use on the International Space Station. Tower 00:24:35.029 --> 00:24:38.789 Electronics is a dealer for MFJ, Comet, Daiwa, 00:24:39.049 --> 00:24:42.490 OPEC, Workman, and HamPro technologies. Tower 00:24:42.490 --> 00:24:47.049 Electronics, online at pl -259 .com. Proud to 00:24:47.049 --> 00:25:03.349 sponsor this episode of HamTalk Live. Oh yeah, 00:25:03.910 --> 00:25:07.670 you're talking ham radio, baby. You're listening 00:25:07.670 --> 00:25:12.930 to Ham Talk Live with Neil Rapp. Welcome back 00:25:12.930 --> 00:25:15.470 to Ham Talk Live. Thanks to the sport of tower 00:25:15.470 --> 00:25:17.710 electronics to help bring Ham Talk Live to you 00:25:17.710 --> 00:25:20.789 each week. Some of their upcoming shows are the 00:25:20.789 --> 00:25:24.769 Toledo Ohio Ham Fest on March 20th and also Mobile 00:25:24.769 --> 00:25:27.960 Alabama on April 9th. Be sure to listen to the 00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:30.099 show every Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern 00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:33.759 Time right here on HamTalkLive .com. Also check 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:36.880 out our Facebook page and our Twitter feed. Just 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:41.519 search for HamTalk Live. Bob Alfen, K4UEE is 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:43.420 our guest this evening and we're going to start 00:25:43.420 --> 00:25:46.099 taking some calls now. So feel free to give us 00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:48.319 a call. The best way to do that is with Skype. 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:51.599 Give us an audio call on Skype at HamTalk Live 00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:54.460 or if Skype isn't your thing you can call us 00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:59.630 on telephone. At eight one two net ham one that's 00:25:59.630 --> 00:26:04.910 eight one two six three eight four two six one 00:26:04.910 --> 00:26:09.890 so Bob I Went ahead and took the call during 00:26:09.890 --> 00:26:13.869 the the break here. We are joined by K zero MD. 00:26:14.170 --> 00:26:18.150 Dr. Scott right and and so I know you said you 00:26:18.150 --> 00:26:20.710 didn't want to talk to him, but but hopefully 00:26:20.710 --> 00:26:25.640 that was just sarcasm uh... scott how you doing 00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:29.240 tonight i'm great thank you and bob good evening 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:31.960 i look forward to seeing you in the near future 00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:34.579 in the dayton and uh... you know i just first 00:26:34.579 --> 00:26:36.940 one of the state of bob on behalf of so many 00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:40.759 of us who uh... or dexers thank you for all the 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:43.180 work in time over the last fifteen or twenty 00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:46.039 years that you've put in activating the rarest 00:26:46.039 --> 00:26:48.579 of the rare i've had a glimpse into some of your 00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:52.390 dexpeditions not having been able to go, but 00:26:52.390 --> 00:26:54.130 having been invited. And I know the leadership 00:26:54.130 --> 00:26:56.930 and time and the 100 hours a week that you and 00:26:56.930 --> 00:26:59.450 other co -leaders put in. So I just want to publicly 00:26:59.450 --> 00:27:01.829 say thank you for all your hard work and look 00:27:01.829 --> 00:27:03.509 forward to you leading another one in the near 00:27:03.509 --> 00:27:06.150 future. I wondered, Bob, if you could share with 00:27:06.150 --> 00:27:08.150 the listeners just a little bit about Mary, your 00:27:08.150 --> 00:27:10.730 wonderful wife, who is so generous to give us 00:27:10.730 --> 00:27:13.009 so much of your time in the hobby. And secondly, 00:27:13.170 --> 00:27:15.500 if you had any thoughts about... how we can get 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:18.059 more young people involved in ham radio today's 00:27:18.059 --> 00:27:21.880 a r r l newsletter has a picture of a teenager 00:27:21.880 --> 00:27:24.900 who just at the x t c and worked all states uh... 00:27:24.900 --> 00:27:26.720 thank you fourteen or fifteen in the news eight 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:29.079 of a r l c e o added took a picture with him 00:27:29.079 --> 00:27:31.259 at lee giving him the certificates and we need 00:27:31.259 --> 00:27:33.980 more people like that and like uh... neil's students 00:27:33.980 --> 00:27:35.799 deals doing it right in bloomington but most 00:27:35.799 --> 00:27:38.140 of us can't seem to get as many young people 00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:41.000 involved in d xing and contesting so i'm gonna 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:43.819 those are the only questions i have uh... Bob 00:27:43.819 --> 00:27:45.799 and I, I'm wondering if you have some answers. 00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:55.599 No, I don't, Scott. I'm just kidding. There's 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:57.660 nothing I'd like more than to talk about my wife, 00:27:57.779 --> 00:28:00.619 Mary, because she's an integral part of all of 00:28:00.619 --> 00:28:08.099 this. We've been married 49 years now, and it's 00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:11.549 looking pretty good for 50. happy about that. 00:28:11.789 --> 00:28:13.930 But, you know, the bottom line is I couldn't 00:28:13.930 --> 00:28:18.450 do what I do without her blessing. I think in 00:28:18.450 --> 00:28:20.390 the old days, Scott, we used to refer to that 00:28:20.390 --> 00:28:24.390 as a kitchen pass. You know, I've got to get 00:28:24.390 --> 00:28:27.349 a kitchen pass, but most people don't get them 00:28:27.349 --> 00:28:31.410 for six and seven weeks at a time. So we often 00:28:31.410 --> 00:28:35.369 joke about the fact that, you know, maybe she 00:28:35.369 --> 00:28:39.180 wants to get rid of me. When I come back, you 00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:41.140 know, there's a great reunion and she says, how's 00:28:41.140 --> 00:28:42.940 it going, so on and so forth, where, you know, 00:28:42.980 --> 00:28:45.059 everything's fine for a couple of weeks. Then 00:28:45.059 --> 00:28:49.140 suddenly one night she'll say, so when are you 00:28:49.140 --> 00:28:53.119 going again? Sort of like, gosh, you've been 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:56.259 home a long time, two weeks. I'm just kidding, 00:28:56.259 --> 00:28:59.779 of course. She's a great gal. And, you know, 00:28:59.799 --> 00:29:03.160 that's, again, I couldn't, none of us could do 00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:08.049 what we do without that kind of support. As far 00:29:08.049 --> 00:29:13.190 as getting some of the young people involved 00:29:13.190 --> 00:29:16.049 in this hobby, I've got a couple of thoughts 00:29:16.049 --> 00:29:19.950 there. Again, Neil was telling me earlier about 00:29:19.950 --> 00:29:22.089 what he's doing in the high school there and 00:29:22.089 --> 00:29:25.289 sponsoring the ham club, and apparently he's 00:29:25.289 --> 00:29:28.329 been very successful. But there's a big wide 00:29:28.329 --> 00:29:32.630 world full of young kids that are bright and 00:29:32.630 --> 00:29:38.009 interested in really cool things. And I've always 00:29:38.009 --> 00:29:40.349 thought that maybe one of the ways we might approach 00:29:40.349 --> 00:29:44.109 this is to point out to them that amateur radio 00:29:44.109 --> 00:29:49.809 is really the first wireless. You know, there's 00:29:49.809 --> 00:29:51.950 all this talk about wireless technology. Well, 00:29:51.950 --> 00:29:58.190 we've been doing it for 100 years. And are you 00:29:58.190 --> 00:30:01.349 all hearing me okay? Yeah, I think there's just 00:30:01.349 --> 00:30:03.349 a little echo coming back through Scott's phone 00:30:03.349 --> 00:30:06.730 there. So, I mean, maybe that's one way to break 00:30:06.730 --> 00:30:12.069 the ice, but I think the aspects of the hobby 00:30:12.069 --> 00:30:16.670 that are probably would be of most interest to 00:30:16.670 --> 00:30:22.109 today's generation would be contesting and DXing. 00:30:24.289 --> 00:30:27.349 My understanding is that there's an awful lot 00:30:27.349 --> 00:30:29.930 of gaming that's going on, and it's a very, very 00:30:29.930 --> 00:30:33.269 popular, well... There's no better gaming than 00:30:33.269 --> 00:30:37.869 what we do on weekend contests on the radio. 00:30:39.630 --> 00:30:41.890 And that's a good way to get them interested, 00:30:41.890 --> 00:30:46.690 I think. And de -axing, of course, I think the 00:30:46.690 --> 00:30:55.190 idea is to combine the amateur radio aspect of 00:30:55.190 --> 00:30:59.829 de -axing with the adventure of de -axing because... 00:30:59.869 --> 00:31:02.049 These kids are no different than we were when 00:31:02.049 --> 00:31:05.369 we were young. They've got a spirit of adventure 00:31:05.369 --> 00:31:08.130 and they want to see the world and they want 00:31:08.130 --> 00:31:11.410 to meet new people and climb mountains and swim 00:31:11.410 --> 00:31:18.130 oceans and that kind of stuff. You can do that 00:31:18.130 --> 00:31:21.349 through the radio sitting in your den or in your 00:31:21.349 --> 00:31:26.009 bedroom, but you can also do that by getting 00:31:26.009 --> 00:31:29.390 on an airplane or getting on a boat. with some 00:31:29.390 --> 00:31:31.829 other guys that would go someplace really interesting 00:31:31.829 --> 00:31:36.390 and do a de -expedition. I just think that that 00:31:36.390 --> 00:31:41.710 would be something that would attract these young 00:31:41.710 --> 00:31:44.490 folks to the hobby. What do you think, Scott? 00:31:46.569 --> 00:31:49.890 I have to agree, Bob. I think we have to engage 00:31:49.890 --> 00:31:53.509 the culture that they have. of travel adventure 00:31:53.509 --> 00:31:55.670 and I think many of them do like gaming and I 00:31:55.670 --> 00:31:58.809 also think we need to figure out a way that adults 00:31:58.809 --> 00:32:01.890 like the three of us who have knowledge and extra 00:32:01.890 --> 00:32:05.769 equipment can help youngsters and teenagers out 00:32:05.769 --> 00:32:08.890 who don't have much of a budget or parents who 00:32:08.890 --> 00:32:11.549 see a need for investment in a hobby and to help 00:32:11.549 --> 00:32:13.710 them get started and just spend some time mentoring 00:32:13.710 --> 00:32:16.990 them as well. I think that's important but... 00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:18.759 I'll tell you, if we could have a school club 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:20.819 station like what Neil Rapp has in Bloomington 00:32:20.819 --> 00:32:22.660 and every town in America, Ham Radio with the 00:32:22.660 --> 00:32:26.319 double its membership in 10 years. Neil, my congratulations 00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:29.039 to all you do at Bloomington South. Bob, I don't 00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:30.720 know if you're aware of this, but Neil brought 00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:33.400 three students to Contest University last May, 00:32:33.839 --> 00:32:36.839 and they took up a challenge. And they got, they 00:32:36.839 --> 00:32:39.839 worked DXCC by the time, in one contest weekend, 00:32:40.059 --> 00:32:42.900 CQ World Wide Sideband. Very impressive club 00:32:42.900 --> 00:32:45.240 station. What he did with with a two element 00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:47.819 stepper Yagi and that's about it. I think right 00:32:47.819 --> 00:32:51.660 Neil. Yeah. Yeah, that's about it Well, thank 00:32:51.660 --> 00:32:56.339 you Scott. I appreciate your kind words Alright, 00:32:56.559 --> 00:32:59.960 thank you Scott and I will throw out to there 00:32:59.960 --> 00:33:03.380 is a group and I don't have it in front of me 00:33:03.380 --> 00:33:06.759 but there is a group that organizes a youth the 00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:09.599 expedition trip where they take a parent along 00:33:09.599 --> 00:33:14.440 and a child along and do go I know they did Costa 00:33:14.440 --> 00:33:18.640 Rica here not long ago then that's been available 00:33:18.640 --> 00:33:21.000 most years I think last year they weren't able 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:25.400 to pull it off but they have one and the RSGB 00:33:25.400 --> 00:33:28.559 has one also they have a youth the expedition 00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:34.519 where they go out to a remote area and and then 00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:37.380 set up and in fact one of my students was planning 00:33:37.380 --> 00:33:40.099 on going to that and wasn't able to get it worked 00:33:40.099 --> 00:33:44.650 out but There are some trips set up just for 00:33:44.650 --> 00:33:47.390 youth to go on these two expeditions. Yeah, Neil, 00:33:47.390 --> 00:33:52.450 I know a little bit about that program here in 00:33:52.450 --> 00:33:54.950 the States. It's run by a fellow that was on 00:33:54.950 --> 00:33:58.769 the Peter One expedition, actually. Don Dubon 00:33:58.769 --> 00:34:03.490 and 6JRL, who lives in Dayton, as a matter of 00:34:03.490 --> 00:34:07.250 fact. And I know that this year they're going 00:34:07.250 --> 00:34:09.690 to the island of Saba down in the Caribbean. 00:34:10.910 --> 00:34:13.630 I was just down there about three weeks ago for 00:34:13.630 --> 00:34:18.610 an international contest. The owner of the station 00:34:18.610 --> 00:34:22.929 down there is really, really excited about having 00:34:22.929 --> 00:34:25.809 these young hams come in with their parents. 00:34:26.429 --> 00:34:28.309 It's going to be a great experience. This is 00:34:28.309 --> 00:34:32.469 a beautiful island. It doesn't have the big glitzy 00:34:32.469 --> 00:34:36.170 hotels. casinos in fact it doesn't even have 00:34:36.170 --> 00:34:39.449 a beach but but if you like to scuba dive or 00:34:39.449 --> 00:34:44.469 snorkel or or climb mountains or do ham radio 00:34:44.469 --> 00:34:47.190 it's a it's a really interesting place and i 00:34:47.190 --> 00:34:49.090 know the kids that are going to participate in 00:34:49.090 --> 00:34:53.550 that will have a ball oh absolutely yeah so there 00:34:53.550 --> 00:34:56.070 are there are some limited trips out there you 00:34:56.070 --> 00:35:01.039 know for youth so uh that is one option Well, 00:35:01.059 --> 00:35:03.579 it's time to take our final break, but we'll 00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:06.760 be back with more with Bob often right after 00:35:06.760 --> 00:35:09.460 this message from the ham station here on ham 00:35:09.460 --> 00:35:13.159 talk live This episode of ham talk live is brought 00:35:13.159 --> 00:35:16.639 to you by the ham station for 35 years The ham 00:35:16.639 --> 00:35:19.199 station has brought new and used radios antennas 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:21.679 accessories and equipment to the amateur radio 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:26.860 community give Jeff or Dan a call at 1 -800 -729 00:35:26.860 --> 00:35:32.739 -4373 or order online at hamstation .com. Hamstation 00:35:32.739 --> 00:35:35.119 carries all the major brands like Icom, Yezu, 00:35:35.420 --> 00:35:38.340 and Kenwood. Shop from a wide selection of radio 00:35:38.340 --> 00:35:41.800 scanners, MFGA accessories, Pilesound products, 00:35:42.179 --> 00:35:45.619 Mirage and Ameritron amplifiers, Cushcraft antennas, 00:35:45.659 --> 00:35:48.940 and more. Easy online shopping and fast shipping 00:35:48.940 --> 00:35:53.019 are waiting for you at hamstation .com or call 00:35:53.019 --> 00:35:59.659 1 -800 -729 -4373. The Ham Station, proud to 00:35:59.659 --> 00:36:08.900 sponsor this episode of Ham Talk Live. You're 00:36:08.900 --> 00:36:31.599 listening to Ham Talk Live with Neil Rapp. And 00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:34.840 welcome back to HamTalk Live. If you'd like to 00:36:34.840 --> 00:36:36.679 thank the HamStation for sponsoring the show, 00:36:36.900 --> 00:36:41.940 give Dan or Jeff a call at 800 -729 -7343 or 00:36:41.940 --> 00:36:45.960 visit hamstation .com for your next rig. Bob 00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:49.260 Ulf and K4UEE is our guest this evening and we 00:36:49.260 --> 00:36:51.920 do have some time for some more calls, so give 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:54.739 us a call on Skype at HamTalk Live or by telephone 00:36:54.739 --> 00:37:02.190 at 812 -NET -HAM -1. Okay, Bob we're back with 00:37:02.190 --> 00:37:07.329 you now and Tell us what a typical day would 00:37:07.329 --> 00:37:11.210 be for an operator on one of those the expeditions 00:37:11.210 --> 00:37:14.710 What would a typical day look like? That's a 00:37:14.710 --> 00:37:19.949 good question as well Obviously at the very beginning 00:37:19.949 --> 00:37:26.579 when we first get to our our location We basically 00:37:26.579 --> 00:37:29.400 have to build what I like to call the radio city. 00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:34.480 Because these places were usually not in a hotel 00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:38.480 and we usually did not fly in. We, at least on 00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:40.860 commercial airlines, we had helicopters or we 00:37:40.860 --> 00:37:43.920 had icebreakers or somehow or other we got there. 00:37:44.539 --> 00:37:47.199 So there's no hotel. We've got to set up our 00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:50.500 own shelters. We've got to set up our kitchen. 00:37:50.699 --> 00:37:52.579 We've got to get everything organized before 00:37:52.579 --> 00:37:56.039 we ever put up the first antenna. So we've got 00:37:56.039 --> 00:37:59.280 to build that city that's going to support anywhere 00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:03.739 from 15 to 20 men for the next couple of weeks. 00:38:04.880 --> 00:38:08.039 Then once that infrastructure is built, then 00:38:08.039 --> 00:38:10.179 you begin putting the stations together and you 00:38:10.179 --> 00:38:14.480 begin putting up the antennas and you begin going 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:18.059 on the air. The bulk of the time, let's say it's 00:38:18.059 --> 00:38:21.460 a two -week expedition, the bulk of the time, 00:38:21.559 --> 00:38:26.519 maybe 12 of those days, is pretty routine, frankly. 00:38:27.820 --> 00:38:33.059 You just basically operate, you sleep, you fix 00:38:33.059 --> 00:38:37.559 things that break, and you eat. And you just 00:38:37.559 --> 00:38:42.139 do that over and over and over again for 12 days. 00:38:43.059 --> 00:38:47.719 Typically, you will operate on three or four 00:38:47.719 --> 00:38:51.690 hour shifts, and you will usually have three 00:38:51.690 --> 00:38:58.010 or four shifts in each 24 -hour period. So, for 00:38:58.010 --> 00:39:01.050 example, in Navassa, the last expedition this 00:39:01.050 --> 00:39:05.829 time last year, we used three -hour shifts, and 00:39:05.829 --> 00:39:08.530 most of us were running four shifts a day. So 00:39:08.530 --> 00:39:14.449 we were on the air 12 hours a day for 11 days. 00:39:15.720 --> 00:39:18.300 And the rest of the time, as you might imagine, 00:39:18.420 --> 00:39:22.239 we're in our bunks or having something to eat 00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:25.719 or there was time to do some exploring and there's 00:39:25.719 --> 00:39:30.000 a very interesting island. But you settle into 00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.679 a routine. I call it the expedition mode. And 00:39:34.679 --> 00:39:36.760 then when you get near the end and you shut things 00:39:36.760 --> 00:39:38.840 down and everything comes down, the good news 00:39:38.840 --> 00:39:41.360 is it comes down about three times faster than 00:39:41.360 --> 00:39:46.739 it went up. you pack it on the helicopter or 00:39:46.739 --> 00:39:50.840 you get it to the boat or whatever and you're 00:39:50.840 --> 00:39:53.980 on your way again. And that's when the celebration 00:39:53.980 --> 00:39:57.739 begins because usually we've been fortunate enough 00:39:57.739 --> 00:40:00.079 to make an awful lot of QSOs. I don't think we've 00:40:00.079 --> 00:40:03.659 let anybody down in terms of the number of contacts 00:40:03.659 --> 00:40:08.219 that we make. And so we're proud of that. We're 00:40:08.219 --> 00:40:10.920 happy that we were able to do it. And, you know, 00:40:11.440 --> 00:40:15.199 it's another adventure. that we've successfully 00:40:15.199 --> 00:40:19.440 completed. And there's usually talk about where 00:40:19.440 --> 00:40:24.460 do we go next? Talk about the next one. So if 00:40:24.460 --> 00:40:29.719 you had to choose between warm or cold, you've 00:40:29.719 --> 00:40:33.559 done both extremes. Which one would you pick? 00:40:35.679 --> 00:40:41.039 Oh, my. It's really not quite that simple, Neil. 00:40:42.570 --> 00:40:48.610 There are bugs If you're cold the challenge is 00:40:48.610 --> 00:40:51.210 to stay warm and if you're warm the challenge 00:40:51.210 --> 00:40:54.929 is to cool off So there's nothing that's particularly 00:40:54.929 --> 00:40:57.889 comfortable about either of those alternatives, 00:40:57.909 --> 00:41:06.489 but I can say that The Antarctic region I've 00:41:06.489 --> 00:41:11.349 been down there three times heard island in 1997 00:41:11.349 --> 00:41:15.480 and then Peter, well actually, South Sandwich 00:41:15.480 --> 00:41:19.400 in South Georgia in 2002, and then Peter won 00:41:19.400 --> 00:41:23.480 in 2006. It is like, in that area of the world, 00:41:23.619 --> 00:41:28.780 it's like leaving planet Earth and going to Mars. 00:41:29.800 --> 00:41:34.539 It is so different. The animals, the weather, 00:41:35.599 --> 00:41:38.960 the wind, the rain, the snow, the sleet, the 00:41:38.960 --> 00:41:44.159 volcanoes, the glaciers. It's it's it's like 00:41:44.159 --> 00:41:48.860 another world and that it's it's addictive and 00:41:48.860 --> 00:41:52.139 You know, I want to go back on the other hand 00:41:52.139 --> 00:41:58.019 I've never been so cold in my life As I was Yeah, 00:41:58.019 --> 00:42:00.940 you know down there particularly Peter one. There's 00:42:00.940 --> 00:42:04.139 quick story if we've got time I think the cold 00:42:04.139 --> 00:42:06.860 minutes. Okay, the coldest I've ever been was 00:42:06.860 --> 00:42:11.280 on Peter one Typically, temperatures were in 00:42:11.280 --> 00:42:13.840 the teens, but the wind was the problem blowing 00:42:13.840 --> 00:42:18.380 30, 40, 50, 60 miles an hour. But we wore four 00:42:18.380 --> 00:42:23.079 or five layers, so you weren't really cold. But 00:42:23.079 --> 00:42:26.579 when it was time to undress and take off all 00:42:26.579 --> 00:42:29.500 those layers and get into your sleeping bag, 00:42:29.579 --> 00:42:31.960 there was a period of about 30 or 40 seconds 00:42:31.960 --> 00:42:35.059 there where you didn't have any clothing on or 00:42:35.059 --> 00:42:38.199 you had one layer on. Of course, in the tent, 00:42:38.579 --> 00:42:45.079 if it's 18 outside, it's 19 in the tent. Then 00:42:45.079 --> 00:42:47.940 you spend the next 30 minutes trying to warm 00:42:47.940 --> 00:42:51.239 up. That is the coldest point. It's very awkward 00:42:51.239 --> 00:42:55.719 when you're changing from fully closed to hardly 00:42:55.719 --> 00:42:58.179 closed and trying to climb into that sleeping 00:42:58.179 --> 00:43:03.500 bag. Yeah, I'm sure that's quite an adventure. 00:43:06.369 --> 00:43:08.969 Glad to follow along with that with you know 00:43:08.969 --> 00:43:12.369 the video and then one of my other former students 00:43:12.369 --> 00:43:16.050 his uncle was was on that trip and so I had a 00:43:16.050 --> 00:43:19.050 little connection there and I heard a lot about 00:43:19.050 --> 00:43:24.130 it and It just doesn't get much colder than that 00:43:24.130 --> 00:43:29.230 no no No, I think it's a the temperature wasn't 00:43:29.230 --> 00:43:33.789 that bad, but the wind chill was was deadly Yeah, 00:43:33.789 --> 00:43:37.050 I'm sure well we thank you for doing that and 00:43:37.050 --> 00:43:39.789 all these other the expeditions and we look forward 00:43:39.789 --> 00:43:44.550 to the next one Well, I I think that there are 00:43:44.550 --> 00:43:47.849 probably two that I'm aware of in the next couple 00:43:47.849 --> 00:43:50.429 of years and they also will be the top tenors 00:43:50.429 --> 00:43:53.050 of course, I can't let the cat out of the bag 00:43:53.050 --> 00:43:59.710 right now, but You know they're most likely gonna 00:43:59.710 --> 00:44:03.030 happen and And at some point I got to hang up 00:44:03.030 --> 00:44:07.590 my spurs, but not yet Well, we we thank you for 00:44:07.590 --> 00:44:11.250 doing that and we'll Anxiously wait to to hear 00:44:11.250 --> 00:44:14.949 where those are So that that's a wrap for this 00:44:14.949 --> 00:44:17.429 week's edition of ham talk live I'd like to thank 00:44:17.429 --> 00:44:20.809 my guest Bob Alford K4 UEE and all the callers 00:44:20.809 --> 00:44:23.590 and listeners out there in cyberspace And I invite 00:44:23.590 --> 00:44:25.909 you back next Thursday night at 9 p .m Eastern 00:44:25.909 --> 00:44:29.980 time when my guest will be Gary West K8 DEV He's 00:44:29.980 --> 00:44:32.559 from the Westchester Amateur Radio Association 00:44:32.559 --> 00:44:36.139 and the Voice of America Museum near Westchester, 00:44:36.420 --> 00:44:39.360 Ohio. Gary and some of the officers will be here 00:44:39.360 --> 00:44:42.099 to talk about the museum, the club station at 00:44:42.099 --> 00:44:45.039 the museum, and a special opportunity coming 00:44:45.039 --> 00:44:48.000 up soon for you to visit. And for a complete 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:50.579 list, visit our website. So for now with Bob 00:44:50.579 --> 00:44:54.409 Alfen and technical assistant Nick Bauer. This 00:44:54.409 --> 00:44:58.250 is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7375, and may the 00:44:58.250 --> 00:44:59.849 good DX be yours.