Everyday Ham Podcast: Amateur Radio Conversations

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Do you really need that new radio? In Episode 14, James (K8JKU), Jim (N8JRD), and Rory (W8KNX) get honest about the pressure to upgrade ham radio gear and share what they’ve learned from their own buying mistakes.
We begin with a moment of remembrance for Elwood Downey, creator of HamClock, and share what his contributions meant to the community. Then we catch up around the shack — Jim’s new CW trainer, James’s hotel radio experiments from Germany, and Rory’s progress with Morse code through the Long Island CW Club.
The main topic digs into upgrade pressure. Jim confesses his $10K shack might not outperform his old $890 FT-DX10 and $99 end-fed combo. Rory makes the case that antennas matter more than radios. James shares his FTX-1F disappointment and why he went crawling back to his trusted FT-891. The unanimous takeaway: more antenna, less radio.
We also talk BuddiHEX plans, hamfest buying strategies heading into Hamcation and Hamvention season, and preview our upcoming trip to Orlando.
Don’t miss a single episode! Follow the Everyday Ham Podcast on your favorite podcast platform (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, and more) and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
https://www.everydayham.com
Short show intro audio clip
Short outro audio clip
The Everyday Ham Podcast is hosted by James Mills (K8JKU), Jim Davis (N8JRD), and Rory Locke (W8KNX) – three friends who dive into the world of amateur radio with a casual, lighthearted twist.
Follow us at: Website: https://www.everydayham.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/

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Five watts, a tiny coil antenna on a travel tripod, and a camera-bag station that reaches across states—CW isn't a relic, it's a practical advantage. In this episode, we invited Terry W8TMB to walk us through how he learned Morse code without drowning in drills, why CW pairs perfectly with POTA and QRP, and what actually works when your sending is solid but your copy lags behind.
We compare two popular learning paths: CW Academy and Long Island CW Club. CW Academy offers a free, semester-style program with fixed class times and steady accountability—great if you thrive with structure. Long Island CW Club takes a different approach with flexible, year-round carousels, multiple time slots each week, and an emphasis on getting on the air early. Their $30/year (or $90 lifetime) membership includes about 170 classes per week, a powerful browser-based practice tool, and thoughtful accessibility options for autistic, visually impaired, and hearing-impaired hams.
From there we dig into practical tactics: stop counting dits and dahs—train your ear to recognize full characters. Use Farnsworth spacing to create breathing room. Drill random call signs to break predictability. Send back what you copy immediately to lock it in. Ditch the decoders and cheat sheets; they slow your ear. Code-talk license plates on road trips, work short daily sessions, and aim your practice at real exchanges like POTA and simple contests.
Terry's field kit shows what's possible: a CFT-1 five-band QRP rig, a 3D-printed coil antenna from Ham Radio Duo, and a 16Wh battery that lasted two hours with 75% remaining. As bands shift with the solar cycle, CW keeps you in the game.
🔗 RESOURCES:
CW Academy: https://cwops.org/cw-academy/
Long Island CW Club: https://longislandcwclub.org/
Morse Mania App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/morse-mania-learn-morse-code/id1511042196
LCWO: https://lcwo.net/
V-Band: https://hamradio.solutions/vband/
Don't miss an episode! Follow the Everyday Ham Podcast on your favorite podcast platform (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, and more) and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
🎙️ Hosts: James K8JKU, Jim N8JRD, Rory W8KNX Guest: Terry W8TMB
Website: https://www.everydayham.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/
Short show intro audio clip
Short outro audio clip
The Everyday Ham Podcast is hosted by James Mills (K8JKU), Jim Davis (N8JRD), and Rory Locke (W8KNX) – three friends who dive into the world of amateur radio with a casual, lighthearted twist.
Follow us at: Website: https://www.everydayham.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/

Send us a text
What does 2026 have in store for ham radio? A year into the podcast, James (K8JKU), Jim (N8JRD), and Rory (W8KNX) turn up the dial with a forward look at the hobby's near future — grounded in real gear, real operating, and real community.

We start in the shack with winter POTA prep, a feather-light 33-foot mast, a fiber-fueled network overhaul, and a pair of pristine rotary phones begging for a ham project. Then we get into the predictions.

On the gear side, we share our predictions for what hardware might be on the horizon — what we'd love to see from the major manufacturers and where we think the industry is heading.

But hardware isn't the whole story. POTA and SOTA remain the heartbeat of growth because they lower the barrier to entry and make radio feel alive. We share why portable operating will keep rising even as solar conditions tighten.

At home, we're betting on a repeater revival — AllStar links, creative nets like SSTV nights, and "leave no call unanswered" as the culture shift that keeps VHF/UHF useful and welcoming. College clubs are buzzing again, and the formula scales: be kind, run practical events, and meet people where they are — on-air, at meetups, or on Discord.

AI comes up, minus the hype. Think helpful, not magical: audio-assisted logging, smarter noise control, and developer tooling that speeds up ham software. It's another tool, like a good tuner — valuable when it saves time and stays out of the way.

We wrap with personal goals — Extra class ambitions and a fresh pull toward CW — and a reminder that every license class is valid. The hobby thrives when we celebrate each step and keep the airwaves friendly.

Connect with us:
🌐 Website: https://www.everydayham.com
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/
💬 Discord: Join our community at everydayham.com

What rig are you hoping to see next? How will you help revive your local repeater? Drop your predictions in our Discord or in the comments!

Don't miss a single episode! Follow the Everyday Ham Podcast on your favorite podcast platform (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, and more) and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Short show intro audio clip
Short outro audio clip
The Everyday Ham Podcast is hosted by James Mills (K8JKU), Jim Davis (N8JRD), and Rory Locke (W8KNX) – three friends who dive into the world of amateur radio with a casual, lighthearted twist.
Follow us at: Website: https://www.everydayham.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/

Send us a text
A thousand subscribers may be a milestone, but the real win is what it represents: a growing community of hams trading ideas, trying new modes, and pushing for the right to put real antennas on real roofs. We open with momentum—POTA activations, contest firsts, and new video drops—then move straight into the issue shaping the future of the hobby: ARRL’s grassroots effort to pass the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act (HR 1094/S.459). If HOAs block antennas where most new homes are built, fewer operators will get on the air. We explain the stakes, the opposition from CAI, and the surprisingly easy way to send a letter that reaches your representatives in minutes.

We also get practical about life in the shack and on the road. Running 500 to 1,000 watts through contest weekend revealed where filters shine and where they need tuning, and winter prep is now or never—check matches, weatherproof connectors, and tighten your grounding. On the mobile side, an EV install in a Mach‑E delivered clean VHF/UHF performance with smart power routing and a 3D‑printed head mount, plus notes on AM noise under acceleration. If you’ve avoided EVs for RF reasons, this is a reality check rooted in measurements, not myths.

Gear watchers get plenty to chew on. The Icom IC‑7300 Mark II looks set to land around $1,499, squaring up against the Yaesu FTdx10 with modernized I/O and familiar ease of use. But the U.S. government shutdown is delaying FCC certifications across categories, which could push new radio launches past the holidays. Meanwhile, used IC‑7300 prices are compelling, making it a standout first HF rig. We wrap with FlexRadio’s SmartSDR 4.0—meaningful noise‑reduction improvements, a flexible subscription model, and a few early‑release quirks to monitor.

If you care about the bands staying lively and accessible, this conversation matters. Tune in, tell us if you’re backing the ARRL letter, weigh in on 7300 Mark II vs FTdx10, and share your winter station game plan. Subscribe, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and pass this along to a friend who’s antenna‑curious.
Short show intro audio clip
Short outro audio clip
The Everyday Ham Podcast is hosted by James Mills (K8JKU), Jim Davis (N8JRD), and Rory Locke (W8KNX) – three friends who dive into the world of amateur radio with a casual, lighthearted twist.
Follow us at: Website: https://www.everydayham.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/

Send us a text
A better logger doesn't just record contacts—it changes how you operate. We sit down with Sebastián KI2D, creator of Ham2K PoLo, to explore how mobile-first design, tiny UX details, and relentless iteration make portable operating smoother, faster, and less gear-heavy. 
From his journey growing up in Venezuela to building startups in New York—and yes, proposing the Arepa and Olive emojis—Sebastián shares the mindset behind a tool that understands what activators actually do in the field.
Short show intro audio clip
Short outro audio clip
The Everyday Ham Podcast is hosted by James Mills (K8JKU), Jim Davis (N8JRD), and Rory Locke (W8KNX) – three friends who dive into the world of amateur radio with a casual, lighthearted twist.
Follow us at: Website: https://www.everydayham.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/