Well.....hello there.  Welcome to 2018!

     Now that the holidays are in the bag, it's time to start running full steam ahead with a new year of work, projects, school, volunteerism or whatever else takes up your time (or if you're like me, a little of all the above!)

     Rather than write resolutions this year, I decided to point out the fact that, just like a large portion of hams, at any given time I have several unfinished projects. There was a time when this would make me completely bonkers, but I've really come to terms with it, and now view it as having many opportunities to work on things when I have some free time.  With that thought in mind, here are my "opportunities" that I'm starting 2018 with, that all of you will get to follow along with as time marches on throughout this next year - enjoy!

Home Shack Build
Current status: dry-walling
started project: way back here

Mobile Shack
Current status: in-use, but always in progress
started project: also, way back here

​Crowd Sourced Project
Current status: ready to start mounting hardware
started project: a few months ago

Learning CW
Current status: 5wpm. Haven't made a CW contact for a couple months.
Started project: when I started activating parks, post NPOTA

Little Helper's Analyzer
Current Status: not done.  My little helper and I are working on building the HR360 AA project when we get time, and when her little brother isn't around to try and steal the parts.
Started Project: I'd have to check my Digi-key receipt.....

The semi-secret, somewhat radio related project
Current status: In the garage.  I gave sneak peeks on Instagram a while back, but still need to put on the finishing touches, and then explain what it is and how it's radio-related.
Started project: Sometime around my YL's last birthday.

The Secret Project
Current Status: Yes, it's still going on - but this one I insist on finishing before I share.  It will (someday) be a series of posts, back-to-back
Started project:  Scared to admit how long ago at this point....

Those things alone are enough to keep me busy for the next 12 months, but I'll invariably end up picking up another project or two along the way, so I hope you'll check back often to see what I'm up to (and maybe even give your input and advice!)

So for now, I'm out - catch you later!

     I enjoy ham radio media.  There are many times when work, family, or home obligations have me away from my equipment, but my brain and ears are still free.  For me, ham radio podcasts are THE thing that I use to pass this time, whether that's during dishes, lawn mowing, flights, or boring meetings (wait - scratch that last one, my boss might read this.)  I do enjoy a couple of YouTube channels when I can sneak them in  (OH8STN and Ham Radio 2.0 to name a couple) but video is unfortunately more of a commitment than I usually have time for.

     With that in mind, there are a a whole bunch of podcasts that I listen to, and at one time I had considered doing some "reviews" of them, but in reality, giving reviews of stuff just isn't my bag.  For ham radio media, I think reviews are somewhat misplaced anyway, because there is a critical feature of podcasts that I think is awesome:

     Since we can play podcasts whenever we want, we don't need this weird "competition" thing going on.  If the shows were only available live, you might be forced to choose one over the other, but since you can listen whenever you want, I don't feel the need to worry about who is "better" than the next person.  I can just kick back, enjoy, and learn something from whomever I am listen too!

     I think that this is most evident in the fact that many of these folks will do appearances on each other's shows, recommend specific episodes that each other have done if it relates to the topic at hand, etc.  For me, ham radio is about community, and most of these folks have that nailed down, right into the content the provide!

     Having said all that, and in the spirit of non-review, I just want to share the podcasts that I listen to, and encourage you to check them out.  I am providing links to websites for those that have one, but to listen to the actual podcasts, just search for them by name in your favorite podcast player (Here's a couple articles on podcast players for reference:  iOS apps here, and Android apps here.)

    So, to all of you who do all the work making these shows, THANK YOU!  I appreciate all of you and the content you provide!  In no particular order, here's whats in my podcast player:

ICQ Podcast
Ham Radio 360
100 Watts and A Wire
Ham Radio 360 Workbench
Everything Ham Radio
Field Radio Podcast
​QSO today
Ham Talk Live
ARRL The Doctor is In
Amateur Radio Newsline
DitDit.fm
SolderSmoke
Linux in the Ham Shack
The Phasing Line Podcast
Foundations of Amateur Radio
​ARRL Audio News

     As a final thought - yes, even though this is a lot of shows - I regularly find myself opening up my podcast player and realizing that I've listened to everything that is new, and wishing there were more!

     I love ham radio, and a big reason is because of the random connections you can make!  I recently ended up having a great chat with KA5FDX via PSK31.  For non-hams who may be reading this, KA5FDX is actually a person named James.  PSK31 is a mode where you hook your computer or mobile device to your ham radio, and it allows you to do what looks very similar to instant messaging, but without the internet, cell network, or wires between the people talking.

     Of all the random things that two people can end up chatting about, James and I ended up discussing the most obvious one - relativity!

Specifically, we ended up talking about the speed of light, and how far into space you would need to travel to be able to look back at earth through a high-powered telescope and witness specific historical events as the light from the planet eventually reaches the far corners of the galaxy.

     I'm no physicist, so this isn't going to be a lesson in that, but it did make me consider something that should...

     Let me take a step back, and slowly ease you into this, so that I don't blow your mind all at once :-)

     Take a moment to consider an every-day conversation.  You and I sit in a room and talk to each other.  Since sound travels 343 meters/second (there are a lot of variables to that, but we'll stick with it for simplicity), when we talk it takes .002 seconds for the sound to get back and forth between us (sitting a meter apart.)  That's so fast it's pretty much instant.  What if we were on opposite sides of the country?  That's 4,313,042 meters, so if we could shout loud enough it would take 3 1/2 hours for the message to travel that far!  That's actually rather slow when you think about it, considering that we have built planes that are capable of covering that same distance in just over 30 minutes (The X-15 traveling at Mach 6.7)

     What if I want to shout at someone in Australia?  At 16,767,755 meters, that is pretty much as far from me as someone can be, and still be on land.  In this case, if I could shout loud enough, it would take my voice nearly 14 hours to make the trip!

     Now, this is where the part comes in that many of us take for granted, but should BLOW YOUR MIND!

     I have, in my possession, a device that takes my slow-moving voice, translates it into a form of energy that travels at nearly the speed of light, and can re-translate the same coming back at me in the other direction, allowing me to have instant communication over that same distance, through nothing but the empty space between me and the person in Australia! 
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     "Wow!" you say, "this device must be huge!"
     
     To which I respond, "Nope, it sits on the corner of my desk."  
    
     "Well, it must consume some crazy amount of power to propel things at the speed of light."

     "Not at all.  In fact, it probably uses less power than some of the lamps you have in your house."

     "Certainly then, this device you talk about must be pretty expensive, and complex!"

     "Not all all!  You can build one yourself for about $60!"

That my friends, is the pure magic of ham radio.  Mind Blown.


P.S.  
​I did a bunch of my sound-distance math with this fun calculator.  Also, don't forget to check out part 10 of my on-going build project to give your input.  Finally, make sure you subscribe so that you can get updates right in your e-mail!
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While I was out of town on a business trip, the yellow DHL envelope showed up at my house!  I was checking in on the tracking info, and the day it arrived I was in Boca Raton for work.  I wanted to check to make sure that it actually made it to my house, and not one of my neighbors, so I checked in with my YL:

With the main piece of equipment in hand, I can start figuring out how to put things together (maybe the DHL guy wants to help!)  If you need to know what things I'm talking about, feel free to start all the way back at part 1 or stick around for the quick version of "here's what you missed."

For the quick refresher, here's whats up; I ended up with a neat box.  The readers of my blog decided that I should build a portable HF station around the Bitx40, and also squeeze in a Raspberry Pi computer just for good measure.  

So now it's time to start trying to figure out how to stick this stuff in the box!  Rather than just do this in a void, I'll be working a little bit at a time, and getting input as I go!  The rest of this post will be a combination of my thoughts and a survey form, so as you read along, you can click to share your thoughts and vote - just remember to hit submit at the end!  If you only answer some of the questions (or none) that's fine too - just enjoy reading about my thought process!

Stay tuned for results, and the next steps in the project!

Thanks to all those that have been playing along so far!  It has been fun seeing where this project goes, and it should continue to be interesting as we keep moving forward!

     It dawned on me that it has been quite a while since I've done any digital modes work from home.  I think the last time I did, I was still using my GutterTenna as my primary home antenna.  That simply had to change!

     Tonight I dug my SignaLink out of the pile, brought it up to my temporary shack in the master bedroom closet, hooked every thing up, set the levels, and made a contact.  Awesome!

     This might seem like a small victory, but usually by the time I can get on the radio at night, there is a sleeping baby on the other side of the wall.  This eliminates any mode that makes noise after about 23:00 UTC.  I've been slowly working on my CW, but even that is challenging at night.  The side tones and static are enough to stir him, but if I wear headphones so I don't disturb him, I also can't hear him if he needs me.

    Time for a new slogan - "Digital Modes: letting babies sleep and parents play radio all night long!"