Prepare for winter NOW!

Here's a video I made on what you should have in your vehicle, home, and farm for preparing for winter weather.  

Ham radio and Techno combine in a song spanning multiple languages

I would like to share this song I heard by a German ham (Hartmut, DK4BE) who created this upbeat song with a lot of jargon we should know quite well. YLs, field day, moonbounce, QO-100, etc.

The video is insanely over the top. Some original video of actual ham radio activity, mixed with completely unrelated Adobe Stock/AI generated goofiness that makes no sense. Look for the woman holding a "73" flag whose arms do a weird morph as she pulls a beer out of nowhere. 

If you want to hear just the song first, you can listen to it here on Dropbox. If you want to see the AI awesomeness, they're on Youtube in several languages with some of the language versions having a different beat / rhythm (not sure the musical terms) to match more with the culture I assume:

• English
• Spanish
• Portuguese (my personal favorite)
• German/Amateurfunk
• Nederland/Dutch
• French

So grab your glow sticks and rave on!

vy 73 de K4HSM

K4HSM Vlog: 25 November 2025

 

Thought I would submit a video to discuss various ham radio topics including echolink, repeaters, the power of a telescopic HT antenna, and Thanksgiving. 

Don't know if I'll make a habit of this but it gave me something to do while sitting in my hotel room bored. I rerecorded about four times to try and get it right, and I'm still unhappy with it because of all the "uhhhhhs" and "errrrrrrs" I uttered during the recording. Even when trying to catch myself I found myself doing it more. You certainly won't see me being a toastmaster anytime soon... 

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and looking forward to a Merry Christmas. 73 de K4HSM 

Simplex Saturday: Week 6 - Taking a commanding lead (that I know of)

 For the 6th week in a row I made an appearance for Simplex Saturdays, sponsored by TARA. For all but one of those weeks I went up to the Foothills Parkway in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to operate. The over 2000' elevation certainly is advantageous when trying to get a large footprint on VHF/UHF simplex.

This week I had company as three other hams came up to operate and to converse about the event.

Michael, KQ4MKV and Darrin KQ4RAY were up on the parkway with me to try and get a few more contacts under their belt than what might have been if they'd stayed at their home QTH.

I found out about 3 weeks ago I could be using POTA (Parks On The Air) for dual event QSOs as the Foothills Parkway is part of the GSMNP which has the POTA designator of US-0034.

On the way up I ran in to a ham on another pulloff who was operating CW for POTA. I was so excited I forgot to ask him his name/callsign!!!

I got up to the #8 parking area and made a slight change in operating. Over the last few operations, I was operating from the back of the vehicle (mine or my wife's) and was basically operating out of the trunk space. This time I ran the coax from the quad-band Comet antenna I had into my Durango and temporarily placed the Yaesu Quad-band 8900 on the center console connected to the battery box instead of to the vehicle. This helped as it was a tad chilly due to the shift in time to an hour earlier last Sunday morning.

I also put word out on a few nets, Facebook, and even on a livestream I tested during a weather net Friday evening about Simplex Saturdays. I think it paid off as I started off strong with a few contacts and using POTA as a duel event brought out the park chasers.

I brought my GoPro to film but due to hectic activity with all the operators I contacted and spoke to in person I wasn't able to set up the cameras.

Unofficially, I made 48 contacts across 5 bands (10m, 6m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm) but the contest did not include 10m initially, however I'm trying to convince them to use 10m, and I think they've counted my previous 10m contacts already.

Speaking of...I was trying to make local contacts on 10m and the 10m band was wide open on 29.600. I heard a station in Nevade (he couldn't hear me) and another somewhere in Mexico!

So far for now, I'm in the lead on the Simplex Saturdays contest log with 74 QSOs and Darrin has 2nd place with 20. These numbers do NOT include today's numbers, so I can't wait to see how it changes going into next weekend.

There's only 3 of us that have submitted logs thus far, and I've been encouraging others to submit. If they make just one contact, they can submit the log to be entered for a prize drawing in April 2026. So please join the fun. I've been having a blast going up to the mountains to operate!

Preaching the gospel of SKYWARN to Scouts at 2025 Scoutfest

I made an appearance at Scoutfest in Monroe County on 25 October representing East Tennessee SKYWARN. Hundreds of scouts from around the region came out for a weekend of camping and learning about various trades, skills, and ideas that may help them become better people tomorrow than they already were today.

The Smoky Mountain Amateur Radio Club, RACK, and Monroe Co. ARES were in attendance at a couple of sites next to the airstrip where planes took off and landed all morning and afternoon. Helicopters from the US Army and Lifestar flew in for the event as well.

Scouts and their families stopped by and were informed on what amateur radio was, how it could be useful in hiking, emergencies, and of course, severe weather.

A portable station was set up to allow scouts to talk on the radio. Some were shy, and others very outgoing. They talked to hams on the 146.940 repeater throughout the day and were impressed by how far away some of the stations were located.

The morning started off chilly, but by midday the sun came out, the skies cleared, and it turned into a pleasant afternoon. RACK had an HF setup and scouts could listen to 10meters being active with stations in Italy, Costa Rica, and many others across the US and Europe coming in and out as the band conditions allowed.

I attended on behalf of SKYWARN and provided spotter guides to anyone who was interested in weather, showing what to looks for and what is considered severe. Many scoutmasters and family members in attendance were ham operators and stopped by for eyeball QSLs.

Held every 3 years, Scoutfest is an event where the entire Great Smoky Mountains Council is invited to attend. This year, Axiom Space Astronaut John Shoffner was the guest speaker for the event.

It was a beautiful day and an exciting event. All the volunteers are looking forward to the next Scoutfest!

Is your club a 501(c)3? You may have a GoFundMe set up and not even know it!

GoFundMe is being used by many for recovering from disasters, helping to pay for unexpected expenses, or to assist with costs from a life-threatening accident. Some even use it to help pay for trips and vacations. Whatever the need, it has been a great way for people around the world to help those in need.

But apparently GoFundMe wants to expand their reach and not let those affected know about it until people start donating or asking questions.

According to this ABC7 article, one ham who is the President of his local radio club as well as Treasurer for his local library’s organization was contacted about a GoFundMe page for the library and whether or not it was legit. He looked on GoFundMe’s site to find his library’s group listed. The only problem was he didn’t set the page up. GoFundMe did it!

GoFundMe has created a list of pages for various 501(c)3 organizations based on information from public records.

GoFundMe has taken upon itself to create “nonprofit pages” for 1.4 million 501(c)3 organizations using public IRS data along with information from trusted partners like the PayPal Giving Fund.GoFundMe has taken upon itself to create “nonprofit pages” for 1.4 million 501(c)3 organizations using public IRS data along with information from trusted partners like the PayPal Giving Fund.

If your ham radio club is 501(c)3, then search for it on GoFundMe and investigate whether you need to take action on the site!

Ham Radio Helping to Pass the Emergency Preparedness Act

The ARRL has teamed up with Texas HAM PAC to allow ham operators to send a message to their US Congresspeople to encourage passage of  H.R.1094 (US House of Representatives) and S.459 (US Senate) which would make Homeowner Associations (HOAs) relax restrictions on antennas and towers in communities to allow for emergency communications. 

All across the US, HOAs have restrictions in place to prevent outside antennas and supporting structures from being set up as they concern themselves with preserving property values and keeping aesthetics uniform across the community. While there is no true gauge on whether antennas affect property values or aesthetic quality (as it is ultimately just a matter of opinion) HOAs ban antennas and in some communities, do not even allow antennas that are stealthy (flagpole antennas, wires in trees, and even antennas in attics INSIDE A HOME) and even go so far as to no allow antennas on homeowners' vehicles!

By using the form, it's a 1-minute activity to enter your callsign, confirm the info, and click the "Send" button. 

However, I would also encourage everyone to take it one additional step further by sending physical letters and emails that are personalized to your situation so that it carries more weight to your Congressional representatives in Washington.

I used the form to find my representatives, then I used Google to pull up their contact information for their Washington offices as well as their satellite office in my city (Knoxville). Fortunately for me, all three of my reps were in the same building in Knoxville. 

I used SKYWARN and the impact of Hurricane Helene in nearby North Carolina as examples of why HOAs should allow residents to install antennas—when done respectfully and safely. Weather-related emergencies are the most common type of communications crisis in this region, and trained spotters play a crucial role, especially as some National Weather Service offices face staffing shortages.

In fact, an HOA community could benefit from having an amateur radio station as a reliable means of communication during disasters. When hurricanes strike, entire towns can become isolated from the outside world—as we saw with Helene in the Carolina mountains, and previously with Hurricane Ian’s devastation on Pine Island in 2022, where my late father lived. His HOA community struggled to get supplies after Ian made landfall. He also lived through Hurricane Charley in 2004, which hit his neighborhood directly as it tore through Punta Gorda. In both cases, a ham radio station could have been a vital link to emergency resources and information.

I expressed these concerns to my representatives and felt this was important to convey.

In some instances, I employed AI to help clarify my thoughts and put them in a concise and sensible letter. I did not copy/paste verbatim, but rather grabbed key elements to insert into my letters and make them make sense. 

Since these letters were sent, I received correspondence from 2 of my representatives (so far). I feel this makes an important impact to getting this bill passed.

So please consider reaching out to your reps, especially if you're in an HOA and want to put up antennas to talk to emergency officials, or to the world!

Simplex Saturday: Week 1

The Tennessee Amateur Radio Association started up a special event that began last Saturday (4 October) where Tennessee stations can make contacts on VHF and up simplex frequencies (6m, 2m, 23cm. and 70cm):

Participants can download the log sheet (as an .xlsx) and then log their contacts, then upload them here to become eligible for prize drawings (prizes TBD) in April. 

I decided to head up to the Foothills Parkway to get a little altitude for making contacts. Even with ideal weather, I’ve never seen the parkway as busy as it was when I arrived as a flood of cars from a nearby car show in Sevierville all made for quite the scene.

Because of other commitments, I couldn’t make it to the overlook until after 7 p.m., technically after the “event” had ended. The listing showed “5 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time,” but I wasn’t sure how official that schedule really was as I had heard conflicting info on the times to operate. So I went ahead and continued up to the overlook anyway. Worst case, I’d still get to make a few QSOs from atop a mountain—and catch the sunset while I was at it. Still a win in my book.

When I finally reached the overlook, it was completely packed—cars, bikes, and muscle cars everywhere, many from the “Slammedenuff” show in Sevierville (more on that in a bit).

I managed to snag the last parking spot and backed in. Out came my folding chair, battery box, and my Yaesu 8900 quad-band mobile. I set up my mag-mount quad-band antenna (10m/6m/2m/70cm) and tried to tune out the steady parade of muscle cars roaring up and down the parkway, each seemingly in a contest to prove who had the loudest exhaust. One driver even treated everyone to a performance of "jake braking" down the hill, letting the exhaust backfire twice, re-accelerating briefly, and then repeating all the way down the road.

There were park rangers stationed nearby, though not directly at the overlook, which I thought would’ve been the better spot to have crowd control. Still, it looked like they had their hands full. It may be that due to the overwhelming numbers of cars, they didn't want to escalate a tense situation with their presence.

Back to the radio bit. My first contact with with John in Southeast Tennessee, and despite the mountains in between us, I had him at an S5 signal. We talked for a few minutes and I started hearing another station attempting to contact me. Being up on the top of a mountain does incur a lot of stations who can hear me but not the stations I'm talking to. Kinda like 10 meters!

I got to enjoy the sunset and although I only talked to 3 people, we went across all four bands of my radio for 8 contacts total. We even did 10 meters FM to try it out and two of the hams were able to reach me with no issue (again, other than the mountain!). I packed up after about an hour as I needed to get back home.

So now my mind is stirring on how to actually incorporate the quad-bander into the battery box! I want to mount the quad-bander on either the side of the box or even on the top. I'm thinking the side would work better, but I may look at building a completely different box entirely for this radio. 

A postscript to this, the cars that were part of the car show apparently were not getting the approval of the City of Sevierville, as they cancelled the 2nd day of the 2-day event. It looks as though the cars on the parkway weren't the only hooligans out of control, as incidents all across Sevier Co were overwhelming authorities. The event was not sanctioned by the city and there were warnings for participants to behave prior to the show. I'm sure the ones that were respectful were disappointed, but unfortunately those that think they are above the law decided to discover what the "Find Out" part was all about.

I'm just glad everyone at the overlook were (for the most part) behaved. A couple of visitors were asking about my radio setup. They were amazed I was talking to Chattanooga and thought I was on CB. If they only knew...

Building Better Battery Boxes

The need for emergency power is something every ham operator should take into consideration. Over the last few years, batteries have become more affordable, longer-lasting, lighter weight, or a combination of these qualities. The latest battery craze is for LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries, a growing favorite among many makers and tinkerers for their light weight, long charge times, lower cost, and tolerances for hot and cold ambient temperatures. 

LiFePO4 batteries have also become a solid item in many hams' shacks for emergency power and can be used in golf carts, trolling motors, and even some Tesla automobiles will be investing in these types of batteries for lower costs to construct and better life-cycles.

The reasonable cost and the (much!) lighter weight are reasons I decided to invest in an emergency power source.

I had some prerequisites for needing such a power source:

• Light weight
• Portable
• Multiple means of providing power
• Anderson power poles
• USB
• AC power
• Car adapter
• Able to be recharged via solar or commercial power
• Easy to maintain and use

I searched on the internet for a compatible battery box to hold the battery and discovered the Hiximi battery box that looked to be the best fit. It had a built-in voltmeter with a switch that controlled two car adapters and 2 USB outlets. 

My next item was the star of the attraction: the battery! Again the LiFePO4 batteries were highly recommended from several hams for their tolerances to temperatures and their weight, along with the ability to maintain a steady power level during heavy use and drainage. I attended a POTA-Palooza event at Big Ridge State Park in the fall of 2024 and got to see several set-ups first hand. Some of the batteries were LiFePO4 batteries and I asked several of their owners how they functioned, were they happy with these batteries, etc. All gave a thumbs up to these batteries. One was
an ECO-WORTHY brand which was HIGHLY recommended and when I got home I found one on Amazon. I decided to go with the 50Ah battery, because, while I did not think I would ever need all of that potential energy, it still would be nice to have, and use it to power my HF rig over several hours, such as when operating the Tennessee QSO party.

As I waited for the battery, I looked over images of other battery boxes and contemplated what other items I would need. I would need a way to charge the battery, and a way to invert the DC to an AC output to allow household items to be plugged in. I went back to Amazon and saw that ECO-WORTHY also had a charger. It was compatible with several battery types including LiFePO4 batteries. This is something to consider when getting a charger, that it specifically be compatible to the battery you purchase. 

While on a trip to Walmart, I stopped in the automotive department to browse the power inverters, and found an Everstart 750W version. While this version I linked is slightly different cosmetically, itis still the same as the one I obtained. Along with a high wattage and two AC plugs, it also has 2 additional USB ports that can be used along with the 2 onboard the battery box. 

As I waited for most of the parts to arrive, I also considered the need for solar power to recharge the battery. I found solar panels were getting to be fairly affordable as well, so I looked on Amazon (again) and found a 100W foldable solar panel that best fit my requirements for portability, compactibility, and a built-in charger controller that allowed for the panels to charge the battery without the possibility of chargeback to the panels if the battery is fully charged. It uses anderson power poles, so I ended up going to a local hamfest and purchased a power pole socket to connect to the battery. 

Once everything was ready to set up, it took about 2 hours to set everything up the way I wanted. Putting in the battery was the easy part. It came with foam padding from the delivery, so I just moved it all into the battery box and it fit perfectly. The padding keeps the battery from jostling around in a loose box. 

The ECO-WORTHY battery came with a socket to use for screwing down the wires to the terminals on the battery. I taped it to the battery after use to keep it handy in case it's needed. While showing it off to a battery box expert (Bill, KK4PAL) he noted that the socket would perfectly line up with the terminals and possibly cause a short if the stars aligned. I agreed and will probably cover the ends in plasti-dip or something similar to insulate it. For now I used electrical tape around the ends to prevent the possibility of a short.

After sorting out the battery install, I needed to install the inverter and charger/controller. I installed the controller on the outside chassis of the box using the supplied screws and liquid nails for ensuring a firm seal. The internal padding also keeps the sharp ends of the screws from scraping and possibly puncturing the battery.

The charger SHOULD ALWAYS BE OUTSIDE OF THE BATTERY BOX due to the high heat it produces and that heat could shorten the life of any battery you use. If I am being transparent, I initially wanted to put it in the box to save space, but fortunately it wouldn't fit and Bill advised it is always good to keep the charger out of the box so that it doesn't overheat while charging, which could cause thermal breakdown issues with the battery, shortening its lifespan.

Next was the inverter. I had to install on the outside as well since it needed the AC plugs on the outside. Because it has a cooling fan, it is best to keep it outside the battery box to allow the cooling fan to do its job for keeping the inverter cool when higher current-drawing products are plugged in (like fans, TVs, and lamps). I also added ferrite cores to all the wires of all devices to help minimize any potential electromagnetic interference or HF interference.

With the box, the 50Ah battery, charger/controller, and inverter, the box weighs in at 21lbs. With a smaller battery, it will obviously weigh less, but 21lbs with a LiFePO4 battery is MUCH lighter than trying to use a Lithium-Ion or a lead-acid battery. And again, it's better to have more than enough power than not enough.

After setting up the box with all of this, I took it for a few test runs, setting up my go kit, running a few devices on it (floor lamp, chargers, camera, etc) and it's been almost flawless. But I needed to get solar capability set up, so I got my 30a Anderson power pole mount and proceeded to drill a hole in the opposite side to where the USB and car chargers were. It took less than 15 minutes to set up the port and within 30 minutes of that, I had the solar setup completed. 

The next sunny day I took the panels out and set them up and they worked perfectly to keep the battery box charged while I tested HF with my go-kit. 

The first true test came at last month's Tennessee QSO Party, where I plugged my kit into it and ran the radio for 11 hours. It kept going throughout the entire event and never went below 13.1V.

I took it to the Clinton Amateur Radio Society meeting and Bill KK4PAL was giving a talk on battery boxes. As mentioned earlier, he's a battery box expert, having built several over the last few months. He looked over my build and was impressed by the design, and attendees asked many questions about my battery box and I had a few handouts with all the details. A PDF of everything in my battery box is here. A Youtube video of Bill's presentation is below:

I took it to the East Tennessee Hamfest and was planning to discuss SKYWARN, and I brought my battery box to power the laptop. More people were interested in the battery box than they were about SKYWARN (maybe because I preach it every chance I get). And recently I took it to do a POTA operation and again, it did everything it was designed to do. 

I even used it recently to help keep my mother's portable oxygen concentrator running during a power outage at our home. With her being on oxygen now, the box has become a critical component in keeping her assured we can keep her oxygen supply going for as long as needed. Her concentrator will last about 4 hours on a charge. With my battery box, we may have at least 24 hours is my guess.

Here are my key takeaways with the battery box:

1. I enjoyed building it, but Bill's battery boxes look more robust and I plan to set up a portable digipeater, so Bill's setup will be more conducive to my needs for putting it on the air. I will be reaching out to him soon to put one together for me as I already have another battery and charger ready to go.
2. I will probably install another set of power poles to have power OUT from the battery to power compatible devices. I could go ahead and use the solar input but I want to keep them separate and use the onboard switch to also control the power pole port.
3. This was an expensive box to build overall, but definitely more affordable than one I thought to build just a few short years ago. 
4. Now with my mother on oxygen, this has become an even more valuable tool to have not just for radio. 

Followup on my audio box acquisition - I'm now POTA-powerful!

A little over 3 years ago I posted a teaser about an audio rack that I wanted to use for ham radio functions...all it said was "soon...".

Well, I guess I SHOULD provide an update after 3 years! And what a jouney!

I had parts and equipment to put together a "go-box" or "kit" as I'll call it, for portability and convenience, so I began the process of putting together a kit that would allow me to get on HF in a remote location or at an EOC or other location for outreach and public service.

Now this was three years ago, so a lot has changed in between then and now. For my kit I had the following equipment I intended to use:

• ICOM 706-MkII-G
• Yaesu FT-100D
• Automatic Antenna Tuner
• Power Supply (Powerwerx)
• 2m/440 dual-band mobile
• SWR meter for VHF and UHF

Now at the time I did not have all of the equipment I wanted to have in the kit. I did have my 706 and Yaesu 100D and wanted to put them side-by-side so I could switch to one if the other failed or had issues. Then have a 2m/440 FM for standalone local comms. I did not have the tuner, or the meter, or the rack mount. Luck and good fortune would change that eventually.

After I acquired the rack through a swap/shop posting, I found a killer deal at a thrift store that had an LDG tuner, a power supply, a Yaesu quad-band mobile, and an SWR/power meter from 144 to 500 MHz. I was able to put most of that to good use, but I'm still looking to implement my quad-band in my SUV at some point.

In September 2023, at a setup for the Tennessee QSO Party that my District 5 SKYWARN group was operating, my friend Jordan helped put together the go box. We put the Yaesu 100D and Icom 706 across the bottom, and then the power supply, antenna tuner, and SWR meter across the top. We added a small speaker to go in between the two radios. While I wanted the quad-band to go in, there was not enough space. So we settled on what we had and tested it during the QSO party. We had good results during the contest, and other than a few minor bugs, it went well.

We used Velcro, tie wraps, and occasionally a screw or two to put the kit together.

I was excited to get the kit put together but had to wait until December when I could put it to the test during the SKYWARN Recognition Day event at the Morristown NWS.

And it was a disaster...

I arrived at the NWS and was ready to go, but no one of our usual gang was there except for Clark, WD4CM. Apparently there had been a confluence of events that prevented others from the SKYWARN team from appearing, whether it be being out of town that weekend, sickness, or taking care of family who was sick. So we had minimal equipment available and fewer volunteers to operate it.

It was all Clark and I could muster to set up our equipment in the fast-setting darkness. I was so rushed to hit the 7PM start that I tripped over a wire supporting a hastily put-together mast and almost busted my shoulder, knee, and wrist tumbling down the embankment! 

After brushing myself off and swallowing my pride, we proceeded to attempt to get on the air with the meager equipment we had. 

The radios worked well. I had my trusty FT-100D in action through most of the time we operated. I camped out overnight (no sleep in my SUV, but that's another story) and was operating much of the morning with some folks who showed up and operated, including 10-year-old Anna, KQ4IVQ, who is fascinated with weather, and it perked me up better than a double shot of espresso to see her excitement at operating on various repeaters in the region.

The kit functioned as intended overall, but the mediocre band conditions and unreliable antenna setup made for an shortened event. It wasn't anyone's fault that caused the issues, just a bad set of circumstances that led to a disappointing event. It was still a good shakedown for my kit, and it led to a lot of research on what more could be done.

I knew I had to modify the kit to make it more adaptable to various situations. I began exploring different options for the setup and tried to figure out some of the things that were needed versus what was already set up. 

One thing to do was set up a reliable grounding. I only had the chassis for ground and little more, other than whatever ground setup the antennas were using. I put in a ground wire screwed into the back, then placed the wire on a roll that would be sent out (if operating outdoors) to a stake for grounding. 

I ended up selling my FT-100D Yaesu at a hamfest, as I felt the two different radios would conflict with operations and confuse those that wanted to operate one over the other. I didn't want someone randomly turning on one radio thinking it was set up when the other radio was actually working.

Although I preferred the Yaesu, it did not offer a lot of compatible peripherals that the Icom 706MKIIg had available. Even though both radios are no longer supported by their manufacturers, I can still get equipment for the Icom that I could not find for the Yaesu. More on that later.

I would wait a few months before breaking it out again and testing the setup to do more work on what I needed. A lot of things were happening in my life that took precedence, and at times I just didn't feel like ham radio was good therapy. I also needed to use something that did not rely on commercial power for activating the setup. I ended up building a battery box for use as an external power source for my setup, and it has been a great add-on to the kit. More on the battery box in a separate post soon.

My wife Jessie (K4RLJ), encouraged me to get back into using the kit and looking at ways of getting back on HF since I did not have a setup for HF at home now that my one remaining rig was now in a go box.

We took a trip to my mother-in-law's home in upper East Tennessee and used it as a way to gauge the remote capabilities of the kit. My mother-in-law's home was not connected to the internet at the time (she now has Starlink), and cellular service is mrginal at best if you're standing outside in the right spot. So I would use this as an opportunity to test true remote activation. 

We went in late March, and setting up the radio was trying, and I was not making any contacts. In fact, a couple of stations were calling me a "QRMer" when I was trying to make contact. I checked out the end-fed antenna I purchased at a recent hamfest and, other than the fact it was low to the ground, did not look like it was defective. I was left scratching my head. I tore down and went back home frustrated. 

I took my setup back to my mother-in-law's on July 13, which was a fateful day.

While in the middle of setting up the rig, I tuned the 706 to a random QSO on 20m, and I had an HT that was set up on my local SKYWARN repeater monitoring for any weather in the area, as storms had been popping up as they are wont to do in the summer. While setting up, I heard comments on HF and subsequently the local 2m repeater about a shooting and the "president being shot." I immediately grabbed the HT and inquired about what was happening. I thought they were referring to then-President Biden, but they instead were talking about former President Trump. I told my wife and mother-in-law what was happening, and they turned the TV on to see what had occurred. Pretty amazing that in this circumstance, my first hearing of this major event was via ham radio. 

After watching the events unfold, I returned to the radio to continue testing the kit. Once again I was met with frustration that my signal was "garbled", or "hot", or "overpowering". I thought it had to be the microphone. I checked the connection, and a couple of times I keyed the mic and nothing happened. I chalked it up to a defective microphone and tore everything down, calling it another failed effort.

I went back home trying to figure out the issue. I would not have the equipment set up again until the 2024 TN QSO Party, where we once again encountered some issues. This time it was due to issues with the antennas and being unable to tune on some of the bands, and so we used it sparingly. 

I had spent some time "venting" to a friend of mine who was working to get back into ham radio after being out of it for a few years. I told him my antennas were not giving the desired output and it was cumbersome lugging around an end-fed or a dipole and I needed an antenna I could take portable. A few days later, I get an email that I had a package arriving soon from Amazon, which was odd because I hadn't ordered anything from Amazon in a few weeks. I then got a knock at the door later that afternoon and sitting on the porch was a mystery package. I opened it to find a JPC-12 portable antenna for me. I had to remind myself I didn't buy the antenna while drinking or sleep-browsing, which left only one suspect. I called up my friend and he confessed he had purchased one and liked it so much he bought one for me to try as a portable setup. Thanks, Jason!

I took my kit to visit another friend (Bob KC4URW) who was visiting from out-of-state and camping at an RV park, and I wanted to show him my setup and test the new toy and was met with more difficulty. It took me some time to figure out the setup and try to tune the antenna with as little need for the auto-tuner as possible.  I'll have a separate post on the JPC-12 soon. My audio once again seemed to be the issue, and I was chalking it up to the microphone. We set up Bob's Ten-Tec Omni and had better results with the JPC-12. He was so impressed with the JPC-12 he bought himself one!

But once again since I was met with "hot" mic issues and was about to throw the 706 down an embankment, I needed to get things looked at. Bob and I were stumped on the hot mic issue, and he's not used a 706 before, so I decided my next opportunity to get some help troubleshooting was POTA-Palooza, an event at Cove Lake State Park in Campbell Co, TN where many POTA (Parks on the Air) operators would gather to share their ideas, their equipment, and operate as a POTA station from the park. So I decided to make a trip up to get some help and test my setup.

I brought everything I wanted to use for POTA and arrived at POTA-Palooza knowing some great friends would be able to help me, and they did...and when it was figured out the issue, the egg on my face could have been cooked over-medium....

After a few minutes of talking back and forth with another station at the picnic area, he asked me to check my mic gain, and when I did the setting was cranked up to 11! We brought it back to 4-5 and what do you know, I sounded AMAZING! I still have no clue how the mic gain got adjusted but not even considering that was an issue for me was rather...humbling.

Fast forward to June. Now that my "hot mic" issues were resolved, I wanted to continue improving on my kit. I needed a better way to be able to talk and log at the same time. I needed a hands-free mic and foot keyer to be able to free up my hands for logging either on a notepad or laptop. The opportunity came while visiting my daughter Lauren (K4LRN) in Colorado where she is on an internship for the Fish & Wildlife service. While in town we stopped at Ham Radio Outlet. I was only there to browse...or so I thought...at least that's what my wife thinks.

I talked to Adan about my kit and he showed me the Proset headphone/mic by Heil that was very comfortable and affordable, even with the necessary adapters for the 706. I got both the headphones and foot switch and a couple of books, one for learning how to do POTA, the other a logbook. When all else fails, pencil and paper will help you log your contacts!!!

So then I was in good shape and was ready for the next TN QSO Party. I set up the kit a couple of times at the house to prep the mic and the foot switch, and took it up to my mother-in-law's for practice setting up and tearing down. It takes about 35-45 minutes to set up, which involves mainly the antenna, and maybe 20-30 minutes to stow after I'm done (unless it's pitch dark, which takes time to navigate with only a flashlight and clumsy feet). 

When time came for the TN QSO party I was ready to go, and with my end-fed, and JPC-12, we operated with the rest of my District 5 SKYWARN team and treated the TQP as a late-summer "Field Day", setting up at the Middlesettlements Field of Dreams and then having a picnic and inviting the public to come out and participate.

I'll save that as well for another post (I've got to get more active on my blog anyway) but the radio operated great, and my headset mic and foot switch were flawless, and NO HOT AUDIO!!!

If you want to see the kit in action you can watch my friend Bill's (KK4PAL) Youtube video of our event here:

So after the QSO Party, I now needed to try doing POTA. My wife and I went to Norris Dam State Park this past weekend to have a weekend getaway and use that time to test out my setup for POTA and get me on POTA under my callsign for the first time. I'd done POTA 2 years prior with my SKYWARN team but we used N4T and WX4TYS for the callsigns. So now I wanted to really get my feet wet.

We rented a cabin and got set up Friday afternoon and everything was looking great...until I realized I did not bring coax!!!  I had a 4' jumper and a couple of 1' jumpers...but no barrel connectors (that I had just bought) to connect them with!

I put the 4' jumper on and moved the radio to compensate but felt like the restriction was not allowing me to get as good signal. I still made about 24 contacts and used a notepad to write them down with...because I also forgot my logbook as well....

We were fortunately 30 minutes from the house, so we ran back to get coax and connectors, and then went back to the cabin to operate Saturday morning. But mother nature had other ideas.

At exactly 7am we were jolted out of bed by a loud clap of thunder, and I checked my weather app and saw a thunderstorm building up right on top of us. For the next hour, showers and thunderstorms poured down and when checking the weather map, only our area was getting hammered. After about 90 minutes the system drifted south towards the mountains, where it would inundate the area with showers, and cause a landslide in Sevier Co.

About noon is when I got outside and set up for POTA. This time...with long enough coax and everything in place, I got on 20 meters, and I have to say it was INCREDIBLE the pileups I was getting for POTA. I knew POTA was a hot commodity but did not expect the amount of activity I was getting. I even worked my first Alaska station through POTA! Over the next few hours I would get 113 QSOs with this setup. I was excited to have things (FINALLY!) working in perfect harmony.

Even an approaching thunderstorm did not deter me (except for a close lightning strike!) as I moved all my equipment in the screened-in porch and operated from there over another hour. 

I was excited to have had the chance to operate a POTA station and am now looking at ways to continue operating portable. There are some things I still need to tweak with my setup, and other things that need work. I'm even looking at setting up a portable kit for VHF/UHF operations for some upcoming events in Tennessee. 

So my big takeaways from using this go kit as a portable setup:

1. At around 50 lbs of weight, the portable audio rack is cumbersome and heavy and not conducive to truly portable operations for things like SOTA (Summits on the Air) where the purpose is to climb to the top of a ridge or mountain to operate. Lugging this and my battery box would not work for SOTA. I will need more lightweight portable packaging for such activity.
   
   
2. I learned a lot about what I had versus what I needed. I also learned that it helps to know your equipment as best as possible so that when troubleshooting, you know where to look and what to look for. Some major headaches could have been avoided had I just thought to check the settings of the radio before exploring my hardware.
   
   
3. This was, and still is, a great way to have a go kit at the ready in case of an emergency or a need to set up when something happens. I can use this radio setup for Field Day, the TN QSO Party, and maybe Winter Field Day next year if I get the time to operate. I can also use it for SKYWARN Recognition Day and plan to take it with me to try my luck again.
   
   
4. It really revved up my interest back in HF. 
   
   
5. Setting up and taking down are getting easier with time and repeated processes, and I am figuring out exactly what I need for future events. Which reminds me...
6. Have a checklist of everything needed! I need to have my coax, connectors, battery box, antenna, laptop, paper, pens, flashlight, etc. in a backpack or something that I can lug around along with my audio rack. I will use RG-58 coax since it is lighter, leaner, and more portable than the RG-8 that I ended up getting from home when we rushed back.
   
   
7. I still want to add another radio into the kit. Currently I use the place once occupied by the FT-100D to stow the headset and foot switch. I have a quad-band radio I plan to use at some point but I'm torn between using it in this kit, or in its own separate kit. Perhaps a dual-band radio with cross-band capability will be what I want to use for that purpose. We shall see.

Here is what I currently have in the box, and as I go through the motions with more events in the future, I will probably change out one or two more things.

• ICOM 706 MkIIg
• LDG Antenna Tuner
• Diamond SX-400 SWR/Power meter for 144-500 MHz
• Powerwerx power supply for the antenna tuner and power meter (can also be used on the ICOM radio)
• External Speaker
• MFJ End-fed antenna for 10-40m
• A quick reference guide for the Amateur Radio bands I can operate
• Stakes, rope, tape, barrel connectors, and other items for operating/repair

So now that I'm back in the blogging game, here's some more topics I will plan to discuss soon:

• Battery Box (will be published at same time or before this post to feature it prior to this one)
• TN QSO Party
  
• POTA-Palooza
• TARA (Tennessee Amateur Radio Association)
• Simplex Saturdays
• HOA legislation bills in US Congress

I hope you enjoyed this and will continue to follow along. 

RAC puts politics before purpose

Well I picked a good time to revisit my blog after a nearly 2-year hiatus...

Citing "increasingly strained" relations between the US and Canada and other issues completely unrelated to amateur radio, the RAC (Radio Amateurs of Canada) have "unanimously" agreed NOT to attend the Hamvention in Xenia for 2025.

I double-checked and sure enough, April Fool's Day was last Tuesday.

See for yourself below (complete statement with French translation here):

At its meeting on March 27, 2025, the Board of Directors of Radio Amateurs of Canada voted unanimously to cancel RAC’s plans to operate a booth at Hamvention (Dayton) in Xenia, Ohio in May. This decision was not taken lightly and was made with deep regret as our members and volunteers always look forward to attending this significant international event. 

The relationship between Canada and the United States has become increasingly strained due to recent trade disputes and tariffs imposed by the US government. Adding to these challenges, controversial remarks from US leaders, including suggestions of Canada becoming the 51st state, have heightened concerns about Canadian sovereignty. 

For Canadians, these tensions have had tangible impacts and there has been a decline in cross-border travel and tourism.

It is a complex and evolving situation, but it is our hope that we will be able to return to Hamvention in future years and we hope that Canadian Amateurs who do attend the event will have a safe and enjoyable experience. 

I scouted over their Objectives and nowhere do I find anything about boycotting hamfests across the border due to political ideologies of the board. The closest I find is this:

To represent Canadian Amateur Radio operators in policy decisions regarding international issues and regulation that affect Amateur Radio within the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and at meetings and conferences of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).

To act as a liaison organization and consultative body to municipal, provincial and federal governments in matters concerning the Amateur Service and act as a liaison and consultative body to the Canadian Government and its appropriate departments.

The "controversial remarks" made by US leadership at no point is making a threat to Canadian amateur radio, its operators, or agencies. How exactly do these remarks affect spectrum? How do they endanger amateur radio operations for Canadians?

This is quite simply, the actions of a few overbearing hams with some delusions of grandeur trying to make it appear that their entire constituency is on a united front. That attitude doesn't always end well for those that attempt to wield their swords when not warranted or welcomed.

I'm thinking this will NOT be the end of the story. I expect there to be an attempt at a retraction in the forthcoming days should the membership protest this decision, and I would certainly hope the membership does protest en masse. The RAC says it speaks on behalf of ALL Canadian Amateurs so while I'm sure there are those who would support this decision, do they ALL feel this way? I feel it's unlikely a unified sentiment, and I would hope they raise their voices in chorus to say as much. And regarding the "unanimous" comment...I know from personal experience, that this decision is anything BUT unanimous. NOTHING is unanimous in ham radio, unless everyone has a like-minded mentality about the politics of things outside of ham radio, which I've never encountered. Most any radio club, big and small, has their factions when it comes to any kind of politics. You ask club members what time it is, about half will tell you how to build a watch, some will give it in 24-hour military time, and a few others will tell you to f*** off and look at your own damned phone. 

I made two trips to Canada last year, and neither time did I feel any strained relations between the US and our neighbors in the "51st state". My family and I felt nothing but appreciation, gratitude, and kindheartedness. I couldn't raise anyone on a repeater, but that's another story...

So congrats, RAC Board, you fell for the "51st state" comment by a President who loves trolling the weak-minded simpletons like yourselves. He stirred the pot yet again and you took it hook, line, and sinker. There is a snowball's chance in hell of any sort of annexation, either via force or via tariffs. But you want to use it as an excuse to get out of a commitment for spreading goodwill and friendship at the most important ham radio event of the year, because your feelings got hurt?

This is not about spectrum, nor about regulatory issues, and definitely not about operating skills and goodwill (other than to create some sense of animosity between Canadian and US hams). This is simply a group of people putting on a show to try and give an appearance of unity about a topic the organization has no real direct purpose for involving themselves. They have put personal politics ahead of the objectives and values of their organization. 

If...IF the RAC board change their mind (or the membership makes them change it), will the DARA folks even consider extending the invite back to the RAC for this year? Were they comped a table or did they have to pay for the privilege of having a table indoors? Are there deeper concerns for the stability and solvency of the RAC or is it truly grandstanding for a cause which not everyone may be in agreement?

I am curious to know how RAC members feel about this decision. Does it truly speak for them all? Does the RAC need to involve themselves in politics not related to ham radio in a direct (or even indirect) capacity?