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#Post#: 5757--------------------------------------------------
TGIF Net Transcript 2025-10-10
DIR By: VE3RD
Date: October 12, 2025, 6:52 pm
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[center]TGIF Net Report for October 10, 2025[/center]
Part 1: Net Overview and Participation
[*]Date and Time: October 10, 2025, 8:30 PM EST (0130 UTC,
October 11, 2025), on talk group 31665.
[*]Net Control Station (NCS): Eric, KC8UKB, from Auglaize
County, Ohio.
[*]Format: Directed net with phonetic check-ins, grouped by
short-time, call sign digits (0-3, 4-6, 7-9), and late
check-ins. Emergency traffic accepted via triple break.
[*]Check-Ins: 34 stations total, based on the full
transcription. Breakdown:
[*]Short-Time Check-Ins (18 stations):
[*]KF7TLB
[*]K9FEH
[*]WB3IHY (Joe)
[*]WB3GCK
[*]N9NJS
[*]WC7V
[*]KX4XR
[*]K7BCE
[*]KA3NZT
[*]KE1SBQ
[*]K2OZ
[*]KE4TLC
[*]VE6TLV
[*]69FL/VP5
[*]N9DYO
[*]KF5MG
[*]N4VKF
[*]KF8I (Clint)
[*]Digits 0-3 (1 station):
[*]N1XQX
[*]Digits 4-6 (8 stations):
[*]K4WZV (Robert)
[*]KD4BJA
[*]N4ZWR
[*]N4XV
[*]N4LDB
[*]KF5KHS
[*]KA5OUG
[*]NG5N (Jerry)
[*]Digits 7-9 (10 stations):
[*]KM9Q
[*]KB8KES
[*]WD8KLB
[*]W8AW
[*]NS8G
[*]WD9HGO
[*]KB9LIQ
[*]KE8APO
[*]KD9LOR
[*]KV9Q
[*]K8WF
[*]Late Check-Ins (6 stations):
[*]KW0Z (Steve)
[*]KD9Z
[*]WA1WQC
[*]KB3JQQ
[*]K8NR
[*]N9VYV
[*]WA3Z
[*]KC9SIO
[*]KD2JH
[*]Duration: Approximately 25 minutes (transcription timestamps:
0.00 to ~1521.22 seconds).
[*]Technical Notes: Minor talk group activation issue by WB3IHY,
resolved quickly. Brief internet-related audio drop for K4WZV,
but communication restored. No significant QRM or propagation
issues.
Part 2: Discussion Highlights and Technical Notes
[*]Chosen Topic: “Your amateur radio license as a ticket to
lifelong learning,” with a focus on HF radio usage, including
modes, antennas, amplifiers, and related skills.
[*]Detailed Discussion:
[*]K4WZV (Robert): “HF radio, what do you do with it? There is a
lot you can do with the hobby itself, let alone just HF radio. I
do a lot of different aspects of the different things with HF
radio, finding those exotic stations. I love using amplifiers
and pushing it to the limit. You know, I love using older
amplifiers, you know, the spinning and twisting of the knobs and
all that. I think it’s a huge part of amateur radio, HF. You
know, you don’t need a lot of big money. A lot of people think
you need big antennas and big money to get into HF. You don’t
need that. You can get into HF fairly cheap and enjoy the bands.
But HF is a great thing, and if you have an experience with it,
I suggest going to your clubs, one of your local clubs. All the
clubs have HF’s radio set up there and try it out, or go to the
field days and stuff there. But HF is fantastic.” Later, Robert
added: “Something that I thought I would mention there, and it
might get some more participation going with the net, it’s not
just the aspect of HF and HF radios. What goes with HF and HF
radios? Many other aspects of the hobby go with it, and
learning. You gotta know how to solder, and put together your
antenna connectors, and assemble your antennas, and mount
things, and adjust things, and there’s just so many different
things that go hand-in-hand with playing HF. It’s very
educational, and very good knowledge to learn some of the things
that go along with it there. And it could keep you busy for a
long, long time, believe me. … Everything from building
antennas, to soldering, making jumper cables, different ways of
mounting things, and building antennas, the list goes on and on
and on. So lots of different aspects of playing with HF radios
there.”
[*]KC8UKB (Eric): “I don’t use mine as much as I should, but I
do like it. I like checking into the RV service net 7.191 on 40
meters. I get in on it as quick as I, as much as I can. I’m
using an Alpha Delta fan dipole, and I really like it. It was
recommended to me from KF8I, Clint, and I’m real happy with that
antenna, and I’m happy with my 7100. … Yeah, I, I, that JS8
tweaks my interest. I need to, I need to get on that, ’cause I
like the idea of REG chewing over long distances. I really do. …
There’s just something about building an antenna and getting it
to work.”
[*]WB3IHY (Joe): “The name is Joe, and that’s okay. Call me
anything except late to dinner. So I’m currently using an
IC7300. Before that, I used an IC718, and, but right now I’m
using an IC7200, just there. And the antenna that I use is a
four-element fan dipole with elements for 80 meters, 40 meters.
Let’s see, what do I have? 80, 40, 20, and 10, which, and the
40-meter element also gives me 15 meters on the third harmonic.
So I got the four-element fan dipole stretched between a tree in
the front of the house through a, to a flagpole in the middle,
and then another flagpole in the other corner, and the 75-meter
or the 80-meter element wraps around that pole and goes off to
the, another tree in the backyard. So that’s the HF setup. What
do I do with HF? Well, most of the time it’s a digital mode, and
since I’m so happy with the digital modes here, I attenuate down
FT4 and JSE, which allows keyboard-to-keyboard on an FT8 type of
modulation. So, also you do a JSE and communicate that way. I do
a little bit of voice here and there. It’s, I check into a
couple of nets here and there, and do a little bit of DX, but
most of my time is now spent on FT8 and FT4 and JSE. I have a
lot of fun with it, talk around the world, a lot of interesting
countries, a lot of interesting people, and I’ve always enjoyed
HF.”
[*]WC7V: “I’ve got an ICOM IC-9100. It covers 160 through 70
centimeters. And the only thing that I do differently than some
that have already talked about the subject is I do D-star on
H-F. There’s a net at, I think it’s seven o’clock eastern on
Saturday and 10 o’clock eastern on Sunday. And they announced
their band changes and they go from 80 meters to six meters,
both nets. And they announced the band changes on reflector 30
Charlie on D-star. … I have participated in that net before. My
most exciting contact was in Idaho, from Ohio.”
[*]N4HYK: “I thought it was gonna be a little longer before you
called me. … First of all, I think you’re doing a fine job here,
Eric. I just about forgot what I was gonna say, though. … I’m
from the old school. And when I say old school, I’m talking
about before the 1970s. I realize a lot of operators got into
the hobby after the Seabeast Citizen Band craze during the
1970s. But I got into the hobby before that. … The main thing I
was gonna say was something to pass on. I realize there’s a lot
of shortwave listeners that don’t do H-F, or if they do H-F,
it’s not their main thing. … Okay, for the ones don’t know, and
you too, Eric, if you come over to talk group 117 and try to
catch with my friend WD4KAV, he’s out in Puyallup, Washington
now. You might put this in your QRZ so you don’t forget. WD4KAV,
he loves typing, using the keyboard for QSOs. And of course,
Vyra AC. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Vyra AC. He’s
doing that. He’s doing the program you mentioned, and he’s doing
some other programs. And sometime you may catch him on 31665
here, but I’ll have to give him a text, see how he’s doing. Of
course, I haven’t heard from him in the past two weeks. So I
gotta see if he’s still okay. We lived in the same town of Fort
St. Lucie, Florida, and we both retired approximately the same
time. I’ve moved over to St. Petersburg, Florida, and he and his
wife moved to Puyallup, Washington.”
[*]KW0Z (Steve): “I’m kind of a signal and propagation guy. I
wasn’t ready for the conversational aspect of, say, DMR radio,
but I got started just enjoying building circuits and measuring,
making measurements, seeing waveforms on an oscilloscope. And
what I’ve kind of discovered in my personal journey of growth,
personal growth here, trying to grow on the go in the past six
years, I’ve been licensed since 1992, and I jumped back in about
six years ago. And I’ve done a little HF, done all the various
digital modes for voice. And what I’ve kind of discovered
personally is that I like to build circuits. I like to compare
installations, compare configurations, and so forth. So one
radio’s not enough on 100s. No, one radio’s too many, and 100’s
not enough. It’s through comparing operation on one radio, one
band, one mode versus another that we gain perspective. And
that’s what I really enjoy doing, trying something out and
trying to duplicate it, replicate it somewhere else, and then do
some A and B comparisons and see what works. And I’m not
satisfied until I fix it, ’til it breaks. So like Robert said,
it’s the knobs, it’s the meters, it’s the scope, it’s the
frequency counter, it’s a little bit of everything that makes HF
really a laboratory for experimentation.”
[*]Marketplace: Eric called for buy/sell items, but no specific
transactions were reported.
[*]Announcements and Acknowledgments:
[*]Memorials: Honored EA7KDO (Mitch Savage, silent key), TGIF
Network founder, for his contributions to the network and Next
Gen Screen Hotspot. Also remembered KF6S (James Vallee, silent
key) for PiStar and hotspot development.
[*]TGIF Team:
[*]Ty Weaver (KG5RKI): Coding genius for network functionality.
[*]Andy Nielsen (G7LRR): Dashboard mastermind, maintains DMR
network.
[*]Glenn Allison (N3MEL, retired): Created the international
forum page.
[*]Forum Management: Mark Browns (82CH), Doug Smith (KE5CDK),
Joe Garber (WB3IHY) for supporting newcomers.
[*]Vic Lloyd (VE3JAR): TGIF documentation.
[*]Phil Thompson (VE3RD): Hotspot programming and net recordings
(available at TGIF.network, Forum tab, Net Recording Index).
[*]Robert (K4WZV): Chief engineer, recognized for 24/7 network
operation and community presence.
[*]Community: Eric praised operators for their stories and
friendship, noting the net’s growing strength. Encouraged
suggestions for future topics to keep the net fun and
informative.
[*]Technical Notes:
[*]Antennas: Fan dipoles (Alpha Delta by KC8UKB, four-element by
WB3IHY) highlighted for versatility. Robert emphasized DIY
skills like soldering and mounting.
[*]Modes: Voice, FT8, FT4, JS8, D-STAR, and some CW interest.
DMR talk group 31665 noted for support and troubleshooting.
[*]Equipment: Icom radios (IC-7100, IC-7300, IC-9100) popular.
Older amplifiers valued for tactile experience (K4WZV).
[*]Recordings: Net audio available via TGIF.network (Forum tab),
thanks to VE3RD (Phil).
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