CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR SPECIAL STATION, MY EXPERIENCE

by John Moorhead (KE6JEM)

I’m what I refer to as a “new-old ham”, having been licensed originally in 1968 for a few years, but then I had to give it up due to intense college studies and later work commitments. I set a bucket list item last year in my retirement and re-gained my license on Christmas Day and received my vanity call a few weeks later. I was a member of the Silverado Amateur Radio Society in Napa back in the day, and attended my first SFARC meeting in February of this year. Many thanks to Brian (AI6US) for sending me a nice QSL card for the first QSO with my new callsign! I have never attended or participated in Field Day and wanted to very much this year for my first time, but I had to be at my ranch in Napa County on Field Day this year to monitor several infrastructure projects. I did get some listening time in though, and heard several CQ sessions taking place in the Bay Area and learned about the special call sequence which is used on Field Day to convey the transmitter count, type of station, and the ARRL sectional region. As I have slowly gotten over “mic fright” (I was a strictly CW operator back in the late 60’s) I have gotten a bit bolder and have chatted in the morning Coffee Chat Net several times, and wanted to participate in some type of contest or event. But I have a lot of hobbies and manage the family ranch property so it is hard for me to devote a lot of time to ham radio although I am making the effort.

When the opportunity to operate and greet the public at the California State Fair came up as special station K6C, I jumped on it. Admittedly another incentive was that I would get a free pass to the Fair as a participant – I had not been to the Fair in several years and wanted to check it out. Due to other time commitments, I could only participate for 1 4-hour shift of one day of the Fair – the first two hours as an operator, and the second two as a booth greeter. I signed up for Wednesday July 22nd. This year the Fair opened up for the public at 4:00pm during weekdays, and there was a question about whether I would be allowed on the grounds before then. Getting the proper parking stub and Fair pass was a bit of a challenge – I ended up driving to ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Manager Jay Ballinger’s (N6SAC) house and picking them up a couple days before. I had almost bailed out of the whole event due to concerns about parking (I have a disabled sticker) and the timing relative to Fair gate access, but Jay encouraged me to give it a try, and I’m very glad he convinced me to participate! I also submitted the required information to the State to be validated against the Megan’s Law list as part of the standard public safety procedure.

Jay had been concerned that I might not be able to access the grounds until about a half hour before it opened to the public at 4:00pm, but I decided to try at 1:30PM and had no problems. The special parking area for participants was located just below the levy adjacent to the animal barn, with Building C being just next to that – not too far for me to walk with my cane. Another concern was whether they would allow a backpack with electronics taken inside, but there was no check. My parking stub and Fair participant ticket were sufficient to be let in without any questions. I was able to pack my Kenwood HT, spare battery, coax adapters and some miscellaneous items including a bunch of SFARC stickers and a patch in my backpack and walked right into Building C. Nobody was in the booth and the building was very quiet, so I just set up, connected the HT to the external antenna and started calling CQ using the special call station ID K6C. I started out on the standard POTA frequency, but after a couple contacts there with no follow-up I decided to just hop around the repeaters I have programmed into the rig. I made contacts all over the area on 2 meters including Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Roseville, Elk Grove, West Sacramento, EL Dorado Hills, and Folsom. At one point I made contact with NZ6Q, John Litz, who is the ARRL Pacific Division Director. It turned out he was driving up to the event and was between Stockton and Lodi. I had 5-9 signals on all contacts, and all contacts reported my signal as being very strong. I was using the 2-watt setting on the rig – not even using full power. Congratulations go to the team led by Jay earlier in the previous week who had set up the rooftop antenna as it had excellent coverage. At about 3:30, Dr. Carol Millazo (KP4MD) (our ARRL Pacific Division Vice Director) arrived, and John Litz arrived shortly after. Another ham who I didn’t get the name of also was present that day in the booth; he was an area ARES volunteer. As my operating time ended at 4:00, I switched to greeting the public. It took a while for the public at large to start filtering into the building, but we eventually did have several families with young children who stopped by and asked a lot of questions. John was especially helpful at engaging them in conversation. We had several fact sheets they could take home, among them a list of the local clubs in the area that I had printed up. One fun activity was a Morse code key and oscillator set up with a sheet that showed the code for each letter; the kids were encouraged to write out their first names in code and then use the key to send it. This proved quite a popular activity and got them engaged. It was an honor to work the booth with two of the ARRL representatives for our area.

Although I did not see him on the day I was there, a friend of mine, Bill Shocknesse (N6NA), was apparently there at the beginning of the Fair and was communicating with the satellite. Our own club’s recently joined young member Maxim had been there on the first weekend and apparently made several contacts on 40 meters.

I had a good time operating and greeting the public, and will try to participate again next year. I encourage more of our club members to come out and participate as well.

Is Broadcast Radio Dead?

It’s complicated, and it starts with relevance.
by Smitty (WB1G)

Having spent 15 years working in radio, in front of and behind the microphone, I am passionate about this topic. So the best place to start is whether radio is still relevant. The simple answer is yes, but limited to a demographic that is aging out. The primary radio advertising “buying demo” is adults 25–54. As Gen Xers get older and head into retirement, spending becomes more calculated. Broadcast radio remains dominant in vehicles, with AM/FM representing over 70% of ad-supported in-car listening among the upper end of the demographic. Radio remains a strong reach medium, but it is no longer the center of people’s audio lives. The key is the “upper end of the demographic”.

What’s In A Name?
Ask your kids or grandkids what their favorite radio station is and who their favorite DJ is. Among ages 13–24, over-the-air radio accounts for roughly 16% of total audio time. Only 10% of ages 13–17 and 5% of ages 18–24 identify AM/FM as their primary source for discovering music (from Radio World and Radio Ink).

Plenty of under-25s “hear radio”, often in a parent’s car, workplace, or shared setting, but that doesn’t mean they intentionally selected the station, know its call letters or frequency, or could name it when asked. In advertisers’ eyes, that is not good.

What about AM radio?
According to Edison Research, AM radio is in a substantially weaker position with people under 25 than FM radio. Current national studies generally combine AM and FM, so there is no credible published percentage showing how many under-25s can name an AM station. AM isn’t dead as a distribution system, but among younger listeners it has a serious brand awareness and intentional-use problem that makes ad monetization challenging beyond radio’s broader challenge. Large antenna systems and towers require substantial land, ground radials, and specialized maintenance, which makes AM cost prohibitive in many markets. A National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations survey of more than 1,000 AM stations found that over 70% of AM radio stations on the air today have an FM simulcast.

Looking into the crystal ball, how much time do we have left? In the United States, FM radio likely has at least another 20 years as a meaningful broadcast service; however, that doesn’t indicate profitability. Among existing radio fans surveyed by Jacobs Media, broadcast delivery fell from 85% of station listening in 2013 to 54% in 2026. Digital delivery rose from 14% to 44%; among Gen Z, digital has already slightly passed broadcast. The greater near-term risk isn’t that the FM band is switched off. It’s that individual stations become economically unsustainable, further consolidate, reduce local programming or operate mainly as automated extensions of digital brands. To be frank, this has already been happening for the last 20 years.

So where does that leave us?
I’m sorry to say, when Gen Xers and early Millennials age out, broadcast radio will become more niche and background noise.

INTERACTIVE BAND PLAN

The ARRL band plan is a PDF you squint at, scroll through, and eventually give up on. The following is the same information made usable and interactive.

Search a frequency or a mode and jump straight to it. Filter by license class to see exactly where your privileges begin and end. Every segment is color-coded by mode, so you can tell at a glance whether you’re about to call CQ in the middle of the digital watering hole.

Covers 2200 meters through microwave. Works on your phone in the field, on your laptop at the operating desk, and in color-blind-friendly and light modes.

A band plan is a voluntary agreement among operators to keep incompatible modes out of each other’s way. It is not the law, Part 97 is. Always check current FCC rules before transmitting.

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WHAT IS FIVE NINE (5 9) AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The R-S-T system is used by amateur radio operators, shortwave listeners, and other radio hobbyists to exchange information about the quality of a radio signal being received. The code is a three-digit number, with one digit each for conveying an assessment of the signal’s readability, strength, and tone. The code was developed in 1934 by amateur radio operator Arthur W. Braaten, W2BSR.

The R stands for “Readability“. Readability is a qualitative assessment of how easy or difficult it is to correctly copy the information being sent during the transmission. In a Morse code telegraphy transmission, readability refers to how easy or difficult it is to distinguish each of the characters in the text of the message being sent; in a voice transmission, readability refers to how easy or difficult it is for each spoken word to be understood correctly. “Readability” is measured on a scale of 1 to 5.

The S stands for “Strength“. Strength is an assessment of how powerful the received signal is at the receiving location. Although an accurate signal strength meter can determine a quantitative value for signal strength, in practice, this portion of the RST code is a qualitative assessment, often made based on the S meter of the radio receiver at the location of signal reception. “Strength” is measured on a scale of 1 to 9.

The T stands for “Tone” and is measured on a scale of 1 to 9. Tone only pertains to Morse code and other digital transmission modes and is therefore omitted during voice operations. With modern technology, imperfections in the quality of transmitters’ digital modulation severe enough to be detected by human ears are rare.

Understanding RFI

RFI happens when electromagnetic signals from one device disrupt the normal operation of another. These signals can be intentional (like a radio transmitter) or accidental (like electrical noise).

Common Sources Include:
– Cell Phones & Wi-Fi Routers
– Power Lines & Electrical Motors
– LED Lights & Switching Power Supplies
– Computers, Monitors, USB cables
– Vehicle Ignition Systems
– Radio/TV Transmitters
– EV Car Chargers
– Solar Inverters

Interference occurs when unwanted radio-frequency signals disrupt the use of your television, radio, or cordless telephone. Interference may prevent reception altogether, cause only a temporary loss of signal, or affect the quality of the sound or picture produced by your equipment.

How Can I Reduce It?
– Shielding (metal enclosures, braided cables)
– Filtering (ferrite beads, line filters)
– Better grounding
– Physical separation between noisy and sensitive devices
– Good cable routing and design

Sometimes you can take all of the above steps and STILL have RFI issues.  When in doubt, check out additional resources from the American Radio Relay League or file a report with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

22 Things You Can Do With Ham Radio

Somewhere above your head, right now, there’s a satellite you could talk through. There’s a balloon sending back weather data. There’s a stranger in Japan who’d be delighted to hear from you.

Amateur radio — ham radio — is the hobby that gets you there. You build the gear, you make the contact, you keep talking when the internet quits. No subscription, no algorithm, no waiting for permission. Just you, an antenna, and everything the sky will carry.

Here are 22 places to start.

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