Category Archives: New Media

Ham Radio Comes to TWiT Network

Leo Laporte first caught my attention when he hosted the cable TV show, The Screen Savers, on ZDTV. He has a great way of talking about technology topics, using his own personal knowledge and leveraging his team of bright techies. Recently, he has been focused on creating the TWiT Network, named for the flagship netcast, This Week in Tech. (TWiT calls the shows netcasts, not podcasts.) Leo saw the opportunity that came with the technology shift to streaming audio and video over the internet as an alternative to conventional radio and TV broadcasting.

There are a number of ham radio podcasts out available, although many have struggled to stay current. The phenomenon of podfading is very real, since it is a real challenge to produce interesting content week after week, month after month. See my previous posts on ham radio podcasts here and here.

The TWiT network has been expanding, moving from audio to video technology. Loic Le Meur shot a very interesting video of Leo touring his new studio which is still under construction. This gives a good idea of where Leo is headed with TWiT.

I often wondered whether TWiT would try doing a ham radio netcast. According to this press release, the answer is YES.  Leo has tapped Bob Heil, well-known ham radio dude and founder of Heil Sound to lead HamNation. Leo recently interviewed Bob on the Triangulation show. (Watch this video, really good.) Bob Heil is an excellent choice for HamNation—he has the passion and knowledge of a real ham radio enthusiast. His first guest is scheduled to be legendary Joe Walsh, ham radio operator (WB6ACU) and screaming guitar player for the Eagles.

This could be a really good thing for the amateur radio hobby, so I wish them well.

- 73, Bob K0NR

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Freedom of Speech?

There are many email lists devoted to amateur radio topics, in particular on Yahoo Groups. These email forums are a great way to learn and exchange information. Usually these lists are created to hit a particular topic of interest. Over time, people stray off into other areas and start posting topics that are not appropriate for the forum. Eventually, the moderator steps in and shuts down the off-topic conversation.

What can happen next is the off-topic posters claim their right of “freedom of speech” is being violated. “This is America, and we have freedom of speech.”  (Kind of an odd statement since the internet is worldwide, not just a US concern, but I’ll set that aside.) This just happened a few days ago on an email list I use.

It has become all too common to hear people claiming “rights” that don’t really exist. US citizens might want to read the US Constitution once in a while, so they know what it actually says about freedom of speech:

First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The US Constitution basically says that Congress cannot establish laws that abridge (limit) the freedom of speech. The amendment focuses on what the government is allowed to do to restrict the citizens. It does not mean that a citizen has the right to have their speech published in the local newspaper, sent through an email list, or posted on another person’s web site, etc. Newspapers, web site owners and moderators of email lists make decisions every day on what type of “speech” they are going to allow in their communication forum.

73, Bob K0NR

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This Spewed Out of the Internet #14

Happy Easter!

A few posts back, I wrote about podcasts worth listening to. I want to draw your attention to two additional ham radio podcasts:

  • Teen Radio Journey by Paul KC9QYB, available on iTunes or at http://www.teenradiojourney.com/ This podcast is intended for teenagers, so I am definitely outside of that target audience. I mention it here because anything that involves youth in amateur radio is a good thing.

I just stumbled onto the radio contesting site radio-sport.net. It has probably been there for decades and I am late to the party. It is worth checking out if you are into contesting.

I went through the entire day without thinking about buying an iPad. To quote Joey from Friends, “its all a moo point.” Even if you do want an iPad, why would you buy the first implementation, given Apple’s track record? There will be a better one coming along soon enough. Take a look at the Fake Steve Jobs blog.

The high-powered think tank at the Fi-Ni Report has published some brilliant work:

  • The investigative team has uncovered yet another scandal in the radio sport world, this time relating to the Poisson d’Avril Contest
  • AM (Ancient Modulation) is getting a strong endorsement from the CQWW Contest, pushing aside that sissy SSB modulation

73, Bob K0NR

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Podcast Signals and Noise

step1_ipodnano_whiteI’ve posted before about being a fan of podcasts (those mp3 file “radio shows” that don’t use radio). There are so many decent podcasts out there to choose from, I keep my iPod Touch loaded up with all kinds of mp3 content. Actually, my taste includes topics outside of tech, but that is what I’ll focus on for this blog posting.

One thing I have noticed is that the ham radio podcasts on my mp3 player are getting pushed aside by other tech shows. I think it is driven by the signal-to-noise ratio of the ‘cast. With so many to choose from, I have become less tolerant of rambling commentary, crappy audio and marginal content.

I don’t want to be overly critical, since it takes real work to produce a quality podcast. I have enough trouble keeping up with this blog. I would not be able to do a decent job of an audio podcast and you probably don’t want to hear my voice anyway. (I have a radio face and a CW voice.)

So what am I still listening to these days? Here’s my favorite tech-related podcasts, in rough order of priority:

  • Amateur Radio Newsline
  • Buzz Out Loud (CNET)
  • Cranky Geeks (John C. Dvorak)
  • This Week in Tech (Leo Laporte)
  • Slashdot Review (SDR News)
  • Tech5 (John C. Dvorak)
  • CNET News Daily Podcast
  • This Week in Amateur Radio (TWIAR.org)
  • PC Mag Radio

So the only remaining ham radio ‘casts are Amateur Radio Newsline and TWIAR. AR Newsline is the old standby that I used to listen to on the local 2-Meter repeater, usually interesting and well done. TWIAR has some good content but it often tests my patience with drawn out introductions and weird sound effects. Keep the fast-forward button handy on that one. Slashdot Review sets the standard for “get to the point, say something interesting and move on.”  We need more shows like that. CNET News does pretty well, too.

Oh, I should mention Ham Radio Podclass, which I recommend to students studying to pass their next license exam.

I’ll toss in a couple of non-tech wildcards for you to consider:

  • WNYC’s Radiolab – “Science meets culture”, usually thought-provoking and well-executed
  • The Moth Podcast – People telling true stories without notes in front of a live audience
  • Common Sense with Dan Carlin – a fresh, logical approach to politics that generally annoys both Democrats and Republicans

So what are you listening to? Give me some fresh ideas.

73, Bob K0NR

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