The ham radio blog of Sterling Mann, NØSSC. Sterling is dedicated to improving ham radio by promoting it to younger generations.
Wow ham radio is getting an alarming amount of mainstream attention lately. We got on LinusTechTips, we got a spot on National Geographic, and now it’s hitting close to home on a podcast I listen to every week.
Stuff You Should Know: Ham Radio and the Hams Who Use Them
Give that a listen. I strongly recommend their other episodes for a quick tidbit of new information you should know, every day.
Subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, or overcast.
Overcast link to be updated.
To all hams who enjoy DXing, here is a challenge for you:
You only have one shot of calling DX.
If they don’t return to you in one call, then you have to try again after working another DX station with the same rule. Doesn’t matter the power or antenna situation – 1 watt or 1000.
Only.
One.
Shot.
How many can you make?
First of all, it can be done (I discovered this with 100 watts on CW with a G5RV with the 2009 Desecheo Island Dxpedition K5D), and secondly, it’s a testament to proper listening skills that allow you to do this – operating split, analyzing the operator’s technique, analyzing the technique of the callers, finding the open spots. Sure, your 5-beam stack on a hill 3 miles from the DX station would get in MUCH easier than my G5RV on the ground with dog poo all over it. But all things considered, it’s still a challenge for the most of us.
I heard this on an episode of the Foundations of Amateur Radio Podcast by VK6FLAB. It’s an excellent, 3-minute-or-so podcast that answers a question or poses a challenge like this. It’s definitely my favorite podcast because Onno, in his comedic deadpan attitude, always questions the status quo, presents an interesting challenge, or a fascinating discovery, with no overhead, no music, no pizazz.
Lol too many commas.
Listen to the Foundations of Amateur Radio podcast directly, on Overcast for iOS, or iTunes.
Also, listen to Onno’s former podcast – What Use Is An F-call? – which answers the question, what use is an F (for foundation license in Australia, equivalent to the technicians license in the US) call. There are 206 episodes, directly, on Overcast, and on iTunes as well.
I feel like ham radio is experiencing a media Renaissance of sorts – there’s been a lot of new, really great podcasts and it appears social media interaction regarding ham radio is way up. However, it’s really interesting to see this big, long, gradual drop in interest over the last 11 years as measured by Google Trends:
Who knows what’s going on here – it’s a moot point between my observations and fact. Anyway, regardless of trends, I listen to a ton of podcasts, a majority of which are ham radio related. Two have been started within the last year and have been really well produced, listenable, and just good compared to other attempts
Back in the day (between 2011 and 2015) I used to watch Ham Nation, Solder Smoke, and AmateurLogic. Now, I choose not to spend the time sitting and watching an hour-long live-stream or recorded show, and at the same time I’ve been really put off by advertisements. They’re much more intrusive and jarring than they used to be. However, this doesn’t phase the primary demographic of retirees who have all the time in the world.
The chat’s were always fun but never really impactful, except for a few isolated occurrences where I found former WØEEE alumnus, young hams who needed advice on getting into the hobby, and meeting a handful of what I would call “famous” hams. I might make a list of those too.
Podcasting is the way to go. I can listen while I drive (which is at least an hour a day), listen while I work, listen while I clean, browse the internet, work out…anytime and anywhere where my full attention and hearing isn’t needed.
Here’s the big list of active media that has been updated within at least the last month as of September 2016:
I use Overcast on iOS to listen to podcasts. It is the best podcasting app ever made, much improved from the iOS stock podcast app. It’s best feature is “smart speed,” which compresses silences, and when combined with a 1.3x speed-up, it makes an hour podcast less than 45 mins long.
On Android, I recommend Pocketcasts. I’ve used it before and it’s pretty good too!
You can find all of these in your podcast app directory by searching the name. Otherwise, I’ve linked to their website or a link where you can go to listen them below:
All of the live shows listed also have recorded episode distributed through various means. All audio-only shows can be found in podcast apps (which is how I consume them) and video shows may or may not be in podcast directories but the links should take you to where you can find them.
Here’s a megalist of practically every Ham Radio YouTuber:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BiqqCvRnzNx-iuH9R5ghyfRFomOWkh59zuZ6OrWy7Is/edit?usp=sharing
Also don’t forget to check out Monday and Thursday Night Ham Radio from the YouTube Bunch, brought to you by N0SSC, KI6NAZ, KM9G, KC5HWB, AA0Z, K6ARK, KK6USY, W6RIP, KM4ACK, ZL1BQD, N1NUG, M0MCX, TheSmokinApe, and more!
Last update: September, 11 2020
