Ham Radio Workbench Podcast

In this episode we have our good friend, Dr. Doug Millar, K6JEY, join us to talk about multi meters, what they do and buying recommendations.  Every ham radio operator or DIY electronics fan needs a good multi meter.  But should you spend $20 or $200 on a meter and what's the difference?  Doug explains it all.

In this episode we meet Daniel Winn, WV1T, a very active portable ham radio opertor.  Daniel was searching for a way to filter out strong local signals when operating in the field and he started building stub tuned filters with coaxial cable.  This simple and cost effective approach is a great way to build notch filters that can significantly reduce unwanted interference from transmitters operating at the same location but in other HF bands.  This is a great technique for Field Day and similar activities.  Daniel holds an extra class amateur radio license and is a professional electrician.

In this episode we meet our good friend, Dr. Charles Powell, NK8O.  Charles is medical doctor specializing in neonatal infant care.  In addition to his professional accomplishments as a doctor, musician, and head of a medical non-profit organization, Charles is an avid portable radio operator and has logged many thousands of contacts from all over the US while participating in POTA and World Wide Flora and Fauna events and from exotic locations while living in Africa. Charles is an inspiration to us on many levels and a great friend.

In this episode we meet Mark Herbert, G1LRO, designer of the Universal Radio Controller.  We talk all about ham radio project building and Mark's journey of discovery as he envisioned the URC.  Taking an idea, overcoming challenges and turning it into something that people can use and be inspired by.  

In this episode we have two great interviews.  We kick things off with Dr. Scott Wright, K0MD, who clues us in on the latest hapennings in the world of contesting.  Technical innovations, operating tips and ways to encourage new hams to take up contesting.  Scott is a great ambassador and spokesperson for amateur radio.  We also interview Don Johanneck, a technican at Digikey, who redesigned the original Digikeyer project kit designed by the founder of Digikey, Ron Stordahl 50 years ago.  Digikey is one of the largest electronics parts distributors and is named after Ron's keyer project.  

In this episode we meet Ben, VE6SFX, who was licensed just a year ago and has already pushed the bounderies of antenna design and construction with an energetic and creative approach.  As a professional special effects and prop maker for the movie and TV industry, Ben has come up with novel construction methods including a cloth J-pole, mobile slot and other interesting antenna ideas.

In this episode we meet Ara Kourchians, N6ARA, a real life professional aerospace robotics expert and avid portable ham radio operator.  Ara has engiuneered some really cool products that he makes available through his web site N6ARA Electronics at www.n6ara.com

In this episode we talk with Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, the host of the QSO Today podcast and good freind of the show.  We get an update on Eric's ham radio activites and celebrate passing the 200th episode milestone of the HRWB podcast.  We also get an update on HRWBOTA, Ham Radio Workbenches On The Air.

In this episode we are joined by many close friends of the show to celebrate our 200th anniversary.  We kick things off with Jeremy KF7IJZ co-founder of the show along with George KJ6VU.  We are also joined by Dan  N7HQ, Paul WD9GCO, Troy K4JDA, Vince VE6LK, Mark N6MTS, and Thomas K4SWL.  We take a look back over the first 200 episodes and look to the future of the podcast.

In this episode we talk with Brian, AB6D, about his software development project SOTAMAT (pronounced sota-mate).  SOTAMAT has many features that allow you to spot yourself over the air, send messages, and even remotely control hardware.  This is a very interesting discussion with Brian who is a professional engineer and high tech executive who started out trying to solve a problem to spot his activations without access to the internet.  For more information check out the SOTAMAT web site https://sotamat.com 

On this episode, George KJ6VU, Thomas K4SWL, and Vince VE6LK are invited to join Morten LB0FI and crew on the European Ham Radio Show on YouTube.  We had a great time getting to know eachother and talking about all things ham radio. Check out their channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@hamshoweu 

In this episode we talk with Gaston, KT7RUN, about his software development project called EmComm tools.  Gaston hosts a very popular YouTube channel called The Tech Prepper.  Check it out.  https://www.youtube.com/@TheTechPrepper  

In this show we talk about what is on Dan's workbench and the increased demand for HF spectrum.  Dan is a wealth of knowledge on ham radio and electrical engineering in general.  We cover a wide range of topics in this show.

In this episode we talk about great gifts for your spouse, friends, yourself or even the HRWB staff !  (Just sayin') We talk about our top picks for radios, tools, test equipment, and even non-radio gear for the shack and the field.

Yes you heard that right.  The very first HRWB live on the air operating event will be Sunday December 3rd from 10 AM to 2 PM PST.  We will have multiple stations operating on multiple bands and modes.  Come join the fun ! For more details go to https://hrwbota.com/

In this episode we meet Caryn KD2GUT, Paul WD9GCO and Skeeter N5ASH of the Amateur Radio Newsline.  The AR Newsline has been the premier amateur radio news source for decades.  Founded by Bill Pasternack, the AR Newline carrys on Bill 's legacy with a team of news and media professionals who bring their talents and time to serve the amateur radio community.  Best of all, the AR Newsline team are a real pleasure to hang around with and talk ham radio.   Amateur Radio Newsline™ is a 501(C) (3) tax-exempt corporation operating as a public service.  It primarily survives on contributions made by listeners (and readers of the text version) such as you. Any shortfall has traditionally been paid out of pocket by their team members. Please consider making a donation to keep AR Newsline in operation !   

In this episode we met Rex Harper, W1REX, a prolific designer and builder of ham radio projects.  Rex is famous as the owner of QRPme.com where he sells a huge nubmer of ham radio kits.  Rex is famous for the Tuna Tin 2, a version of Rockmite transciever and MePADs, a system for construction projects with small pieces of PCB mateiral.  We talk about what's on Rex's bench and the origin of some of his cool kits.

In this episode we interview Derek, KD9MEQ, president of the Purdue University Amateur Radio Club.  Derek and his fellow club members have created a very successful amateur radio club that has grown significantly in the last few years.  The combination of welcoming leadership and a LOT of hands-on projects have made this an outstanding college radio club.  The club has built antennas, radio, rotors and many other projects.  Join us in this episode as we explore what makes for a successful club, how to attrack young people to our great hobby and we learn about a lot of cool projects along the way.

In this episode we talk with Rex, KE6MT, the SOTA (Summits On The Air) program manager for California.  Rex gives us an update on the SOTA program and why you should be interested in this great aspect of ham radio.  In the last segment we talk about the Wilderness Protocol and how, while it's a good start, its just not very practical.  We define a new proposal called the Adventure Radio Protocol which uses CTCSS tones to signal various type of activity on the air on a common frequency of 146.580 MHz.  Of course, as a HRWB episode, we also turn this into a hardware project that is a PCB that can handle the tone decoding and alerting.  The Adventure Radio board can be used at a base station, remote receiver or on a repeater system to alert listeners for traffic or emergencies. Check out adventureradio.info for more details.  

We are coming to you live, well recorded live actually, from the QSO Today Academy.  On this episode we are joined by our favorite mega-fan Troy K4JDA and the regular crowd including Vince VE6LK, Thomas K4SWL, Mike VA3MW, Mark N6MTS and host George KJ6VU.  We talka bout all sorts of ham radio workbench related projects and topics.