QSO Today Podcast - Interviews with the leaders in amateur radio

Steve Adler, VK5SFA, is a lifelong lover of radio and electronics, broadcast industry, recently retired. Steve created a 160 and 80 meter magnetic loop antenna that won him first prize in the 2018 QST Antenna Design Competition.

Ganesh Subramaniam, VU2TS, began his ham radio journey in 1959 trying to find someone, anyone, somewhere in his native Bangalore, India, who could provide basic information about the amateur radio service in India.

Richard Factor, WA2IKL, joined the amateur radio ranks 60 years ago, and was inspired by the technology dreams of the popular science fiction writers of that era. His interest in radio, electronics, and science led WA2IKL to establish his own technology business, now fifty years old

Frank Howell, K4FMH, has a love for radio and electronics that goes back over 60 years, but is only a recent licensee. Frank serves as the ARRL Assistant Director of the Delta Division, and avid ham radio journalist, and podcaster. He makes a great case for recruiting retired people into the hobby by the energy, volunteerism, and technical devotion.

Dennis Kidder, W6DQ, is an amateur radio renaissance man, a collector of the game changing radios from pre-World War 2 to the present. He enjoys 80 meter AM on his Collins broadcast transmitter and working 10 Ghz SSB with the San Bernardino Microwave Society. Dennis is the co-author of Arduino Projects for Amateur Radio and a sought after speaker at ham radio events.

Paul Andrews, W2HRO, re-entered amateur radio, after a 35 year break, by working FM satellites with a Yaesu portable and a dual band antenna. Experimentation with a simple moon bounce array led to bigger and better antenna arrays, power amplifiers, low noise preamplifiers, higher frequencies, and more QSOs.

Burt Fisher, K1OIK, raised a stir and perhaps the ire of many hams with a 2008 YouTube video critical of amateur radio operators and their operating practices. While it is easy these days to have conversations with anyone who shares our opinions and beliefs, it is more difficult to have conversations with people who do not share our views.

Ralph Fedor, K0IR, has participated in at least 15 DXpeditions to the most remote parts of the World. Ralph shares his amateur radio story leading up to his DXpedidions, the opportunities, the lessons learned, and the avoidance of fate off of Bouvet Island in 2018.

Eric Sears, ZL2BMI, who joins me from New Zealand, is famous for this 80 meter QRP double sideband rig that he designed and documented in the 1980s for his personal use when “tramping” in the forests and mountains of New Zealand.

Gordon West, “Gordo”WB6NOA, may be one of ham radio’s most well known ambassadors and promoters of our amateur radio hobby today. Through his books and courses over the years, Gordo, has licensed thousands of individuals to become amateur radio operators. Gordo tells me that this is the first time that he has told his ham radio story from the beginning in this episode of QSO Today.

John Nowacki, W3NA, was a teenager in the early sixties when we won a contest to name a popular amateur radio line of antennas that are still sold today. John shares his ham radio story that began with a friendship more that sixty years ago that continues to this day.

Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, is the 2019 Dayton Ham of the Year because of this contribution to the amateur radio art though his combined professional interest in ionospheric physics and the amateur radio modes, such WSPRnet and FT-8, that build big data bases of propagation data. HamSCI is an organization founded by Nathaniel on this concept.

Philip Lazar, K9PL, is the editor of the K9YA Telegraph monthly newsletter, a wonderful journal of technical articles and ham radio history. Like many budding amateurs, Philip’s story began with the gift of a shortwave radio receiver and listening to the shortwave bands. A ham operator for over 40 years, Philip likes CW, vintage equipment, QRP, and kit building. Getting on the air is key to Philip’s ham radio success and is the subject of this QSO Today.

Jeanne Socrates, VE0JS, who, once her current voyage ends hopefully at the end of August,  will have the distinction of being the oldest person to sail solo around the World without touching land or getting any help of any kind while underway. This interview conducted by satellite phone to Jeanne somewhere in the South Pacific near Tahiti. Ham radio has been key to Jeanne’s voyages and this one especially.

Phil Erickson, W1PJE, sits on a million watt UHF transmitter at the MIT Haystack Observatory, where he studies the atmosphere and radio propagation. Phil is a long time radio guy but a newcomer to amateur radio.