HRN 345: Appliance Boy meets Circuit Girl

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Jeri Ellsworth, co-founder of the Augmented Reality company castAR (among many, many other things) has added ham radio to her list of accomplishments. She's now AI6TK. We spotted her at the Dayton Hamvention this year (AmateurLogic TV snagged the interview).

And she just attended the ARRL/TAPR DCC in St. Louis with her friend Amy Herndon KM6FZE. Over the past year, Jeri and Amy have jumped into ham radio with both feet, but even for these technically accomplished women, ham radio had a steep learning curve. We'll talk about that and lots more in this quick hour.

AUDIO ONLY? This is a sit-down, talking heads conversation, and while those heads are interesting to watch, you'll get 97% out of just the audio, so we award a Radio Rating of A. (YouTube?... YouTube?... we don't need no stinkin' YouTube...)

The 2017 DCC just wrapped up. We didn't do a KICKSTARTER to fund our video production of this one, but we did just finish recording all the sessions and we'll get them on YouTube as fast as we can... which, as you know, means sometime between now and the end of the year (or early next year).  

I hope you'll support the DCC videos with a contribution through our regular channels - PayPal, credit card or Patreon. You'll find them on the CONTRIBUTE page.

If you want a USB stick with all the shows, I'll make them available as the editing is wrapping up. They'll be the usual $150. To prove you're super-dedicated and 'order' one right away (before I create a formal 'click to order'), make a standard PayPal contribution (you don't need a PayPal account - they'll let you just use a credit card). You'll notice, though, that there's no $150 option. So select the $50 option and set the quantity to 3. Wa-La... $150. In that info field someplace, add your call sign and 2017 DCC USB. AND drop me an email to let me know (kn4aq@arvn.tv) with the subject 2017 DCC USB. 

HRN 344: Ham Radio PreCheck

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How much ham gear will TSA let you take in carry-on luggage? More than you might think.

How short can we make a show? Less than you ever dreamed. So short we're not going to make an audio version. Mostly because the sound is terrible.

HRN 343: TOTALED!!

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Jeff AC4ZO, his wife Bobbie KD4ZVW and Gary KN4AQ traveled to Wyoming and became Eclipse Evangelists. Totality Or Bust is their new motto. And Totality is what they got, in a clear, blue sky.

Gary's wife Cyndi KD4ACW took her parents to South Carolina - a much more 'iffy' location for weather - and got lucky (and lunch) with a clear sky. David W0DHG got all the way down to a parking lot in Los Angeles and saw a pinhole crescent shadow.

This episode is their story. Jeff, Bobbie and Gary spent a couple days being tourists around the Denver area (Pikes Peak, WWV, Red Rocks, a kite shop..) and visited the Denver Ham Radio Outlet and a local hamfest that just happened to be that weekend (and where Gary was recognized as the celebrity he is), and you'll see snippits of that.

Gary set up two - TWO - mobile radios in a rental Jeep — a dual-band D-STAR radio and a UHF DMR radio, hoping to catch some ARES activity. He did, but not much. So there's very little ham radio in this episode. You won't miss it.

You won't miss it because the Eclipse was the thing. They'd all seen partial eclipses before, but this was to be their first total. Old hands (and photographers) will tell you to avoid futzing with the camera and just watch it happen. You've only got a few minutes to see something you might, if you're lucky, see a couple times in a lifetime. 

So of course Jeff and Gary both futzed with cameras, but spent at least some time watching the real thing with real, wide eyes. Gary did follow the pro's advice enough to point his video camera at the people, not the sky, as totality approached. And that turned out to be a really good idea. He also sacrificed precious seconds of totality to swing the camera around and show that, too. Again, worth it.

Extra thanks to Frank NF9H and KC KC9MTL, who contacted Gary after seeing a previous HRN episode where he talked about going to Wyoming. Frank had seen 10 total eclipses in his life, and had a Wyoming location scoped out in advance, not far from where Jeff had planned for their trip. Jeff looked at Frank's spot, realized it was way better, and we asked if we could join them. Frank invited us along, and we had great company in addition to a prime viewing spot.

Frank's web site has pictures and stories of this trip and his previous adventures. Check it out:

http://pfmeng.net/

AUDIO? Sure, here it is. But this show is all about the pictures. Or is it? 

After all, we'll say (as newly ordained Eclipse Evangelists), that pictures don't do it justice. No amount of magazine covers or PBS specials can prepare you to see it person. You just have to see it. So maybe you're better off with the podcast?