In a recent episode of the ICQ Podcast, I had Howard Michel WB2ITX as my interview guest. He’s the CEO of the American Radio Relay League as of late last year. It was important that Howard get interviewed about League matters as he was hired after a brief misfire to replace the legendary CEO David Sumner K1ZZ. As I told ARRL President Rick Roderick in the Q&A session with him a year or so ago at the Mississippi Section Convention in Jackson, MS, “You guys made a mistake in hiring someone from Wall Street to be CEO of a membership non-profit organization. Don’t make one again.” My Division Director, David Norris K5UZ, was seated in the row in front of me, nodded his head and turned to give me a knowing look. From my interview with Howard Michel, and from what else I’ve seen coming from him, they did not make a mistake.
Read MoreOPERATING : Getting Loaded (Antenna-Wise, anyway)→
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A couple of years ago, I homebrewed a “Cobra” antenna. It’s a doublet antenna, meaning that it consists of two elements connected to a center insulator, where it connects to a feedline. The unique thing about the Cobra antenna is that each element consists of three parallel conductors connected in series.
Read MoreOPINION : State of the Amateur / Ham Radio Hobby Results are in ...→
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The results of N8RMA’s 2019 State of the Hobby Survey are now in. As my ICQPodcast co-host, Frank, K4FMH, this isn’t a scientific study, as those who responded to the survey weren’t randomly chosen, but it’s still an interesting survey. Here are a few observations:
53% of the respondents are Extra Class operators. Since more than 50% of hams in the U.S. are Tech Class operators, this survey isn’t representative of all hams, but rather active hams. On a related note, respondents report an average of more than 30 years in the hobby. For all licensed hams, that’s got to be a lot less.
The question, “Which common areas of an amateur radio test are most worrisome to you?” elicited pretty much the expected response. Technical topics top the list, although I am a bit surprised that antennas and feedlines scored so low.
