Ham College episode 145 is now available for download.

General Exam Questions Part 6
G2A – Phone operating procedures: USB/LSB conventions, breaking into a contact, transmitter setup for voice operation, answering DX stations.

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This video is part of the Ham College series, specifically episode 145, which focuses on preparing viewers for the Amateur Radio General Class License exam. In this session, the hosts cover Part 6 of the General Question Pool, section G2A related to phone operating procedures.

Throughout the video (0:33-46:54), the presenters walk through several official exam questions, explaining the correct answers and the underlying radio theory or operating etiquette required.

Key topics covered include:

Sideband Conventions: The hosts discuss the standard practices for choosing Upper Sideband (USB) or Lower Sideband (LSB) based on the frequency band in use (14:51-20:06).
Operating Etiquette: They explain the correct procedures for interacting with other hams, such as how to properly break into an existing conversation (29:15-30:42) and how to respond to DX (long-distance) stations effectively (33:43-36:10).
Technical Setup: The discussion touches on proper transmitter configuration, including the use of controls like ALC (Automatic Level Control) for clean voice operation (36:17-37:44).
Standard Practices: Various questions regarding general operating best practices, such as the use of specific terminology and identifying stations (33:43-34:50).
The episode provides a comprehensive review of these specific operational procedures to help students memorize the necessary information for their FCC exam.

Once a month or so, I back up the SSD (Solid State Drive) on my PC. I do both a clone backup and an incremental backup. One clone is saved to another SSD, while a second is saved to a SATA connected drive. The incremental backups are saved to two separate SATA drives.

Why two backups for both the clone and incremental backups, you ask? Redundancy is my answer. Just in case things go really wrong! Yes, I also have an automatic cloud clone and incremental backup.

Anyway, this past month, I was doing a clone backup to the SATA drive. As you can imagine, it takes some time because the drive is nowhere near as fast as an SSD.

Partway through the backup, I needed my PC, and I needed it NOW! As the drive clones from one to another, a progress window appears with a Cancel button. I'd never used the Cancel option before, but this time I decided to give it a try. I cancelled the clone to the SATA drive, everything seemed to go well, and I was able to use my PC for whatever I needed.

The next time I started my PC, a message popped up informing me that drive H was being repaired! There was nothing I could do but sit back, watch, and hope the repair went well. Drive H was the SATA drive that I had been cloning to, and it was the drive I had cancelled the operation on.

Fortunately, everything worked out, and the disk was repaired. Lesson learned! Sometimes things don't work out quite as planned, and I have to learn the hard way.

Having said that, if the drive had not been repairable, it wouldn't have been a problem. It would simply have been replaced with a shiny new SSD! 

Show Notes

Featured Topic:

• r/opensource
  • Your tokens aren’t valuable: No more AI.
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/MS (Reddit)

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    • It’s been ages since we reminded folks about this, but… in case you missed it, we have 2 Minecraft Servers, and we’d love to have you join us.
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Show Notes

Amateur Radio Topics:

• eBay Restricts Listings of Radio Equipment
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/MG (ARRL)
• The Dog Day Radio Amateur Radio Club, KØDOG, is back on the air from the 1st through the 7th of November. 
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/MH (QRZ)
• JTTY: The New Digital Mode for Contesting, Emergency Communications and Preparedness
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/MI (PileUpDX Blog)

Open Source / Linux Topics:

• Linus Torvalds is using AI to develop Linux kernel code now
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/MJ (ZDNet)
• The Best Features Of Linux 7.3: Performance Improvements, Lots From Valve
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/MK (Phoronix)
• Thirteen Apps. One Craft.
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/MR (ArtCraft Apps)

Linux in the Ham Shack Topics:

• SDROxide Releases 1.6.10
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/MN (SDROxide Github)

Github Dumpster Diving:

• Field Day Commander
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/MO (github)
  • Website: https://lhs.fyi/MP (live demo environment)

Announcements & Feedback:

• Announcements:
  • Support the show!  
    • Support us via Patreon, Paypal, Merch, Sharing our presence and the Podcast via Social Media, and Rating Us in your Podcast Application!
  • We need your feedback!
    • Comments, Questions, Show Topic Ideas! Email us at [email protected]
  • Memorial Service for Russ, K5TUX
    • There will be a memorial service held for Russ at our home in Mt. Vernon, Missouri on November 1, 2026.  Everyone is welcome!  If you’d like to join us, please send an email to [email protected] and we’ll send you more info!
    • Facebook event page: https://lhs.fyi/mem
• Feedback:
  • Email from Paul SA7CND
    • Hi there, Really enjoy your show. Inspired by #631, I installed FreeDV (2.4.0-x86_64 AppImage) on my regular Linux Mint 22.3 PC and connected my IC7300. FreeDV connected fine with CAT control, but I found handling the audio connections in and out between program and rig … challenging, to say the least. Every so often the audio device assignments were changed and had to be redone. It may have been after PC suspend or Application restart (or just Alt-Tab?). Only once did I get any output from rig on a short test transmit. I used pavucontrol and the FreeDV audio setup Advanced button to have a chance to set up audio. Linux device names to me are not the most understandable (but that’s just me?). So after fiddling for some time I gave it up - very sorry not to have tested FreeDV in QSOs. The FreeDV samples sounded so good and robust for HF communications. Like to return if the app experience on Linux Mint is stable. My 5c 73 de Paul SA7CND Sweden
  • Email from Don - KB2YSI
    • Cheryl & Bill, I do not see holding to a strict show schedule as being all that important. Better to have flexibility.
  • Email from Gene (BX8AAD)
    • Bill and Cheryl, Just wanted to send a quick note to let you know that I appreciate The Weekender and hope you keep that content coming in some format.  It’s the part of LHS that allows us to get to know you both, and it is that personal touch as much as the technical content that has kept me listening for all these years.  I started listening to LHS early when Richard was co-host, and went back and relistened to all the episodes prior to that first one I listened to.  And of course I keep listening to each episode without fail.  Keep up the good work. 73, Gene (BX8AAD)
  • Email from Bob, K4RFK
    • Hi Bill, Hi Cheryl, Just listening to “The Weekender” #634 and thought I’d comment.  The Weekender was never my favorite eppisodes but I didn’t hate them either.  They were generally OK.  A modified weekender with a variable format sounds fine but dont discard the regular weekender at the risk of show burnout.  Wouldn’t want to see you folks go away. Here is something to check out for a show subject.  ContestLogX. Just found this contest logger for Linux and it looks really good even though it’s still in beta. I found this just before the PA QSO Party and decided to give it a go.  It worked great, no problems whatsoever.  I emailed Steve and asked for one or two changes in the UI and hemade them that same day.  Give it a try and see what you think.  Might be good for a show. Steve N9OH is a contester and the developer.
  • Email from Luca LUC4N3X
    • Hi Linux in the Ham Shack team, I’m Luca, an independent developer from Italy and the creator of Levyra, a GPL-3.0 music player for Android and Windows. Your show regularly mixes Linux, open-source software and practical technology, so I thought Levyra might be worth putting in front of your listeners. It combines local music and online playback while keeping the project fully open source, with no mandatory Levyra account, no ads and no analytics/tracking. Android is built with Kotlin, Jetpack Compose and Media3; Windows uses Compose Multiplatform and libVLC. If it looks interesting, feel free to try it, discuss it or pass it along to listeners who like discovering open-source projects. This isn’t sponsored and an honest critical take is absolutely welcome. Thanks, Luca LUC4N3X
    • Github: https://lhs.fyi/MQ
  • Discord comment from Justin AB3E
    • Regarding the question of the utility of the weekenders on the most recent episode, I think they could be retired now because you both give life updates at the beginning of the episode now. I like that, and I liked the weekenders for what it’s worth
  • Discord comment from G7VRI - JonTheNiceGuy
    • I agree, I prefer the “what’s going on in our lives” section. I didn’t dislike the Weekender, but it didn’t quite gel for me.

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AmateurLogic.TV Episode 221 is now available for download.

In this episode we celebrate 21 years of AmateurLogic.TV. Bill Brown’s Huntsville Balloon Forum and launch. Emile talks about his GMRS station. Tommy explores mesh devices with very low power usage. Mike reveals Moon and Mars exploration milestones. Will RADE replace SSB?
The Icom ID-5200 grand prize award drawing and winner announcement and more.

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YouTube

Key Segments and Highlights:
WSJTX “Jitty” Mode: Mike discusses the new JTTY (Jitty) digital mode within the WSJTX software, comparing it to older modes like PSK31 and its capability for weak signal communication (9:19 – 13:00).
Mesh Networking Power Comparison: Tommy presents a technical look at Meshtastic and Mesh Core devices, specifically testing the power consumption of ESP32 versus NRF chipset-based boards in low-power modes (13:13 – 27:55).
Space Exploration News: Mike covers updates on NASA’s Artemis program and milestones regarding the Perseverance rover’s travel on Mars (28:14 – 30:25).
GMRS and Station Setup: Emile discusses his GMRS station setup and the ongoing topic of antenna installation (30:25 – 45:30).
Radar Rally: A brief announcement about the upcoming Radar (Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio) event scheduled for November 7th, 2026 (45:31 – 48:15).
Huntsville Hamfest Balloon Forum: A feature segment covering Bill Brown’s presentation on Pico balloons and the subsequent launch at the Huntsville Hamfest (48:15 – 1:06:58).
RAID/FreeDV Voice Mode: The hosts explore the potential of RAID (Radio Authenticoder), a new digital voice mode that aims to offer efficient, natural-sounding communication on HF (1:07:00 – 1:14:30).
Icom ID-5200A Giveaway: The hosts announce the grand prize winner of the Icom ID-5200A transceiver contest, Stan Carter (K5JNT)