I installed the just released, R36 firmware on my Elecraft K4 transceiver this morning. This new production release is apparently welcome news for many enthusiasts who have been longing for some new remote features to improve their experience.
There must be more than a hundred reasons why so many folks want the ability to use their equipment from remote locations, and these are certainly valid. I’m just glad I’m not one of them. At least not at this moment. I’ve gone to some considerable lengths to build the ham shack of my dreams and I’m perfectly happy to operate from right here.
In fact, I like to think of it as my radiotelegraph office when I walk in with the first of many cups of coffee ready to settle down for an hour or two of traversing the planet by VFO while getting comfortable in my antique cherrywood office chair. The notion of spending hours, days, or weeks getting software drivers working so I can leave my beautiful shack and go elsewhere to run my station over an internet link is anathema to the atmosphere I’m trying to create.
I understand why remote operation is such a popular feature. I’m simply thankful that the only impact it has on me at the moment is tripling the number of queries to the mailing lists as those remote operators seek answers and solutions to their myriad of technical challenges in making it all work…
Spilling Tea
A few interesting things to share, firehose style:
Web Power Switch Pro from Digital Loggers. ⁍ Slick new K-POD accessory. ⁍ The 2025 DX Marathon rules have been posted. ⁍ New Long Island CW Club YouTube channel. ⁍ “While messaging Android to Android or iPhone to iPhone is secure, messaging from one to the other is not” and now the FBI and CISA, the US cyber defense agency, are warning Americans to use responsibly encrypted messaging and phone calls where they can. ⁍ The Santa Net is held every evening between Thanksgiving and Christmas on 3.916 MHz at 7:00PM Central Time (check-ins open 1/2 hour before). ⁍ History - the First Amateur Lunar Tests & Contacts. ⁍ Long-time Linux heads will remember the Reiser file system. It’s been expunged. Did you know Hans Reiser was a convicted murderer? ⁍ The ARRL 160M Contest takes place on December 6-8th. ⁍ The weekly Club Log DX Report. ⁍ HRO used equipment list. ⁍ After decades of denial, the Pentagon finally admits it’s baffled by UFOs. ⁍ NASA delays first crewed flight to the moon in over 50 years.
Retention Limited
While perusing the 2023 ARRL Annual Report I was struck by something President Rick Roderick, K5UR wrote:
According to an ARRL study, three-quarters of Technician-class licensees (who make up 51% of amateur radio operators) are inactive 1 year after getting licensed…
I knew retention was a big issue limiting the growth of amateur radio, but I had no idea it was this bad. I mean sure, some amount of someone getting into a hobby and only to discover it isn’t for them is to be expected. But 75% is an awfully big number. It’s like trying to fill a swimming pool with a four-foot hole in it with a bucket and it seems to me this deserves more attention. There is little point in focusing on other aspects of recruitment without fixing this first. It’s tossing good money after bad, uselessly burning volunteer hours that could be better directed elsewhere.
It points directly to the failure of the current Technician license structure. The time has come to re-shape this class to include more privileges to give new licensees something else to sample before they head for the exits. Time is much too valuable to waste on futile pursuits.
Weekly BATC Net
I enjoy the weekly BATC net that takes place every Thursday afternoon (my time). The net is conducted via QO-100 and is not directly accessible here in North America, however, it is streamed online. Having done this for a few years you begin to feel associated with the group and the individuals and the net chatter becomes more interesting the more you visit. The medium is the message here, it’s digital amateur television (DATV) and the ability to showcase a ham shack or highlight a current project, is a big draw for video users.
Whenever the time changes, as it did recently, I seem to miss the first few sessions as it’s easy to confuse the start time, and given it’s a live event, that’s a problem. But recently Ian, VK3QL has been recording the video and making it available (for a few weeks) on his YouTube channel. Being able to time-shift the net has been handy for me and I appreciate his efforts.
Full-disclosure, I am a paying member of the British Amateur Television Club and also enjoy the online forum and quarterly publication.
Cold Snap
We always visit a local tree farm on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to pick out a Christmas tree. Today was no different. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine, but it was also the coldest of the season. It was just 15F when we got up this morning and never got much warmer throughout the day. That did make the process of picking out a tree and getting it home go a lot faster than usual.
Casus Belli
Sometime over the last week I exceeded 2,000 contacts logged this year. Spit in the ocean for much more active operators, but another milestone for me as I have added more than 2K to the log in each of the last three years which coincides with my retirement in 2022. Quantity has never been a goal, however, the results reflect the uptick in time spent in the ham shack. With a full-month remaining, I expect 2024 to be the most prolific year of radio during my entire lifetime.
Parabellum
Couldn’t stir up even the slightest ambition in the CQWW CW this weekend. Spent a few hours instead on FT-x. The bands were in good shape and many contacts were logged including working E51SGC on another band. This is the South Cook Islands operation and today might be their last day. Next was 3G7X, the Dxpedition to Chiloé Island (IOTA SA-018) who popped up with a good signal and no dog pile. Then Saint Lucia J69DS, and while I have worked Frans eight times previously, this was the first time in 2024 making it good for another entity in this year’s DX Marathon.
On Amateur Licensing
Many subjects are verboten in the amateur radio world. So many in fact, it’s surprising we have anything to talk about at all. One particular topic that has become taboo is the issue of the testing required to obtain an amateur radio license. On this matter there are certainly strong, divergent views.
One extreme posits that making licensing easier has lead to the “dumbing down” of the amateur service. Some of these would have you believe that the days of traveling to an FCC office and the requirement to draw electronic circuits on paper made ours a hobby for technical elites and see that as a good thing. This despite the fact that most who believe this haven’t taken a ham radio test in decades and likely couldn’t pass even the newer “dumbed down” tests.
On the other extreme are those who see license testing as a nuisance that doesn’t produce better hams and only impedes the growth of the amateur service. Many on this side of the argument would like to see testing eliminated altogether as they believe on the job training produces the best results. It’s as though they believe there are millions of would-be hams with their noses pressed up against the window prevented from crossing over because of testing.
With such strident opinions from both sides, a sort of détente has been achieved by simply ignoring the issue and not discussing it. It seems crazy that we can’t rationally discuss an issue that impacts our hobby, but such is this situation. A blog post or article suggesting license testing has become too easy would be instantly shouted down with accusations that the author was an old curmudgeon and not in step with the 21st century version of ham radio.
Really? We can’t even discuss it? VA3KOT would like to opine:
⁍ Does Making It Easier to Get Licensed Really Grow Our Hobby?
We certainly have spent enough time in this newer era of licensing to get a feel for how it’s impacting our service. Are we growing? Does anyone believe that we can forever grow the hobby by continuing to reduce the rigor of our testing? More importantly, does anyone believe we would generate sustained growth by removing all testing?
I was struck most by this point made by the writer:
“Even if we succeed in boosting the number of new licenses issued by lowering the requirements, will the new recruits stay in the hobby if they are don’t have radio in their DNA?”
It seems to me that lots of people enter the world of amateur radio, but few remain for a lifetime. We need to figure that out. That won’t happen without open discussions about the best ways to accomplish that without it breaking down into yet another holy war. We must do better.
First Snow
We enjoyed our first snow of the season yesterday. 2-3 inches of the fluffy white stuff fell over the entire day. Some say there will be much more of this over the course of what is expected to be an above average snow fall winter season. I remain skeptical about all that, but I did enjoy watching the white stuff fall.
⁍ 61 years ago today President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
The CQWW CW contest gets underway this weekend. As usual I plan to search and pounce on any needed entities if I can find them. I’m not interested in the contest and probably will be in and out all weekend long during this one. The exchange is simple, RST plus CQ zone. Checkout the complete rules. Good luck!
Glitch in the Matrix
About a month or so ago a strange thing began happening with my iPhone. When I looked at the photo album collection, occasionally there would be a photo I couldn’t identify, and was certain I hadn’t taken. These would disappear after a minute or two and I joked with my kids that the ghost of some old Welsh witch was trying to send me clues about who killed her.
It was odd and I wondered aloud if it wasn’t possible that photos from other iCloud accounts were being slipped in and then back out of my photo collection for some reason. No one knew or had heard of such a thing, but with hundreds of millions of iCloud users round the globe it just seemed to me like a plausible explanation, unless I was to begin believing in ghosts.
Then this morning I saw this little news flurry:
A Glitch Is Causing People To Hear Voices Coming From Their iPhone
Suddenly my mystery photo explanation seemed more plausible. Stuff happens and data in the cloud can get scrambled, swirled around, and eventually put back into place. Kinda like the Star Trek transporter. And when it happens, it can feel like a glitch in the Matrix, but there is a perfectly rationale explanation for it.
On the other hand, it could be paranormal…