Many thanks to Mike (KG4MTN) who notes:
Good morning Thomas,
I did not know if you are aware, but Digikey has in stock about 67 HRWB 5-port dc power strip kits. I ordered one last night, they are $49.94 plus tax/shipping. Apparently these have been out of stock for some time, I am glad to see them available.
72 and God bless,
Mike Serio
KG4MTN
Thanks for the tip, Mike! These will sell out quickly, so grab one while you can, I say! I love mine.
Many of you know I’m on the crew of the Ham Radio Workbench podcast. In fact, as of this month, I’ve been there a year now (my how time flies). Although it shows a certain lack of judgement on their part, I’m glad they invited me on board!
On October 9, fellow HRWB crew member, Mark (N6MTS), pitched an idea to us via email:
“What do y’all think about doing an HRWB On The Air event?”
We all agreed it sounded like a great idea. Things like this normally take a year’s worth of planning, promoting, and organizing. Not when Mark’s in charge, though.
Next thing we know, Mark had us sorting out the best date/time (December 3, 2023/1800-22:00UTC) for HRWBOTA and even reached out to some amazing volunteers who helped put together a website and spotting page.
Holy cow!
I planned to operate the entire four hour event period from Lake James State Park (K-2730) since it would be an easy detour en route to Hickory, NC (where I was staying that night). Of course, each contact would could for both HRWBOTA and POTA.
The previous day, however, I learned that one of my daughters had a meeting in downtown Asheville from 18:00-19:00 UTC. She doesn’t have a driver’s license yet, so I had to take her. Had it not been an important meeting in advance of her finals, she would have skipped.
This really threw a wrench in the works. I knew that by the time her meeting ended and I dropped her off at the QTH, the earliest I could be at Lake James was 20:15-20:30 or so.
How could I increase my on-the-air HRWBOTA time?
Since the Elecraft KH1 was packed in my EDC bag, I decided to play a little HRWBOTA in the parking lot behind the meeting building.
I wasn’t sure what to expect to be honest. I wasn’t spotting myself anywhere but the HRWBOTA spotting page, and I was limited to the 15, 17, and 20M bands with the KH1’s 4′ whip antenna.
I spotted myself, hit the air and started calling CQ HRWBOTA!
In the span of about 45 minutes, I managed to log a total of 15 stations! Not bad considering I was standing in an urban parking lot, swimming in QRM, and going QRP!
I didn’t make a video of this part of the HRWBOTA activation–sorry about that if you worked me then. I needed every moment of on-the-air time I could grab. Here’s my log sheet:
I legged it to Lake James after my daughter’s meeting–in fact, to save time, I started my activation video while I was still in my car driving on I-40.
I arrived at Lake James, parked, plugged in the car, grabbed my gear and made my way to the picnic area next to the lakeshore. It wasn’t hard to find a site with a tree that might support my KM4CFT 30/40M linked EFHW antenna.
I include the full antenna deployment and station set-up in my (rather long) activation video below. Continue reading Ham Radio Workbenches On The Air (& POTA): A short field report and a very long activation video!
I have a nasty habit of not mentioning some of the most significant things that happen along my radio journey.
After posting the announcement about the March 25-26 QSO Today Expo earlier this week, I received a number of messages from readers asking if I had joined the Ham Radio Workbench Podcast crew in a permanent way. I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this before.
Those of you who know me well know that I don’t have a lot of free time. At this point in my life, I’m a very busy father, husband, son, and hopeless field radio addict. But when George (KJ6VU) asked if I wanted to joint the HRWB crew, it was a no-brainer.
I have a fairly extensive list of podcasts I follow, but there are only four that I listen to each time they produce a new episode: QSO Today, The Airline Pilot Guy Show, Big Picture Science, and the Ham Radio Workbench Podcast. I cherry-pick all of the others based on the topic.
I’ve been a long-time subscriber to the HRWB podcast, so when I was first invited to be a guest in 2021, I felt like I already knew George (KJ6VU), Mark (N6MTS), Mike (VA3MW), Rod (VA3ON), and Vince (VE6LK).
After all, I’d spent…what…hundreds of hours listening to them as I drive, travel, mow, split firewood, and put around the shack–? Don’t get me started on the number of things I’ve purchased as a result of being a subscriber to the podcast.
During the recording of that first episode where I was a guest, I realized just how much I enjoyed hanging with those guys. They have such a wealth of knowledge between them, yet none of them take themselves too seriously and they’re always up for a good laugh.
They invited me back several times as a guest and in December ’22, I was asked if I would become a permanent guest.
Although it shows a certain lack of judgment on their part, I quickly accepted before they could change their minds.
So there you go.
On that note, I will be attending the 2023 Hamvention and will be hanging out at the Halibut Electronics and Ham Radio Workbench booth when I’m not cruising the event, taking photos, and likely recording some video. Please stop by and visit!
The 2023 QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo will be held on March 25 – 26 and I would encourage you to register now.
I have attended every QSO Today Visual Ham Expo since Eric (4Z1UG) created this brilliant virtual event. The online platform is quite easy to use and there are loads of fascinating topics from a wide variety of presenters.
Click here to check out the presentation list.
I applaud Eric for championing radio topics that are open and accessible to Technician (and equivalent) class operators.
Twice before, I haven’t been able to attend the Expo sessions live (due to my schedule) but I register anyway! Why? Eric archives and provides all of the presentations in video format on-demand for Expo attendees after the event has ended. I simply log in and work my way through presentations over the course of a month, one morning coffee after another! The gift that keeps on giving!
These presentations are a shorter format and (I find) focus less on general topics covered elsewhere; they’re truly unique to the Expo.
This is one of the main reasons I register for the QSO Today Virtual Expo: I want to support a platform that produces brilliant ideas, innovations, and encourages a wide radio of radio activities!
Click here to check out the Expo and register.
I have no idea how Eric puts all of this together, but I’m glad he does and we all benefit from it.
Join us for a live recording of the Ham Radio Workbench podcast as we help kick off the Expo on March 25, 2023 starting at 1:00 UTC (March 24, 2023, 6:00 PM).
Eric also shared the following preview of the Roundtable Lounge that allow Expo participants to hang out in real time and move from table to table fluidly.
Here is what the Ham Radio Workbench table will look like (20 seats):
I’m really looking forward to this event! I hope you’ll join us.
The Ham Radio Workbench podcast has just published their 2022 Holiday Shopping Show episode. I had the honor of being a guest in this episode and…well…it was essentially a license to release my inner enabler which–in the best of times–I have a difficult time containing.
Seriously, though, it’s always so much fun to hang with George, Vince, Mike, Rod, and Mark–they’re great guys.
I would suggest freezing your credit card in a block of ice before listening to this episode.
You’ve been warned!
If you’d like to see “how the sausage is made” check out this unedited video of the entire episode including before/after the podcast recording:
Click here to view on YouTube.
Or, if you’d rather hear the podcast–which is trimmed and formatted–you can listen via the embedded player below, or on the Ham Radio Workbench podcast website.
If you’ve been listening to the Ham Radio Workbench Podcast, you’ve no doubt heard Mark Smith (N6MTS) talk about his “secret squirrel” project. At BayCon 2022 this past weekend, Mark revealed that the “secret squirrel” is a new product he’s designed called SOAR (Satellite Optimized Amateur Radio).
Mark announced that SOAR is basically a radio that’s “optimized for operating FM satellites.”
That’s a very modest description for a radio that can not only handle full duplex FM satellite communications, but also leverage the power of a GPS and CPU to help predict passes, aim an antenna, and adjust for doppler shift on the fly. And, oh yeah, it even records.
SOAR actually does much more than this.
If full duplex satellite work is the sort of thing that interests you, I highly recommend watching Mark’s BayCon presentation:
Click here to view on YouTube.
You can learn more about SOAR at:
The Halibut Electronics website has only recently been launched, so there’s not a lot of info there at time of posting. For the latest news, I suggest you follow Mark on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/SmittyHalibut
Of course, I’ll post updates here on QRPer.com.
Note this presentation was originally given at BayCon 2022: https://www.bay-net.org/baycon.html
As many of you know, I’m a hopeless pack geek.
So when George (KJ6VU) asked if I would be interested in talking about backpacks and gear bags as a guest on the Ham Radio Workbench podcast, I agreed without hesitation.
What I love about the HRWB podcast are all of the truly deep-dives into a wide variety of topics. Quite often, topics are well outside my particular interest area, but the more I listen, the more I’m drawn in. The hosts’ enthusiasm is infectious.
It was an honor to join this fine team for a few hours of workbench projects, ham radio, and pack geekery.
If you’ve never listened to the HRWB podcast, I’d encourage you to check it out and subscribe. I think you’ll agree that the hosts–George, Mark, Mike, Rod, and Vince–have an amazing chemistry.
Thanks again, guys, for inviting me on the show. As I said after the recording, it was great “being on the other side of the lawnmower.”