Latest / Everyday Ham Podcast: Amateur Radio Conversations / Ep. 22 – World Radio League Founders: 100,000 Users, JTTY and Morse Mastery

Transcript

Ep. 22 – World Radio League Founders: 100,000 Users, JTTY and Morse Mastery · Everyday Ham Podcast: Amateur Radio Conversations

• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome into episode 22 of the Everyday M podcast.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rory W8KNX, joined by James K JKU and Jim N8JRD, my best friends in amateur radio.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: We come to you monthly on this podcast, and uh we have a good one tonight.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: We are we're joined by uh two of the folks involved with World Radio League, uh Andy N0 APX and James N0WRL.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: We'll hear a little bit more from them later.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: But in the meantime, take a moment and go over to everydayham.com.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: I encourage you to take a look at our socials, take a look at our Discord, join our Discord.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: We have a good friendly chatter there, a lot of good folks in there we've gotten to know over our time doing this podcast, nice, nice, friendly group in the morning.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's just a nice, nice, friendly chat with uh some of uh what are becoming more best friends in ham radio.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh also encourage you to go over to everydayham.com slash merch where we have some new stuff.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Jim, how how about telling us a little bit about that?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, very exciting.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: I think that uh we continue to expand the merch store as part of the uh fun that we're having with this whole thing.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I will thank everybody that has uh taken the moment to either go check it out or uh uh make a purchase, and there have been a number of you that have made very generous purchases.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, they all go to support the uh the podcast here and the uh thing that we are doing, and that we always appreciate that.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_02: But this month we did launch a couple of new things that I am personally excited about.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: This one's definitely a passion project of mine.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I wanted to reimagine the everyday ham pig logo, which is always on my microphone, but also uh all over uh the socials and otherwise uh as a sort of 1980s cyberpunk retro thing.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we've entered our Miami Vice era.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_02: That's right.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_02: You'll if you've been on the internet at all and you live in this space, you've definitely seen this vibe.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: It is a thing that, of course, I thought, why not?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: Can we can we apply it to the everyday ham?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: So we made the uh retrowave pig.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: That's what I'm calling it affectionately.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and we have a couple of new products out there.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it's an all-black t-shirt.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, I'm wearing it.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_02: You can see the retrowave pig here.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_02: He's neon uh and isometric, so really cool.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_02: And then on the back, we have a really, really big at uh logo with some super loud colors.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_03: Just turn around and show it for those watching.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_03: Come on now.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_03: You gotta really quick, really quick, there it is.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_03: There you go.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_03: Do better at modeling, Jim.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_03: Geez.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: Very, very loud colors.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: This one's definitely uh only gonna appeal to some of you out there, but uh encourage you to go check it out.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: It is a cool design, and we're gonna run it as a sort of limited shirt here.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we have the coffee mug with the retrowave pig on it, and there will be a black-only hat as well.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_02: That matching.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: If I need to buy another coffee mug, I mean, geez.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I've got mine back there.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: Anyway, uh lots of cool things going on in the merch store.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_02: Again, we do appreciate it.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I think Rory's got a good list of some of you folks that have made a generous.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we've we've had some uh some friends, friends of the podcast, and a lot of these folks have become good friends through the Discord and through through social media.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's so much fun doing this podcast.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: You get to know people all over the all over the country and all over the world, even.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: And uh some of some of these folks have become our friends through the Discord and through the comments.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this last uh this last month we've had some some good people in the in the merch store.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh James K E9EYW, of course, he sent us a really cool email.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, James, for reaching out to us.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it's it's fun to hear from people that way.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Mike and to I'm sorry, Mike K2 NKP, uh, a repeat purchase, a repeat buyer into the store.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for stopping by again.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron W8UDX, a friend locally here in the South Lion, Michigan area.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron's Aaron's a great friend to all of us and and just a great great human.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Adam K2 C A T, another regular in the Discord, also made a stop in the in the merch store, and then Kyle AA8EA, another Michigander.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: So I'd definitely say K2KAT, uh go check out his app, QR V.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um certainly everydayham.com slash merch, take a stop, take a look, take make a couple of purchases.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we would we would love to see your uh your thoughts on our merchandise there.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um another thing too, as you go through, if you're watching on YouTube, take a moment to subscribe to the channel.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: It would be good to get our subscriber count up.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're certainly have a lot of lot of views, a lot of people stopping by and watching and commenting, but hit the subscribe button.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: That way you don't miss anything from us.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Also, if you're listening on Apple Podcasts or any of the other uh podcast platforms, make sure to rate and rate, give us a rating, give us a comment there as well.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, around the shack, I'll go first because you know, why not?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_03: Why not?
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: My shack is dismantled because I had to take it apart to go up north and play the California Cuso Party.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: So take a look at our extra Tuesday episode.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, it dropped this morning.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: That dropped this morning of my experience running the California Cuso Party from Northern Michigan.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Take a look at that video.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: I gotta put my shack back together.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Jim, what's going on at the other end of town?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was uh sort of a fun weekend because uh we were operating the Everyday Ham uh in a distributed fashion.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_02: Rory was up operating the California Cuso Party.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_02: I was listening, but I didn't operate any Cal Cuso this uh this time around.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: Did a little bit of uh local hunting for folks.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_02: I think I got Rory in the park at least once up there.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I have wilderness in my podolog, which is all that really mattered to me.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: But uh I did do a little bit of video editing along the way and uh had fun uh with that.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: That's how we uh got that video to you so immediately after the uh California Cuso party.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: So a lot of time there.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh have been spending quite a bit of time paring down some equipment in the shack, uh perhaps uh to make things a little bit more roomy for a future purchase.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I uh continue to have a radio in mind, uh just need to make the funds available.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: I think some of you folks kind of have got an idea.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_02: Uh uh, we're gonna have to reach out and talk to Ray uh in short order, perhaps, but uh have an idea.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_02: Need to move a few more things, but uh continue to move the uh items around here in the shack.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, also was excited to see Rory's ID5200.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: Honestly, that radio did not disappoint.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I was really pleased.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we unboxed it here in my shack, which was cool.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: So I got to put my paws on it right out of the gate.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_02: And honestly, we waited a long time for uh TMD750A and ID5200, but man, ID5200 delivered for me.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: It was a really cool radio.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_02: And uh between the two, uh, I have to say that I think the icon wins out for me.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_02: I really will miss not having the 20 watts on on one and a quarter meter, but the the head on the ID5200 just looks good.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: Have you played with the Kenwood in person yet, though?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: I have not.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: I have not, but I have been following the uh the Facebook groups, the socials on the folks that have bought one.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_02: And everybody says that if you've operated your 75 or your 74, D75, D74, HT, you have the experience, and you shouldn't expect that it behaves very much differently from that.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: As somebody that doesn't necessarily prefer that operating experience, and it's a fine menu, it's a fine operating system.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it's just not it's not as flashy as I guess I was hoping for looking for in a flagship at that cost.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: I find myself wanting something a little bit more from that beautiful screen that they put on the machine, and so it's it goes.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think I'm an ID5200 guy.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: I think I think that's where I'm at.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: I still think it's cool.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_03: I would love, love, love, love to hear people's opinions.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_03: So go to the Discord.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_03: Definitely.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_03: I would love to hear people's opinions if you've played with both or you have one or the other, why you chose one.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: Uh we were expecting both to drop about the same time, which we got.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_03: They were within weeks, within weeks.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_03: I'm just really curious what the opinion out there is because I I think they're both really nice radios, absolutely.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_03: But I have seen a lot about the 5200 and that beautiful screen.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: The one thing I will say, sorry, Rory, I'm gonna say one more thing here.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: The fact that we don't yet have APRS is still my sticking point.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_02: I can't give any money to ICOM until I get my APRS.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: That is the one thing that I am holding out for.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_03: I still don't have a mobile radio in the truck.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: So and and James is waiting to install one, and the ID5200 currently looks like the front runner, but we have to have that firmware delivered.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_02: Go ahead, Roy.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: So before James gives his around the shack, I guess, I guess I was, you know, made an error.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: I should have I should have given around the shack.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: I should have given an update on my ID5200, which since our unboxing video has been installed in my in my Jeep Grand Cherokee.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I have had a good amount of operating time with the rig.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a couple things that stand out right away.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um the scan speed for anybody that hits the scan button and likes to scan either your your memory or just around you know, just around a set of frequencies, the scan speed is fast.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that is nice because if you're scanning like I do, I have a good hundred uh repeaters in my normal memory.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: I like to get around that loop pretty quick to see what I'm, you know, make sure I'm not missing anything.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's a plus.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think the the and I spoke to Jim about this, I think the uh the uh the receive sensitivity is a little bit better than the 5100.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't have any don't have any science behind that, but it feels I feel like I feel like it hears better, uh especially since it's pretty much as a you know, take one out and plug the other one in the car situation.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: One day I ran my 5100, next day I'm I'm driving in the car with the 5200.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like it hears better.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then lastly, that that screen, the between the quality of the color screen and the auto dimming, uh that is it is just a pleasure to have in your car as a mobile display.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's not overbearing, it's easy to see.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: The display is easy to read in a in a pinch while you're driving.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, certainly they did a good job with that.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll probably have some more comments on that.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we'll we'll have to drop a six-month review.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think that might be that might be the plan once I've got it.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_03: You've got to keep everyone waiting six months for that drop-up.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you want me to do three months then?
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: We'll do three months.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on in your Jack?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Your uh Jack.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's good.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: You're Shaq James over there.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_03: I'm just excited I learned I'm one of Roy's best ham friends.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_03: That was an exciting breakup.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_03: I don't have many friends.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have many friends.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_03: It's a rare, rare group.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_03: Aware breed.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_03: So I am getting, and I'm not gonna be able to lift this over here.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_03: I'm going to New Mexico.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_03: This is my POTA bag for those watching.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_03: I'm going to New Mexico here this weekend.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_03: My wife and I just celebrated last year, our 15-year anniversary.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so we're celebrating on year 16 because you know, kids.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_03: And uh, I was gonna take some radio stuff.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_03: So I was getting everything ready.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but I have a I was wrong moment, and I'm gonna just grab it out of here.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_03: They're coming back around.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_03: We're coming back around.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_03: I I'm never a a person too uh too afraid to admit I was wrong.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and actually, this is my if anyone by the way is looking for a PTT.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, squirrel moment, uh, and just to sell you things.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_03: This is uh MW Tech on Etsy um out of the UK.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_03: This is it's 3D printed case, but it it it's robust.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_03: I like it.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_03: Uh but back to my point here the Heil Ham radio BM17 monopod headset here.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_03: Um I gave it, I did a review on this.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_03: Rory was there with me when we did this review.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_03: Rory has experience with Gen 1 of this.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I've been using it now pretty regularly, and Rory's main feedback was to me, it's still a Hil Radio microphone.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_03: And it still does really good radio things, and I have to agree with him.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_03: This headset's been used now on many a POTA activation out in the field.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_03: It lives in that pocket on my backpack, held up great.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_03: Uh it's a good headset, it's been really good.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_03: So I have to admit I was wrong.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_03: I will say though, the price that I paid for it, is it still something?
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_03: Is it still a luxury headset?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_03: Here's my here's my deal, James.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_02: I love that you came back around on this because I think it is fair.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of folks have asked, you know, you guys don't want to be a review channel.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: The answer is we love new gear, so if somebody sends it to us, we're gonna look at it probably.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: Just putting that out there.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_02: Second of all, because why not?
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_02: Second of all, I was very hard on the Heil BM 17 personally.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I have way different expectations of what I hear in my ear as compared to the microphone quality and then operating it as a radio operator.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: So when I put on my BM17s, which were the uh dual-sided ones that I had snagged at one of the local ham fests for an absolute song, uh, I was not overwhelmed with the uh with the experience.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_02: And I immediately did move them along.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: But I can appreciate what you guys are saying, which is I will say the audio the audio quality, it's okay.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_03: I I'm not wild.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: The receive audio quality is I don't disagree with that.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's okay.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_02: You're not gonna put that on and and throw your iPod on and listen to music.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, no, no.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_03: What I'd love ham radio to figure out is uh this cable mess of all sorts of things in the world.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Just wind it up and put it in your bag.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on?
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_03: Well I I do.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_03: I just shove it.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_03: I don't wind it up, I just actually just shove it in there.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_03: But put that away.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_03: Uh what do you want?
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: What do you want differently with the cord?
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want it shorter?
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want it what's what's the problem?
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want it?
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_03: I don't want cords.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I will tell you what I want, Dave.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: No, we we we could we could go down a whole rabbit hole.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_03: Listen, I'm I don't like Bluetooth.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's the worst standard ever created.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: I can't take it.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_02: Sound off in the comments if you use your radio with a Bluetooth headset.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_02: We would love to know who's your take on me talking to on the radio as a standard.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_03: But anyway, that that's what's in my chat.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_03: Getting ready here.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_03: Got some work stuff.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_03: Going to be heading back to Germany here a couple times in the next couple months.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so I is the radio making a trip on any of those ones.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_03: I'd like to.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_03: I'd really like to bring it with me.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_03: I think in a couple of these I might have some time to get out there and activate.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_03: I will be in the Frankfurt area and the Koblenz area.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_03: So if you're a POTA activator out there, and uh, as I tell my wife, you want to meet me in a park, which sounds really strange, uh, you know, look me up.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_03: Sorry.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: CQ at the Everyday Ham.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_02: You can drop us an email and we can try to arrange something.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Everydayham.com.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: So you're you're back to your your your pack there, James.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to New Mexico.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a CW key in that kit?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_05: There we go.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because you you know New Mexico is my last state for worked all worked all states on CW.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_03: So on my romantic getaway with my wife, my I've told her I'm gonna go do some hand radio stuff, which she's actually a big supporter of, because I have not activated for POTA uh New Mexico.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I told Rory I will try to learn CW just enough to get one probably one character a minute QSO with them and program your auto key or for each of the exchanges so that you can push button one, two, and three and be done.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: Five nine five nine nine.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's five nine nine no matter what.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: To you.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna give it a try.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_03: Uh there's no way I'm going to New Mexico with Rory needing only New Mexico, and I'm not gonna give it a try.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to give it a try.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: That would be so cool.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: So all right, welcome everybody.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: And you're with the Everyday Ham here.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna transition now to the main topic of the night, which is the World Radio League.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: And if that sounds familiar, uh you may already have had an opportunity or have used the software.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we are joined by Andy NZero APX this evening.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: And Andy is the product manager of the World Radio League software, also works with Ham Radio Prep uh and some other things uh with this uh whole organization.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but we are gonna talk with Andy tonight about the World Radio League, the software, uh, kind of learn a little bit more about the platform.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're out there and have not used it, this will be a great little discussion uh to uh perhaps pique your interest in another platform for logging, uh for operating.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and Andy's gonna tell us a little bit about all the different things that this can do because it is not your father's logger.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_02: This thing can do a little bit more of everything, and I'll tell you, I've only probably scratched the surface.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: So, Andy, welcome this evening and uh tell us uh where you're coming in from and uh give us a little background.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_04: Thanks, Jim.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I'm Andy and Zero APX broadcasting live from the Blue Barn Studio here in southwestern Missouri.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_04: Great to see you guys.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_04: Thanks for having me on.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_04: Uh yeah, uh got into ham radio uh three years ago now, I believe.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_04: Call sign KF0 MCX, uh upgraded to general a couple years ago, and then in uh in March of this year upgraded to Extra.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_04: Umgravations.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, thank you.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_04: Very much appreciated.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_04: And yeah, I've I've been uh enjoying the hobby from the very start.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_04: I kind of got in on the on the GMRS trail, if you will, of of uh of gateway drugs.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_04: But uh ham radio has been an excellent hobby.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_04: And when you get to pair it with your job like this, it just becomes absolutely incredible.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_04: And yeah, I I I wouldn't I I there's not much in the world I'd trade it for.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_04: It's pretty cool.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_03: Nice.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: It is a unique opportunity to uh not only work in the field, but but but also join it up with the hobby.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_02: And sometimes I think folks say that's a little bit dangerous because uh you may you may you may ruin ruin the thing that you love, but uh clearly uh a lot of passion.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: And uh to be honest with you, Andy, I didn't have any idea that uh you were kind of so new uh to to operating ham radio.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: So that's actually really cool uh to hear that just a couple of years ago you got back into it.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: I will say uh I really only got back into operating about two and a half years ago myself, and that's when I upgraded to general, and then we went down this whole uh everyday ham absolutely uh rabbit hole that we are in now.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_02: But it's awesome, uh, like I said, to kind of have that fresh blood in the amateur radio and and have that that that new idea.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah, welcome to it.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_02: And Rory, I cut you off.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_02: I think you had a question.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I had a I had a tangent because why not start off why not start the whole thing off with a tangent?
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: Are you in a blue barn?
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: Is that is that where the name comes from?
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: What is that?
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I am in a blue barn.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_04: My ham shack sits right in uh in the south end of a blue barn on on uh five beautiful acres in Missouri.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: I I I think that's I think that's 100% acceptable.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: I I had the I heard you I heard the the blue barn studios, I said I I have to know what that means.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, absolutely.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's my tangent to start off.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_03: So I have a question though, Andy.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_03: Can you before we go too far, can you explain World Radio League to us?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_03: Uh just the highs and lows so far.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_04: So I I mean Jim said it well.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_04: World Radio League is not your father's logger.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_04: Um that's right.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, it is uh it is absolutely a logger for the 21st century ham.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_04: Uh we've it let me give you just a little bit of the background of it.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_04: James uh N0WRL, my boss, started ham radio prep, and we'll talk about that later, back in 2017.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_04: Uh and getting all these you know young people, new hams licensed on the air, and dropping them into a pool of software that is, you know, 30 years old, 20 years old anyway.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_04: And uh, you know, like it's so hard for somebody in this day and age to look at some of the software that's been around forever and think, oh, that looks fun, I want to be a part of that.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_04: So uh about 2023, um James decided to start uh World Radio League, uh 21st uh century logger, modern logger, beautiful UI, simple, easy to use.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_04: And uh, you know, it took off like wildfire.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_04: And uh, you know, I joined the team if not many months after it after it started.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_04: I've been with the team for a couple years now, and uh, you know, it's it's really taken off.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_04: We just passed a hundred thousand users and uh just growing like crazy every single week.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_04: We I'm just shocked.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_04: We check our metrics, you know, weekly.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_04: We have a meeting and and it's just unreal how fast the platform has been growing over the past several months.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_04: It's it's really been unreal.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_04: It's been something amazing to witness.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_04: But it's grown from you know a basic, simple law cloud logging platform into something so much bigger than than uh I would say bigger than we envisioned, but uh, but you know, maybe bigger than we thought possible is the better word.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_04: We we we envisioned you know the direction that it's headed in.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_04: We there's there are a few of us caught the vision and and and hit it hard, but uh, but it's really grown unbelievably well.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_04: And we're we're really thrilled at at how how uh well it's done.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_04: But yes, it is it is uh that's kind of a synopsis of the of the program, and and we can get into specifics.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_04: But yeah, we have it's a cloud platform with a mobile app and a desktop app and a web app all synced together through one single account constantly.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and Andy, I think that you said something there, right?
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: It you get a lot of new hams that are coming in.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_02: They're looking for something that may be a little bit fresher than something like an N3FJP or a log4om or some of those softwares that have been around while ham radio deluxe, maybe.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, uh basically something that doesn't look like it was made in GeoCities for those people that understand that.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_02: Different era of software.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's that's where WRL, of course, excels uh is that that appeal uh to uh to a new ham, to the to the fresh ham.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: And I and I was curious, you know, how how the uh how the uptick was coming in, and it does appear that you guys uh have hit a hundred million users.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_02: I see on the front on the front page of the website it says 95k uh operator.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: So you're at a hundred thousand now with sixty five million contacts logged.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, we put that we put that ninety five K up and about uh three or four weeks later we passed 100k.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_04: So uh yeah, we've we've we've been we've been really, really excited about hitting that number.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_04: It's been it's been you know it's quite a quite a month.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_04: Milestone for us, really.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_04: We're a very we're a pretty lean team.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_04: Probably you know, we've got we've got a few members of the team, you know, maybe more than you would expect for a for a ham radio uh software company, but but it's a pretty lean team and we've got everybody doing doing multitasking constantly.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, lots of different involvement.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and so when we talk talk about like other software that kind of lives in this space, right?
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_02: W World Radio League really brings not only your desktop logging, but also cat control.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_02: So you can connect it to your radio, you know where your frequency is at, you can actually key your radio if you're doing digital modes.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_02: It has the ability now to do FT8 uh directly inside of the world radio desktop application.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you have contest modes where you can actually get pre-filled forms for contests that you're operating in.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, the Everyday Ham last year used WRL with the uh really early release of the cat control uh to log for winter field day.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_02: So that was our first experience using it.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_02: And it worked it worked tremendously well, right?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_02: We had a we had a great great approach.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_04: The nice thing about it, yeah, they maybe you were getting ready to say this, but the the the truly amazing innovation here with using uh or the the the just the the the groundbreaking uh thing about using World Ready League desktop app for field day is that you know everybody logs into the club account and you're all sync into the same logbook instantly.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_04: And I mean that's all you gotta do is just log into an account.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_04: No networking, no port forwarding, none of that, whatever you had to do before.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_04: It's just literally log into the club account and you're rocking and rolling ready to go.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think the one thing at Winter Field Day that we enjoyed that we hadn't experienced anywhere else was the real-time comparison to other people's logs.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: We were able to see our we were able to see our standings within um other users on on WRL's WRL.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it was it was actually an incentive for us, I think, at times to keep working harder at the contest because we could see where we were at, you know, we were neck and neck with a couple other folks, and you know, we were able to stay on top for a good good part of the contest in our in our category.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that was yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_04: So we do that for pretty much every contest that we have.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_04: We have, you know, a World Radio League leaderboard, but the folks over at Winterfield Day are so awesome and so great.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_04: Marvin, good friend of mine, good friend of the team, and uh, you know, they really partnered with us uh to get you know live scoring, real-time actual contest scores.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_04: Not all of them are like scored actually as the contest.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_04: You know, we don't want people saying, Oh, you're trying to take the contest everything.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_04: It's not even the point.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_04: We're here to have fun, you know.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_04: So so uh, but the folks at Winterfield, they really partnered with us really closely.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_04: They wanted us to have all the scoring, all the multipliers all ready for the live leaderboard for the last two Winterfield days in a row, and it has gone exceptionally well, and it's just been tremendous, uh, tremendous turnout on those on the last two Winterfield days been really cool.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'll give some credit there.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_02: I think that when you get a contest that's willing to partner with you at that level, uh, it really does go to show how cool the platform can really be.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, absolutely.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_02: Because you get that real-time feedback, the multipliers are happening in it on your screen as it's happening, and you kind of know where you are in the scoring.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: Now, I if I recall correctly, there was some note there that said, you know, these are not official scores, you still need to submit to Winterfield, right?
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there's your disclaimer, right?
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: And of course, I think everybody likes likes to know that uh up front because we've we've obviously had some uh contest-related uh hubbub going on if you watch the Q5 channel uh lately.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_02: So I know that there's there's a little bit of that, but uh uh as somebody that's perhaps not quite as serious as far as contesting goes, I appreciated that real-time feedback, seeing where our score was theoretically at, and then we submitted our log, and we were actually really, really close as far as how they matched up.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_02: So awesome, yeah, awesome experience.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: And I I I do think that uh if someone's looking for a really interesting uh entry point to use WRL with a small group or even a club, uh, you know, winter field day would be a really good place to go trial that's right.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_04: And even ARL field day, I mean, we had a lot of people jumping into the platform to give it a try for their club on field day uh this year.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, really cool stuff.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_04: People really love it.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we we've been traditionally on uh N1MM uh for our our logger for field day, uh proper field day uh ARL field day.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: And uh we've had good luck with it, but it is a much different beast, right?
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_02: It's a it's a different uh is a different experience level that you need.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you do need to coach folks to use it in a much more uh uh I would say you need to you need to have some education involved before you can have somebody walk up and use it.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas WRL makes a lot of that a lot more clear for the first time.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know about you, but some of us, some of us would call Winterfield Day, field day proper.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, okay.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_04: I'm kidding.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_04: I'm really kidding.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_04: But I I really enjoy Winterfield Day.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_03: So Yeah, and on this topic too, I do have one question.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_03: So you know, it sounds like you guys are doing a lot.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_03: You're trying to compete in the contest space, kind of going against N1MM a little bit and more gamification, more modern interface.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, you have the mobile app and you're obviously doing a lot in the Parks on the Air program and collecting it.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_03: How do you how do you make everyone happy?
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_03: Because those those hams is a wide audience, um likes and dislikes and preferences, experts.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_03: So how do you think about it?
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: I've never seen a whole lot of happy, happy hams in one place, though.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_04: So that's also true.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_04: I will say the the World Ray League community is mostly a lot of really happy hams.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, we've we've been blessed with a very, very positive group of people, but there are some that hang around on the fringes that you know we get that try to tangle with us every once in a while.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_04: But honestly, the uh the way we've kept everybody happy is by just you know not arguing.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_04: Uh the people want to argue with us and say, hey, you're trying to get into this space, you're trying to take this over, you're trying to do this.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_04: Well, we're not.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_04: It's just it's not true.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, I you know, you even said that about N1MM.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_04: I wouldn't characterize it as competing with N1MM.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_04: We have an N1MM integration.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_04: Somebody can use N1MM and log straight, straight directly from their N1MM logger into World Radio League if they want to.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_04: It's it's not about competition, it's about innovation and about giving hams the best platform possible.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_04: And for every ham that says, uh, I don't like you because you're competing with N1MM, there's 50 that say, would you please integrate this feature that's in N1MM into your platform?
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it's it's it's it's very much a it's very much a um we we used to worry a bit more about it than we did.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_04: My biggest recommendation is stay out of the Facebook groups because it gets that's our number one rule on this channel is that listen to Facebook.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_03: It that goes with the uh everyday ham experience as well.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, stand ham central.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_04: So so that's my number one recommendation for anybody trying to trying to stay out of out of sad ham corners.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_04: But but yeah, I mean honestly, we just stopped arguing with people and and um I mean we listen to people very closely and we take feedback very seriously, but we don't we don't waste time arguing with people and that that that's all they want to do is argue.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_04: We we try to just move on and you know we're not we are not in the we're not competing with parks on the air.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_04: We're we're trying to help Hams participate in Parks on the Air.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_04: We're not competing with special events or contests, we're trying to help Hams participate in them.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_04: So, you know, I hope that answers your question uh a little bit there.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_04: It's something that we've talked a lot about in the last few months because of some, you know, just feedback from one or two people here and there that were like, you know, you know, is this is this really our image that people people look at us and see?
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_04: And we really discovered no, that's not what people look at us and see.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_04: It's what what a few people look at us and want to see, but really we are in this to help people have a good time in ham radio and enjoy ham radio and have the best experience possible.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I love that answer.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_02: And and I think that two things worth touching on here, right?
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_02: The the broad integration with work WRL, there are a whole bunch of ways that you can integrate with your current workflows, right?
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_02: So you have QRZ, QRZ integration, so log with log with QRZ, sync it to WRL or go back the other way.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_02: Logbook of the world, of course, that seems pretty pretty pretty expected at this point, of course.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_02: You've got an API uh that's available for folks, uh, and you can integrate with WSGTX, N1MM, and N3FJP as well.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're out there and you're doing something, WRL can probably support you in that.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_04: And I'll even I'll even add to that.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_04: Uh we have we just added a custom UDP connection.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_04: So, you know, if you're using an app that has a slightly different UDP than you know, WSJTX, maybe something more like N1MM or something, you just plug it into the desktop app.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_04: Uh or the API, you know, folks like Nexus, uh, they just added the WRL API.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_04: And I mean, it's just a seamless integration.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_04: If you're logging from Nexus, just straight into your World Radio League logbook.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_04: It's awesome.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 31:21
  unknown: Yeah.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_03: And if you guys are okay, I have some breaking news.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_03: James uh is here with us, so I'll go ahead and add him to the studio.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_03: Like look at these.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_04: I've seen you somewhere, man.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we've we've we've already told all the secrets.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: All the secrets are out, so I don't know.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_04: Actually, hang on, Andy! The secrets, the secrets are not out.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_04: I will I will actually just I'm gonna blow you guys want to watch me blow James' mind real quick?
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_04: This this is gonna be fun.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, James.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_04: Uh about 20 minutes ago, I made my first, well, actually at this point, maybe 40 minutes ago, I made my first ever JTTY contact.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_04: It's a new mode.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, and I made it from an internal pre pre-release version of the World Radio Lake desktop app.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: I saw, I saw the I saw you posted, I saw you posted the build like 20 minutes ago.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: I was driving in my car and I've seen a photo of Andy on JTTY.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome, man.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_04: Well, not me on this week's release, but it is coming very soon.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_02: Uh first of all, I'll welcome James, N0WRL.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, James uh is kind of the uh the brainchild of the whole WRL experience here, so welcome and we do appreciate you joining us.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Andy was already regaling us with some of the uh background of the software, what it can do, and uh, we were kind of comparing and and seeing, you know, who is it built for and that type of things.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_02: I also want to acknowledge there are three gyms in the show tonight.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_02: So it's amazing.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_02: Very weird.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_02: If you say Jim, you're probably gonna get somebody here.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_02: So uh everybody that's listening uh on the podcast version of this, just go with it, and you'll have to go by call sign.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_02: Uh last, I will say James K H J K U James was also trying to get JTT work JTTY working tonight, but he was using uh WSJTX.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_02: So it's really cool to hear uh this successfully set up.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I know I'm probably supposed to be the one answering questions, but I'm new to JTTY.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: Can somebody give me like the spiel?
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: I've never done it.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: I've never I've never made a JTTY content.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Andy, you tell well, well, you just made a JTTY content.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you're the only one here that has experience with it with your one contact.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, absolutely.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, so uh as I understand it, and somebody in the comments is going to blast me here because I'm you know I'm not not completely well versed, but as I understand it, JTTY is as of course that's a take on RTTY, which is real-time whatever that stands for.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_04: It's real-time uh text communication.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, real time real-time teletype or something like that.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_04: It's real-time text communication between radios.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_04: And a JTTY is a um is a uh oh uh uh a low signal version of that.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_04: So JTTY invented by Joe Taylor, the guy behind WSJTX, uh, it is a it's a real-time text, live text messaging.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, you know, FT8 always relies on these 15-second cycles.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_04: This is just real time.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_04: You're just sending a text back and forth uh through but with a weak signal mode, which is the real innovation here.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_04: And so, you know, you can work the world on on I was just uh my first contact was was with somebody running five watts in Texas.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_04: Uh really cool, really cool stuff.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_04: And it's so neat the information that you can relay back and forth through these through this this JTTY mode.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_04: It's so cool.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_04: It's awesome.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_02: So behind the scenes, RTTY just uses standard FSK, basically, is what it's transit transmitting real time.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_02: It sounds like JTTY is leveraging some of the uh CRC correction that WSJTX allows us to use for FT8 so that we can get part of the signal and then make sense of it still.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_02: And so it really does give you that.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_04: Well literally, basically, for the for the non-technical way I like to describe things, it's basically like if you took FT8 and RTTY and merged them into one mode.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_04: It's using the I had a baby.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_04: That baby grew up.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's very, very interesting.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the conversation always is, you know, is FT8 a true you'll have the people tell you that's not a true Q so because you know the computer's doing all the work.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they're looking for that that peer-to-peer or keyboard-to-keyboard situation like you have.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_04: JTTY gives it to you at the same time.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: You go to JTTY and and you're you're doing it.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm gonna have to play with this because um I assume based on on a quick read of it, I wonder if that will be a valid mode for for winter field day.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean it already is.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: They already announced it.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, they already announced it.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, did they?
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, I believe so.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, we're breaking news all over.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna we're gonna be running it in the in the in the woods of Michigan in the frigid frigid weather.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: We'll be we'll be giving it a try.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_02: And for the folks that are listening on the podcast, if you're not aware, WRL, or I'm sorry, Winterfield Day has traditionally not allowed FT8 because it's not an emergency communication mode uh that is peer-to-peer like uh some of these other modes.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_02: So uh JTTY obviously gets all the advantages of weak signal, but it allows us to uh meet those requirements for Winterfield Day.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really exciting.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_04: See, Rory, I sent us down the rabbit hole this time.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't take much.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't take much.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_02: So James is in the crew here now, and that is N0 WRL, James from the WRL.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_02: James, welcome and uh give us a little background if you would like.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_02: Uh tell us a little bit about what you got what you guys are working on at uh WRL.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_02: Uh like I said, Andy's given us kind of the the starting point, what you guys are building.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you're at 100,000 users, you've got tons and tons of QSOs logged, the integrations.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_02: Tell me a little bit about what your what your thoughts are here.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, it's kind of it's it's insane to to think like when we when we were first getting started in 2023, um, there were really, I guess probably hammers was the first of the modern loggers.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I wanted to make WRL at the time, it was even more way more basic than hammers.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_01: It was basically just a web form.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_01: And now the world of software and amateur radio is like exploded.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's absolutely, you know, it's absolutely insane.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, I think, you know, um really with with with what what we're trying to do now with World Radio League is really build out the integration suite like big time.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_01: We have we've had a huge focus on there so that um as the kind of software explosion that we're going through um continues to happen within amateur radio, and you're trying different apps, trying different modes of operation, you can use the API, you can use the UDP, and you can kind of keep World Radio League as sort of a center of operations there.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um and um we want it to be um and and and we're we're continuing to build out the logging, the analytics, and um probably try to create some cool surprises on things that we can do to create just new fun ways to you know do things with ham radio.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I I I think I I look at like PODA as a huge inspiration.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um when PODA, you know, POTA came on the scene and they completely reinvigorated amateur radio.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you could so some people go as far as to say they saved amateur radio, which I don't think.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_03: I don't think I'd be in the hobby without PODA, if I'm being honest.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_03: It's really got me interested in it.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_01: And and PODA's and you know, in World Radio League, you can use it to log PODA, but I want to uh you know, I want us to continue to listen to folks and say, well, what other cool things could you know we do?
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, I'm open to ideas, but I mean we're and in addition to just building out the core logging experience and and making it so you can use WRL for existing contests, we want to try new types of contests and we want to try new types of different things um that you can uh that you can get into and new modes of operation.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: So we're we're having a ball, you know, we're for we're experimenting with different stuff every day.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: Throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_03: So when you when you look at that, so you you're obviously focusing on integrations, as you said, and Andy, you said you're really trying new things with the JTTY, even having some early, unreleased integrations, let's say on the back end.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_03: But like what what do you look at?
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_03: How do you determine your roadmap?
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_03: Like what's actually going to be released to the consumers and that end?
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, that is such a that's a really tough question.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: So we have like a million feature requests, right?
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure you can imagine.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone has an idea.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone has everyone's got opinions.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_01: So I would say we always say the first thing we we do is we we generally do uh focus a little bit more on stability these days than we do just building all the things.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, with the platform as big as we are now, it's like we need to have really good back-end um engineering and architecture and database management.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we want it to you know be dependable.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we haven't had a like a single outage in over a year.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: Knock out of wood for you, but yeah, exactly.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, and we did have a short uh so um and security goes along with that.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, like um now it it now it's it's so easy to you know find vulnerabilities with all the AI tools that are out there, so you have to be you have to be super security focused.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: But um then I would say we we kind of map out like what are the the big things that we want to do, and then we try to slice in what are the cool things that would what are the things that would just be really cool to do.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_01: And we kind of mix, we kind of we we kind of mix and match those things.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like you know, there's certain things that you just you have to take care of.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like, okay, Andy's doing this really cool RIDI thing.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm the guy that's working on adding ready as a mode, making sure it maps to the ADIF and make sure the submode and the sub mode are correct, because you know, um JTTY is going to be a sub mode of MFSK, and that has to go to the other sites and things like that.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_04: And lot and look, um yeah, let me interject here that we, you know, we have we absolutely, you know, as as James was saying, we we organize these things into a roadmap, and you know, we have development teams working down through this roadmap, and then I just come in with some harebrained idea and do something.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_04: And we're all good technology companies.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_04: Because that's top app in a in a couple links.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like there there is there is a roadmap, but it's also it's pretty dang flexible because things are moving so fast.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_01: And um, and I and I always tell like you know, myself or Andy or anybody that's working on it, I'm like, look, we have our plan, but if you ever just really get into something and you go down a rabbit hole, just go for it.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, I don't have to tell you everything that we that needs to go into World Radio League.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_01: And that and then and then Andy shows up one day with JTTY.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I love I love that because the whole ham spirit is experimentation and just trying new things and just building something.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_03: So I like that you're incorporating that into the business model.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, when we and when we first started in 2023, AI coding was not even a thing.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like we we wrote every line of code by hand, and actually it really helped us because we um we established really good pattern, like software patterns that then we could like later use because so we, you know, and we're we're we're utilizing a lot of like AI tools in the development.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_01: Now the POTA team's starting to use those things and they're like super helpful.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_01: But we're you know, we're still doing um we're still pretty much reviewing everything like human and you know getting getting our hands dirty when we need to, which I think is good.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_04: And and and I mean James has James, it's it's been awesome because uh James has has structured the company in a way that he allows the team to innovate in incredible ways and uh and really you know come up with some with some really awesome stuff.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_04: And it's you know, it's it's a lot of fun.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_04: It's a lot of fun.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_01: Just buttering me up, Andy.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that wasn't the same.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_05: I meant it sincerely.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_03: What what uh are you are you both programmers by trade?
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_03: So before Ham Radio, or would you say you're both software developers or just an electrical engineer and the other?
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_04: He's an electrical engineer.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_04: I was a I was a lumberyard salesman.
• 43:18
  unknown: Okay.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_03: The road takes all types.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_00: I enjoy the the absolutely unrelated thing as as I I my career path has been as well.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_00: So that's always good to have a completely non-related to the hobby career path.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_03: Someone's got to keep the electrical engineers balanced.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_01: When I first talked to Andy said, so you're selling lumber.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_01: That sounds like you could be a really good software developer.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_02: So a couple interesting things just got said, and I want to pull out a couple of those those things and dig a little deeper on it.
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_02: So, first, 2023 was around when you guys got started, and and you did just say something really interesting here, which is in the 2025 to 2026 timeline, we've had everybody and their brother uh set up a Cloud Code account and start to develop their own platform, right?
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_02: And it's gonna be the next big thing.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_02: So it is it's worth mentioning, right?
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_02: Like I'll uh i i as we As we hear how you guys are developing, right?
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_02: Everybody's using AI behind the scenes to make their coding and development more rapid, right?
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_02: And and we're using our agents to build these things more, more quickly, but we're we're learning as we go.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_02: And and I think that that is something that I would like to make sure that we draw the distinction on is you guys are not uh you weren't you didn't start as an AI developed application.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_02: This is this is something that has been built uh from the ground up and and you you learned quite a bit along the way.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_02: So uh for those folks out there that are always uh in the comments complaining, you know, it's the next AI app, there you go.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_02: You have some clarity on how things are being developed.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_02: James, go ahead and comment on that.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, and I think I mean I think in today, like if you like, um I mean it's it's an awesome, it's an awesome time for software development.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think you can't let the AI do the thinking for you because you get into dangerous situations when you don't understand what your app is doing.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because yeah, you you can create a spaghetti monster that you just can't fix.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_01: You have no idea.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_01: You have no if you if you personally have no idea how your app is structured and built, you'll never you you'll you'll get kind of out of control.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_04: And I will I will become unmaintainable.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_04: And I will add to that, don't you know, don't don't trust AI with your roadmap and or your uh you know, or your uh final say on design.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_04: Always, always, always, you know, you you gotta have somebody managing those things.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_04: You just got to.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_02: You'll be building cars and you know, helicopters before you know it.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_02: And you just trust AI.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_02: We like to think of it, at least, and I work in software myself, so it we like to think of it more as an accelerator, right?
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_02: It's something that allows us to perhaps move more quickly on an idea, uh, but within the idea that we keep the discipline there to say, this is what I'm expecting, this is how I develop it securely, this is how I develop it stably, uh, and then generate that code and then use that to iterate quickly.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_02: So it it it's really interesting to hear a little bit about how you guys are working with it.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_02: And and I think that perhaps if you're a listening audience out there uh that's working in the AI and software space, you'll you'll find that to be particularly uh interesting as well.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you know, and you have to, at the end of the day, the other person, you know, the person that's using it, you know, um has to love it.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I think um we we try to just listen to everybody that uses it as much as we can.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_01: We've got some passionate users.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_01: Me and Andy are you know operating in the app almost every single day.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of the stuff comes from man, this is well over 500 contacts for me in September.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_04: Nice.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_04: Wow, nice.
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_04: Very good.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of that had to do with you, you your kind of sudden FT8 research.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's go in waves, go in waves, right?
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, yeah.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_02: So the other thing that you guys just said about uh the development, I guess kind of the inspiration for WRL is not afraid to try new things, that you are allowing the freedom for the engineering team to go out and explore those things that are exciting and are burgeoning uh for ham radio.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's really important because it reflects, if I'm if I'm reading correctly, the the WRL kind of mantra here, which is uh, you know, we are a new logger.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_02: We aren't just a contest logger, we aren't just an FT8 logger, we're not just one thing.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_02: What we're trying to do is explore all of the new horizons that are out there for amateur radio, and that's really how this hobby is going to grow.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so it is encouraging to hear uh that you're welcoming and you're you're open to that, having those engineers go down some of those paths.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_02: Some of those things aren't gonna turn out, right?
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_02: M17, yeah, that might turn into something in the future.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just I'm making a joke about M17.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_00: I you know, I'm sure DMR is probably still gonna win, but in the end, right, like we still we still have a local ham trying to make M M17 a thing.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_00: There we go.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_00: Our friend Marty, K B H A I U here in town, he's he's he's still trying to make M17 a thing.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, and I mean again, kind of going back to when we first got started on WRL, and the reason why I called it you know WRL in the first place is you know, at the time of the the super big platforms, you basically have QRZ and L O T W.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and those are the ones that everybody looks to for awards and confirm uh confirmations.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_01: And we want WRL to be in that that conversation.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_04: And I think as far as a single source of truth, yeah.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_01: I think as far as um and and and that's not to say that our feature set's gonna look the same as them because it's not.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_01: We're totally we are so we're not even well, you know, in the same ballpark as uh QRZ and LTL.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_01: We're such a different uh product, but I think that um we're doing a really good job of listening to people and continuing the the continuous um you know continuous development, continuous feedback, and you know, just we're we're active hams ourselves right now.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_01: We're not we're not checked out.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_01: We're you know, we're um Yep, absolutely.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_02: That actually answers a question which I was going to ask you guys.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_02: And it's one of those kind of pie in the sky questions, which is you build a company, what do you intend for it to become?
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I think you just answered my question, which is you do want it to be perhaps the next database of QSOs, of of logs, but with all of the other things that it can do on top of that.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_02: So if I look at L O T W and QRZ, and those are two unique products, right?
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_02: They both serve a logbook purpose, but they also have unique functions within themselves.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, ARL supports logbook of the world, and we have the very important rewards that come out of those uh that people are very proud to get.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_02: We've got QRZ, which is more of a social space for folks to have forums, uh, sell things, uh, log their contacts, and perhaps look up, you know, what's James's address so I can ship him my Q cell card, right?
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_02: And so when we talk about WRL, how do we see it kind of differentiating itself from those two platforms in its unique sort of niche that it's gonna fill if it's gonna be the big one of those big three?
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_02: Go ahead.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's a that's an awesome question.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_01: And first of all, I gotta say, you know what the great thing is?
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_01: You can use a bunch of softwares.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_01: You can everybody can use a bunch of software.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'll probably use all three.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we've got we've got people that uh they go out and they log with ham2k or nexus or n1mm, and they still use WRL for a piece of what we do.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_01: They upload their logs, then or they send their logs to QRZ.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many different flows.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_01: We have people that they get go to QRZ and then they have the integration set up where their contacts go from QRZ to WRL.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_01: So there's never like a, you know, it's never an either-or.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_01: I have I probably have like 15 different you know, ham radio softwares, you know.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe more.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_01: But um so so it's not an either-or, but I think that you know, versus QRZ, we're a lot more like operator focused.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like um, like QRZ is a little bit more on the social side.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think WRL, it actually handles a lot more of like um where you're actually using it for for some operations and uh perhaps some contesting.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um and whereas LOTW uh is really just uh awards focused.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's a database and and you build your awards off of those databases, right?
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_02: Verified database.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_02: Verified database.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, let's be clear.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_01: Which yeah, I mean, you know, in some ways it's nice to to to have the the um to have it just like hey, you're you're serving the the one function.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I think you know, I think having the multiple apps, it kind of gives us also resilience.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_01: It gives us various ways to to distribute, you know, QSO data and you know, and it lets people kind of take their pick of how they want to organize their data flows.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why, you know, we've we've made our API, we've even made our API free.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_01: So like you can you can create a free WRL account, you can you know if you want to vibe code an app and you know have it pull your API and run something locally, and you know, you can do that.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_03: I've actually been playing with the API a little bit too.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_03: And it is a very for a it just came out um two months ago now.
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, give or take.
• 51:57
  SPEAKER_03: And it's it's a pretty robust API.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_03: Um I've been very pleased with it.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_03: And I I I like digital signage.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_03: Here's a nerd hobby.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_03: I like making customized digital signage.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_00: You've made us all get into that too.
• 52:08
  SPEAKER_00: We all have one running because J Wall.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_00: Each of us have purposed a television in our homes to have digital signage.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_03: So I got a uh a little couple boards dedicated to the World Radio League and the API, and I've been playing with it.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_03: So actually, kudos.
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_04: I think it's a it's a very nice API.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_04: Don't forget to put your command center up on one of them.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I went I went down a rabbit hole last weekend on fonts, and I think Andy Andy heard my like font speech.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_04: And there's always one, but it was so awesome.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_01: My my wife, my wife was away, she was she was doing like a bachelor thing with her uh friends over the weekend.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_01: So of course, I'm you know, I'm playing with WRL, I'm coding, I'm doing all these things.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_01: And uh like Saturday night, I'm like, okay, I just want to fix the font size between these two screens.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_01: 18 hours later, I've redone the fonts across the entire application and centralized everything.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_01: And and now I can't now I can't watch a TV show or Netflix or anything without analyzing the fonts.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think we've we I think we've spent more time talking about the fonts on our on our various uh you know media that we use for this channel.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's crazy.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I uh we're talking so much about logbook of the world and and all that.
• 53:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm curious, what's your what is your reach for World Radio League internationally?
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_00: I know you guys are I prime primarily stateside.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_00: Have you guys had many takers in Europe or beyond?
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good question.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_01: I wish I had a good number to uh to throw off the top of my head, but um we yeah, we have a lot, we've got a lot of uh international usage, which I like, you know, I'm so proud of that.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's just one of the coolest things about you know amateur radio in general, is it just you just it's it's one of those cool places where you just everybody comes together from different parts of the world.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like I got to go to WRTC uh this year in um in England, and you know, you had competitors from you know probably 60, 70 different countries.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_01: That was just that was incredible.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_04: And I'll I'll also throw in here, you know, we do the the show every Monday, the World Radio League show every Monday afternoon live uh to Central Sime.
• 54:18
  SPEAKER_04: Uh and uh you know, we regularly in the comments have friends from Switzerland, from uh Argentina, from you know, Italy, just all around the world, you know, World Radio League users log in.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_04: You know, we've got great, you know, great friends in in uh VK land in Australia, uh, you know, just all over the place, man.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_04: We've got we've got we've got a we we can you know we can show a map that's got pins and of of a bunch of the World Radio League users, and it you know, it's just like pins literally all over the world.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_04: We don't, you know, I don't have the metric exactly pulled on the number in each country, but it's it's really cool.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_04: Really cool.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_02: So guys, before we wind down the time here, I do want to touch a little bit on the other product, which is ham radio prep, which I think is kind of where James you got started.
• 55:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I'd love to give you give you guys a few minutes to maybe tell us a little bit about what's going on with ham radio prep, some exciting things that maybe are coming.
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_02: I think we got a little teaser before we started recording.
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_03: It's also confusing because this James did get started.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_03: I think I actually did use ham radio prep also for my licensing early, but nice.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_03: He meant you, James, but I had other James.
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well then there's then there's there's the whole problem of there's another Jim.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's uh N4BFR Jim, who's who's you know, the the main the main instructor of ham radio prep.
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_00: I so I bleed instructor.
• 55:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah and and my first uh and my first Elmer.
• 55:37
  SPEAKER_01: I mean Ice Ice.
• 55:39
  SPEAKER_01: I mean a little bit of the story, like back in um uh I got into ham radio in 2017, and I was like three years out of engineering school, and I had a friend that I was that was living near me at the time who I mean he was super he was into everything.
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_01: And by the way, me and him, we got like motorcycle licenses, we got we got uh concealed carries, we got and then and then ham radio was on the list, and he's like, You're an electrical engineer, you know, like help me with all this stuff and everything.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that and that was kind of like you know, I I I got into that, and and he was all he was also kind of a I guess the you know the term of a prepper, which is you know uh I I would consider myself a mild, not very good prepper in a way.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm a prepper light, yeah.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like I uh I like to I like to prepare things, but like I'm not great at it.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um but um I mean yeah, like we've we've been working on that since 2017, 2018, just getting better.
• 56:36
  SPEAKER_01: Jim in for BFR has been an awesome professor, and we've we just continue to to to push hard on the educational content, and then um as of uh very recently we're starting to work on the uh exam admin side of things as well.
• 56:53
  SPEAKER_01: So we are planning to have ham radio prep where when you're when as soon as you finish your exam right from within the app, you can schedule your exam and do that as well.
• 57:03
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, yeah, right when you finish the course, your practice tests are all green and good to go, then you can just go and schedule your exam.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_04: And we're really excited about that.
• 57:14
  SPEAKER_04: I've actually been some some VE work lately, and and it's I tell you what, VE work is very rewarding and a lot of fun.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_04: It's incredible stuff.
• 57:24
  SPEAKER_04: Um, people be doing a thankless job for sure.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_02: Go ahead.
• 57:27
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, absolutely.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_04: You mentioned a teaser that I I threw out right before the show started, and I will I will hit on that.
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_04: This is this is a product that has released, albeit a little bit quietly.
• 57:39
  SPEAKER_04: Um, it is available for you to go to go use, and that is Morsemastery.com.
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_04: Uh MorseMastery.com is our Morse code training app.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_04: Uh we will be launching a mobile app at some point.
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_04: Um but yeah, Morsemastery.com, we got a whole course in there online Morse code chat.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_04: You can connect pretty much any Morse code adapter to it and use it uh with your with your Morse code key.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_04: And uh it that was a really fun project to uh to put together and and it will it will only continue to grow.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_04: We've had a lot of focus on World Radio League uh features lately, but uh but we will continue to grow that and at some point uh probably you know bring some some kind of ham radio prep uh lessons together around that app to kind of you know bring it all together into a cohesive course.
• 58:29
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_00: So so two questions.
• 58:31
  SPEAKER_00: Two questions here is I I started my my Morse, my CW journey right about a year ago.
• 58:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and I'm not even close to proficient, but I can do it.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_00: I have I have two important questions.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, uh I went to MorseMastery.com.
• 58:46
  SPEAKER_00: How how did we select the the font on on this page?
• 58:49
  SPEAKER_00: What what went in?
• 58:53
  SPEAKER_04: Honestly, you're gonna hate me, you're gonna hate me for saying it.
• 58:56
  SPEAKER_04: You're gonna hate me for saying it, but I think codex, uh ChatGPT selected that font.
• 59:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this is bizarre.
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's using like Nunito and Balu.
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_04: I thought I would ask that.
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_04: It was a fun font.
• 59:10
  SPEAKER_04: It was a kind of a few.
• 59:13
  SPEAKER_00: It is a fun font.
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_00: It it it has it has the WRL feel to the page, which is cool.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_00: But the font caught my attention.
• 59:19
  SPEAKER_00: Question number two, and more seriously, yeah.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_00: What what are you guys gonna do to stand yourselves apart from from some of the more established training things like Long Island CW or or or any of these things that are out there right now?
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's let's go back.
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_00: Let me let me let me paint my picture.
• 59:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I I was a ham for for 20, 20 something years before I even thought I wanted to learn CW, and that was last year.
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I I finally decided it was time to to start start learning.
• 59:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I picked up one of the apps on on well, I think two apps on the phone and and eventually landed with you know enlisting to Long Island CW Club to kind of re refine my skills.
• 59:55
  SPEAKER_00: I still have some refinery to do.
• 59:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not great, but I can do it.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_00: What what where are you guys headed that you think you'll you'll stand out from the rest?
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_04: Um honestly, uh at this point, this is uh kind of an experimental product to see you know what people like, what they want to see, what they want to see more of, what they want to see less of.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_04: Uh for me, uh Morse code has always been one of those things where it is so hard for me to find an an app or or anything that fits my learning style.
• 1:00:30
  SPEAKER_04: And and the one thing that comes the very closest uh and actually did fit me very well is Long Island CW Club.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_04: But you know, with Long Island CW Club, awesome people, fantastic people.
• 1:00:44
  SPEAKER_04: I really I really love them.
• 1:00:46
  SPEAKER_04: But I couldn't keep up with hopping on Zoom meeting on Zoom meetings all the time.
• 1:00:49
  SPEAKER_04: And I I got a lifetime membership with Long Island CW Club.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_04: I fully support them.
• 1:00:53
  SPEAKER_04: I really like the people, and I you know, I'll probably take more classes in the future.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_04: But um but this is something that is very, very much focused on learn at your own pace, hop in for two minutes, five minutes if you want to, take it slow, but with that same course structure and vision, kind of kind of you'll it once you get into it, you'll kind of see it kind of has some of the some of the vision of of Long Island CW Club just applied in a different way.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_04: Um and so so I think that's what you'll find in there.
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_04: It like I said, it's an experiment.
• 1:01:31
  SPEAKER_04: I want to know what people want to see more of, what they want to see less of, but it is very much a take it at your own pace, but also you have a goal here, and you're not just you know, you're not just following frequency tables, and you're not just following, you know, you know, you you're not just you know looking at dots and reading off your mug like me and like.
• 1:01:50
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you're not just looking at dots and dashes.
• 1:01:53
  SPEAKER_04: You'll literally go in here and hear my voice, uh, code reading, and Rory, you'll probably understand that term, code reading.
• 1:01:59
  SPEAKER_04: I know how many of you do, CW, but code reading, code talking, a term, like a like a letter or or you know, a symbol or whatever.
• 1:02:06
  SPEAKER_04: You'll hear my voice doing that uh, you know, as you go through the course to train you.
• 1:02:12
  SPEAKER_04: Do not look at the dots and dashes.
• 1:02:13
  SPEAKER_04: Think of the dits and does.
• 1:02:15
  SPEAKER_04: Hear the dits and does.
• 1:02:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so hear the letter, yeah.
• 1:02:18
  SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_04: And so that's you know, that's kind of how we've structured it uh up to this point.
• 1:02:23
  SPEAKER_04: And I think I think that's gonna be a really good foundation.
• 1:02:27
  SPEAKER_04: I don't think it's reached its final state by any means, but I think it's got a really solid foundation, and I really would love to hear any feedback anybody has for us on that.
• 1:02:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I think having heard your explanation on that sold me on at least taking a look at it.
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I like the idea of Which is high praise from Rory, by the way.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure.
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean you got to.
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_01: With how many apps there are these days, it's like you gotta you have to you have to have a reason to to check.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_00: I like the idea of of the the the Long Island approach, we'll call it.
• 1:02:55
  SPEAKER_00: I I that might be a that might be a a flight pattern off of New York somewhere.
• 1:03:00
  SPEAKER_00: But um well, I don't want to yeah, I don't want to claim that as trademarked or anything.
• 1:03:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I I'll be careful I'll be careful with that.
• 1:03:07
  SPEAKER_00: I I because I mean they have a they have a good approach to it.
• 1:03:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I I I enjoyed I enjoyed their product and I still I still do and I'll I'll maintain my membership there because I think they provide an excellent service.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_00: But uh I I agree.
• 1:03:20
  SPEAKER_00: I struggled with with the schedule because my my schedule varies and and gets you know exceptionally difficult depending, you know, what part of the month cycle I'm in.
• 1:03:28
  SPEAKER_04: And it's uh yeah, and just by example, I mean we take three characters at a time and we'll spend, you know, like like you know, five, six, seven steps on just drilling down and getting those three characters embedded in your mind before moving on to the next three.
• 1:03:45
  SPEAKER_04: And uh and you know, and and they're not long steps, you know, they're like two, three minute steps, five minute steps, and you can take those at whatever time you want to take them.
• 1:03:53
  SPEAKER_04: It's you know totally up to you.
• 1:03:55
  SPEAKER_02: So for the folks that are listening on the podcast, it is Morsemastery.com and it is live right now, so you can go log in and try some of these uh new features.
• 1:04:08
  SPEAKER_02: We'll put the uh link in the show notes as well.
• 1:04:09
  SPEAKER_02: We will put it in the show notes, but it also looks like you guys are looking for feedback.
• 1:04:13
  SPEAKER_02: Constructive, please, if you have feedback on that and compare it.
• 1:04:16
  SPEAKER_02: And so I would invite folks that are looking to learn a little bit about CW to go explore this and and give these guys a little bit of uh of your own feedback, especially if you have involved yourself in LCW it's L CWO or L I C W, uh, you know, either of those uh that are more established.
• 1:04:31
  SPEAKER_02: Let them know what uh know what you think here.
• 1:04:34
  SPEAKER_02: My first blush in seeing this was I love that it's at your own pace.
• 1:04:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I also think that it's a little bit less intimidating, perhaps, than uh an in-person uh live course.
• 1:04:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I know that a lot of us Tams are very apprehensive about getting in front of somebody when we don't know how to do a thing.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_02: So I kind of like that it it is it is at your own pace and you can learn here.
• 1:04:54
  SPEAKER_00: We are we are a bunch of introverts and an extroverted hobby.
• 1:04:57
  SPEAKER_04: So it's absolutely one piece to add there.
• 1:05:00
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, once you start getting to the level where you're you feel you're proficient, I mean, we have we we put some pretty fun games in there.
• 1:05:06
  SPEAKER_04: You can go try to beat your own your own score at these games, and we even put some multiplayer games in there where you can go somebody on the other side of the world, you can play uh CW battle with them and and uh you know have fun with that.
• 1:05:20
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, that's really cool.
• 1:05:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was I was just look poking in the chat, and I see you and Zach, AA4, Z D uh going back and forth on live stream last Monday.
• 1:05:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yep, we were doing that.
• 1:05:33
  SPEAKER_02: All right, guys.
• 1:05:34
  SPEAKER_02: I want to I want to kind of wrap it all up here.
• 1:05:36
  SPEAKER_02: So I want to first thank both of you for taking some time to join us on the little thing that is called the Everyday Ham here.
• 1:05:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's been a real pleasure.
• 1:05:42
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we've of course met you guys at a number of events.
• 1:05:45
  SPEAKER_02: I think most recently was probably ham cation this year in February.
• 1:05:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but I will say WRL has a presence at quite a few of the different ham swaps that I've attended.
• 1:05:54
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, somebody handed me a book from Ham Radio Prep and said, if you're working on your extra, this is a great start.
• 1:05:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I have it.
• 1:05:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's in my shack here.
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_02: I can't still work on it.
• 1:06:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was at the little Finley swap, Finley, Ohio swap.
• 1:06:04
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't even a big swap.
• 1:06:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:06:06
  SPEAKER_02: So big presence for the WRL.
• 1:06:07
  SPEAKER_02: Go stop by the booth, check these guys out.
• 1:06:09
  SPEAKER_02: They're doing some cool stuff, and it really is a modern experience.
• 1:06:12
  SPEAKER_02: you're looking to get started in logging if you haven't established yourself someplace it's a real good place to try as a as a first stop so I'll give you give you guys that uh give you guys a an opportunity to say maybe a few last things on the topic of WRL ham radio prep or just anything or anything else you have that you want to promote.
• 1:06:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah I mean I'll just say you know thanks thanks so much just super grateful for you guys for hosting us and for for sitting here chatting about what we've got going on and for everybody watching thanks so much and thanks to those of you who have you know supported WRL and ham radio prep in some way um ditto this I'm I'm the the CEO it's my full-time thing it's it's a it's tough sometimes running uh a company in the the ham radio space but we're having an absolute blast um doing it we're learning new stuff every single day we're we're adding features and and we want to hear from everybody as well so um I expect to see a lot of really cool stuff um coming out over the next year we're gonna launch a lot of uh a lot of like I said we'll launch a lot of the features that we need to launch that you guys are asking us for and we're gonna try to have some surprising fun things and experiments in there too and you know see if uh and see see what people like so and also yeah I'll wrap by saying uh thank you guys so so much for having us on you know we we we uh really really like your your uh everyday hand podcast so we're really excited to be able to come on and uh yeah I mean this is this is really I think James said it earlier but this is really a labor of love for us we enjoy uh speaking personally I enjoy doing this so so much I you know I have fun every single day and uh it's really incredible and you know we really really try to you know bring that positivity and energy to our community we have a lot of great a lot of great friends all around the world and and we have our world ready league community page where they can get on there and chat with Discord group Facebook group uh all you know it's it's it's the good Facebook group uh and I was gonna say you you brought it up it's the good Facebook group don't worry please behind you know we'll give you guys all the links all the link all the links to those put in your in your show notes for sure but uh I I would I would love to just pitch to your audience come check us out world the world radio league show Monday afternoons 2 p.m central time three p.m eastern on the World Radio League and Ham Radio Prep YouTube channels Facebook pages and X pages uh come check us out you know every Monday we go live uh I think we've only missed one in the last year and a half due to a a holiday and so uh you know check us out we'd love to see you there but you know this is this has been I've I I got on I I joined the team when we had 17,000 users and now we have a hundred thousand in two years time and I mean it's it's it's just it's incredible.
• 1:09:10
  SPEAKER_04: I'm I am amazed at at at you know how it's grown and and how much the team has really embraced it and and how you know how extremely uh extremely exciting it's it's it's it's really been it's really been awesome.
• 1:09:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's an awesome keep up the good work and and certainly you guys are are helping all aspects of the hobby and you know it's it's it's good to see all these fresh ideas come into the various platforms whether it's your training training arm with ham radio prep or the the the CW of Mortzmastery or uh or the the database and and the big logging system and and all this that that World Radio League will become because I'm sure if we talk to you guys in a year there'll be a whole much more added on so oh yeah we'd definitely be we'd love to do it.
• 1:09:54
  SPEAKER_00: We'll definitely catch up with you guys at Hamcation which is a mere four months away we'll be oh either it's already that clear I think that's probably that might be my favorite ham fest.
• 1:10:06
  SPEAKER_04: It was a blast last yeah we were pleasantly surprised with it my first big one was Dayton this year that's the first big one I've been to and boy what a what an experience of mind blowing.
• 1:10:21
  SPEAKER_01: You have to help me convince get Andy to hamcation.
• 1:10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah or we'll see yeah it's worth the trip it's hamcation is exactly in in in the word hamcation is vacation going to Florida and and the nice easy it's a it's a laid back weekend it's it's nothing I I I'm sure all the people in the chat tell me I'm a crazy person but it's nothing like hamvention it's it's it's it has all the things it has all the people but it's such a laid back atmosphere.
• 1:10:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you're in the cold climate you get to warm up for a weekend.
• 1:10:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yep it was just an easy it felt like a vacation it felt like a nice easy weekend in Florida to me and I I'm looking forward to that cool sounds fun.
• 1:10:59
  SPEAKER_02: All right all right gentlemen in the world of many loggers we encourage you to go check out WRL and hopefully you've learned a little bit about the tool tonight.
• 1:11:09
  SPEAKER_02: Lots of different ways that you can skin this cat and and we know that you're probably going to use a couple of each of them but I do encourage you to go check it out.
• 1:11:15
  SPEAKER_02: We've had a lot of good luck with WRL and we used it like I said everyday ham as a winter field day logger last year.
• 1:11:22
  SPEAKER_02: Imagine we'll be using it again this year knowing what I know now in the discussion and we want to thank you guys again for joining us.
• 1:11:28
  SPEAKER_02: Go check out Andy uh and James's uh live stream there it sounds like it's a weekly occurrence from the everyday ham in Michigan I'm gonna say 73 I'll send it over to James and Rory for their final yeah 73 thanks guys appreciate it 73 thanks 73 everybody thank you 73