brainwagon

Like nearly everyone in the Bay Area, I spend too much time in my car, and one of the ways that I endure it is by listening to a lot of podcasts. Most of these are technical in nature, and in particular, I’ve sampled most of the ham radio podcasts out there. One of the primary sources of news is the Amateur Radio Newsline, and most weeks, I download it and listen to it.

And increasingly, every time I do, I shake my head and wonder why I am bothering.

Here’s the thing: it’s hardly got any amateur radio content on it at all.

Seriously. Go download any audio transcript, and try to find an actual story that contains something that actually enhances your enjoyment of amateur radio.

Let’s see how long it takes this week’s episode to get to a story that’s actually about ham radio:

• News about the earthquake in Turkey. Yep, they had an earthquake. TRAC, the Turkish amateur radio society is helping out, Other than just saying that amateurs should stay off specific emergency frequencies if they are in use, no hint about anything any radio amateur can do. No names. No place to send donations. No mobilizations.
• The FCC approved a set of new BPL rules, which don’t protect amateur frequencies from harmful interference. Might be interesting to people out there, but again, nobody to contact, no call to action, no names.
• The FCC is going to have a national EAS test. Nothing to do with amateur radio.
• Lots of intruders on 10m. Yes, illegal operators abound, particularly on 10m, and now that it is heating up, we’re hearing them. Is this news?
• The National Capital Radio & Television Museum needs some space. Sounds like a fun place. Rather than talk about it, the story was mostly about their increasing lack of space and lack of handicapped access.
• Odessa, Texas is considering a no-texting law. Yeah, hams get all upset when any law that might remotely keep them from operating mobile seems possible, but it’s not clear that this law applies to hams. My guess is: it doesn’t.
• Enforcement actions. This is what annoys me absolutely the most about Amateur Radio Newsline. In every single episode, and sometimes even more than once, they take time to run essentially the same story over and over again (this week, there were enforcement actions against people in San Francisco and Florida):
  • Somebody was operating an unlicensed radio transmitter, most often which interferes with traditional broadcasters or police, fire, or other public safety services.
  • Said person is tracked down, and is found by the FCC to have been naughty.
  • The FCC fines them some amount (ten thousand dollars is typical), and gives them the customary 30 days to appeal.
  • This blogger dies a little inside.

  Here’s the thing: I don’t care. I can’t imagine that anyone cares. Operating an illegal transmitter is, well, illegal, but it has nothing to do with amateur radio. If I never hear the terms “notice of apparent liability” or “customary 30 days to either pay the fine, or file an appeal”, it will be too soon.

• Gasp! Something actually ham radio related! A new 10m Digital Net! Huzzah!

We made it almost to the second break before we got something which might actually enhance your enjoyment of amateur radio.

Okay, I ranted enough: if you’ve made it this far, you deserve to have something nice tossed your way. Instead of listening to Amateur Radio Newsline, check out Martin and Colin’s ICQ Podcast. A father/son team, this good natured duo of hams from the UK pack together news, a feature, and typically propagation report or some other guest into each bi-weekly episode. Ham radio news, gathered and distributed by hams. I like it.