Qso Today - A Conversation For Amateur Radio Operators

Dr. Robert Nash, G4GEE, discovered early on that amateur radio is a social hobby that makes him a citizen of the World with friendships on every continent.  Working DX and dedicating time to his local club, the Coventry Amateur Radio Society, is his formula for ham radio success.  G4GEE is my QSO Today.

Alan Thompson, W6WN, was a volunteer rescuer to the Camp Fire in Northern California a few years ago.  This experience made Alan an evangelist for the deployment and  use of conventional radio communications and the training that saves lives and property, as a backup to the costly but fragile smartphone systems that suddenly do not work in a natural disaster.  Alan tells his ham radio story in this QSO Today.

Mark Beckwith, N5OT,  grew up in Southern California, with amateur radio’s most famous television producer, Dave Bell, W6AQ, who was his amateur radio mentor in the 1970s.  Dave opened a lot of doors to Mark, allowing Mark to build up his contesting and DX on-the-air skills. Mark was a professional opera singer for over 30 years, leading to some interesting conversation both on and off the QSO Today microphone.  N5OT is my QSO Today.

Augie, “Gus” Hansen, KB0YH,  always had an interest in radio, but did not get his first ticket until he was in his mid-thirties.  Gus enjoys operating the 80 meter nets and building antennas, now especially STL or Small Transmitting Loop, also known as magnetic loop antennas.  And as this is the 20th Anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Gus has his own story in this QSO Today.

Jim Condon, AD4YM, listens for the most rare DX, signals from outer space as a radio astronomer, and keeps his fingers in the gear by collecting and restoring the best ham radio boat anchors, including Collins, Drake, Hallicrafters, and Hammarlund.  AD4YM is my QSO Today.

Tony DePrato WA4JQS had an early love of radio and a junior high school mentor who helped him get on the air in the early 1960s.  An 80 meter DX contact from his native Kentucky to Australia ignited a passion for DX that resulted in Tony leading two DXpeditions to the most sought after DX entities in the World.  WA4JQS tells his ham radio story in this QSO Today.

SOTA Operator Rene Lutz, HB9NBG, has the European Alps as his challenge to conquer every summit with his partner Carine, HB9FZC.  Together they operate their successful rural Swiss ham radio sales and service center that attracts ham radio tourists.  Rene and Carine document their amateur radio adventures on their popular YouTube channel.  HB9NBG is my QSO Today.

George Dominick, W4UW, focuses on the fundamentals of amateur radio including antenna design, building HF power amplifiers, and the simple fun of getting on the air.  Amateur radio still fascinates George after almost 70 year on the air.  W4UW is my QSO Today.

James, “JB”, Anderson, K8OS, will be presenting in the next QSO Today Virtual ham Expo, on August 14th and 15th  on the topic of Vertical Yagi-Uda Array using Wire Elements - Stealth HF Gain on a Budget.  I thought that it would be good to introduce the QSO Today audience to the presenters themselves.  While JB has been a ham for over 50 years, he is also an accomplished electronics engineer and a radio astronomer.  K8OS tells his ham radio story in this QSO Today.

Antoine De Ramon NYeurt, 3D2AG, is one of three hams in paradise, who holds up the CW representation from Fiji, the largest Island in the South Pacific and the second largest island in the World next to Australia. Antoine gave an excellent presentation last March at the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo about operating from Fiji and Rotuma, another island 600 KM North of Fiji.  3D2AG shares his Fiji and ham radio life in this QSO Today.

Chip Angle, N6CA, harnessed an early interest in the bands, VHF to microwave, as a passion that continues to this day.  While he is active on every band, Chip pays special attention to low noise receiver performance on his radios that work well above 10 GHz.  This attention to detail and training from the aerospace industry allowed Chip to start his own company building low noise preamps, filters, duplexers, and other hardware ultimately used by government including NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  N6CA shares his ham radio story in this QSO Today.

Andreas Spiess, HB9BLA, is a well known YouTube personality from Switzerland with over 330 thousand subscribers, over 30 million views, and focused on sensors, microcontrollers,  Raspberry Pi programming, and projects that use  this technology applied to amateur radio.  I found Andreas on YouTube as I am preparing my own QO100 geosynchronous satellite earth station, to allow me to work the Quatar Telecom satellite from Israel.  I know that you will enjoy my QSO with Andreas and perhaps become a fan of his YouTube channel.

Tom Perera, W1TP, has a collection of over 3000 Morse code keys and bugs going back to pre-American Civil War, perhaps the largest collection in the World. He displays these keys in his virtual, on-line museum. W1TP shares with me the history of his collection, some interesting stories, and his newest interest and collection of military cipher machines, including the WW2 German Enigma, in this QSO Today.

Greg Algieri, WA1JXR, began his ham radio journey by asking his dad for a Gillette Blue Razor Blade to make this first receiver, leading to amateur radio licenses, higher electronics education, and an entire career with Raytheon, where he worked in radio and antenna design.  WA1JXR is active in his amateur radio community as a teacher of new and existing hams, restoring boat anchor vintage radios, and getting on the air.  He is my guest in this QSO Today.

Ted Holland, WB3AVD, describes himself as a cultural anthropologist who creates artistic telegraph or CW keys based on themes that move him, including OZ’s Emerald City.  An avid QRP contest operator and local emcomm enthusiast, WB3AVD shares his amateur radio successes in this QSO Today. 

Frank Kollins, WA9CWX, loves to operate CW from multiple operating positions, from restored vintage to the most modern rigs. Frank is a student and teacher of radio history from its very ether-like beginnings, to radio’s evolution through World War 2. WA9CWX has an amazing CW key collection and is my QSO Today.  

Marty Woll, N6VI, found his way into amateur radio, along with other high school teens in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley in the late 1960s. Interested in CW, chasing DX, and contesting, Marty’s ham radio interests evolved to include VHF, UHF, and microwave contest “roving”, and now emergency communications.  N6VI has always been a leader in our hobby and is my QSO Today. 

For Peter ODell, WB2D, amateur radio morphed into a professional life at the ARRL during the time of Spaceshuttle STS-9 and the introduction of the first amateur radio broadcast from the Shuttle.  Peter describes his amateur radio journey and the challenges of being a ham radio journalist in this QSO Today.

Thomas, Tom, Tate, WA7NPX, began his ham radio journey with his best friend in middle school.  The amateur radio hobby can make lifelong buddies as well as develop practical and professional skills.  WA7NPX shares his ham radio story and how it can serve as a springboard for developing expertise in other hobbies as well.

Henry Seidner, WA2ROA,  like many of his contemporaries in the 60s, discovered amateur radio from Shortwave listening and was licensed in high school. Henry  spent most of his professional life living and working in New York City, and travelling the world.  Amateur radio was his door opener allowing him to make lasting friendships.  WA2ROA tells this ham radio story in this QSO Today.