Ham On A Bike

  Springtime is antenna time.  Warmer temperatures give Amateur Radio operators an opportunity to check on their QTH antenna systems for repair and or maintenance. It is also a time for us to put to practice some of those antenna designs and projects we developed over the winter months. Those of us who do a lot of portable, Parks on the Air, Summits on the air and World Wide Flora and Fauna are eager to construct antennas which are lighter, durable and easy to deploy providing increased window of opportunity for those chasing us. Over the years, I have successfully and failed in constructing HF, V/UHF portable and permanent  antenna. It is always great to enjoy the fruits of my labor in using an antenna I've built. There's one antenna which has been on my bucket list for years. This spring is the year I remove it from that list.  This antenna has been around for more than a century. It hasn't change much, except for the materials used to build it. It is the Marconi K...

Amateur Radio - From The Back Rooms to the Open Air W3HCW 1957 Photo: Courtesy https://www.twocommunications.com/ For most of my early years of my Amateur Radio existence, operators' stations locations were known for their simple, modest and sometimes enormous antenna towers. This was and is basically a good indication that a "Ham Radio" operator resides somewhere near those structures.  And if you had the opportunity to visit the radio rooms (Ham Shack) of those operators, some of them may have been in a corner of a room, in a closet, a spandrel, a garage, a shed or look similar to the photo above In today's world, that is far from the case.  Due to HOAs (Home Owner's Associations) and other covenant restrictions, ham operators in their infinite ingenuity, come up of many types of inconspicuous means of assembling antennas to enjoy their hobby. The minimization of electronics have given Ham Radio operators the ability to communicate "To infinity and Beyond...

Baseball Double Play and POTA?   I know you are wondering what does a baseball double play have to do with (POTA) Parks on the Air.  Let me briefly explain my introduction into Parks on the Air.  During the Pandemic shutdown I stumbled upon Parks on the Air (POTA), Summits on the Air (SOTA) and shortly thereafter World Wide Flora & Fauna (WWFF).  Information on the first two were readily available as it related to me here in the U.S.  However, at face value, all I could conceive about WWFF from YouTube videos; that it was an organization dedicated to countries outside of the U.S.  What a HUGE MISCONCEPTION.  Once I delved further; I learned WWFF was Worldwide just as POTA and SOTA. Since becoming a POTA activator in 2021, there are few POTA sites near my QTH that are part of WWFF which I've included in my POTA activations. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago while going through my YouTube Amateur Radio recommendations I came upon a video by Stuar...