tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86817069889198454972015-07-05T22:31:47.203-04:00The "Hot Spicy Mustard" FilesA weblog by Greg Williams, K4HSM discussing mostly amateur radio and FCC issues.Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.comBlogger186125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-67975209628262370382015-06-10T02:30:00.000-04:002015-06-10T02:37:13.648-04:00Having a blast on Digital
ICOM 706 with Signalink USB for Digital
When I went to the Dayton Hamvention last month, one of the goals I set for myself was to try a new mode of communication. All my time as a ham (with the exception of APRS a few years ago) the majority has been on voice. I've dabbled in CW and PSK31 but typically on other people's equipment, and they were the operators.
I've not been able to do much Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-17235666868287682262015-05-21T02:28:00.002-04:002015-05-23T12:56:41.184-04:00Hamvention 2015 - A trip 16 years in the making
Yeah, it's a selfie!
In May of 1999, my wife and I were celebrating the news that we were expecting our first child (soon-to-be Lauren, K4LRN), and we broke the news to several of our friends as we trekked to Dayton, Ohio for our 3rd trip to Hamvention. For those who are not hams, or for the 2 or 3 hams who haven't heard, Hamvention is THE hamfest to end all hamfests. It is a bucket list itemGreg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com01001 Shiloh Springs Road, Dayton, OH 45415, USA39.820515 -84.255236939.625358 -84.5779604 40.015672 -83.9325134tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-28141154995449503482015-02-05T01:40:00.000-05:002015-02-05T01:40:41.181-05:00Radio Shack (1921-2015)
According to reports, RadioShack is about to file for Bankruptcy, selling 1/3 of it's stores to Sprint Corporation, the remaining stored being liquidated.
The bankruptcy filing may occur as soon as just a few hours, ending a legacy that was both a resort for ham operators and experimenters and a near-parody of its former self by moving away from its radio, computer, and maker roots and Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-54447275513087342102015-02-04T22:55:00.001-05:002015-02-04T22:55:11.293-05:001500' climb straight up (filmed from a quadcopter)How many tower climbers does it take to change a light bulb? Only one...with bigger brass ones than I have:
The view, taken via a quadcopter RC remote, gives an amazing view of what it's like climbing a (now defunct analog) TV tower in South Dakota to change a light bulb. Even though the tower is no longer used since the FCC made the mandatory change to digital from analog and leaving some Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-12619333877775687962014-11-08T02:17:00.000-05:002014-11-08T02:17:17.575-05:00Jason Roach, KF4VDX, SK
Jason Roach, KF4VDX, and his wife Kris
This is a post I've been dreading to publish for awhile now.
One of my best friends ever, Jason Roach, KF4VDX, became a "silent key" this past Thursday after an 18-month battle with prostate cancer.
I don't know why he was called to Heaven so soon (he's my age) but there must've been a good reason. He was never one to turn his back on a friend in Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-14595845557345540602014-09-21T23:16:00.001-04:002014-09-21T23:16:22.728-04:00A decade of decline?I found this interesting while checking out Google Trends.
If you enter certain search terms, you can see the amount of traffic generated by the search terms going back to 2004.
So I tried "ham radio" and "amateur radio" for comparison:
Check out the full report and see what you think.
Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-73962605546700036352014-09-02T20:33:00.002-04:002014-09-02T20:45:26.676-04:00Keep Austin weird...
Steven Anthony Garza
An Austin man is facing charges after police say he tossed a drone
and a ham radio over the fence because he was tired of his neighbor
“getting in his head.”
Steven Anthony Garza faces an assault charge in connection with the
incident. According to the arrest affidavit filed by Austin Police,
Garza stormed into Matthew Hammons’ yard while Hammons was using his
Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-75658431127444376722014-01-06T21:20:00.000-05:002014-01-06T21:20:00.066-05:00Wouxun.us no longer selling (some) Wouxun radios
It seems that US/China relations are a bit rocky for Import Communications, the distributor for Wouxun radios...until now.
PD0AC reports that Ed Griffin (W4KMA) at Import Communications has been unhappy with the support that the Wouxun - pronounced "Oh-sheng" - folks have provided (or rather haven't provided) concerning an issue with the HT's apparently losing their memories at random, among Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-21581316722007366652013-12-01T23:20:00.001-05:002013-12-01T23:20:49.929-05:00RIP Comet ISON (2012-2013)
It appears that the much-hyped Comet ISON (officially designated C/2012 S1) that was expected to put on a spectacular nighttime show for the last few weeks of 2013 will not occur, as the nearly mile-wide comet has all but completely disintegrated after its flyby past the Sun on Thanksgiving Day.
Passing 684,000 miles from the sun, not even the immense size was enough to keep it intact as it Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-72343943821287512292013-11-10T13:04:00.003-05:002013-11-10T13:04:42.583-05:00A movie short about Radio Hams, circa 1939
Taken from the description on Youtube:
This little vintage film, a rather more serious film than many of Pete
Smith's other presentations, takes a look at how ham radios can become
priceless aids during emergencies. The two stories shown, one dealing
with the sudden illness of noted movie Cameraman Clyde de Vinna (W6OJ), the other with a missing plane where the ham operator (Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-18251746667011745622013-09-22T13:43:00.000-04:002013-09-22T13:43:11.010-04:00Wayne Green, W2NSD "Never Say Die" is now dead
I just found out Wayne Green passed away recently. He was 91 years of age. You may recall I posted about an "exchange" we had a while back about his old magazine, 73. It didn't go very well and my naivete had a bit to do with that.
While I admitted I was never fond of him, I will admit he was a character. He was a guest on Art Bell's old syndicated overnight radio show "Coast to Coast" (now Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-75612104476377028282013-09-08T16:35:00.000-04:002013-09-08T16:35:52.825-04:00CB is now ham radio?
Velveeta made a commercial for their Shells N' Cheese product and it features "that guy that's got a ham radio in his basement", except the radios it features are CB radios! See for yourself:
At the end of the 15-second spot there's a radio to the lower left that looks like a Yaesu / Vertex radio (maybe an 857-D) but it's too obscure and out of focus to be sure.
Nevertheless, Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-96911659952260192013-08-26T22:52:00.000-04:002013-08-26T23:14:50.476-04:00Off-topic: We get it, Miley!
Sorry to waste my ham radio aficionados' time, but I've been wanting to say this for a while now:
Dear Miley Cyrus:
WE GET IT! Okay? We realize you're not 15 years old anymore. We get it that you don't have that cheerful Disney attitude to your demeanor anymore, that you're not all fresh and pure as the wind-driven snow, and that you're not the same girl MY kids grew up with.
We get Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-88287579724312886552013-08-19T21:23:00.001-04:002013-08-19T21:23:45.652-04:00What a bargain!
If you act now, you can get your hands on this lovely Gonset GSB-201 linear amp on eBay. It's clean, looks pretty much to be in working order. It comes from the estate of a ham, so the seller themselves have never used it personally. It has been powered on and the tubes work...or at least they light up. Typical output power can range from ~400W to 1500W depending on mode and the condition of Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-56356430387383547542013-08-10T13:00:00.000-04:002013-08-10T13:00:07.010-04:001965 Ham License Answers
Novice:
Question
#9: What method of frequency control is required to be used in the
transmitter of a station licensed to the holder of a Novice Class
License? The frequency must be crystal-controlled.
Question #13: What is the maximum permissible percentage of modulation of an amateur radiotelephone station? 100%
Question #17: What is the relationship between a fundamental frequency and its Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-91740607502825228902013-08-09T13:00:00.001-04:002013-08-09T13:00:01.797-04:00Could you pass the 1965 Ham License exam?
1965 ARRL FCC
License Manual
I was at an estate sale a couple of weeks back and came across a couple of books that got my attention, The Radio Amateur's License Manual and How to Become a Radio Amateur. Unfortunately I didn't get to find out the callsign of whoever it was that had the books.
The license manual covered all of the classes of licenses available at the time: Novice, Technician,Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-43965316873095663652013-08-07T22:15:00.000-04:002013-08-07T22:15:21.275-04:00A "typical" request for directions...
I have to wonder if this type of conversation happens on your area's repeaters (the exact conversation and names have been altered to protect the guilty):
Ham1: "Hey guys, I'm from out-of-town and need directions to . I'm currently at Can anyone tell me how best to get there?"Ham2: "Sure thing, take the interstate to the next exit, follow the highway 7 miles, and then hang a left at the stop Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-42113069451040713742013-06-03T02:30:00.000-04:002013-08-12T23:37:00.757-04:00Storm chasing is NOT an extreme sport!
Every spring we see the midwest get hammered with severe weather, and every spring we get treated to a fresh batch of videos depicting tornadoes in action and we see some incredible footage. The people that bring us the memorable videos are sometimes just everyday people who happen to be in the right place at the right time, while other times the videos are provided by storm chasers, a unique Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-62004735446776193102013-05-29T00:46:00.000-04:002013-05-29T00:46:52.753-04:00Storm chasers ride out EF-4 wedge tornadoIt's not everyday you can tell your friends and family you rode out an EF-4 tornado and lived to tell about it. It's even rarer to do it in a vehicle.
But when that vehicle is specifically geared to intercept said tornadoes, it comes with the territory. But even this monster twister would make the bravest of chasers wonder what could possess someone to ride out this big of a tornado.
Sean Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-79364806148219163412013-05-02T00:03:00.003-04:002013-05-02T23:16:03.454-04:00My new ham radio "bling"
After my unexpected, less-than-friendly departure from the Pigeon Forge Titanic Special Event because of a lack of having my license upon my person, I made a photocopy and laminated it for my wallet (which soooooo many hams were soooooo polite to inform me of what a wallet-sized ham license looks like) so that this issue, should it ever occur again, will not prevent me from operating.
But I Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-87835840821474131862013-04-14T19:32:00.000-04:002013-04-14T19:32:06.615-04:00How to lose friends and influence righteous indignation
I've been a ham going on 20 years. Back when I got my license, there was no "internet" as we know it today. We did not surf the web, e-mail, blog, or Google. And cell phones? If you were a celebrity or a doctor, you got the privilege of owning one, which might have been a 20 pound battery with a handset strapped to the top of it. & frget txt msging LOL :)
Remember these things?
We alsoGreg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-14943381786564847742013-02-19T00:44:00.000-05:002013-04-14T19:33:00.307-04:00Man accused of threatening amateur radio club members
John David Watkins III
Via KSAT San Antonio, TX:
Northeast Bexar County resident John Watkins III is accused of making death threats to members of an amateur radio club.
Watkins
was arrested on two counts of making a terroristic threat, and booked
into jail Saturday. Records show he has been released after posting
$4,000 bond.
According
to an arrest warrant affidavit, radio club Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-18347693297952024632013-02-13T02:33:00.000-05:002013-02-13T02:33:31.984-05:00So this qualifies as a "Civil Defense Message"...
Some people watching KRTV in Great Falls, Montana got a startling message on their TV screens last Monday, as an Emergency Alert System, or EAS alert came on their TV screens and then a deep-sounding voiceover cautioned that "Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves."
The message advised listeners to tune in to "920AM" and that the Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-7267096883579256522012-12-15T13:00:00.000-05:002012-12-15T13:00:04.184-05:00Tesla over Edison
The Oatmeal had this comic strip back some time back about Nikola Tesla, one of my personal favorite inventors who was generations ahead of his time.
Without Tesla, a lot of technologies would not be possible, from AC current electricity to RADAR and even X-ray technology. I've never been too enamored with Edison to begin with, and the more I read about him, the less I like him. Edison was a Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8681706988919845497.post-38205558734115082742012-12-15T09:00:00.000-05:002012-12-15T09:00:00.079-05:00Geminids meteor shower pretty active
I went outside Thursday night in the chilly weather around midnight and the Geminids meteor shower was in full swing. I witnessed a few dozen before having to go to bed.
I'm still trying to find a frequency I can listen to in order to "hear" the meteors as they come into Earth's atmosphere. I posted about my search some time ago and still haven't gotten any success in locating a good Greg Williamshttps://plus.google.com/113673741976343382034noreply@blogger.com0