In this special episode, Martin Butler (M1MRB), Chris Howard (M0TCH) and Colin Butler (M6BOY) attended and bring you a flavour of the World Radiosport Team Championship 2026 taking place in the UK.

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Show Notes

Featured Topic

• Feedback from Jonathan Rhoades KD2HBV
  • I’m trying to figure out how to tune a homebrew dipole antenna using the swr readout on my qrp rig (zBitx).  Thought if I’m interested in this, perhaps others are, and maybe it would fit into your short topic list.
• What Is a Dipole?
  • A dipole is simply a wire antenna fed at its center, with two equal-length halves extending in opposite directions. It’s a balanced antenna — symmetrical around the feedpoint. To be resonant, it needs to be a half-wavelength long at its operating frequency. The formula: length (feet) = 468 ÷ frequency (MHz). That gives you sizes ranging from about 16 feet on 10 meters all the way to 260 feet on 160 meters.
  • Resonance matters because it puts the antenna’s impedance in a range compatible with common coax feed lines — but resonance isn’t strictly required; an antenna tuner can compensate for dipoles that are longer or shorter.
• What is SWR?
  • Standing Wave Ratio (SWR)
  • When RF power travels down a feed line toward an antenna, some of it gets radiated — but if the antenna’s impedance doesn’t match the feed line’s impedance, some power bounces back toward the transmitter. That reflected wave and the forward wave interact, creating a pattern of high and low voltage/current points along the feed line called standing waves.
  • SWR is simply the ratio of the peak voltage to the minimum voltage of that standing wave pattern. A perfect match = 1:1 SWR (no reflected power). Higher ratios mean more mismatch and more reflected power.
• What is zBitx?
  • The zBitx is a highly compact, all-mode, all-band Software Defined Radio (SDR) transceiver designed for portable and QRP (low-power) amateur radio. Very compact in size, it measures 5.5 inches x 3 inches x 1.25 inches, and weighs 250 gms/9 ounces!
  • It covers the 80M to 10M bands, and runs digital modes like FT8 natively.
  • The zBitx is built by HF Signals and powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero, running open-source sBitx software that allows for future software upgrades.

Announcements & Feedback:

• Announcements:
  • Support the show!  
    • Support us via Patreon, Paypal, Merch, Sharing the Podcast via Social Media, and Rating Us in your Podcast Application!
  • Taking a break from recording for a few weeks!
    • Due to Bill doing that whole Boy Scout Jamboree thing, we’re going to skip recording for a few weeks.  Mark your calendars - July 19th and 26th are definitely out, and likely August 2nd.  Don’t panic… we’re still around, and Bill will tell us about his Jamboree adventures on the next episode (which will be #124 - typically our “featured topic” episode) after he gets home!  NOTE:  Bill MAY decide to record a podcast from Jamboree… only time will tell.
  • Memorial Service for Russ, K5TUX
    • There will be a memorial service held for Russ at our home in Mt. Vernon, Missouri on November 1, 2026.  Everyone is welcome!  If you’d like to join us, please send an email to [email protected] and we’ll send you more info!
    • Facebook event page: https://lhs.fyi/mem
    • Comments, questions, etc: [email protected]
  • Special Note for this episode:
    • Bill will be gone for the next few weeks to the Scouting National Jamboree, and they are always needing folks to interact with the kids through the K2BSA.  They will be operating HF on 40M – 10M, D-Star on REF033A, EchoLink on JOTA-365, and more as time, conditions, and staffing allowed.  SO, if you hear them on the air… please take a minute to chat with the lucky camper!  Bill has posted a great list of questions to ask the campers on the K2BSA website https://lhs.fyi/M1
• Feedback:
  • Email from Ray Franz, WB0SMZ
  • I just listened to a podcast of yours from a few years ago.  Podcast 537 for Qlog ham logging software.  I have it installed on Linux Mint and enjoy the software a lot. But I have noticed an issue with my installation.  The time shown for a qso is incorrect and I cannot find a solution.  I have a digital clock in UTC on my desktop so I can reference UTC time at any time.  What I found is this example:
    • Linux local time in the lower right corner is 05:34.
    • UTC TIME on my digital clock is 00:34.
    • Qlog time for current qso is 12:35 AM
  • Would you have any ideas for how I could get Qlog to log qsos is UTC time? Windows programs like Genlog, Dxlog and others default to UTC. Otherwise I love Qlog for general purpose logging. I installed from Software app on Linux Mint.

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• Live Show Participants
  • Mike, K6GTE
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  • Don, KB2YSI
  • Ken, WA7WY

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief, and the episode's feature is a Taste of Ham Radio Friedrichshafen.

We would like to thank Frank Westphal (K6FW), Ken Delap (KX9U), Reggie Waller (G6YAJ) and Pete Weston (2E0DED) and our and monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• Germany Likely to Get Full 4 Metres Band Back
• Eyeball-to-Eyeball Off-the-Air QSO Party
• Canada Reviewing Policy on Antennas, Towers
• Researchers Create Space 'Wall' to Weaken Solar Storms
• YOTA CAMP Region 1 - Austria July 2026
• RSGB Offers RFI Workshop Using SDRPlay at This Year's Convention
• OSCAR LOCATOR Web Generator Turns Live Elements Into Printable Tracking Sheets

Ham College episode 141 is now available for download.

General Exam Questions Part 2.
G1B – Antenna structure limitations, good engineering and good amateur practice, beacon operation, prohibited transmissions, retransmitting radio
https://hamcollege.tv

Download
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Key Topics Covered:
Antenna Structure Limitations: Discussion of FAA/FCC registration requirements for towers, with a focus on height (3:40–6:00).
Beacon Operations: Explanation of beacon purposes, such as observing propagation (8:09–10:18), power limits (typically 100 watts PEP), and frequency allocations (e.g., 28.2–28.3 MHz on 10 meters) (22:48–26:48).
Transmission Rules: Rules regarding one-way transmissions, the prohibition of encryption (with specific exceptions for control signals), and the use of procedural signals like Q-codes (10:18–14:28, 18:57–20:00).
Legal & Operational Standards: Guidelines for state and local government regulation of antenna structures (15:26–16:56) and the definition of good engineering/amateur practice, which falls under FCC oversight (26:51–28:43).
International Communication: Rules regarding contacting amateurs outside of FCC jurisdiction (20:17–22:45).

Looking at this historic photograph brings back a flood of memories from my own time in the Signal Corps. It shows WAVE operator Virginia L. Scott in March 1943, sitting in the Code Room of the U.S. Navy Radio School in Madison, Wisconsin.

WAVE operator Virginia L. Scott in March 1943, sitting in the Code Room of the U.S. Navy Radio School in Madison, Wisconsin.

The photograph, catalogued in the National Archives as 80-G-431533, captures an ordinary phase of the highly technical work carried out by the WAVES during the Second World War. Seeing her at that workstation with her telegraph key, headphones, and operating table under the glare of direct lighting, I can almost hear the familiar rhythm of CW ringing in my own ears. It is a language of its own, and as an amateur radio operator who loves sending and receiving Morse code, I know exactly the kind of deep focus she is holding in that frame.

During World War II, the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service stepped up to fill critical roles so that men could be sent to combat zones. Virginia Scott was part of that groundbreaking wave of female personnel who took on demanding technical jobs in the Navy. As someone who has served in military communications, I have immense respect for the structured training and standardized procedures these women had to master.

Radiotelegraphy was the primary transmission tool of the era, the absolute lifeline of naval operations across vast and unforgiving oceans. Long before digital uplinks, it was the sheer skill of the operator that pushed the message through the static.

Her hand rests on that bug key in a way any seasoned Morse code operator would recognize immediately. Sending messages via CW is an art form that requires strict physical and mental discipline. You have to maintain a fluid, consistent rhythm so the operator on the other end, perhaps dealing with heavy interference on a ship thousands of miles away, can copy the signal without error. Scott is entirely focused on executing her message while maintaining the standard posture required by her training. It reminds me so much of the pride we took in the Signal Corps, ensuring every dit and dah was sent with perfect clarity. Dealing with secure information meant there was absolutely no room for sloppy sending.

This specific photograph was originally taken by the U.S. Navy for internal use, but it captured something so profound that painter John Philip Falter used it as a direct reference for a Navy recruitment poster. His painting faithfully reproduced the layout of the scene, turning a moment of routine operational work into a powerful piece of public communication. For anyone involved in the history of communications, and certainly for a fellow CW enthusiast like me, this photo represents a concrete example of how vital these women were. They kept the frequencies alive and proved that the steady hand of a skilled operator was an essential weapon in winning the war.

Here is one of the paintings based on this photograph, and served as a recruitment poster for the WAVES program.

This “It’s a Woman’s War Too! Join the WAVES” poster by John Falter was produced around 1942 as a World War II recruitment tool for the United States Naval Reserve.

This “It’s a Woman’s War Too! Join the WAVES” poster by John Falter was produced around 1942 as a World War II recruitment tool for the United States Naval Reserve. The WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) was established in July 1942, allowing women to serve in the Navy in non-combat roles, such as radio operators and clerical staff. Artist John Philip Falter was a well-known American painter who created numerous propaganda posters and Saturday Evening Post covers, often featuring realistic portraits.