Send us Fan Mail

The fastest way to waste Hamvention is to treat it like a random walk. We're getting ahead of Dayton with the game plan we wish we had on day one: how to pace the weekend, when to hit the flea market swap meet, how to avoid the worst lines, and why the forums can be the most underrated part of the whole show.

We also catch up from our shacks, because real ham radio life is never just shopping. Rory shares lessons from the Michigan QSO Party and why CW contesting is the best training ground for finally hearing callsigns at speed. James brings the portable angle with travel radio, Parks on the Air stories from Hawaii and the Grand Canyon, and what it takes to make a station work when you're far from home. Jim talks simple antenna building with a 9:1 setup and what he's learning by hosting a club System Fusion repeater and helping keep local machines on the air.

Then we get into the big Hamvention gear energy: ICOM's X-026 concept has the internet buzzing about a mobile rig that could merge HF with VHF/UHF in a clean install. Kenwood's TM-D750A is still the question everyone wants answered. And Yaesu staying quiet has us all guessing what comes next in handhelds and battery life. If you're heading to Dayton, you'll leave with practical tips you can use immediately and a checklist mindset that keeps the weekend fun.

Subscribe for our Hamvention field coverage, share this with a ham who's traveling to Dayton, and leave a review if the show helps you plan smarter.

What's the one thing you refuse to miss at Hamvention this year?

📢 Subscribe & Follow! 🎧 Audio: https://www.everydayham.com 📺 YouTube: @EverydayHam 📷 Instagram: @everydayhampodcast

73!

Short show intro audio clip

Short outro audio clip

The Everyday Ham Podcast is hosted by James Mills (K8JKU), Jim Davis (N8JRD), and Rory Locke (W8KNX) – three friends who dive into the world of amateur radio with a casual, lighthearted twist.

Follow us at: Website: https://www.everydayham.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/

Send us Fan Mail

Space travel didn't get safer, we just got used to it. That's the feeling driving our Artemis II nerd-out as we watch humans loop the Moon again for the first time since the Apollo era, with Orion pushing distance records and reminding everyone that deep space is still the bleeding edge.

We start with real-life radio talk, because our hobby is built on practical lessons: Jim resets his brain by stepping away from the shack, then immediately buys a Xiegu G90 for a lightweight, throw-it-in-the-car HF kit. Rory shares how getting an antenna outside changes everything, plus the rhythm of QSO party season and adding more CW into the toolbox. James brings field notes from POTA in Hawaii, where being remote changes your expectations, your patience, and especially your battery math.

Then we go full Artemis. We laugh about the one topic every mission forces into the open -- the toilet -- and why creature comforts are actually crew performance issues. We talk Orion's tight quarters, the surprisingly modern feel of mission control, and the communications backbone that keeps the whole thing working. From the Deep Space Network to next-gen optical laser comms, we dig into bandwidth limits and how proven gear like GoPros and a Nikon D5 earns its seat on a moon mission. We bring it back to ham radio with licensed astronauts on the crew, volunteer tracking efforts, and the thrill of hearing space comms piped onto VHF.

Follow Everyday Ham: 🎙 Website: https://www.everydayham.com 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EverydayHam 📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/

Don't miss a single episode! Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, and more -- links at EverydayHam.com.

Short show intro audio clip

Short outro audio clip

The Everyday Ham Podcast is hosted by James Mills (K8JKU), Jim Davis (N8JRD), and Rory Locke (W8KNX) – three friends who dive into the world of amateur radio with a casual, lighthearted twist.

Follow us at: Website: https://www.everydayham.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/

Send us Fan Mail

Your logging app is not just a logbook anymore, and Ham2K PoLo is proof. We sit down with Sebastián Delmont KI2D, the creator and lead developer of PoLo, right as his Ham2K LoFi cloud sync service goes live. If you have ever exported an ADIF file, emailed it to yourself, merged duplicates, or realized your other device has the QSO you need, this conversation hits home fast.

We dig into what Ham2K LoFi actually does and why syncing ham radio logging data is more complex than tossing files into iCloud. PoLo syncs at the QSO level, has to survive offline activations, and needs to merge cleanly when you reconnect. Sebastián also breaks down the practical side: app store subscription approvals, backend costs, and why he chose a pricing model that stays approachable at $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year, with a free tier designed to cover most operators while protecting server load.

Then we zoom out to the fun part: what sync enables next. Think shared logs for multi-op POTA and SOTA days, QR code log sharing, and a path toward Field Day logging without the laptop maze. We also talk about upcoming tools like a web-based log browser for easy desktop ADIF export, future push uploads to services like QRZ and POTA, and a bigger Log Filer vision that can import ADIF archives and unify your QSO history across sources like Logbook of the World.

If you are looking for a modern ham radio logging workflow that works on iOS, Android, and even Apple Silicon Macs, hit play and come along for the roadmap. Subscribe, share this with a friend or clubmate, and leave a review. What would you want PoLo to automate next?

Short show intro audio clip

Short outro audio clip

The Everyday Ham Podcast is hosted by James Mills (K8JKU), Jim Davis (N8JRD), and Rory Locke (W8KNX) – three friends who dive into the world of amateur radio with a casual, lighthearted twist.

Follow us at: Website: https://www.everydayham.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayhampodcast/