AD4EB

Episode 537 – Jim Hall – AD4EB

Jim Hall, AD4EB, discovered radio as a young shortwave listener and builder, then turned a lifetime of engineering, CW, RTTY, and contesting into one of amateur radio’s most demanding operating specialties: mobile QSO party contesting. In this episode, Jim shares how his early Heathkit projects, teletype machines, and work with HAL Devices led him deeper into electronics and ham radio, and how he now combines two-radio contesting, station automation, careful route planning, and the steady driving support of his wife, Melody, to win state QSO parties from the road. AD4EB’s story is a fascinating look at skill, preparation, partnership, and the pure fun of chasing pileups county by county.

Show Notes

Sponsor Transcription

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People

Ted, W4NZ — Tennessee Contest Group mobile contest operator mentioned by AD4EB — https://www.qrz.com/db/W4NZ
Don, N4ZZ — Contest operator and AD4EB mobile contesting partner — https://www.qrz.com/db/N4ZZ
Ryan, AC4NK — Newer CW operator who joined AD4EB for mobile contesting — https://www.qrz.com/db/AC4NK
Russ, K2UA — APRS Live QSO Party Tracker promoter mentioned by AD4EB — https://www.qrz.com/db/K2UA

Places

Tennessee — State central to AD4EB’s mobile contesting and QSO party activity — https://tnqp.org/
Florida — State whose QSO party was discussed as a mobile contesting target — https://floridaqsoparty.org/
Kentucky — State whose QSO party AD4EB operated with AC4NK — https://kyqsoparty.org/
New England — Region whose combined QSO party was discussed — https://neqp.org/rules/
Dayton Hamvention — Major amateur radio convention where Contest University is held — https://hamvention.org/

Organizations

ARRL — U.S. national association for amateur radio — https://www.arrl.org/
Tennessee Contest Group — Amateur radio contesting club mentioned by AD4EB — https://k4tcg.org/
CWops CW Academy — CW training program mentioned by AD4EB — https://cwops.org/cw-academy/
QRZ.com — Amateur radio callsign database mentioned for contact lookup — https://www.qrz.com/db/
FCC — U.S. licensing database source mentioned for local amateur operators — https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service
AMSAT — Amateur satellite radio organization relevant to satellite communication mentioned — https://www.amsat.org/

Equipment

Heathkit GR-64 — Shortwave receiver built and used by AD4EB as a youth — https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/heath_gr_64.html
Heathkit HW-16 — CW transceiver identified as AD4EB’s first rig — https://www.rigpix.com/heathkit/hw16.htm
Drake TR-4 — Transceiver used by AD4EB’s teacher for an early SSB QSO — https://www.rigpix.com/drake/tr4.htm
Yaesu FTdx-100 — Early Yaesu HF transceiver owned by AD4EB — https://www.rigpix.com/yaesu/ftdx100.htm
Ten-Tec Omni VI Plus — HF transceiver owned by AD4EB — https://www.rigpix.com/tentec/omniviplus.htm
Icom IC-756PROIII — Icom HF/6-meter transceiver owned by AD4EB — https://www.rigpix.com/icom/ic756proiii.htm
Icom IC-7600 — Icom HF/6-meter transceiver owned by AD4EB — https://www.rigpix.com/icom/ic7600.htm
Icom IC-7610 — Dual-receive HF/50 MHz transceiver used by AD4EB — https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/
Icom IC-706 — Mobile transceiver AD4EB mentioned using in a car — https://www.rigpix.com/icom/ic706.htm
HAL ST-5 — RTTY demodulator kit AD4EB serviced at HAL Devices — https://www.navy-radio.com/rtty/hal.htm
Model 19 Teletype — Teleprinter AD4EB used for radio teletype reception — https://www.radioblvd.com/rtty_teletype.htm
SteppIR antennas — Tunable antennas used in AD4EB’s SO2R station — https://consumer.steppir.com/
Band-pass filters — Filters used to reduce interference between contest radios — https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/tis/info/pdf/9902038.pdf

Modes & Bands

CW — Morse-code mode central to AD4EB’s contesting — https://cwops.org/cw-academy/
RTTY — Radio teletype mode used by AD4EB and in contests — https://www.arrl.org/rtty-roundup
PSK31 — Digital mode mentioned as “PSK32” in the transcript — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSK31
Single sideband — Voice mode used in AD4EB’s early ham radio exposure — https://www.arrl.org/single-sideband
SO2R — Single operator, two-radio contest operating method used by AD4EB — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_operator_two_radios
SO2V — Single operator, two-VFO operating method mentioned for mobile contesting — https://n1mmwp.hamdocs.com/manual-windows/entrywindow/#so2v-mode
2BSIQ — Two-band synchronized interleaved QSO contesting technique — https://www.qsl.net/ct1boh/2bsiq/
APRS — Position-reporting system used for live QSO party tracking — https://www.aprs.org/
Satellite communication — Amateur satellite operating mentioned by AD4EB — https://www.amsat.org/
Meteor scatter — VHF propagation mode mentioned by AD4EB — https://www.arrl.org/files/file/QST%2520Binaries/nt0z.pdf
Moonbounce — Earth-Moon-Earth communication mentioned by AD4EB — https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/ham_radio/amateur-propagation/moonbounce-propagation-eme.php#google_vignette
POTA — Parks on the Air activity discussed with QSO parties — https://pota.app/

Awards & Operating Activities

Tennessee QSO Party — State QSO party where AD4EB began mobile contesting — https://tnqp.org/
Florida QSO Party — State QSO party discussed for AD4EB’s mobile strategy — https://floridaqsoparty.org/
Kentucky QSO Party — State QSO party AD4EB operated with AC4NK — https://kyqsoparty.org/
New England QSO Party — Regional QSO party mentioned as a combined-state example — https://neqp.org/rules/
ARRL Field Day — Annual operating event discussed as a club outreach activity — https://www.arrl.org/field-day
QSL cards — Contact confirmation cards collected by AD4EB as a youth — https://www.arrl.org/qsl-service
Logbook of The World — Electronic QSL system listed on AD4EB’s QRZ page — https://lotw.arrl.org/lotw-help/
Cabrillo logs — Contest log format mentioned for QSO party submissions — https://wwrof.org/cabrillo/
DX — Long-distance contacts mentioned in AD4EB’s contesting history — https://www.arrl.org/dxcc
County hunting — Operating goal tied to QSO parties and mobile contesting — https://countyhunter.com/

Software & Publications

N1MM Logger Plus — Contest logging software AD4EB credits for contesting involvement — https://n1mmwp.hamdocs.com/
Node-RED — Automation tool AD4EB uses for SO2R station control — https://nodered.org/
AutoHotkey — Keyboard automation software AD4EB uses for contest operating efficiency — https://www.autohotkey.com/
Google Earth — Mapping tool AD4EB uses for route planning — https://earth.google.com/web/
National Contest Journal — Contesting publication whose article about AD4EB was mentioned — https://ncjweb.com/
Contest University — Contesting conference and training event mentioned in the episode — https://www.contestuniversity.com/
Ham Radio Workbench Podcast — Technical amateur radio podcast mentioned in the episode — https://www.hamradioworkbench.com/

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