Wishing you all health and Happiness in the new year!
73- From the folks at UpstateHam.com
We were sad to recently hear that John Bartscherer, N1GNV, better known in the amateur radio community as John Bee, owner of Quicksilver Radio Products, passed away on October 23rd, 2025.
John was a familiar face at hamfests around Upstate NY as well as up and down the East Coast. His store, Quicksilver Radio Products had an online presense as well for over twenty years. John sold parts, accessories and cables for radio equipment, many of which John made himself. Online memorials to John mention that prior to starting Quicksilver Radio Products, John was the QST Advertising Manager for many years.
We bought a lot of "stuff" from John over the years. I remember him encouraging me to adopt Power pole connectors early in my "hammy carreer". I went on to buy crimpers, connectors and cable fom him at shows and online. He was always a very pleasant guy to talk to!
John is survived by his children, Elizabeth and Jay, and his brother Michael. According to the QSR website they are NOT closing and have re-organized. They are open for business as of this writing and planning on being at Hamfests in 2026.
https://www.qsradio.com/index.html
UPDATE 1/15/26 (just got this note from QSR's new owner)
|
|
First Upstate NY Hamfest of the year!
( misc. notes from the SWLing.com Post; www.SWLing.com)
Marion’s Attic will be spinning upbeat, “Christmas Light”, 78 rpm Christmas records. That will be show number 1,022, airs Sunday, December 14th, at 2200 UTC, on WBCQ 7.490 MHz.
The following Sunday, December 21st, we will be airing show number 980, featuring “Traditional” Christmas music, from the collection of phonograph expert, Baron von Knight.
Show 980 did not air last year, due to transmitter difficulties, and a web server glitch. We are pleased to air this fine program this Christmas season.
Lovingly,
Marion Webster
Marion’s Attic
WBCQ, the Planet
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allan Roe's holiday shortwave list:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radio Igloo's Christmas programme
Sunday, December 14, Radio Igloo will be on air with our brand new Christmas programme. Tune in to 1620 kHz (or a nearby free frequency) at 20:00 CET (19:00 UTC).
Radio Igloo´s Christmas Show will also be transmitted on December 21 at 17.00 UTC on 6195 kHz with the help of Real Mix Radio in Finland
We will be playing Christmas songs that you don't hear every day on other radio stations or in large supermarkets. We will also talk a bit about special (strange?) Swedish Christmas traditions.
As always, correct reports, preferably with an audio clip of your reception, will be rewarded with our brand new e-QSL.
Contact: radioigloo@gmail.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Could we possibly hear Christmas Carols broadcasting from Antarctica on Christmas Eve this year?. The transmissions on 7995 kHz USB usually begin on Christmas eve, coordinated by McMurdo Communications Operations, also known as “The Voice of Antarctica.”
Each year, the station’s residents celebrate the holiday by singing Christmas Carols to those at remote Antarctic field camps. Participation will be from stations scattered throughout the Antarctic continent. Stay tuned!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings all SWLing Post community, here’s what the Imaginary Stations crew have for you next week. We’ve two shows celebrating the forth coming holiday period with a series of shows called WNTR, the first via shortwaveradio.de on Saturday 13th December 2025 at 1200 hrs UTC and then again on Sunday 14th December 2025 at 1000/1400 hrs UTC on 3975 kHz and 6160 kHz and 2200 UTC on 3975 kHz. Tune in and listen to the more eclectic side of yuletide/winter solstice programming featuring festive delights including holiday tunes, an eggnog recipe without using any eggs, a load of singing Santa’s in the studio, and we’ll be turning on the Plummet Mall Christmas lights live on shortwave (* All subject to availability of course).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any suggestions of SWL during the holidays? email us: UpstateHam@gmail.com
Operators/Monitors Wanted for Meteor Scatter QSO Party December 12-13
HamSCI — the Ham Radio Citizen Science Investigation program — is looking for “ping jockeys,” or ham radio operators who enjoy making contacts via meteor scatter (MS), to take part in its Meteor Scatter QSO Party during the Geminids meteor shower on December 12 and 13, 2025. Operation will take place on the 10-meter and 6-meter bands only (28.145 and 50.260 MHz), using the MSK144 digital protocol. The event is a combination on-air contest and data collection for what HamSCI describes as an experiment “to analyze the feasibility of HF meteor scatter for future scientific research.”
HamSCI pointed out that little research has been done on 10-meter meteor scatter, due to past symbol rate limits imposed by the FCC. Those limits were removed in early 2024.
The group is looking for both active operators (seeking and making contacts) and passive monitors, recording .WAV files of MS contacts and uploading them to PSK Reporter. Researchers will collect contact data from both 10 and 6 meters and will analyze that data offline, using PSK Reporter raw data, operator contact logs and .WAV files.
HamSCI says the best operating times will be between 8 PM and 8 AM local time, and suggests announcing CQs on “Ping Jockey Central” (especially for 10 meters) and the groups.io page of the Front Range Six Meter Group (especially for 6 meters).
For more information, including suggested operating procedures, visit www.hamsci.org/msqp.
SWR magazine is a fairly new FREE online Amateur Radio publication that we recently stumbled across. Looks interesting. Check it out at the link below.
SWR Magazine - Our Mission:
Our mission at SWR Magazine is to connect, educate, and inspire the global amateur radio community by showcasing stories, projects, technological advancements, and experiences that reflect the true passion for ham radio. We aim to be an open, inclusive, and collaborative platform where both seasoned operators and newcomers can share knowledge, promote experimentation, and keep the spirit of borderless communication alive.
Check it out, link: https://online.fliphtml5.com/kqkyd/amkj/
Share the magic of Ham Radio and Santa Claus with your children, grandchildren, and neighborhood kids.Youngsters can talk to "Santa at The North Pole" via strategically placed operators who relay the voice of Santa.
The Santa Net is held every evening between Thanksgiving and Christmas on 3.916 MHz at 7:00PM Central Time (check-ins open 1/2 hour before).
more info at: https://www.cqsanta.com/
We recently stumbled across this very interesting Connector reference guide web site and book. Do you need help identifying a connector? If so, then you really should check out this resource.
If you like a hard copy reference, you can also buy their over 600 page exhasutive book.
link to the book: https://connectorbook.com/
NY QSO Party Objective :
● New York stations: Work as many stations inside and outside New York as possible during the contest period.
● Stations outside of New York State: Work as many New York stations and as many New York counties as possible during the contest period.
● Stations may be contacted on multiple bands and modes, subject to entry class.
● 12-hour Contest Period: October 18, 2025, from 14:00:00 UTC through 01:59:59 UTC. (10:00 AM
Eastern Time through 9:59:59 PM Eastern Time).
More info at: https://nyqp.org/wordpress/
We lost another great one! Larry Brightenfield Sr; W2LB passed away this week. We were shocked and saddened to hear of Larry's passing! Larry was one of the nicest/helpful hams around! He was known across the Western and Central NY ham communities. Larry could be regularly found on the 145.11 Rochester repeater as well as many HF nets.
We are glad we got to chat with him in person for a few minutes at the Roc City fest back in August. Sending our sincere condolences to all of Larry's friends and family!
RIP Larry.
Services will be Wednesday October 15th in Victor NY.
link to Larry's obituary: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/laurence-brightenfield-obituary?id=59764277#guestbook
Explanation from WD4EHW:
Winter SKYWARN Spotter Training Classes are coming!
NWS BINGHAMTON FALL-WINTER SKYWARN TRAINING IS NOW GETTING SCHEDULED.
Check back soon; more will be added as they become arranged (including virtual options). All are welcome; you don't have to live in a specific county to attend one of these sessions.
10/15/2025 6-730 PM: Onondaga Co. Winter Skywarn - Bear Bait Radio Club, 4483 NY-31, Clay, NY.
11/19/2025 6-8 PM: Cayuga Co. All-Season Skywarn - Owasco Fire Dept, 7174 Owasco Rd, Auburn, NY.
Link to register: https://www.weather.gov/bgm/outreachSKYWARNtraining
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most Upstate NY NWS Offices are holding similar training this Fall.
Binghamton NWS Skywarn training info at: https://www.weather.gov/bgm/outreachSKYWARNtraining
Buffalo NWS Skywarn training info at: https://www.weather.gov/buf/Skywarn
Albany NWS Skywarn training info at: https://www.weather.gov/aly/skywarn
learn more about the Skywarn program: https://www.upstateham.com/p/skywarn.html
What is SKYWARN?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parks On The Air (POTA) activations within the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor (US-6532) from Sept 16-25 (from Matt Brown)
Activators will be operating mobile or portable radio stations in POTA locations, State Forests, State Parks, Summits, Fire Towers, and other sites within the Adirondack State Park and surrounding locations. This inaugural event is open to all properly licensed ham radio operators, both as Activators and Hunters. Activators may operate on all HF bands, UHF and VHF (simplex).
More info at: https://nnyarrl.org/events/activate-the-adirondacks-2025
The guys at the ROC City Hamfest hit another one out of the park yesterday! The 2025 Roc City Hamfest on August 23rd was held in memory of K2ZX, Joe Merolillo. Joe would be very proud of the groups efforts! Joe was the Hamfest founder and always rallied a gang to put on one of the areas better hamfests.
It was a beutiful day with a very large group of tailgaters as well as buyers. We got to see a lot of faces and shake quite a few hands of folks we had'nt seen in awhile. Lots of equipment was changing hands along with many smiling faces up and down the aisles. They also had quite a few people camping out Friday night as well as over thirty people at the Log Cabin for dinner. Already looking forward to next year guys!
The Elmira Hamfest is one of our favorites here in Upstate NY! Always a good turnout and a pretty area to visit this time of year. Check it out!
Someone forwarded this on to us. Online licensing class.........
