Ham Radio Workbench Podcast

In this episode we meet Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, the new president of AMSAT, the amatuer radio satellite organization.  Drew shares his passion for satellite and operating VHF and up.  With over 20 years of experience at AMSAT, Drew became the new President of AMSAT in late 2025.  Drew and his team of volunteers work tirelessly to advocate for amateur radio satellite interests, build and manage sa...

Mike VA3MW and I will be at Ham Radio Friedrichshafen this year.  I will be demonstrating our new iShareRadio service in the Flex Radio booth.  Stop by and say hello ! George KJ6VU

In this episode we take a deep dive into Hamvention 2026.  What we did, who we met, what great products we found and more.  At the end we also share our thoughts in preparation for Field Day 2026.  

In this episode we catch up with Randy, K7AGE, and talk about great gadgets for the ham shack.  Randy is a popular YouTuber and very active ham radio operator.  Randy has found some great goodies we would all like in our shack.  Grab your wallet and hover your finger over the buy button in this episode.  

In this episode we meet Lynn Hansen, KU7Q, owner of Lynovation, makers of innovative ham radio control accessories.  Lynn's clever design of remote VFO and control panels for many different models of ham radio gear from all the big radio suppliers is wildly popular.   A lifelong builder and home brewer, now retired from a career working in operations management for the electrical grid, Lynn can no...

In this episode we meet Conrad Trautmann, N2YCH, Technical Editor at the ARRL.  Conrad had a distinguished career as a broadcast engineering executive and now works for the ARRL and is responsible for techincal content in QST and other publications.  Conrad's extensive experience in electronics, radio, antenna systems, station construction and management gives him a great perspective on everything...

In this episode we meet Andy, N0APX, one of the key people behind the amazing logging software called World Radio League.  Andy tells us all about WRL and the future of contact logging and building ham radio community.

In this episode we talk about portable HF antennas for POTA / SOTA / travel and general operating in the great outdoors !  The HRWB team is very active in portable operating.  We all have our favorite antennas and provide advice for the ham radio operator new to portable operating.  

In this episode we meet Aaron, AE0LZ, owner of Modern Morse, a manufacturer of portable morse code keys.  Aaron is professional mechanical design, precision CNC programming and machining, and a very creative guy.  Modern Morse keys are popular for POTA, SOTA, travel and anytime you want a portable high quality CW key.  Aaron shares his journey through the design and manufacturing process for makin...

In this episode we meet Don WB9CYY and Bob WO6W.  Both avid CW operators with a love of the old style mechanical "bug" radio telegraph keys.  Feeling that the existing CW paddles and keyers sent code that was too highly accurate and lacked any sort of personality, they came up with a very novel way make a modern paddle sound like a bug.  As an introduction we talk about the differnet paddle and ke...

In this episode we meet Paul Wesling, KM6LH, a Silicon Valley veteran and a chronicler of it's history and the ham radio operators who shaped it.  Paul tells us about some of the key figures from William Eitel and Jack McCullough (EiMac) to Charles Litton (Litton Industries), Steve Wozniak (Apple).  The valley has been a fertile ground for invention and engineering for over 100 years.  Paul walks...

In this episode, Grayson Evans, KJ7UM, joins us again to talk about designing and building ham radio gear with tubes, or as he refers to them: thermatrons.  Grayson is the author of Hollow-State Design, a book all about tube-type radio equipment.  Grayson also provides basic tube radio kits. Grayson is a great mentor and shares his love for all things thermatron !

In this episode we meet Sebastian Delmont, KI2D, the author of the wildly popular portable logging software Ham2K PoLo (Portable Logger).  Sebastian has a passion for portable operating and has built a very modern, feature rich logging application that runs on cell phones and tablets.  The application started out focusing on the portable op doing SOTA and POTA.  He has added many features includin...

In this episode, our very own Paul Braun, WD9GCO, our show announcer, becomes the special guest.  Paul tells us all about his big POTA rove and how he operated HF remotely from a cruise ship. This show also features a large crowd of regulars with an extended workbench segment.  

In this episode we meet Hans Summers, founder of QRP Labs, the makers of the wildly popular QCX, QDX and other great portable HF QRP radios.  Hans tells about his journey through the design process and all details on his latest creation the QMX multi-band transceiver.

In this episode we meet David Gleason, NR9V, who makes radio interface devices to connect to AllStar and other Radio Over IP applications.  We introduce you to AllStar, talk about some of the technical details of the system, and explore the pros and cons of digital voice CODECs.  David's company AllScan offers a veriety of radio interfaces, computers and accessories.

In this episode we talk about our workbench projects AND take a deep dive into gift recommendations for your favorite ham.  Topics include gifts for the workbench, the shack, portable operations and stocking stuffers. Warm up your wallet !  

In this episode we meet Paul, KI7ADC, and Raoul, W7RPS, both avid users of the Icom IC-905 VHF/UHF/SHF radio.  We talk about what attracted them to operate on the microwave bands and what it took to get their portable stations all set up.  Paul and Raoul live in the Portland metro area and have had experience on the ground and mountain topping with the IC-905.  They have explored using SSB, FM, D-...

In this episode we meet Richard Dillman, W6AWO, one of the key people responsible for putting historical shore station KPH back on the air.  In this fascinating interview, Richard tells us about the history of KPH, when it was decomissioned and his efforts to put the station back on the air.  This project is managed by the Maritime Radio Historical Society.  Today KPH is on the air using commercia...

In this episode we meet Tony, K1KP, the developer of polar modulation that is being used in the new Flex Radio Aurora radio.  Polar modulation is a technology breakthrough that allows Flex Radio to make an integrated 500 watt HF/6m transciever, power supply and antenna tuner in a small light weight package.  With better than 80% efficiency, the Aurora produces less heat, consumes less power and is...

In this episode we meet Keith Elliott, W6KME, from the Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club.  Keith has been ordanizing the club's Field Day event for the past 5 years and has learned a lot about how to set up a very large, multi-transmitter station.  Keith shares both the technical tips and tricks as well as management ideas to make everything run smoothly.  Running a class 24A station, the Conejo Va...

In this episode, we meet Simon Wilton, G7HCD / VA3SII, a prolific designer, tinkerer and ham radio operator.  Simon describes some of his projects including 3D brackets for radio control heads and his design tools of choice.  Simon is also the originator of the phrase "Good after-evening-noon" often heard on our show.

In this episode our good friend Pat Hensley, W5WTH, joins us to talk about his latest super creative electronics projects and his design process.  Pat comes up with some of the coolest ham radio projects as he explores the world of electronics and microcontrollers.   From his software that makes a modern Flex Radio sound like an old unstable tube radio from the 50's to his beer can CW key, Pat com...

In this episode we talk with Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, the host of the popular QSO Today Podcast.  Eric has produced over 500 interviews with interesting and influential amateur radio operators creating an amazing repository of ham radio history.  Eric's body of work informs, entertains and inspires us while we all create our own ham radio journey.  Eric's work is a valuable gift to the amateur radio comm...

In this episode, our very own Vince, VE6LK, walks us through the process of figuring out how to build your go kit.  Whether your are building a kit for mission critical emergency communications or casual field operating, Vince has practical advice about how to approach the process highlighting how defining your goals up front can help guide you to a successful build.