Ham Radio Workbench Podcast

In this episode we talk about portable HF antennas for POTA / SOTA / travel and general operating in the great outdoors ! The HRWB team is very active in portable operating. We all have our favorite antennas and provide advice for the ham radio operator new to portable operating.

In this episode we meet Aaron, AE0LZ, owner of Modern Morse, a manufacturer of portable morse code keys. Aaron is professional mechanical design, precision CNC programming and machining, and a very creative guy. Modern Morse keys are popular for POTA, SOTA, travel and anytime you want a portable high quality CW key. Aaron shares his journey through the design and manufacturing process for making his keys.

In this episode we meet Don WB9CYY and Bob WO6W. Both avid CW operators with a love of the old style mechanical "bug" radio telegraph keys. Feeling that the existing CW paddles and keyers sent code that was too highly accurate and lacked any sort of personality, they came up with a very novel way make a modern paddle sound like a bug. As an introduction we talk about the differnet paddle and key types and then take a deep dive into the development of the bug emulator.

In this episode we meet Paul Wesling, KM6LH, a Silicon Valley veteran and a chronicler of it's history and the ham radio operators who shaped it. Paul tells us about some of the key figures from William Eitel and Jack McCullough (EiMac) to Charles Litton (Litton Industries), Steve Wozniak (Apple). The valley has been a fertile ground for invention and engineering for over 100 years. Paul walks us through some of the most significant people and inventions that impact our world today.

In this episode, Grayson Evans, KJ7UM, joins us again to talk about designing and building ham radio gear with tubes, or as he refers to them: thermatrons. Grayson is the author of Hollow-State Design, a book all about tube-type radio equipment. Grayson also provides basic tube radio kits. Grayson is a great mentor and shares his love for all things thermatron !

In this episode we meet Sebastian Delmont, KI2D, the author of the wildly popular portable logging software Ham2K PoLo (Portable Logger). Sebastian has a passion for portable operating and has built a very modern, feature rich logging application that runs on cell phones and tablets. The application started out focusing on the portable op doing SOTA and POTA. He has added many features including templates for many contests, operator lookup, location sensitive data look up and more. Sebastian plans to expand the scope of software offerings to include desktop versions as well in the future. We had a great time talking with Sebastian as you can tell from the length of the episode. By the end we felt we just scratch the surface.

In this episode, our very own Paul Braun, WD9GCO, our show announcer, becomes the special guest. Paul tells us all about his big POTA rove and how he operated HF remotely from a cruise ship. This show also features a large crowd of regulars with an extended workbench segment.

In this episode we meet Hans Summers, founder of QRP Labs, the makers of the wildly popular QCX, QDX and other great portable HF QRP radios. Hans tells about his journey through the design process and all details on his latest creation the QMX multi-band transceiver.

In this episode we meet David Gleason, NR9V, who makes radio interface devices to connect to AllStar and other Radio Over IP applications. We introduce you to AllStar, talk about some of the technical details of the system, and explore the pros and cons of digital voice CODECs. David's company AllScan offers a veriety of radio interfaces, computers and accessories.

In this episode we talk about our workbench projects AND take a deep dive into gift recommendations for your favorite ham. Topics include gifts for the workbench, the shack, portable operations and stocking stuffers. Warm up your wallet !

In this episode we meet Paul, KI7ADC, and Raoul, W7RPS, both avid users of the Icom IC-905 VHF/UHF/SHF radio. We talk about what attracted them to operate on the microwave bands and what it took to get their portable stations all set up. Paul and Raoul live in the Portland metro area and have had experience on the ground and mountain topping with the IC-905. They have explored using SSB, FM, D-STAR and ATV modes on 1.2 GHz, 2.4 and 5.6 GHz. If you have ever been interested in moving up the frequency spectrum to the microwave bands, the IC-905 is a very easy way to get up and on the air.

In this episode we meet Richard Dillman, W6AWO, one of the key people responsible for putting historical shore station KPH back on the air. In this fascinating interview, Richard tells us about the history of KPH, when it was decomissioned and his efforts to put the station back on the air. This project is managed by the Maritime Radio Historical Society. Today KPH is on the air using commercial HF marine frequencies and on the ham bands as K6KPH. Many thanks to our good friend Kevin Mattison, KM6WUM, for pulling this show together. You can hear more about Kevin and his portable satellite tracker project in HRWB episode 120.

In this episode we meet Tony, K1KP, the developer of polar modulation that is being used in the new Flex Radio Aurora radio. Polar modulation is a technology breakthrough that allows Flex Radio to make an integrated 500 watt HF/6m transciever, power supply and antenna tuner in a small light weight package. With better than 80% efficiency, the Aurora produces less heat, consumes less power and is smaller than conventional radios. Tony, K1KP, has been developing this technology for over 10 years. In this episode we will hear about Tony's journey as he pioneered polar modulation in amateur radio.

In this episode we meet Keith Elliott, W6KME, from the Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club. Keith has been ordanizing the club's Field Day event for the past 5 years and has learned a lot about how to set up a very large, multi-transmitter station. Keith shares both the technical tips and tricks as well as management ideas to make everything run smoothly. Running a class 24A station, the Conejo Valley ARC has one of the largest Field Day stations on the air. Keith is very active with Ventura County's ARES and ACS (Auxilliary Communication Service), as an Assistant Emergency Coordinator and frequent participant in public events. He has been recently elected as the new Section Manager of the ARRL's Santa Barbara section, including Ventura, Santa Barbara aand San Luis Obispo Counties.

In this episode, we meet Simon Wilton, G7HCD / VA3SII, a prolific designer, tinkerer and ham radio operator. Simon describes some of his projects including 3D brackets for radio control heads and his design tools of choice. Simon is also the originator of the phrase "Good after-evening-noon" often heard on our show.

In this episode our good friend Pat Hensley, W5WTH, joins us to talk about his latest super creative electronics projects and his design process. Pat comes up with some of the coolest ham radio projects as he explores the world of electronics and microcontrollers. From his software that makes a modern Flex Radio sound like an old unstable tube radio from the 50's to his beer can CW key, Pat comes up with projects that are really fun. He publishes all of his projects as open source on his blog web site whiskeytangohotel.com

In this episode we talk with Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, the host of the popular QSO Today Podcast. Eric has produced over 500 interviews with interesting and influential amateur radio operators creating an amazing repository of ham radio history. Eric's body of work informs, entertains and inspires us while we all create our own ham radio journey. Eric's work is a valuable gift to the amateur radio community. Eric shares his own personal ham radio journey and plans for the future. We were all very happy to hang out with Eric and talk radio.

In this episode, our very own Vince, VE6LK, walks us through the process of figuring out how to build your go kit. Whether your are building a kit for mission critical emergency communications or casual field operating, Vince has practical advice about how to approach the process highlighting how defining your goals up front can help guide you to a successful build.

In this episode we meet Steve and Tina Stroh. Steve is the editor of the Zero Retries newsletter where he writes about all things digital communications related to ham radio. Steve has a wide range of interestes include emerging technologies like the IP400 networking project, M17 the digital voice project and regulatory efforts to bring ham radio into modern times. Tina Stroh, a medical professional, is very interested in public service communications and in organizing and running digital communications events. Together they are organizing the Zero Retries Digital Conference which will be held for the first time in Washington state this fall. Tina and Steve give a lot to the amateur radio community and encourage hams to push the limits of amateur radio technology. Check out the Zero Retries newsletter at zeroretries.org

In this episode the whole team gets together and talks about our Field Day 2025 experience. Everyone's Field Day was a bit different. From casual mobile operating to big club events, we all had a great time and learned things along the way. We share tips and tricks to make your Field Day a great success.