Happy New Year!

Another year has come and gone! We wanted to reach out to say Thank You to the many individuals and clubs that send us information and corrections for the UpstateHam web site! Also thanks to our viewers for visiting and supporting our site.

Wishing you all health and Happiness in the new year!

73- From the folks at UpstateHam.com

John Bartscherer, N1GNV - SK ("John Bee" of Quicksilver Radio)

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)

Honoring the Legacy: The Future of Quicksilver Radio

Hi anthony,           A lot has happened and changed since the last Quicksilver newsletter was sent!  What hasn't changed is Quicksilver's dedication to serving the ham radio community.   In October 2025 John B passed away after a brief hospital stay and several years of health issues. John's vision, drive and passion for Quicksilver is the reason the company grew to where it is today. John and I (K3KMT) began earnestly discussing a business succession plan around the time of the Nutmeg Hamfest in 2024 in Meriden, CT. We attended several hamfests together and he would ask me each time "are you ready?"  I would laugh him off and tell him no.  Honestly I was intimidated by the thought of taking on such a large endeavor. He was persistent. He asked me to come spend a day with him at his shop before the 2025 Nutmeg Hamfest.  I traveled to CT and we spent all day together. He convinced me that the idea was feasible and could work.  Anyone that saw John at the hamfest in October knew it wasn't the John we were normally used to seeing.  John's health declined rapidly after that show.  I got "the phone call" the morning after he passed - less then two weeks after the Nutmeg Hamfest.  After taking some time and looking at several options the family made the difficult decision to sell the business.           The last month has been a whirlwind. We sent a team to CT to pack inventory, tooling and equipment. It was a difficult 2 days of packing and moving for me personally, I wish John would have been there to help. His knowledge, and his personality were missed.  More then anything, as the team at Quicksilver Radio moves forward, our goal is to honor John's legacy and the fond memories that the customers and his hamfest friends have.              So what does the future hold?  We are looking forward to meeting and seeing John's friends and past customers throughout the next year and especially at Hamcation in Florida in February. We are trying our hardest to get to as many hamfests as possible. PLEASE see the hamfest schedule by clicking this link.  Also be sure to check out the website, as we work on rebuilding it, and look for a fresh new look on the website - we hope by April.         One new product that will be unveiled at Hamcation is a go box "Hammocan" featuring a LiFePO4 battery!  Other new innovative products are being explored and developed as well.        Please don't forget Winter Field Day is January 24-25, just 9 days from now!  Its a great time to introduce someone to the magic of ham radio!  Get radioactive with your local club or invite a few buddies to a central location.        Lastly, I ask for a bit of grace on your part. We are working our way thru bugs and kinks in the ordering system, the website and the email system. If we don't reply in 24 hours, we aren't intentionally ignoring you. Please feel free to call the store at 717-354-2200 and talk to a live person.     Ralph K3KMT Team Quicksilver Radio www.qsradio.com

Marathon Hamfest - 1/10/26 - Let the Hamfest season begin!

 First Upstate NY Hamfest of the year!

The Marathon Hamfest will be held on January 10 2026 at the Marathon NY Civic Center, Brink St in Marathon NY from 7 AM until Noon. Admission is $6.00 each, under 12 free. 

For hamfest (not VE) information check out skylinehamradioclub.org or e-mail Pat at pdunn5@gmail.com

 

Tables are available at $10.00 per 8' space. To reserve tables contact Pat at pdunn5@gmail.com.

 

VE tests will be given beginning at 9 AM. Pre-registration is recommended and may be done by clicking this link: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/689138b2503f62a1cfd8e393/1 You will receive a reply with basic information. The testing location is off-site, and requires a two minute walk. VE tests are provided by the TCARA VE team. For information on what to bring to the test click here: https://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session

 

Food will be provided by the Marathon Area Historical Society.

 

Travel Directions:

 

From Syracuse, Cortland and the North: Use I-81 South to Exit 39. Turn Left on to Route 11 South. At the light, turn right on to Route 221 West (East Main St). Immediately before the steel deck bridge, turn left on to Peck St. In one block the Civic Center is on your left. Parking for the Civic Center is in the rear of the maplefest buildings. Note: Parking next to the building is handicapped only.

 

From Binghamton, Whitney Point and points South: I-81 to Exit 38. Turn Left on to route Route 221 West (East Main St), go straight through the light. Immediately before the steel deck bridge, turn left on to Peck St. In one block the Civic Center is on your left. Parking for the Civic Center is in the rear of the maplefest buildings. Note: Parking next to the building is handicapped only.

 

From Ithaca: Route 13 North to Dryden. Take Route 38 South to Harford, then Route 221 East to Marathon. Turn right immediately after the steel deck bridge on to Peck St., the Civic Center is on your left. Parking for the Civic Center is in the rear of the maplefest buildings. Note:  Parking next to the building is handicapped only.

 

-- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrew Slaugh KB2LUV

Secretary, Skyline Amateur Radio Club

Owner of the 145.490 PL 71.9 Repeater in Cortland, NY

Christmas Shortwave Listening 2025

 ( 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

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Allan Roe's holiday shortwave list:

https://swling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Holiday-Broadcasts-2025-v1.0-Issued-18-December-2025.pdf

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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

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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!

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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).

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Any suggestions of SWL during the holidays? email us: UpstateHam@gmail.com

Meteor Scatter QSO Party on December 12 and 13

 

Operators/Monitors Wanted for Meteor Scatter QSO Party December 12-13

12/05/2025

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.

Interesting new Ham publication

 

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/