HRN 338: Fix It! Volume 2

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Back in HRN 335: Fix It! with AC4ZO Jeff an Gary reviewed a fix of Gary's Icom 7000, and then looked briefly at a new (maybe) problem that surfaced — a hollow 'ping' and ringing in the transmit audio. And in that episode, we noted that swap and replace is one of the most effective (speed, if not cost) troubleshooting techniques. 

So that's just what we did. Gary borrowed another 7000 and played with all the settings that made (or mitigated) that tin-can sound.

What happened? We mean and you won't believe what happened next! 

You will quickly notice that this episode audio is entirely SSB. Awesome, right? And really, this is barely an episode. But corporate policy is to put an episode number on everything. Gary sneezes, it's an episode. That's how we keep ahead of Ham Nation.

RADIO RATING? Well, the video shows the radio display and menus a lot. Maybe not critical for understanding what Gary's doing (he describes them most of the time). But enough to pull the RadioRating down to B-.

HRN 337: Jamboree

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[This is Episode 337, not 397 as Gary says at the top of the show... twice. He's distracted by figuring out the 'new' title options in Wirecast]

Bill Morine N2COP, the ARRL Roanoke Division Vice Director (and friend of the show) dropped in on the national Boy Scout Jamboree in West Virginia this week to bestow an award on the Scouts from the League. Bill is a long-time Scout leader himself, and a decade ago was a volunteer at the K2BSA station at the Jamboree back when it was held on an Army base in Virginia.

So hosts David Goldenberg W0DHG, a Scout leader himself , and Gary Pearce KN4AQ (a former Cub Scout) talked to Bill about the Jamboree and ham radio's place in the grand scheme of the event. 

Toward the end of the show, we put Bill back in Vice-Director mode and talked about Field Day, the Parity Act, and Media & PR at the League.

We've got the usual bunch of web pictures and a little video from the K2BSA Facebook page, so this isn't a total talking heads show, but mostly it is. So we'll issue a Radio Rating of B. It should get you through your commute - both ways unless you're in NYC, DC or LA. Or maybe Chicago.

HRN 336 'Episode Name' (Facebook LIVE title test)

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This was not supposed to be an Episode.

It was just supposed to be a quick test on Facebook Live, checking out the work I'd done in Wirecast to be able to add titles to the video 'live' as I'm recording the show, rather than later in 'post production' (editing). We're tending to do most shows on Facebook Live as we record them, so we needed a title upgrade.

But I'm a wind-up toy. Put me in front of a mic and camera, and I perform. The 'test' ran over 20 minutes, and one of the clever viewers on Facebook said, "It should be a show." So it is. 

The title of this show, Episode Name, came from the 'generic' title I'd built as a placeholder so I could just fill in the title of whatever episode I'd be doing. I was planning ahead... just not for this to be a real episode. And it's still open to debate over whether or not it is a real episode. But at least the placeholder had the 'correct' episode number (336), if not a real date. And if you look carefully at the picture here, you'll notice that there is no drop shadow around the 'Episode Name' title. Wirecast's title maker keeps unclicking the shadow button. Eventually it seems to stick. 

AUDIO: Now the key word here is video. Except for the picture that some of you see in your podcast apps, the titles don't mean squat to you audio listeners. But I don't want you to feel left out. And in an earlier show I wrote that an episode would get a Radio Rating of F only if there was no sound at all. And I am talking here. And there are even a few sound effects. So this is a solid Radio Rating of D.

Scared you there with that bold F, didn't I?

- Gary KN4AQ