So as you may have read previously, I have started attending meeting for the Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club (SMARC). Well a few of the members also work with a local Hacker Space called SquidFoo! The SquidFoo building houses an Art Gallery, facilities to make artwork, the Hacker Space, as well as a legal Chop Shop!! These members of the SMARC Club are wanting to put in a Ham Shack, and a Studio for internet broadcasting. Well the latter piqued my interests right away.
The local Springfield R-12 School District has a gifted program called W.I.N.G.S. Working with the Individual Needs of Gifted Students is the gifted program for K-8th grade in Springfield, Mo. I was very fortunate to attend this program once a week from 5th thru 8th grades. In that time I was able to participate in their Media Program, something that was not offered elsewhere in the district till High School. One of the classes that was offered was the Media class. I took this class for 2, or 3 semesters, and had an awesome time! We would produce once a month a 30 minute news magazine show, and then it would be broadcast on one of the local cable access channels. One of the big stories I worked on while in the W.I.N.G.S. Media class was the tearing down of local restaurant Ebbetts Field. Then Southwest Missouri State University took the property by Eminent Domain, and built a Parking Garage on the site. We interviewed owner Nick Russo, his lawyer, and SMUS President John Keiser.
Then media was offered as two classes when I attended Hillcrest High School, starting junior year. I did take Media 1 my junior year, and took the lead on two very interesting stories. The first was about the Dickerson Park Zoo's annual Halloween Spooktackular, and the Hillcrest Key Club volunteering to hand out candy to the little kids. My cameraman and I shoot lots of footage at the zoo, and interviewed the person in charge of organizing the Spooktackular. One of the stories that was the most fun, was a Christmas story were I asked several HHS students & teachers what their favorite Christmas movies, or special was! Favorites ranged from Miracle on 34th Street, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, to It's a Wonderful Life, to more modern movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas, & my personal favorite The Santa Clause! That and the Ebbetts Field story are my two personal favorites!
So we come back to SquidFoo! As soon as Steve Palmer (KA0SPM) told me about the Studio that they wanted to build in SquidFoo, I was hooked! I've been wanting to do a video podcast for a few years now, thanks to lots of watching The TWiT Network. I was reminded of those days in Media class, and yearned to get back to it. But I've never really been able to come up with a very good show topic. Shawn McKee (KD0CNP) described it as an Alternative Media Studio. I had wanted to be a journalist at one time, particularly a photojournalist. So working to help build an internet streaming studio just sounds awesome to me! SquidFoo recently took over the basement og the building they are in, and this is where the studio is going to be.
So I went to SquidFoo for the first time this past Sunday, May 20th. So you go down a concrete ramp to get into the basement. the floor continues straight ahead to the back wall, which has a sump pump. The floor to the right raises up about 4 feet or so, and extends for the full length of the room. There was a simple wall made up of thin boards, and wire fencing. There was lot of stuff down there: a washer & dryer, several large blocks of foam, 2 movie chairs, and miscellaneous stuff. The plan is to clear the room out, build a false floor to make it all level, and then to build the studio. The ceiling is a little low, but I don't think that should be a problem. Also to take care of any excess moisture, they plan to put a dehumidifier system under the false floor.
The goal for the evening was to take down the wall. So the first order of business was take the wire fencing down. as we started to do so, a small little thunder storm passed over Springfield, and we listened to the thunder as we worked. Soon enough we had most of the fencing down, but one side was being particularly stubborn. Who ever had but the fencing up on that side used several nails, and staples, like tons of staples! But after a while we got that done too. While Steve finished up the fencing, Shawn, Scott (a guy from SquidFoo), and I started tearing down the section of the wall that had already been cleared of fencing. Once we had the wall down, it was time to break, and have pizza! That was all we did that night. I'm kind of excited to see what we will do next Sunday!
I know that this really doesn't have a lot to do with Ham Radio, but it does involve member of the Ham community. That being the case, I'm going to include this project in this blog. I'll try to remember to take my camera next time, and bring back some pictures!!
73, KD0RSJ
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
I Now Have An Email Adress!!
I have made a new email address just for this Blog, and Ham Radio Contacts! If you would like to contact me you may do so at the following email address: kd0rsj@gmail.com! I'd like to hear from people, and I will add this into my profile. Thanks so very much to anyone that has read my new blog so far! Thanks!! :-)
Saturday, May 19, 2012
In The Beginning....
Well as of April 7th, I am a Ham Radio Operator! I started thinking about being a Ham way back in High School in the mid 90's. My Grandpa got his No Code Tech License, and I had really considered getting one myself. I was more interested in the long distance communications, which would require a higher license level. Those would require a Mores Code test, and that really intimidated me. So I didn't pursue getting my license at that time. Over the years I had thought about it, but always stopped at the Mores Code requirement.
Fast forward several year! Things had changed a lot in about 15 years, or so. I was now a Mac user, had my own D-SLR camera, owned a house, and I'd started watching a Netcasting Network called TWiT!! Owned & operated by Leo LePorte (Tech TV, ZD TV, The Screen Savers, & Call For Help), TWiT produces Netcasts about technology, and just about anything electronic. I started watching for info about Macintosh Computers, and then Apple's iPad Tablet. Man was I floored when he started talking about doing a show about Ham Radio!
Leo had been talking to Bob Heil, maker of high end microphones, and a legend in the professional music industry! Bob had been wanting to do a podcast about Ham Radio, having been a dedicated Ham since he was a teenager! So Ham Nation was born!! I have watched/listened since the very first show, and was again floored when I heard that the FCC had dropped the Mores Code requirements for all of the license classes. I immediately began thinking about finally getting serious about getting my license. So I watched all the episodes of Ham Nation, but never did go through with getting study materials due to a busy life, but still intending to get to it very soon.
Well on March 9th of this year, I was hospitalized with sever shortness of breath, and chest pains! I was afraid that I may have had, or was close to having a hear attack. I'm only 32, I couldn't really be having a heart attack could I? I had a couple EKG's, a chest X-Ray, and a CAT Scan to make sure there wasn't any blood clots in my lung. After several hours in the ER, I was finally admitted, and spent 6 days in the hospital. The diagnosis was Congestive Heart Failure, believed to be caused by a virus that attacked & weakened my heart muscle. Thankfully my Cardiologist is very optimistic that I will make a full recovery! But I was told very early that I would probably be off work for 90 days, and have to do 12 weeks of Cardio Rehab. Adjusting medication, diet, and the exercise should restrengthen the muscle.
So while I was contemplating what I would do while I was off work, I decided to get my Tech License under my belt! I had been talking already with members of the Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club (SMARC), and one of the officers notified the members of the Club's Facebook Page that there would be a 2 day class/testing session for the Tech License. I signed up, I'd already ordered Gordon West's Tech Study Guide which was being used in the class. The class dates were March 31st, and April 7th. i attended both classes, and took my test following the second session. I am proud that I past my test, having missed only two questions! It took me a few weeks to get my Call Sign in the FCC database due to a paperwork mix up, but I finally got my Call Sign! I currently have a Yaesu FT-60R Handy Talkie, and I am loving it! I have also attended my first SMARC meeting, and plan to become a paying member of the club as soon as I can do so.
As for HF, I do have a radio waiting for me. My Grandfather has a Kenwood TS-820 that he used to use, but doesn't anymore. When I told him that I was going to get my License, he told me that I could have it. I haven't gotten it home yet, but I plan to before the first of June. I have a 10 meter dipole antennae already, thanks to Mr. Bob Heil himself! Around the time of I was taking my Class in April, I started emailing Bob, and have gotten the opportunity to meet him in person twice! He is such a great man, and very genuine. He acts in person exactly as he does on Ham Nation, and is becoming a very good friend! I had mentioned in an email that I was going to try to make a dipole for 10 meters to get the Kenwood going by the first of June. I was very surprised when a couple days later Bob presented me with a 10 meter dipole that he had made for me!! I can't wait to get it up in my back yard, and will have a blast working contacts with it!! I'm hoping to work some of the Navy Ships that are taking part in the Museum Ship Special Event coming up the first of June!
So That's the beginning of my Ham Adventures! Sorry for the kind of long post, I'll try to keep them smaller next time, and add some pics to break things up a little bit. I'm going to try to post weekly, and will include some Ham news, as well as my personal journeys! I may post more often if there are things going on, but will post something, even if it's just me saying hi! I'm going to set up a email account so that people in the Ham community can easily email me, and for readers of my blog. That will be coming very soon! Well I'm getting ready to go to the SMARC meeting in about an hour. I need to finish up this post, and get going. Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!! :-)
73 to everyone, from KD0RSJ
Fast forward several year! Things had changed a lot in about 15 years, or so. I was now a Mac user, had my own D-SLR camera, owned a house, and I'd started watching a Netcasting Network called TWiT!! Owned & operated by Leo LePorte (Tech TV, ZD TV, The Screen Savers, & Call For Help), TWiT produces Netcasts about technology, and just about anything electronic. I started watching for info about Macintosh Computers, and then Apple's iPad Tablet. Man was I floored when he started talking about doing a show about Ham Radio!
Leo had been talking to Bob Heil, maker of high end microphones, and a legend in the professional music industry! Bob had been wanting to do a podcast about Ham Radio, having been a dedicated Ham since he was a teenager! So Ham Nation was born!! I have watched/listened since the very first show, and was again floored when I heard that the FCC had dropped the Mores Code requirements for all of the license classes. I immediately began thinking about finally getting serious about getting my license. So I watched all the episodes of Ham Nation, but never did go through with getting study materials due to a busy life, but still intending to get to it very soon.
Well on March 9th of this year, I was hospitalized with sever shortness of breath, and chest pains! I was afraid that I may have had, or was close to having a hear attack. I'm only 32, I couldn't really be having a heart attack could I? I had a couple EKG's, a chest X-Ray, and a CAT Scan to make sure there wasn't any blood clots in my lung. After several hours in the ER, I was finally admitted, and spent 6 days in the hospital. The diagnosis was Congestive Heart Failure, believed to be caused by a virus that attacked & weakened my heart muscle. Thankfully my Cardiologist is very optimistic that I will make a full recovery! But I was told very early that I would probably be off work for 90 days, and have to do 12 weeks of Cardio Rehab. Adjusting medication, diet, and the exercise should restrengthen the muscle.
So while I was contemplating what I would do while I was off work, I decided to get my Tech License under my belt! I had been talking already with members of the Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club (SMARC), and one of the officers notified the members of the Club's Facebook Page that there would be a 2 day class/testing session for the Tech License. I signed up, I'd already ordered Gordon West's Tech Study Guide which was being used in the class. The class dates were March 31st, and April 7th. i attended both classes, and took my test following the second session. I am proud that I past my test, having missed only two questions! It took me a few weeks to get my Call Sign in the FCC database due to a paperwork mix up, but I finally got my Call Sign! I currently have a Yaesu FT-60R Handy Talkie, and I am loving it! I have also attended my first SMARC meeting, and plan to become a paying member of the club as soon as I can do so.
As for HF, I do have a radio waiting for me. My Grandfather has a Kenwood TS-820 that he used to use, but doesn't anymore. When I told him that I was going to get my License, he told me that I could have it. I haven't gotten it home yet, but I plan to before the first of June. I have a 10 meter dipole antennae already, thanks to Mr. Bob Heil himself! Around the time of I was taking my Class in April, I started emailing Bob, and have gotten the opportunity to meet him in person twice! He is such a great man, and very genuine. He acts in person exactly as he does on Ham Nation, and is becoming a very good friend! I had mentioned in an email that I was going to try to make a dipole for 10 meters to get the Kenwood going by the first of June. I was very surprised when a couple days later Bob presented me with a 10 meter dipole that he had made for me!! I can't wait to get it up in my back yard, and will have a blast working contacts with it!! I'm hoping to work some of the Navy Ships that are taking part in the Museum Ship Special Event coming up the first of June!
So That's the beginning of my Ham Adventures! Sorry for the kind of long post, I'll try to keep them smaller next time, and add some pics to break things up a little bit. I'm going to try to post weekly, and will include some Ham news, as well as my personal journeys! I may post more often if there are things going on, but will post something, even if it's just me saying hi! I'm going to set up a email account so that people in the Ham community can easily email me, and for readers of my blog. That will be coming very soon! Well I'm getting ready to go to the SMARC meeting in about an hour. I need to finish up this post, and get going. Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!! :-)
73 to everyone, from KD0RSJ
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