CHOTA 2025 is nigh!

Here in the U.S., Churches and Chapels on the Air is a new concept. I was fortunate to play a leading role a couple of years ago in herding a few cats on this side of the pond to get on the air in this very special event. It’s led, for over a half century now, by WACRAL, The World Association of Christian Amateurs and Listeners.

Even though most US operators will grouse about the propagation over the past few months with all of the solar storms, we are at the high point in Cycle 25. And this makes the opportunities to jump the Pond from the US to England possible! Let’s give it a go…

This year, I’m activating Covenant Presbyterian Church on Ridgewood Road in Jackson, MS. This is in partnership with Jim Armstrong AK5J, President of the Jackson ARC. He and I will work with Chris AF5OQ and Wanda (KC5IBO) Dunn as a team using my portable contest station (see below).

I am not sure of which antenna we will use. It’s likely that a 31′ vertical will get us 40M and up (see below). We shall see as Jim and I scope out the church grounds for a place in the shade (lol). In 2023, my church got front-page coverage on the state’s largest newspaper as well as a human interest feature on Jackson MS TV. It’s worth a shot to get the word out about ham radio on the church grounds this year. It could pay off big time for you, your club or other group.

We will likely hang out on 20 meters, although most of the Brits settle on 40M and some 80M. Our team will monitor 40M and QSY when we hear some CHOTA calls. I’ll suggest to John G3XYF who coordinates the event to encourage those operators in England to check the 20M calling frequency at the top of each hour and call the US. John usually posts some suggested frequencies near the date for each band. It’s important to recall that the English hams are about 5-6 hours ahead of us in the day. Our team plans an early start to try to jump the Pond if conditions permit!

Here’s a screenshot of the CHOTA Rules…and don’t forget to “register” by sending John [email protected] that you’ll be operating in the event. I’ve just done that myself.

 This weekend was the North American QSO CW party, and the on time is 12 hours, and I put in about 1/4 of that. The issue was that it was a great day outside, and the sunshine and great weather was calling my name. The exchange in this contest is your name and state or province. This not being a big international contest, the CW speed varied from a slow 25 to a nice 36 wpm. I had no issues with the radio....well, having said that, now and then I have N1MM+ contest software hang after sending CW. It can get very frustrating, and I have finally narrowed it down to the Silicon Labs software needed for the Icom to communicate with the PC. It has been documented that even milliwatts of power can cause N1MM+ to hang. When you're calling CQ contest at 34-38 wpm, a hiccup like this can get very frustrating. I have good quality ferrite chokes in place, great grounding, but one issue is that my antenna is a bit close to the shack. The stray RF is hit and miss, and then when the ground outside is wet from a heavy rain, there is never an issue. (antenna is the Hustler 4BTV vertical). Now, having said that, during the NAQP I had some hang issues, but then for no reason it all of a sudden just stopped and never happened again during the contest. Anyway, I digress.....during my run, my best QSO per hour was 97 and I love that as it is GREAT for the keyboarding skill, ICR (instant character recognition) and brain training. What I really like is one op comes back to you at 25 wpm, and then the next is 36 wpm. It's great to have this shift, and it really improves your CW contest skill. The other thing is that during these times, the page up and page down keys get lots of exercise. These keys increase and decrease the CW speed. If someone comes back to my CQ at 25 or less, I hit the page down to match the speed. This op may have seen me spotted on a cluster, so my call is known, but the exchange may not populate at his end. It's polite and also less repeats, and in no way do I want to come off as a high-speed op who, if you can't match me, then I move on. Above is the final score for a very part-time effort........BUT anytime in front of the radio is a great time. 
 

Ham College episode 127 is now available for download.

Ham College 127
Technician Exam Questions Part 14
T4B – Operating controls: Frequency Tuning, use of Filters, Squelch function, AGC, Memory Channels, Noise Blanker, Microphone Gain, Receiver Incremental Tuning (RIT), Bandwidth Selection, Digital Transceiver Configuration.

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In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Chris Howard (M0TCH), Martin Rothwell (M0SGL), Frank Howell (K4FMH), Bill Barnes (WC3B) and Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief, and the episode's feature is Ham Radio Friedrichshafen 2025 Part Two

We would like to thank Charles Carter and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• Hams Decode SSMIS Satellite Data Removed by DoD, NOAA
• MMDVM Project Drops Support for M17 Mode
• M17 Foundation Responds to Statements made by MMDVM Project Maintainer
• 23cm Restrictions To Be Imposed In Europe
• Safety Stand-Down: Look Up and Live
• Canadian Amateurs in Yukon Territory Get Separate Section
• The RSGB Releases High-Contrast Logbook to Improve Accessibility
• National Bodies Protect 70cm Band

Listen Now

Spin the Random Topic Wheel (Segment 1)

• How Is Linux in the Ham Shack Recorded and Producted?

This Weekend in Hedonism (Segment 2)

• Cheryl’s Recipe Corner

• Pecan Goat Cheese Salad with blackberry vinaigrette

• Description

• A few months ago we stopped in Tupelo, Mississippi for dinner (as we headed home from our Disney World Vacation) and, due to my diagnosis last year with Celiac disease, I have to avoid gluten.  The restaurant we choose had a wonderful gluten-free menu, and this was one of the choices, and it was AMAZING (especially as we dined during a fantastic thunderstorm - we love storms!) It’s a summer friendly recipe, too!

• Ingredients (Salad Base)

• Protein of your choice (rotisserie chicken, grilled shrimp or grilled steak bites)

• Dressing (recipe below)

• Candied Pecans, crumbled

• Goat Cheese Crumbles

• Strawberries (sliced)

• Real Bacon Bits

• Ingredients (Dressing)

• 6oz Blackberries

• 1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 2-3 teaspoons sugar

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Directions

• Place all dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend well.  Taste, and adjust ingredients as needed to your taste.  Set aside while you are assembling your salad. In a bowl layer your salad base, protein, dressing.  Then adorn your salad with the candied pecans, goat cheese crumbles, strawberries and bacon bits (if desired)

• Cheryl’s Mixed Drink Corner

• Rum Runner

• Description

• A tasty summer cocktail that will take you on a tropical taste vacation!

• Ingredients

• 1 ounce light rum

• 1 ounce dark or aged rum

• 1 ounce banana liqueur

• 1/2 ounce blackberry liqueur, or blackberry brandy

• 1 ounce pineapple juice

• 1 splash grenadine

• Variety of fresh fruit, for garnish

• Directions

• Gather the ingredients. Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a hurricane glass over fresh ice. Garnish with fruit and enjoy. Recipe Variation: Make this rum runner into a frozen drink by pouring the ingredients into a blender with about 3/4 cup of ice. Blend until smooth. A Rum Runner Recipe Heavy on the OJ: If you enjoy orange juice cocktails, this is a great rum runner recipe. It requires fewer ingredients, so it’s super easy to make. The rum, blackberry brandy, and banana liqueur complement the fresh orange nicely, and their combined sweetness offsets the tart citrus. Try it in the blender as well; it makes a fantastic frozen cocktail. To make this drink, combine 1 1/2 ounces of rum with 1/2 ounce each of blackberry brandy and crème de banana, and 3 ounces of orange juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Add a dash of falernum (or grenadine), shake, and strain into a chilled hurricane glass. A Classically Styled Rum Runner Recipe: Dale DeGroff’s “The Craft of the Cocktail” is a book filled with amazing recipes like this rum runner. It’s entirely different than all others, and that’s what makes it great. This drink has a lighter profile because it skips the heaviness of orange juice and opts for refreshing pineapple instead. It also features two rums and introduces the rich texture of an egg white. All of these elements give DeGroff’s rum runner a classic style that’s lost in most modern renditions of the cocktail. To make this drink, muddle a piece of lime in the bottom of a cocktail shaker until lightly bruised. Add 1 ounce each of light and medium rums, pineapple juice, and simple syrup, as well as 1/2 ounce of lime juice and an egg white. Shake vigorously (more than usual to properly mix the egg) and strain into a tall glass with ice. Garnish with tropical fruitt. RAW EGG WARNING: Consuming raw and lightly cooked eggs poses a risk for foodborne illness.

• Russ’s Drink Corner

• WhistlePig PiggyBack Bourbon Whiskey

• Description

• PiggyBack 100 Proof Bourbon gives our bold approach to whiskey a sweeter spin. Born from our signature grain’s other half, it starts with a high Corn mash bill (keeping a dash of Rye of course). Six long years of age in Char #3 barrels adds layers of flavor before bottling at 100 Proof, so you can keep it 100 whether you choose Bourbon or Rye. Sip it neat or shake it in a classic. With its sweeter profile, PiggyBack 100 Proof Bourbon shines in citrus and sour drinks – like our Barrel Aged Maple Bourbon Sour.

• Details

• Mashbill: Unknown (high corn, a dash of rye)

• Region: Queechee, Vermont

• Proof: 100 (50% ABV)

• Color: Toasted honey

• Nose: Caramel, cinnamon, yeasty bread, sugary white grapes

• Taste: Cinnamon, apples, maple, lightly toasted orange, vanilla, mint, green tea

• Finish: Candied sweet apples, baking spices, hints of caramel

• Price: $40 (750ml)

• Rating: 90

• Bill’s Whatever Corner

• Whiskey Theif Distilling Co - May Day Rye

• Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey 2025

• 146 Proof (73% ABV)

Segment 3 (Announcements & Feedback)

• YouTube Comment from @kevinhanley6462

• It’s fun to use.

• YouTube Comment from @jasoncherry3404

• Im very seriously considering purchasing a new Commodore 64 from the UK to use a programming / gaming platform for retro style games.  Do I have to put the system on the internet or can I keep it static for just at home use and just download updates to a jump drive then load them that way?  I’d like to keep the system as clean as I can so the I expose it to the internet the better.  However if I do put the system on the internet for ease of downloading programs are there sites specific to the commodore that have safe content and games for downloading?  What anti virus do you recommend and is there anything that comes with the Commodore OS already?  The video was very informative thank you.

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