June 25, 2026 – We talked today about our preferences for coffee. Richard – WA4IWD is clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the group in terms of knowledge and appreciation of a good cup of coffee and he even sent us a link to one of his favorite vendors of coffee and coffee related products, Roastmasters. None of the group members involved in the call today seem to have tried either civet coffee or the less knows Black Ivory Coffee. In terms of radio though, Dayne – K8CHY mentioned that despite the recent changes in allowable power output in the 60 meter band by the FCC in their FCC Report and Order 25-60, it seems many are still exceeding this. It’s hard to tell if this is accurate, but the FCC may soon begin to look into this. The ARRL has published a good article on this.

June 18, 2026 – Dayne – K8CHY pointed out that there had recently been tornado watches issued near his hometown in the mountains of West Virginia. We all considered that this is unusual. A discussion about the benefits of rebooting electronic equipment took place. Its strange that we either resist rebooting equipment when glitches appear or perhaps don’t consider that it might help. Somehow, corporal punishment in schools in the olden days came up. Most of the group are old enough to recall such being common and even having been on the receiving end of it. The consensus was that a ruler to the hands and fingers was almost ubiquitous in those days. Dale – WA4CQG mentioned that he has worked some meteor scatter recently. Yes, we do discuss ham radio topics. Richard – mentioned his good success using Mosquito Dunks to control mosquitos around his property. I bet some others will try it now. John – NK4N explained the stocking of elk in the Smoky Mountains National Park. This program has been a great success. John did mention that the elk can be dangerous though, and recommended caution. Somehow, this brought up the topic of the Elks Club or BPOE. More reading on this topic can be found HERE.

June 11, 2026 – Dale – WA4CQG let us know that he had good look making several 6-meter contact to Western Europe yesterday as well as a couple 2-meter contacts later in the day. He advises us that the seasonal improvement attributable to E-Layer skip has been a contributing factor. We recalled that in the days of analog TV, we were sometimes able to pick up stations from great distances. Logging software was discussed. Some of the members are using Log4OM, some are using Logger32, and so on. The topic of satellite radio came up. Mike – KX4YZ pointed out the YouTube Page of KO4PDI who eats, sleeps, and breathes satellite radio. Some time was spent treating the topic of feral hogs in the U.S. The consensus is that they are damaging and undesirable. A bear report from John – NK4N revealed a case of a bear following a hiker on a trail in the Park. This is a big deal since it is evidence of offensive behavior by the animal. Bob – KD4PK has the General Motors Super Cruise feature on his truck. He explained the benefits including what it will do and what it will not do.

June 4, 2026 – We had a lively discussion today spanning a broad range of topics. As usual, we discussed bears including the one which recently opened a van door in Ashville, NC to steal a lunch bag. It’s just a matter of time until a bruin steals the whole car. Mike – KI4TWBB let us know that Hell, MI is for sale. It seems the price is just north of $600K. John – N4KN confirmed that Smoky Mountain Knife Works is still alive and well in Sevierville, TN. We all know this company for its wide offering of cutlery, but John says they handle much more nowadays. Dale made a brief meteor scatter contact during our meeting. You never know when these will occur! We all lamented the college sports NIL deals that are being made now. The consensus is that this is out of control and without structure. Nick Saban was asked to come and be interviewed by some members of the U.S. Congress this week so it is likely he made some good points.

May 21, 2026 – Bob – KA4PKB introduced us to Musco Sports Lighting which manufactures its products in Muscatine, Iowa. Musco is one of the best knows provider of lighting for sports venues. John – NK4N described how black bears in the National Park are tracked. This wildlife GPS tracking technology provides detailed information that is used by biologists and others to monitor the movements of bears and other wildlife. John was sporting a background picture of a Model A Ford on the Zoom call and we found out from him the image was from Uruguay. It seems that vintage cars, and particularly Model A’s, are quite popular there. Bob – KA4PKB reports that corn is about three inches high now in Iowa. Since our group is so genteel, we often talk about euphemisms. Today the euphemism word of the day is “companionship.”

May 14, 2026 – Bob – KD4PK mentioned that he recently dined with his family at the War Eagle Supper Club atop the new Hilton Graduate Hotel in Auburn. Bob gave us a good report on this experience. We spoke briefly about the bears in The Great Smoky Mountains and Yellowstone. Apparently, Japan has a new solution to their own bear problem with the advent of the Monster Wolf Robot with is reported to scare aware bears. John – NK4N says that bears are definitely sensitive to electric fences which several of our members have experience with. Finally, we remembered the old click-clack telegraph key and American Code used in the old days by railroads.

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