Ham Radio Workbench Podcast

In this episode, our very own Vince, VE6LK, walks us through the process of figuring out how to build your go kit.  Whether your are building a kit for mission critical emergency communications or casual field operating, Vince has practical advice about how to approach the process highlighting how defining your goals up front can help guide you to a successful build.  

In this episode we meet Steve and Tina Stroh.  Steve is the editor of the Zero Retries newsletter where he writes about all things digital communications related to ham radio.  Steve has a wide range of interestes include emerging technologies like the IP400 networking project, M17 the digital voice project and regulatory efforts to bring ham radio into modern times.   Tina Stroh, a medical professional, is very interested in public service communications and in organizing and running digital communications events.  Together they are organizing the Zero Retries Digital Conference which will be held for the first time in Washington state this fall. Tina and Steve give a lot to the amateur radio community and encourage hams to push the limits of amateur radio technology.  Check out the Zero Retries newsletter at zeroretries.org  

In this episode the whole team gets together and talks about our Field Day 2025 experience.  Everyone's Field Day was a bit different.  From casual mobile operating to big club events, we all had a great time and learned things along the way.  We share tips and tricks to make your Field Day a great success.  

In this episode we meet Carlos from Parts Candy.  Carlos is an experienced electronics technician and he shares his life-long love of electronics and his technical skills reparing electronic equipment.  Seeing a need in the market for high quality test leads, Carlos started his own company, Parts Candy, where he makes high quality test leads at a reasonable price.  Join us in our conversation with Carlos as we learn about his electronics journey and his company. Warning:  Grab your wallet !  You are going to want to buy some of Carlos' products. 

In this episode we meet Roger Coude, VE2DBE, the author of Radio Mobile.  This amazing software package allows the user to create a cross sectional plot of a radio path between two points on Earth.  The software includes a terrain database so the path includes obstructions and the curvature of the Earth.  This software can be used to determine link paths, repeater coverage, simplex point to point link budgets and more. Roger has developed this software many years and makes it freely available to ham radio operators.  A truly generous gift to the ham radio community.

In this episode we are joined by Paul WD9GCO and Josh K7OSH, part of the HRWB family, and we talk about Hamvention 2025.  We met soooo many great people who stopped by the booth to say hello.  In this episode we recap what each of us learned at Hamvention and describe the overall experience.  We wrap up the episode with a brief roundtable discussion about our Field Day plans for this year.  

In this episode we have Eric, co-founder of Elecraft, on the show to talk about the K4 radio architecture and how it's designed to be operated remotely.  Eric talks about the design considerations, process and the various ways to control the radio for a seamless experience.  

In this special episode, we meet Steve Hicks, CTO of Flex Radio.  Steve announces a new radio in the Flex Radio product line.  This new radio is a combination of the features of the current 8000 series of radios plus a built in 500 watt power amplifier, antenna tuner and AC power supply all integrated into a package the size of the current 8000 series radios.   This remarkable new radio uses a new transmitter architecture that doubles power efficency resulting in an integrated package that is smaller, consumes less power, generates less heat, and is quieter than current equipmemnt on the market.  

In this episode, our resident expert on writing ham radio gear reviews, Thomas, K4SWL, walks us through the process of writing a good ham radio review.  How can you tell a good review from a bad one and tips for how you can write good content. Vince gives us some great tips when it comes to buying used gear.  How do you find it, evaluate it and figure out a fair price.  

In this episode we meet Len Koppl, KD0RC, the designer of the Teensy Maestro remote control head for a Flex radio.  Len is a professional software developer and project manager and brings many decades of technical experience and ham radio hands-on to his projects. In tis episode we learn about multiple projects including the Teensy Maestro, an open source hardware remote control head designed to control a Flex radio.  Based on the Arduino Teensy microcontroller, we learn about Len's journey of development and some of the interesting technical challenges he faced in this project.

In this episode we have an extended conversation with Kirk, NT0Z and Paul WD9GCO. Kirk is the Amateur Radio columnist for The Spectrum Monitor; former columnist for Monitoring Times and Popular Communications; Author of Stealth Amateur Radio (www.stealthamateur.com) and former QST Assistant Managing Editor. Paul is a news anchor for Amateur Radio Newsline and the professional announcer for the Ham Radio Workbench podcast. Kirk and Paul have some great stories and general ham radio wisdom to share with our listeners.  It's so much fun to spend time with them that this turned into the longest episode we have recorded, and that's saying something !

In this episode we meet Richard Desaulniers, VE2DX.   Richard has been licensed since 1990 and has a background in emergency communications serving at disaster events in Quebec. He enjoys hunting DX, Island Activations and DXPeditions. Richard is also an experimenter and founded VE2DX Electronics in 2020. With the founding of the company, he wanted to create inexpensive and simple electronic products to help the Ham Radio Community. Among his creations are products like TrueTTL, TrueCIV, and TrueCAT thes were implemented and applied to all VE2DX Electronics Design creation to help eliminate problems with RFI, EMI, Signal Loss and other signal issues, thanks to Heavy Shielding, RFI filtration of Power, Signals and Grounds, Signal processing, and signal automatic leveling. Join us in a great conversation with Richard VE2DX, Vince VE6LK and Thomas K4SWL.

In this episode we talk all about our second on the air operating event, Ham Radio Workbenches On The Air.  We had so much fun the last time, we decided to do it again.  We talk about whats on our workbenches and go over all the details about operating HRWBOTA. The operating event will be Sunday March 16.  For all the details go to https://hrwbota.com We meet Alan, N7AKG, the developer of the Ham Radio Instant Scoring Service, HISS, that allows operators to create their own contests and show scores in real time.  We also meet Andrew, KC2G, the developer of several interesting projects including the HRWBOTA tracker web site.

In this episode we meet Patrick, KJ7SZU, the owner of the company that makes the digital clock and information device, Geochron.  The mechanical Geochron clock has been around for over 40 years.  When Patrick saw his first mechanical Geochron clock he was hooked !  He was so impressed with the idea that he bought the company and completely remade the Geochron as an internet connected information display device on a large screen 4K video display. Join us for this fascinating story all about Patrick's journey to the present time with the Geochron. 

In this episode we meet Rosy Schechter, KJ7RYV, ARDC Executive Director, John Burwell, KI5QKX, 44Net Program Manager and Rebecca Key, KO4KVG, ARDC Communications Manager. ARDC, Amateur Radio Digital Communications.  The ARDC manages the IP address space that starts with 44 and they are the funding source for millions of dollars in grants every year to benefit amateur radio. Learn about what the 44 Net is, how it can be used by radio amateurs and how the ARDC manages their grant funding process.

In this episode we talk about how to prepare for Winter Field Day and field operating in cold weather in general.  Winter Field Day is a great operating event for individuals and clubs.  Its a great excuse to get out and operate when it, brrrrrr, cold outside !  

In this episode we meet Vance, KV4P, the designer of a radio module that connects to your Android phone and turns it into a 2m FM HT.  Vance is a professional UX (User eXperience) designer and brought his years of design knowledge to the project.  The result is a modern take on how a hand  held 2m radio should work in addition to the convenience of intergration into your mobile phone that you carry with you every day.

In this episode the tables are turned and George, KJ6VU, becomes the special guest.  The topic is how he designed his station control system.  The station controller is used to monitor and control key components in your remotely controlled ham radio station.  The station controller can also be used to monitor and control a repeater system or any other critical equipment. We will discuss what you need for effective remote station control, how George went about designing his control system and how it works.  Topics include the system architecture, circuit and physical design and selection of key components like the microcontrollers that run the system and the node red software environment that provides the user interface. The station controller will eventually be offered as a commercial product for sale through his company Sierra Radio Systems.  

In this episode we meet Jonathan Kayne, KM4CFT, the designer of a very popular new QRP radio called the CFT-1.  Jonathan shares his journey from concept to production of his new radio design.  The truly remarkable thing about his accomplishment is that he has achieved this in less than a year.  Join us for a fun conversation and a bit of inspiration.

In this episode we give you the buyer's guide to holiday cheer.  The team put their heads together to come up with many suggestions for the workbench, ham shack and portable ops plus a few stocking stuffers.  If you are buying for a loved one, best ham radio buddy or yourself, you are sure to find many great suggestions in this show.