Podcasts about Shack

Foundations of Amateur Radio On your amateur radio journey, you'll likely discover that many transceivers run on 13.8 volt DC, give or take. For example my FT-857d requires 13.8 volt plus or minus 15 percent, with a negative ground, and a current draw of 22 ampere, more on that later. In other words, the power supply needs to be between about 11.7 and 15.9 volts, the same voltage that runs most vehicles with some wiggle room for fluctuating alternator charging cycles. While some radios will absolutely fit in your car, there's plenty where that just isn't the case, even though they're set-up for a 13.8 volt power supply. You might think of it as an anachronism, a few steps removed from spark gap transmitters, but there's more to the story. Most residential power grids run on AC power, at varying voltages and frequencies between 50 and 60 Hz. Across the world there's eight different AC voltages in use between 100 and 240 volts. Some countries use more than one combination and I haven't even looked at three phase power. Perhaps 13.8 volt DC isn't looking quite as odd. With this revelation comes the need to actually have 13.8 volt available in your shack. Converting your grid power to something you can plug your gear into requires some form of transformation, typically achieved with a power supply. Efficient, cheap and plentiful, the switch mode power supply is the most common. Built to a price, they're also often noisy, not just the fan, but noisy from a radio emissions perspective. Amateur radio has very sensitive receivers and as a result you can often hear, or see if you have a waterfall display, RF birdies, a sound reminiscent of a budgie whistling, every 100 kHz or so across the whole radio spectrum. Not something most other equipment cares about, so you're often left to fend for yourself in figuring out how to deal with this phenomenon. There's plenty of filtering techniques and circuits to be found and some of them even work, but for my money, I'd spend it on a power supply that doesn't make noise in the first place. A regulated power supply maintains a constant output voltage or current, regardless of variations in load or input voltage. An unregulated power supply can wander all over the place. Adjustable power supplies allow you to set the voltage, amperage, or both, sometimes with knobs, sometimes using external controls. At this point you might decide that this is all too hard and you want to do away with all this complexity and use a Sealed Lead Acid, or SLA battery, after all, that's what the 13.8 volt is based on, but then you'll need to charge it. Similarly, picking any battery technology requires some form of charging. Another word for charger is: power supply, often a switch mode one, and likely not filtered in any way that matters to you, since batteries, and for that matter solar power inverters, are unlikely to care about RF birdies. I will make mention of linear power supplies. When I started on this journey, this was the strong recommendation from my peers as the most desirable option. Although they're significantly less efficient than switch mode power supplies, only 30 percent versus better than 80 percent, from an RF perspective, they're extremely quiet. Of course, the lack of efficiency reveals itself in the form of heat, which necessitates the application of cooling, from a fan, often a very noisy fan. One potential source of power supply is a computer power supply unit or PSU. Before you go down that route, consider that they're intended for installation inside a case, often generate various voltages at very specific current draws and are not typically known for being RF quiet. After weighing up all the variables, I chose a laboratory grade switch mode current limiting adjustable power supply. It's set to 13.8 volt and it sits on my desk doing its thing. Rated at 1 to 15 volts at 40 ampere, it's now as old as I am in amateur radio terms, well and truly a teenager, it's also overkill, by quite a margin. Remember when I mentioned that my FT-857d is rated at drawing 22 ampere? As a QRP or low power station I typically use my transmitter set to 5 watt, but even when others use it at full power, I have never ever seen it draw more than 12 ampere. That's not to say that it can't draw 22, I've just never seen it. As a benefit of having such a massive overkill in the specifications of my power supply, I can power more than one radio and not notice. Not that they're all transmitting at the same time, or using more than 5 watt, it just doesn't matter. I previously discussed setting a standard for coax connectors in the shack, the same is true for deciding what to pick for power supply connectors. In my case I chose Anderson Powerpole connectors. Pins come in 15, 30 and 45 ampere ratings, are genderless and housings are available in many different colours. When I say genderless, it means that you can join two identical connectors. Within my shack, I use the RACES or ARES Powerpole wiring standard and every single 13.8 volt connection uses it. If I get new gear that uses some other connector, I'll cut the power supply wire in half and terminate both the power supply and the cut off cable using Powerpole connectors. That way my gear will connect to my own power supply and I'll have a universal adaptor cable when I need it. Over the years I've collected an impressive array of adaptors using this method and it's helped immensely when sharing gear with other amateurs. Word of warning, make sure you get positive and negative the right way around when you join your Powerpole connectors, and make sure that you have the red and black housings the right way around too, you can thank me later. If you do this more than a few times, I'd recommend that you spend the money on a proper crimping tool. It makes the experience So. Much. Better. To avoid many of the pitfalls of interference whilst connecting power and coax to the same radio, try hard to avoid running both in parallel, or worse, joined to each other. Instead, attempt to run them in different directions and only cross at right angles if you have to. One thing to consider is the ability to switch everything off immediately. To that end I have a power switch on my desk that isolates all power to the equipment. You'll notice that I have not said anything about grounding or earthing, that's on purpose. Your laws and mine are not the same. Similarly, information you'll find online rarely, if ever, describes the jurisdiction it applies to, so, look at your own rules and implement accordingly. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Daniel and Wilbur return to the SHACK and put their finger on the pulse on what the world is throwing at us this week. It's seems to me the magic television box, and now the mini versions we all carry in our pockets, share with us stories and events that are horrible and traumatic and sometimes manufactured. Images meant to manipulate your mind and having you live in a world that THEY want you to live in. The truth is we all have a say in how the world turns, how the sausage is made, how the butter is churned, how the biscuits are baked! Do you understand yet?? We have to take control of our sovereignty and remember why God put us here on this Earth. Not to quibble about things out of our control, but to instead take control of our lives and live them in ways we wish to live them! This can only be achieved through solidarity and commitment to excellence and all that is good and righteous!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We turn our attention to Duo de Twang, the "vacation fuck-off band" that Les Claypool started after a couple special California gigs gave away to a full-blown vision for a sit-down campfire acoustic project. We chart the project's logisitical and inspirational origins, and discuss the album track-by-track. Grab some cowboy beans and don't squat with yer spurs on!Get involvedInstagramFacebookEmailBurn your money 

Foundations of Amateur Radio Noise la la la la la hinders if I were a rich man effective a noise annoys an oyster communication but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more. Or said differently, when you're trying to communicate, something that the hobby of amateur radio does in spades, you'll need to deal with a phenomenon called noise. This noise comes in different forms, but the effect is the erection of barriers to successful communication. We refer to the impact of noise as a signal to noise ratio or SNR, the signal being the desired information, the noise the undesired interference. Expressed in decibels so you can deal with a massive range using a small number, an SNR greater than 0 dB means that the signal is stronger than the noise. Building a shack requires that you consider noise in many forms. If you've been a radio amateur for a few moments, your mind is likely to head straight for the hiss, crackle and pop you might hear whilst attempting to communicate on HF, but there's a few other things to discuss. There's all sorts of electronic noise received by your radio. In addition, there's audio noise picked up by your ears, and often your microphone. Then there's the noise that you produce, either from your transmitter into the rest of the building, or from your mouth or speakers into the ears of the people you share the space with. Starting with audio, having a space that you can close the door on is a good way to limit the noise coming into and leaving your shack. An alternative is to wear headphones and generate text to speech, or prerecord your voice, ready for a contact, potentially ideal for contesting, not so much for free form discussion. Another consideration is audio from other radios, including those tuned to a local broadcaster, or aviation frequencies. In other words, if you're transmitting with a microphone, make sure that there's no other audio coming through. In some cases it's even illegal to transmit that audio, but in all cases it's noise that makes communication more difficult. This kind of audio noise mitigation is pretty straightforward. In stark contrast, achieving the same with electronic noise is pretty much a balancing act between budget and effectiveness. The impact of noise is inversely proportional to distance. Essentially, the closer it is, the more impact it has. With that in mind, when you start dealing with noise, start nearby and work your way out. As you eliminate the nearby noise, other sources will become apparent. Without turning this into a noise mitigation class, the process is essentially one of elimination. First locate the noise source, then eliminate it. That's easier said than done. For example, if the noise source is a power supply sitting on your bench, you can turn it off, except if that power supply is the one powering your radio, so perhaps I should say: "attempt to eliminate it" instead. There's plenty of ways to have a go at this and volumetric kilotons of content published on the subject, some of it even useful. In many, but not all cases, noise is an electrical phenomenon that enters via any means possible and you'll need to attempt noise mitigation at multiple points of entry. Obvious sources are the power supply, coax and the antenna connection, the speaker cable, the microphone lead, and if you're using a computer, the USB, serial or Ethernet cable and within the computer itself. Each requiring different approaches. The obvious one is to disable the noise, that is, turn off the offending device. As I said, that might not be an option, but you can replace noisy gear, or place it further away. There's isolation, using tools like ferrites and chokes to stop the noise from reaching your radio. Often in the form of a clip-on blob, you'll find these on things like monitor and USB cables. Place the ferrite as close as possible to the input of your radio. If it's loose on the cable, wind it through the ferrite, the tighter the better. There's software solutions with varying levels of effectiveness. You'll find DSP or Digital Signal Processing knobs and buttons on many radios. They're generally helpful for narrowband repeating noises, like the hum of an electric motor or power supply. There's tools that attempt to impose a noise on your signal that cancels out the noise, anti-noise, if you like, by receiving the noise, inverting it and adding it to your signal, thus, at least theoretically, eliminating it, noise minus noise is silence. This can take the form of a device for noise coming in from the antenna, but it also applies to things like noise cancelling speakers. In audio this is called active noise cancelling. There's also a new crop of noise cancelling software, using A.I. or Assumed Intelligence, that captures your signal, attempts to figure out what's noise and what's not, removes the noise and then feeds it back to you. Your Mileage May Vary and if you break it, you get to keep both parts. Consider your privacy and security implications of sending your audio out the door to be processed. That's not to say that, at least theoretically, effective local Machine Learning models could be created to help with this. I have yet to see one. At some point you'll hopefully reach a place where the noise inside your shack is no longer an issue. Then you'll discover your noisy neighbours, with solar panel inverters, pool pumps, plasma televisions, broadband modems, kids toys and pretty much anything electronic, purchased with no consideration whatsoever in relation to your hobby. I'm mentioning this, because more often than not, you'll have little or no control of those devices. You could cultivate your relationship with your neighbours and discuss your situation, but don't expect compliant hardware to magically solve all your issues. Antenna orientation, horizontal versus vertical might assist, as might placement or distance from the noise source. It's why I suggest that you start this journey with simple antennas, with plenty of room for evaluation and modification to suit the conditions. All this to point out that once you have the perfect shack, your work is only just beginning, but then I suspect that you've already realised this. Like antennas, I will note that noise and its elimination is an integral part of this hobby. It's easy to forget that, whilst you're in the middle of a frustrating hunt for a noise source, and if you like you can think of it as ripples or waves on the pond whilst you're casting a fly. When you discuss this with other amateurs, you'll likely come across terms like QRM and QRN, the last letter describing either Man-made or Natural noise. I'm not sure how helpful the distinction is, but it's there if you need it. One resource worth mentioning is a website called qrm.guru. It has documented processes and tools to discover where noise is coming from and how to go about dealing with it. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

A skeptic sits down to dinner with Jesus at a quiet Italian restaurant, and a half-million readers later, David Gregory finds himself at the center of Christian fiction's unlikely boom. I invited David to unpack how a self-published novella became a national bestseller, why some faith-forward stories cross into the mainstream, and what it really takes to write novels that don't preach yet still carry a clear message.We get practical fast: what qualifies a book as Christian fiction, how to keep theology organic to the plot, and why readers bristle when characters pause for sermons. David shares behind-the-scenes moments from Dinner with a Perfect Stranger, the ripple effects of The Shack and the Left Behind series, and the ongoing shelving debate that keeps many faith-based novels in the religion aisle instead of general fiction. We also talk audience realities—why women 35+ dominate the category, how teens still respond when the story sings, and the surprising power of simple word of mouth over trend-chasing tactics.Then we zoom out to the business. David explains the platform-first logic of today's publishers, why he returned to self-publishing after major-house launches, and what has and hasn't moved the needle for discoverability. He teases new projects, including a fable-like work for all ages and screen adaptations of The Last Christian and One of Us, a contemporary retelling of the gospels through the life of Manuel, a Mexican American mechanic. If you care about faith, fiction, or the craft of making both feel real, this conversation will change how you think about story.Have a comment? Text me! Support the show

Minute 8 watching Jaws in the Expanded Jaws Universe (EJU). Utilizing prequel novel, The Book of Quint to enhance our understanding of the characters in the film. A super analysis of South Beach and the discovery of the Chrissie Watkins body. Mystery footsteps in the sand from that morning, and evidence of fresh fencing vandalism found. Jaws is revealing more to the story with every minute. Why does Polly assume Deputy Hendricks is up 'awfully early'? What time and date is Chrissie discovered? These answers and more discovered for further research into the expanded Jaws Universe. Special Edition Hardcover The Book of Quint - signed copies now at: edgartownbooks.com Phone orders only: Orca: A New Tide of Adventure https://orcatribute.com/ For all links to The Book of Quint: https://linktr.ee/bookofquint For all the latest: https://www.instagram.com/bookofquint/ Video YouTube: https://youtu.be/SbLrH0AHbW8?si=L0hSINUCwnMv9r9Q Quint Blend Coffee! https://www.thecrackedbeanroastery.com/product/quint-blend-coffee/131?cs=true&cst=custom Anniversary Exhibition Shirt — Living Sharks Museum https://www.livingsharks.org/museumshop/bookofquint Show notes & photos: https://t.me/jawsob https://linktr.ee/bookofquint Ryan Dacko (@bookofquint) • Instagram photos and videos https://www.instagram.com/bookofquint/ Show notes & photos: https://t.me/jawsob The Book of Quint Amity Point Publishing amitypointpublishing.com Email: JawsOB2025@gmail.com Jawsob.com BookofQuint.com Jaws Obsession UK (@JawsObsessionUK) / Twitter Jon Tedder and Quint's Sharkin' Shack: https://www.etsy.com/shop/QuintsSharkinShack ORCA REBUILD - Home (weebly.com) https://www.youtube.com/c/OrcaRebuild/featured (7) Orca Rebuild | Facebook @orca_rebuild • Instagram photos and videos Music composed by Karl Casey and White Bat Audio https://karlcasey.bandcamp.com/  https://www.youtube.com/c/WhiteBatAudio/  Closing Song Jammin on the Orca by Dapper Dog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HvhDJtHxxo

Foundations of Amateur Radio Putting your station together is best described as a juggling act, since you'll discover that everything depends on everything else and the more you plan, the more you learn and the more variables become apparent, none more so than with the selection of an antenna. Antennas are endlessly variable. To give you a taste, imagine a loop of wire, shaped like a circle. As you stretch the circle, it becomes an oval, if you pull on four corners, it's a square, pull it tight between two points and it more or less becomes a single wire. In other words, one piece of wire can essentially make an infinite number of antennas, and we haven't even varied the material, length, thickness or coating. So, to discuss antennas is to embark on a lifelong journey of exploration and me telling you to get one over another is not going to help, instead I'd like to discuss some considerations that you might not have encountered. The obvious issue of space is generally the first consideration. Then there's the neighbours and their sense of aesthetics, or lack thereof. There's local laws to abide by and sometimes permissions and permit requirements, though in many cases it seems that seeking forgiveness is a quicker route to success. Your Mileage May Vary. Talk to your local amateur club. There's the property owner to consider. If that's you, great, drill away, if not, you will need to tailor your antenna selection to the amount of renovations required. If you live in a restricted location where there are all manner of rules about the things that you cannot do, you might need to think carefully about your options. Stealthy antennas are a thing. As I've said previously, inside your roof might be an option, but there are others. Some examples to consider. If there's a TV aerial on your roof, will that look similar to a 70cm Yagi, or could it hide a 2m vertical? Do you have a metal gutter which might act as an antenna, or could you use Christmas light clips to hang a wire antenna from your gutters? Could you hide a vertical in a plastic down-pipe? Could you dangle a ladder-line antenna out a window at night, or use thin wire to hold up your plants while hiding your antenna in the garden, or can you use a beverage antenna that's lying on the ground, or hidden under the fence capping? Could you tune up your fence for that matter? In other ways to make your hobby look invisible in plain sight, could you use an antenna that looks like a roof vent, or if you're into moon bounce, could you repurpose a satellite dish? Could you make your outdoor washing line into an antenna or add a flagpole vertical antenna that also happens to soothe your vexillology sensibilities? While we're talking stealth, you can paint your antenna to match the decor. To get your antenna up in the air, could you use a length of wood, a pool cleaning or painters pole, strapped to your pergola, gazebo, balcony railing, or some other existing structure? Can you use the edging of a shade sail, professionally installed, it comes complete with mounting points. It doesn't stop there, I've heard of several amateurs who managed to park a sailboat, with the mast up, in their driveway without ever once floating it in a nearby body of water. Of course this is not exhaustive, nor is it meant to be, it's really a trigger to think about some options you might not have discovered. In other words, if you need stealth, you can be creative, rather than buy an antenna off the shelf. Speaking of buying off the shelf, there's nothing quite like buying a wonderful antenna, the answer to all your questions, only to discover that it needs tuning and tweaking, to the point where you might spend a year getting familiar with all its quirks. That's not to discourage you from picking that path, just to warn you that there is no such thing as the perfect antenna. If you are less space restricted, building a tower or a mast, the difference being that a tower stands all by itself, like the one in Paris, a mast needs guy-wires to keep it up. You'll likely need to consider failure, engineering standards and concrete, not to mention maintenance. So, how do you go about selecting the perfect antenna to suit your needs? In the same way that a magician pulls a rabbit from a hat. In other words, there's a trick. It's pretty simple, start small. With that I mean, start with a simple wire antenna. It will achieve a number of things that only experience will give you. For starters, it will prove that your shack works. As-in, end-to-end. That might not sound like a big deal, but there are many different moving parts in building a successful shack, making your first contact is going to be a milestone worth logging, more on that another day. While making your first contact is momentous, getting an antenna in the air will also allow you to hear what your neighbourhood sounds like. Is it completely RF quiet, in which case, where do you live and do you have a spare bedroom? The reality is, for most of us, local RF noise is the norm when setting up your station. Noise is a whole other topic and I'll get into that next time. I haven't said anything at this point about your living circumstances, but it should be obvious that anyone you're living with needs to be on-board with your adventures, so discuss your plans and concerns. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

The Second Breakfast make it to the Conjuration Nation and stuff gets weird. Support us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/CreativeTypo and get additional content at www.afoolsquest.com Cast: Mike Cole = Uorag - Druid Furbolg Shifter. Tony Kinney = Eddie Falzone - Human Wizard. Jess Owen = Adira - Fire Genasi Barbarian. Jesse Wicks = Bill Quiverlance - Human Bard. Nico Rodriguez as your DM. If you would like to follow along with our map, you can find it on our social media pages: www.Facebook.com/afoolsquest /  www.Instagram.com/afoolsquestpodcast Special thank you to our Patreon Executive Producers: Nick Mead and Patrick T ArsenaultDungeon World: https://dungeon-world.com/ Music: Music Provided in part by Midnight Syndicate. www.MidnightSyndicate.com Additional music provided by Algal the Bard. www.youtube.com/user/alvariu and Epidemic Sound

Daniel and Wilbur return to the SHACK to spend another day discussing government efficiency. Have you ever thought about the taxes that are taken out of your paycheck? I mean really, have you crunched the numbers to see how much money is actually going to the state and federal government? I have a feeling if we were able to add it up and then extrapolate that out to every single tax paying citizen, we might realize that it is a crap load of money and why are we putting up with this. This episode is about the uncovering of a money laundering scheme put it place to suck out your tax dollars like some kind of freaking vampire.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

With bellies full from eating 4th-generation Brunswick stew--it's a secret recipe cooked in batch sizes that'll nourish sizable zip codes--longtime duck hunter and call-maker David Gaston slides across the table to tune calls and tell stories. And always, boy does he have them: camp origins and history, memorable leg band stories, "no shoot da' ringneck," hunting in the good old days, converting from Arkansas public to private, respect, changes, Brunswick stew, cast iron skillets and bacon grease, mentor Alvin Taylor, duck calls he couldn't part with, and more!   Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible: MOJO Outdoors  Alberta Professional Outfitters Society Benelli Shotguns Bow and Arrow Outdoors Ducks Unlimited  Flash Back Decoys GetDucks.com Inukshuk Professional Dog Food  Migra Ammunitions onX Maps  Use code GetDucks25 to save 25% Sitka Gear SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25% Tom Beckbe USHuntList.com   Like what you heard? Let us know! • Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode. • Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind. • Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of? • Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.   Want to partner? Have or know a story to share? Contact: Ramsey Russell ramsey@getducks.com

Opening the 2026 season we have another Hack father join the panel. The Hidden Herf is decent and we almost forget to do the reveal. Local Spotlight – The Tobacco Shack; Rowley, MA Controversy Corner – Daycare Financing

Foundations of Amateur Radio When you start the process of getting your hobby off the ground, either for the first time, or after a hiatus, you might be left with the impression that the only way to "do amateur radio" is to have a shack, a place where you can set-up your gear, and connected to that gear using coax, one or more antennas. While that's a common scenario, it's not the only one at your disposal. We are after all in the game of communication and over the past few decades options have exploded. Starting closest to the traditional radio, coax and antenna, is to consider indoor antennas. There's many to choose from. You can install one in the same room as your shack, or, you can build your antennas in the roof space, either way, invisible from the outside can sometimes be a requirement. Stealth is a topic all its own, and no doubt we'll get to that another time. A word of caution. If you do have an indoor antenna and associated coax, consider your transmitter power levels, since it's likely that given the close proximity, you'll exceed emissions safety standards, or you'll cause harm to other electronic equipment in the building. QRP or low power is a good way to go if this is something you're considering. If we step away from a traditional radio, coax, antenna configuration, you can build your shack in other ways too. For example, you can use a local repeater which you might trigger from a local handheld radio. Often dismissed as being for local communications only, there are thousands of repeaters across the globe offering a variety of bands, frequencies and modes. Often you can access a local repeater that can be connected to a remote one using a bewildering array of technologies, some using the internet, some using traditional RF. You'll find repeaters on 10m, 6m, 2m, 70cm and 23cm. There's nothing stopping you making your own repeater. You don't even need to go through the effort of making it completely standalone, for example, my Yaesu FT-857d has a detachable face-plate or head, connected to the main body by a short cable. There are plenty of other radios with a similar configuration. Presumably designed for the installation in a vehicle, where the head needs to be near the driver and there's unlikely to be space for the body, you can run a longer cable from the head to the body and install it somewhere more convenient. In my case it was bolted underneath the removable floor into the boot next to the spare tyre. There's several solutions that replace the connecting cable with an internet connection. Now, that internet connection can be across the room, from inside your shack to your garage, or between your shack and a remote hill where you have permission to put up a bit of gear. In fact, the same type of setup can be used to connect to shared radios, and companies like Elecraft, Flex Radio and ICOM make specific remote heads that can operate remote radio equipment, marketed as RF decks, without needing to install and maintain computers at either end, but more often than not, this equipment is brand or model specific. Which raises another option. You can connect to remote equipment across the internet using your computer, which means that your shack might be a computer, a laptop, or a mobile phone and your gear might be in a different country. Many radio clubs have discovered that their often extensive radio shack is virtually unused during the week, and have installed remote equipment to allow you as a member to connect, sometimes as part of your membership, sometimes with an extra fee, since there are costs associated with setting this up and keeping it running. At some point you're going to discuss this with other amateurs and you're potentially going to hear someone tell you that this is not "real radio". Considering over a century of radio evolution, from spark-gap through valves, transistors, integrated circuits and software defined radio, where exactly is the "real radio" line drawn? Is using WSPR, RTTY, FT8, Hellschreiber, Olivia, SSTV, PSK31, Domino, MFSK and thousands of other digital modes "real radio"? If the answer to that is an emphatic "yes", then ask yourself, how do you actually use those modes? The answer looks suspiciously like a computer running digital mode software, either connected to a physical radio in the same room, or connected to one across the internet. In other words, with the proliferation of communication alternatives, amateur radio is evolving. No doubt it will evolve further. So, today, a perfectly viable, and some might say, modern, amateur radio shack might not actually have any traditional RF based radio gear, though perhaps a hand-held might be something to consider when you next treat yourself, not because without it you're not a real amateur, but because it opens your world to other means of communication, something which I think is perhaps even more important than building the perfect shack. In other words, you are not required to have a shack to be a radio amateur, it's just that it brings with it another dimension of engagement and activity. Speaking from personal experience, I miss my functional shack, but it's evolving, so there's that. Next time I'll take a look at antennas, stealthy or otherwise. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Daniel and Wilbur return again to the SHACK to inspire and encourage you to go out and do good in the world. We are living in dark times but that does not mean we can't be the sunlight that disinfects the world of demons. The world is truly a reflection of humanity as a whole. Be the change you seek. Subvert the dominate paradigm. Stay vigilant when in National Parks because they are all managed by the UN and we all know how much they "care" about humanity.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

HAPPY NEW YEAR from all of us at the Halshack!! Party down Halshack style! Have a HUGE party with us! 2 hour mega event for you to download and take with you!! Party includes fireworks, celebrations, and more!! Ring in 2026 Halshack style with flare and class only we can bring here at Halshack Indie Rockcast! Have a safe and prosperous new year! Find all details at Halshack.com 

Wm Paul Young, author of The Shack, was raised among a stone-age tribe by his missionary parents in the highlands of what was Netherlands New Guinea. Paul has suffered tremendous loss in his life and he has struggled to live with an underlying shame that ran so deep that it threatened his sense of sanity. He discusses the potency of love and forgiveness, the road of reconciliation, the surprises of transformational healing, and the unexpected emergence of joy.

This is a commercial for the party on Halshack Radio on New Years Eve! Our party will start at 12pm (lunch) and go until 5am with special encore presentations of Migs in the Christmas Shack show at 3pm and 6pm ET! Migs New Years Eve mix will play at 2pm 11pm and 2am ET! Halshack New Years Eve Club Shack 2 will be released to the podcast feed at 12am ET Wed Dec 31st (first thing in the morning 24 hours before midnight party time)You will have at least 10 to 12 hours or more before it hits midnight depending on your location in the world! You will have most of the day to download the podcast and prepare for your SUPER PARTY! I'm giving you advanced notice now in case you were planning a party for New Years Eve and wanted the podcast to throwdown too! Not everyone listens to the radio station and would rather have it to stream by podcast on their time! The party will contain Happy New Year party sound effects, fireworks, countdowns with Happy New Year celebrations and more! Be here Wed Dec 31st! WHO will be the first to download this 2 hour MEGA event of the YEAR???? We had 45,000 fans set a record (on the radio stations on KERB and MXTR FM) last year for this party! Lets break some more records folks! Should you want to party on the radio with us on Zeno FM or on your ROKU TV (Search Halshack on Simple Radio, Get Me Radio, My Tuner)Alexa -- Install Radio FM skill (then say play Radio FM the say play Halshack Indie Rockcast--select from menu)Halshack Radio- Zeno FM -Keep One Radio App 12pm 4pm 7pm 9pm 12am 3am ET99.9 KERBonline.live - 10 pm CT/ 11pm ET107.7 KTwins on Zeno FM- 11pm CT/ 12am ETMXTR-FM (super party starting at 7pm till 4am) Halshack at 2am ET after partyFind all details at Halshack.com  See you New Years Eve!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! 

Foundations of Amateur Radio One of the potentially trickier aspects of putting together your shack is connecting the radio to the antenna. On the face of it, the challenge is limited to making sure that you have mating connectors on both ends, but when you actually start implementing this you'll run into several other considerations. The very first one as I said is the connector. Every amateur I've ever spoken to goes through the same process. You pick a connector, typically the one that your radio comes with, then you adapt the connector on your coaxial cable to suit, then you'll get an SWR meter, a dummy load, some testing gear, a coax switch or two, perhaps another radio, or an amplifier and along the way you'll discover that you now have a growing collection of connectors to choose from, and that's just the connectors inside the shack. After considering connectors, you'll start to contemplate the coax itself. You'll likely weigh price against signal loss, but there are other aspects to the selection of the right coax for the job. For example, how do you get the coax actually into the shack? One of the main challenges associated with solving that problem is surprisingly something that rarely affects our hobby, other than any human factors associated with the phenomenon of "weather". Getting coax into a shack generally involves passing through a weather proof barrier of some sort. In doing so, you're likely to create a place where the weather can make its way into places it's not supposed to. Water can and will travel along your coax. Hopefully on the outside of it, but if you're unlucky, on the inside too, likely destroying it along the way. At first glance you'll think that water only travels down with gravity and in an ideal world you'd be right, but as it happens, water will happily do other things like get blown by the wind, or condensate in temperature gradients, like those found near a hole you just created in your lovely weather proof barrier. If your shack has existing openings, they're generally the easiest to appropriate, things like gaps in the eves, existing vent holes, between roof tiles or sheet iron, plenty of existing places where you can get from inside to outside a shack. Note that this is also the case if your shack is a trestle table tucked away in an office, like mine. Before I continue, I'm about to raise some potential safety issues, but I'm not an occupational health and safety professional, so, do your own due diligence. If you do need to go into your roof space, height aside, consider it a dangerous place. Make sure that there's someone to check on you and consider alternatives to climbing up there. Wearing a face mask and full body clothing is a very good idea. Often you'll find exposed wires, deteriorating or toxic insulation and other nasty things, conductivity of steel roof frames and pipes are also a hazard, so be extremely reluctant to venture there. Avoidance is preferable. Working at heights 101: Don't .. that said, there may be no alternative. You can lift corrugated iron sheets by undoing the roofing screws. If you do, make absolutely sure that you don't make a string of water inlet points when you put it all back together. In lifting a sheet, you can access the roof space and run your coax. Sometimes the gap between the corrugation and the rafters is sufficient to push the coax through, but if you live in a hot climate, make sure that it doesn't touch the sheeting, since coax is likely to distort, if not outright melt, if it's in direct contact with the iron sheet while the sun is belting down on it. Consider the temperature rating of your coax. Similarly, terracotta roof tiles tend to have enough space to allow coax to enter the roof space. Be very careful, since they're often fragile and potentially irreplaceable. Look for openings like existing roof fittings, things like chimneys, vent pipes, roof ridges, etc. for simpler points of entry. If you need to make a hole in your roof and seal it, there's special rubber grommets for this purpose. You cut a little opening in the grommet, too tight for the coax, then force it through. Seal to the roof with UV-stable silicone and you're good to go. Check them every so many years, they deteriorate. Speaking of silicone, if there's an existing hole that you're using, don't just seal it up, it might be there for a reason. Windows often have vent holes or gaps that will fit some types of coax and there's inserts you can use to open a sliding window that will accommodate coax, but consider the security of that window before you commit. There's also special flat coax for running through a window frame or under a door, but check before you buy that they're suitable for the job. Ladder line is also an option, it's much thinner, can travel longer distances, but its performance can be affected by corrugated iron and other conductors. Rarely if ever does the initial acquisition of coaxial cable involve details like "bending radius", the smallest turn you can make with the coax without destroying its characteristics, since bending causes the insulation, the core and the shield to distort to some degree and with it, affect the RF passing through. Whichever path your coax takes, consider that you can cut it short, but not long. If you really must know how long the coax is, use some string to run along the proposed path, but beware, the string has a bending radius that approaches zero, coax does not. Most coax will specify a bending radius for fixed and repeated bending. The fixed one is for a one time only bend and 65 mm is typical. Thinner coax tends to have a smaller bending radius, but that might affect the signal loss, or the budget, or both, so take that into account. Cutting and joining also introduces points of failure, places of moisture ingress, thick spots that cannot be pulled through existing holes, and plenty of other hidden fun and games, in other words, don't be stingy, get it right, it might cost a few bob extra, but you'll have a happier time of it. If you need to run your coax inside a wall, the tool you're looking for is called a "Cavity King", not of the embalming variety, though relevant if you happen to do something foolish like drill a hole through an existing power wire in your building, so don't start drilling holes where it suits without checking first. If you do, make sure that you drill on an angle facing upwards from the outside and find a place where the coax itself doesn't get wet on the way in. Speaking of holes. Terminate the coax after you installed it, not before. You can use electrical tape to attach a rope to pull the coax along its route without damaging the coax. Before you close up the roof and pack everything away attach the connectors to the coax and properly test it. If it fails your tests, it's easier to run it again with everything in place than it is to start from scratch, ask me how I know. In my shack, I have a run of RG-214 that goes to my VHF/UHF vertical, I also have a run of quad shield RG-6 that goes to my HF antenna. If you're familiar with coax indicators, you'll know that RG-6 is actually 75 Ohm, not 50 Ohm. Given that it's made from aluminium, not copper, it's also an absolute turd to solder. What it does have going for it is that it's absurdly cheap, since its used in satellite dish installations across the planet. It also very handily can be terminated with F-type compression connectors, which in the 25 years I've used them, I've yet to see fail. The F-type connector can accommodate a handy BNC adaptor, bringing us back into the realm of amateur radio. My coax goes under the corrugated iron of my roof through the plasterboard of my office wall, hidden away in a cupboard, snakes under the cupboard door, along the wall to the termination coax switch that is in turn connected to my radio, more on that another time. The two coax runs are tied together, to ensure that they don't coil weirdly, don't pose a trip hazard and it's connected to various fixed points along its path. None of it is permanent, other than the hole in the plasterboard, inside a cupboard, behind a faceplate. So, after removing the coax, a blanking plate brings everything back to invisible if that's ever required. What happens outside is a whole different story and what it attaches to, yet another. The point is that from the place of picking the right connector, you likely discovered that routing coax is potentially a bigger challenge than you might have considered at first. There are other options. What issues affect the ingress of coax at your shack? I'm Onno VK6FLAB

On Today's Episode:Reviews of: Take Time, High Rise, Flip Stack Burger ShackOur social media:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Direct from The Tobacco Shack in Rowley, MA it's the 2025 Hackie Awards Show. We get the RI run-down from Ricky and Pat. The Hidden Herf is unexpected. Local Spotlight – The Tobacco Shack; Rowley, MA Controversy Corner – The Proper Cut for Your Cigar

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at the Halshack! Please enjoy our fun Christmas shack with Santa and his elves sound effects and more! All new episode for the weekly Shackstop show for all radio stations! Find the Shacklist and all thinks show related at Halshack.comWe hope you have a wonderful holiday! 

Foundations of Amateur Radio When you start on the journey of putting together a shack, in whatever form that eventually takes, you'll need to figure out how much space is required. Of course, no matter what you choose, it's never enough, but you have to start somewhere. Ultimately a shack is a work in progress. As an aside, I'm using the word "shack", but that is really an amateur concept, so we're not necessarily talking about a plot of land with a wooden lean-to cobbled together from bits of wood collected from your beachcomber days. Not that it can't be that, but it doesn't have to be. As I've said, my "shack" is a wooden trestle table, I know shacks that are a dedicated room in a house, a converted garage, a garden shed, a warehouse office, a radio station, an out building, several scout halls, demountables, a converted passenger bus and plenty more. In this context, in referring to "shack", I mean, "the place where my radio lives when I get on-air to make noise", but "shack" runs off the tongue a little easier. Budget aside, in order to attempt to quantify your space requirements, you need to figure out what you're going to do with it. This perhaps sounds a little ludicrous, since the answer is "amateur radio" .. duh .. obviously. Okay, so, here's some questions. Does amateur radio for you mean any of the following: operating the local repeater, HF radio, solo or with visitors, listening to multiple stations, operating multiple bands simultaneously, computers, Morse code, contesting, soldering, building, experimentation and plenty more. While we're at it, if you're into soldering, is that with valves, discrete components, or integrated circuits, and what levels of existing bits and pieces do you have? I'm asking because the racks of jars, component trays and drawers I've seen over the past fifteen years often rival the actual shack for size. In other words, when you're thinking about .. what .. you want to do, be specific. For me, amateur radio is more about computers and less about soldering irons, that's not to say that I don't own a soldering iron, just that its use is incidental, rather than fundamental, computers, keyboards and monitors on the other hand, for me, are part and parcel of my amateur radio experience. Truth be told, if I could, I'd try to eliminate all the analogue radios from my shack and replace them with a single box capable of wide band operation across the amateur bands that I could control with a computer. I realise that this is not a universal picture of what amateur radio means, but it's what it means for me because it represents the ultimate level of flexibility. That said, I love my FT-857d. I have several other radios that I loan out from time-to-time to new amateurs while they find their feet. I love to experiment with those as well, so my shack needs space for temporary set-ups. While I enjoy chewing the fat over a cup of coffee, I rarely get on-air and make noise with anyone else. That's not because I don't appreciate it, but because I've yet to discover an effective way of filtering interference, a topic for another day. Even if you're not a computer nerd like me, there's a high probability that a shack today includes a computer of some description, for record keeping, propagation forecasts, logging, and digital modes. So it's a good idea to imagine yourself actually doing your planned activities and speculating what kinds of things you'll need. Like, where do you put your cup of coffee, your keyboard and your Morse key? While we're discussing putting things down. Think about the ability to actually use these things, not just where they live. It's no fun balancing a keyboard and trying to reach over the top to change the operating frequency, or having to strain your neck to look at the logging screen when you've made that elusive contact, so think about the ergonomics of what you're planning. Right now I have a wire shelving unit sitting on my desk. It's 80 cm tall, 90 cm wide and 30 cm deep. The two shelves are adjustable in height. Currently one is at the highest point, the other has enough space to fit a base-station radio underneath it, about 13 cm from the lowest point. It's not ideal, since it means that the keyboard is in front of it. During the previous iteration, of which there have been several, my monitors were in front of this and the keyboard was an external one connected to a laptop to the right of the screen, allowing me to have two screens to display information. The idea was that I'd use the computer to control the transceivers using a protocol called CAT. This never happened, so operating was awkward to say the least and as a result, hardly used. Instead the FT-857d sat on top of the bottom shelf, using a sound card to operate on digital modes. A slightly better operating angle, were it not for the monitor that hid it from view. As I said, not ideal. I'm mentioning all this to give you a picture of at least one other shack but in my experience, nothing beats going out to see what others have gotten up to. Of course, you can visit shacks online with the proliferation of photographs proud amateurs have shared, but there's a difference between looking at a photo and walking around someone's physical shack, so keep that in mind. Other space considerations are rarely, if ever, talked about. What space is there left for you to make changes to your shack? You might think that your shack won't change once you've built it. Here's a change, disconnecting the antenna in case of a thunderstorm, here's another, plugging in a CAT cable, setting up an external speaker, or even buying a new radio, you name it, the shack is never done. So, think about the idea of being able to walk behind the radio. If you think that's silly, put the shack on wheels. You'll thank me later. While you're walking behind your equipment, consider coax routing, a topic of its own, but being mindful of the need to actually get the coax from where it enters to your gear and how it relates to any electricity routing required to actually power your gear. One other consideration in relation to space is your chair. How much space does it need? Can you adjust it, is it on casters, or a wooden dining chair? Again, this can all be as simple as a dining table, or it can be something more substantial. In my experience, a happier outcome is achieved if you spend some quality time thinking about some of the questions I've proposed. As you might have guessed, there's plenty more to explore. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

N5ZNO' First POTA Activation. 2.5 Gbps Fiber to The Shack. New and Classic Christmas Fails. 1:23:56

Shackstop 106 Holiday edition! Enjoy the last new show of the year! New Years Eve Club Shack coming Dec 31! There will be a special Christmas show next week thats a mash up of the first 2 episodes. I will release that to the podcast feed as well! Have a great weekend! Find everything at Halshack.com Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from all of us at Halshack! *******Thank you Boise Idaho.....1st to download**********

Daniel and Wilbur and back in the SHACK to highlight some of the most important news as of right now... Well actually news they tell us is important. Haven't you noticed yet, any headline they jam down our throat and make it "trendy" is going to be a manipulative lie. That's the point of mainstream news, propaganda and manipulation. Time is fleeting, throw away your televisions and devices of control and programming. That's the easiest way for them to control you!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Minute 7 watching Jaws in the Expanded Jaws Universe (EJU). Utilizing prequel novel, The Book of Quint to pull out details and enhance our understanding of the characters in the film. A continuation of the Spielberg fences theory for this part of Jaws. To get into the mindset of Steven Spielberg, we take a close look at Columbo: Murder By The Book (1971) and lock into Spielberg's direction vision when there are no effects and only dialogue. On-screen proof of fabricated fences to create a visual connection in these opening scenes. A Wampanoag Tribe connection to Chrissie Watkins is revealed. Special Edition Hardcover The Book of Quint - signed copies now at: edgartownbooks.com Phone orders only: Orca: A New Tide of Adventure https://orcatribute.com/ For all links to The Book of Quint: https://linktr.ee/bookofquint For all the latest: https://www.instagram.com/bookofquint/ Video YouTube: https://youtu.be/SbLrH0AHbW8?si=L0hSINUCwnMv9r9Q Quint Blend Coffee! https://www.thecrackedbeanroastery.com/product/quint-blend-coffee/131?cs=true&cst=custom Anniversary Exhibition Shirt — Living Sharks Museum https://www.livingsharks.org/museumshop/bookofquint Show notes & photos: https://t.me/jawsob https://linktr.ee/bookofquint Ryan Dacko (@bookofquint) • Instagram photos and videos https://www.instagram.com/bookofquint/ Show notes & photos: https://t.me/jawsob The Book of Quint Amity Point Publishing amitypointpublishing.com Email: JawsOB2025@gmail.com Jawsob.com BookofQuint.com Jaws Obsession UK (@JawsObsessionUK) / Twitter Jon Tedder and Quint's Sharkin' Shack: https://www.etsy.com/shop/QuintsSharkinShack ORCA REBUILD - Home (weebly.com) https://www.youtube.com/c/OrcaRebuild/featured (7) Orca Rebuild | Facebook @orca_rebuild • Instagram photos and videos Music composed by Karl Casey and White Bat Audio https://karlcasey.bandcamp.com/  https://www.youtube.com/c/WhiteBatAudio/  Closing Song Jammin on the Orca by Dapper Dog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HvhDJtHxxo

John writes "October 2025, there were a few of us sitting around the table in our off‑grid hunting shack, just enjoying each other's company. For context, we're deep in the PNW backcountry: no power, no civilization for miles, and no motorized vehicles allowed anywhere near the place. Out of nowhere we heard a thud on the side of the shack. My wife said, "There's something outside," but a friend brushed it off, saying it was probably just a piece of firewood settling in the stove. So we ignored it. A moment later, another thud, louder this time. Three of us got up, opened the door, and checked down the side of the shack where the sound came from, but there was nothing there. Convinced it was probably nothing, two of us headed back inside while the third said he needed to use the shitter (our name for the outhouse). We had barely sat down again when, just seconds later, he, let's call him "J" came sprinting back inside, not even making it to the outhouse. He blurted out, "There's something out there," and the fear on his face was real. This is a military veteran who's seen his share of things, and he said whatever it was made a deep exhale or grunt from just outside. So J, S, and I went back out. We'd only walked about 15–20 feet toward the shitter before stopping. The outhouse sits around 40–50 feet from where we stood, with no trees between us. Behind it, though, the timber tightens up. I saw it first. "What the hell is that?" I said. What I saw was a small red glowing light, pulsing faintly. A minute later J said, "What the hell is that?" he had finally locked onto it too. S still couldn't see it yet. The red light looked like a tiny, dim LED, pulsing on and off. The night was pitch‑black—so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Whenever I stared directly at the light, it would vanish, and I'd have to move my head around, almost like searching around branches for an angle. Then it would reappear… then vanish again… then reappear somewhere slightly different. At one point, I saw three separate red lights at the same time, all at different heights but roughly eye‑level. Always single lights, never two together like eyes. That's when S finally said, "What the hell…" and he was clearly shaken. He'd been scanning the area with a thermal scope the whole time and seeing nothing until suddenly he saw what he described as a face, a circular white heat signature peeking from behind a tree or stump before disappearing again. After that, the red light on the far right appeared noticeably closer, now unobstructed by any branches. S kept saying, "Red… off… red… off… red… off…" in rhythm with the pulsing. We've had three other strange experiences over the past decade that we've never been able to explain, one was an extremely loud and heavy scream that terrified all of us, and the other involved a group of large ground nests. All of those seemed like possible Bigfoot‑related activity. Because of that history, it almost feels logical that these red lights might be connected. What I'm trying to figure out is whether you've ever come across anything like this, or if you know of any accounts describing similar red lights. I'm obsessive when it comes to researching things, but I keep running into dead ends, mostly references to red glowing eyes or floating orbs. This wasn't eye shine; there was no light source to reflect off of. And the orb stories I've found don't match what we saw either. This experience doesn't resemble anything I've come across in the short time I've been digging into it." We will also be speaking to Marissa, she writes "I've gone back and forth about writing to you because I'm not sure how relevant my experience really is but after hearing witnesses on your show describe encounters with dogman-type creatures, I can't help wondering if what we saw might fit into that category. My boyfriend, Brian, and I live full-time in a truck camper, traveling around the U.S. This happened in mid-July, when we were camped on BLM land past the Delta-09 Missile Silo, just outside Badlands National Park. It was a full-moon night, but we set up camp while there was still daylight. We made a fire, Brian cooked dinner and almost immediately after we arrived, I noticed something odd. A herd of cows in the distance suddenly came running over a hill, almost as if they were spooked. For the next several hours, as we ate and the sun went down, those cows made nonstop distressed sounds. We couldn't see them, but we could hear them, and it was eerie. One of my dogs refused to get out of the truck as well, which was extremely unusual for her. Eventually, once the moon rose, the cows went silent. The night was beautiful, so we decided to take a moonlit walk along the dirt road with our other dog. We walked maybe half a mile and then laid down to look at the stars. We'd been on the ground less than a minute when my dog gave an alert bark. We sat up, and about 60 yards ahead of us, we saw a large black figure. My first thought was that it was a cow until my eyes adjusted and I realized it had canine features. I tried to convince myself it was a coyote, even though it was far too big. We aimed our flashlights at it, and that's when everything turned strange. It had no eye shine at all. I've lived in the woods most of my life; every animal I've ever seen at night reflects light. But this thing's eyes were just… black holes. The entire body almost seemed to absorb the light rather than reflect it. No matter how many times we shone our beams on it, no more detail appeared. It just stayed this pitch-black shape, panting loudly far louder than you'd expect from that distance. I had the unsettling feeling that it was staring directly into my eyes and that it was intelligent, more so than any wild animal I've encountered. We yelled at it, but it didn't flinch or move. A normal coyote would've bolted. I told Brian, "I don't want that thing behind me," which is not how I react to coyotes at all. We started heading back to camp me walking forward, Brian walking backward to keep an eye on it. Later, when we talked it through, things got even stranger. There were two of them. I had been so fixated on the one in front of us that I completely missed a second creature off to our right closer, and according to Brian, noticeably larger. Brian isn't someone who believes in Bigfoot, dogmen, skinwalkers, or anything of that nature, but he said it felt like the one farther away the one I was staring at was in control of the closer one, almost like an owner and a dog. He also said its legs looked blurry or formless when the light hit them, which matched what I felt but didn't say out loud. As he kept watch, both creatures followed us for about a quarter mile, staying just far enough back, until they finally slipped into the hills. Almost immediately after they disappeared, the cows started up again with the same panicked cries from earlier. We've gone over this experience so many times, and we always land in the same place: those were not coyotes. They were something neither of us can explain. So I'm reaching out to ask have you heard other reports of canine-like creatures with jet-black eyes and no eye shine? Does this sound more like something people attribute to a skinwalker, or is a dogman encounter a possibility? I know humans lack eye shine, but these things were absolutely not human. I haven't been able to find anything online that matches, other than a general trend of strange reports from the Badlands. I'd really love to hear your thoughts on what we might've seen."      

Foundations of Amateur Radio Recently it occurred to me that I haven't been using HF in my shack for much longer than I'd care to admit. Over the years I've spoken about my shack and how it's set-up, more on that shortly. I effectively went off-air when I decommissioned the computer that was running tools like "fldigi" and "WSJT-X". Mainly because it was too slow, for example, taking a good minute to launch a copy of Firefox. After that I repurposed my HF antenna for use with my ultra low power WSPR beacon experiments and essentially ceased being a functional HF station. There's other forces at work, which I'll get to, but before I do, in discussion with a fellow amateur we discovered that my desire to get back on-air on HF is essentially the same journey that a new amateur might make and the idea was hatched to document the process and share it with you. In the past you've heard me say that the answer to most questions associated with amateur radio is: "it depends". As a new, or returning amateur, this might not be very helpful if you don't know what it depends on, so, I'm going to attempt to describe the process of determining how to get to the answers required to make a station. Now, before I start I'd like to talk about money. I'm raising this upfront because your access to a budget determines many of the choices that are open to you. You could interpret that to mean that you need money and while that helps, it's not universally true, in fact I'd go so far as to say that you could get on-air and make noise using nothing more than a mobile phone and an internet connection, which truth be told is pretty much the minimum requirement to enjoy my thoughts, so perhaps that's the base requirement. That said, even if you don't have access to that, there's other options that we'll no doubt explore together, so keep that in mind. I think that the very first thing to consider is what you think of when you hear the term "amateur radio". I've said it before and I'll say it again. Amateur Radio is a great many things to different people. For some it means a hand-held radio and chatting with mates on the local repeater, for others it means a full blown HF contest station with multiple antennas and radios, with integrated logging in a dedicated building. For others it means logging into a remote WebSDR and listening to the bands, decoding interesting signals, and license permitting, transmitting remotely across the internet. In other words, the "amateur radio" experience is unique to you. What you get from it is dependent on you and nobody else. As an aside, that's also true for licensing. If you have a "beginners" license, like my Foundation license, then it's entirely up to you to decide if and when you add extra privileges. "Foundations of Amateur Radio", well, its predecessor, "What use is an F-call?" emerged specifically in response to amateurs around me who continued to, let's be kind and call it "encourage" me to "upgrade" to a "real" license. Fifteen years on, I'm still a Foundation "beginner" and thus far I have yet to run out of things to do or talk about, so keep that in mind. I think that covers the disclaimers, no doubt more will occur to me as we continue on this journey. For the first decade or so of having a license, most of my activity was done in my car, a mobile shack of sorts. I didn't have access to a space where I could set-up a radio without running the risk of someone tripping over coax, or a landlord complaining within an hour of me erecting a temporary vertical. In other words, my mobile shack was born from necessity. It was helpful in exploring the limitless variation of operating positions, as-in locations and their impact on propagation, antenna performance, local interference, and plenty of other lessons. So, even if you don't have a permanent space to operate, there's plenty of amateur radio to go round. When I finally moved to a place where I had space, I started the process of putting together my shack. Initially it was pretty much integrated with my home-office. This sort of worked, but both the office and the shack suffered from this combination, so my first observation is that, in my experience, setting aside a dedicated space for a shack is a good idea. Now, right now, as I am telling you that, to the bottom right of my computer screen is the head of my Yaesu FT-857d, connected to a "RemoteRig", a pair of devices that replace the serial cable between the head and the radio with a network connection. The RemoteRig is connected to a WiFi router, which runs a dedicated wireless connection across the room to the WiFi router that's connected to the radio, sitting on what's left of my shack. It's how I run the weekly F-troop net. It's sitting there because I need to be able to access my computer to make log entries and track who's next in the round-robin discussion, and as I said, I've decommissioned my shack computer. Which brings me to the second point. Setting up a shack doesn't happen in isolation. You're likely to have existing infrastructure of some sort. It might be a fixed location for power points, it might be a previously drilled hole for incoming coax, it might be a bolted bench, whatever it is, it's something that you need to take into account. It's also something that you need to consider in terms of feasibility. Just because something is the way it is today, doesn't mean that it has to stay the same for the next decade. I've previously discussed the evolution of my shack, based on a 35 year old wooden IKEA trestle table, all of 1.2 square meters, complete with holes from taking it around Australia for several years in the back of a van. It's currently got a wire mesh shelving unit on top and a pegboard strapped to the back. The legs are adorned with power boards and as I said, the head of my radio is on the other side of the room. This all to say that building a shack doesn't happen in isolation. The local environment will determine what's possible and what's not. I'm not here to tell you what to do, I'm here to help you figure out what a shack looks like in your environment. Note that I've not talked in any way about what equipment to get, what, if any, antenna to install or what else is required. These are all part of the "it depends" and I'll talk about that soon. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we sit down with Chef Nicola Blaque, the force behind San Antonio's only Michelin-recognized Jamaican restaurant, The Jerk Shack. Chef Nicola shares her journey from immigrating to the U.S. as a child, navigating life in New England, and serving in the Army through three tours, to eventually reclaiming and expressing her Jamaican heritage through food in San Antonio.Host Cory Ames joins Nicola in the restaurant to discuss how her identity, family, and military experiences have shaped her work—along with the challenges of introducing authentic Caribbean cuisine to the city. They examine the evolution of San Antonio's food culture, its openness to new flavors, and the collaborative spirit found among local chefs.Topics include:• Bridging cultures and reclaiming identity through food• The transition from military service to entrepreneurship• The realities of building a restaurant in San Antonio—including obstacles, opportunity, and community support• The role of local chef collaboration in fostering a diverse food ecosystem• Reflections on parenthood, legacy, and the future for Black and Caribbean cuisine in TexasThe episode offers a candid look at Chef Nicola's path, the resilience needed to thrive in an ever-changing city, and what the next chapter might hold for San Antonio's culinary landscape.RECOMMENDED NEXT LISTEN:▶️ #83. Chris Cullum and San Antonio's Culinary Legacy – Discover how Chris Cullum, chef-owner of Cullum's Attaboy and James Beard finalist, draws on family heritage and jazz roots to shape San Antonio's vibrant dining scene. Host Bob Rivard explores the challenges of sustaining culinary innovation while honoring tradition—perfect for listeners inspired by Chef Nicola Blaque's journey of identity and authenticity.-- -- CONNECT

Send us a textSpen joins the entire crew for a more in depth interview based on the success of his Campfire Conversation with Mikey (Episode 44)!  Spen and LT detail their shared journey and deep dive into the design and success of JRE.ltwrightknives.comwoodsmonkey.comJREIndustries.comwetdogleather.com/Support the show

**Please share and spread this mix link over the holidays, my tiny ask from you**It's back! When I got booked to do a cool holiday party in Toronto (where we'd previously talked musically about bands like LCD Soundsystem and The Smashing Pumpkins) I knew it was going to be the perfect opportunity to record this year's Christmas mix. The tradition is "Christmas Cocktails", but with the vibe of music I got to play in this mix, I think "A Soul Shack Christmas" is more appropriate, but give it a listen and you be the judge.I'm so behind on posting the mixes here on podomatic (they're up to date over on Mixcloud) but similar to last year, I had to jump ahead and post the Christmas mix while it's relevant.I truly hope this mix bring a little extra joy to your holidays, soundtracks special moments with friends & family and I hope you all stay healthy & safe this holiday season.IG: https://www.instagram.com/dj_j_meSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id306968245

It Takes Two hosts Taylor to talk about opening her second "Pop's Soda Shack" and what inspired the idea, how they curate these interesting combinations and where to find the newest drink hot spot in Fargo!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the last few months, the names Skrilla, Santería, and even the mysterious 67 Trend have been popping up everywhere. Whether it's young people going wild at In-N-Out when order number 67 appears, or the “Zombieland” look of Skrilla's hometown of Kensington, there's already plenty to examine when it comes to Skrilla himself—an artist whose imagery and influences increasingly point toward Santería and occult themes.From symbols and rituals appearing in his videos to his own explanations of how to curse people using ancient religious practices, Skrilla has become a focal point in conversations about the blending of entertainment and the supernatural. And as his influence grows, it's crucial to understand what's behind it—and what Scripture has to say about the spiritual forces being glamorized today.   Follow Good Fight Ministries on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodfightministries  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodfightministries  Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/goodfightmin  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@goodfightministries  Rumble: https://rumble.com/GoodFightMinistries  Support Us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/goodfight 

Daniel and Wilbur are back in the Shack and are here slow drip tiny morcels of knowledge out to the waiting baby birds mouths. We go through a list of ideas that were banned, some for good reason and some for more nefarious reasons. Will we ever know who pulls the strings and turns the dials? Will we ever see the face of the wizard behind the curtain? The world may never know but the SHACK will reveal all answers eventually.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Old Shack by Olive by 826 Valencia

Shacky Greene, Pat McGroin, and Cigar Hack Dave do a special Thanksgiving week episode to launch year nine. The Hidden Herf is a Shack staple and receives good grades. Local Spotlight – The Tobacco Shack; Rowley, MA Controversy Corner – Shout Out to Cam Higby

Hey there. Happy to be back with you and to bring another edition of Fresno's culture podcast, Flowing With Famous. Some things to expect in this month's episode: How old is Flowing anyway? Weather segment. Are you going skiing? Rehashing "The Sierra" debate. Tips for experiencing Christmas Tree Lane. What was Shack doing in Fresno? Band Of The Episode: Trash n' Privilege. The nightlife of Olive Avenue (with a new Tower bar). So many comedians in Fresno. KMJ comes at the Fresno Bee. Visalia Porchfest. And more! Downloadable: FlowingWithFamousDec25.mp3 Thank you for listening! Hosted by Joshua Tehee and Mike Seay. Josh at the Fresno Bee. Josh's local music newsletter: Bandgeeeek.substack.com. Josh's bands: New Old Man, It'll Grow Back, Big Balls, and the Strikingly Originals.  Mike's newsletters: Fresno! Fresno! and Drinking & Thinking. Mike's blogs The Fresnan, The Tape Player. Plus the podcasts Get Off My Podcast, The Perfect Pour.  

What do you think is the one ingredient that can transform an ordinary marriage into an extraordinary one? McDonald's has its Big Mac sauce, Shake Shack has its Shack sauce, and even What-A-Burger guards its spicy ketchup recipe. These “secret sauces” give each restaurant its competitive edge. But there's also a secret sauce to marriage that isn't secret at all. It's found in the word love. Now, this isn't Hollywood's love that evaporates when your spouse gains weight or loses their job. This is the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13, often called “The Love Chapter,” describing the hard work of what real love is and what real love does. As we study it, you can discover the answer to this question: Can two people who fall in love before marriage really stay in love after marriage? The answer depends entirely on what kind of love you're talking about. The 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love doesn't quit when your husband forgets your birthday. It doesn't walk out when your wife criticizes you in front of friends. This is the kind of love that makes it to the finish line, not because it's easy, but because it comes from the God who never fails.

We hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend! Its not over yet! Its only Sunday and the holiday season is just getting started! We will have 1 maybe 2 more new shows then cut out for the holidays then return on January 5th 2026 with new Shackstops! There may be new material popping up on the podcast feed! Keep a lookout for that! There will be a new show for MIGS718 on the 12th with Christmas holiday shout-outs on Halshack Radio as well as you can find DJ Master Renegade each week on Wednesday nights for the Wed night Trance Session Mix at 10pm ET then Halshack Special at 12am ET!  New Years Club Shack coming to all stations Wed DEC 31st! HAPPY NEW YEAR party! The biggest of the year! Last year we hit 45k across all stations! Lets get 50k! Come party! tell your friends! Follow socials or go to Halshack website for further details! Showtimes will be usual times 4pm 9pm 12am 3am ET Halshack Radio! 9pm CT/10pm ET KTWINS 10pm CT/11pm ET KERB 2am ET MXTR-FMWe had a party for about 12k people on MXTRFM and KERB! If you missed it or want to relive the fun then here you go! Have a house party on us then download or play the other club shack series shows for your friends to keep the party alive! Club out ,rock out, or throw your lasso with the Halshack! You choose! 3 radio stations for your selection! Halshack.com 

Daniel and Wilbur are back in the SHACK! Here to peel back the onion on the important US Historical event known as the Siege of Waco. It's important to remember our history so we don't repeat our mistakes. It's like baking a delicious cake, you have to take notes and notice the subtle characteristics of your oven. Set the temperature just right and hold out on the time for the perfect cake. This is something that just doesn't happen by accident, this takes time and effort and most importantly experience. Forgetting steps and leaving out minor details can lead to the same mistakes made in the past. Let's remember our history and use it to move forward in a productive positive way!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Move over, Mariah! St. Louis has its own Queen of Christmas. George and Cheryl are thrilled to be joined by Julie “Fa La La” Lally, the city’s resident expert on holiday pop-ups, who shares everything you need to know to enjoy these festive fetes. From the first-ever holiday pop-up, Miracle, in 2016 to the brand-new Cocktails and Claws, Julie has been to them all and shares the inside scoop on what makes each one unique, as well as tips and tricks on how to get in, which ones are great for families and what, in her opinion, makes the perfect one. With 30 different choices this year, it’s essential listening to guarantee a season filled with holiday cheer. Listen and follow Arch Eats on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever podcasts are available. This episode is sponsored by The Key Burger Bar & Boogie and supported by the Delmar Loop. The Key Burger Bar & Boogie is a pitch-perfect place where the music plays, the game is always on, and the dance floor is open—your new neighborhood hang in Grand Center. Stop in for a smashburger and stay for the drinks. Visit thekeystl.com for more info. New to podcasts? Follow these instructions to start listening to our shows, and hear what you’ve been missing! Have an idea for a future Arch Eats episode? Send your thoughts or feedback by emailing podcasts@stlmag.com. Hungry for more? Subscribe to our Dining newsletters for the freshest coverage on the local restaurant and culinary scene. And follow George (@georgemahe) and SLM on Instagram (@stlouismag). Interested in being a podcast sponsor? Contact Lauren Leppert at lleppert@stlmag.com. Mentioned in this episode: Downtown/Midtown:Cozy at The Garage: 750 S. 4th, 314-532-2012 – New in 2025.The Floating Sleigh on the Tom Sawyer riverboat: 50 S. Leonor K. Sullivan, 877-982-1410. – New in 2025.Santa’s Speakeasy at Hidden Gems: 3118 Locust, 314-925-8931Sleigh Shed at Union Station: 201 S. 18th, 314-923-3949Tinsel Tavern at Ballpark Village: 601 Clark, 314-797-7530Up on the Rooftop at 360d: One South Broadway, 314-241-8439Weirdly Wonderful Holidays at City Museum: 750 N. 16th, 314-231-2489Winterfest at Kiener Plaza: 500 Chestnut, 314-289-5300 Soulard:Bevo Fox Den Speakeasy Pop-Up at A-B Brewery Lights – 1200 Lynch, 314-577-2626 – New in 2025.Lit at Molly’s: 816 Geyer, 314-241-6200Rum & Mistletoe at Calypso: 1026 Geyer, 314-448-1516 Grand Center/CWE:Merry Moves at St. Louis Chess Club: 4652 Maryland, 314-361-2437Moose Mug Lounge at The Art Bar at Angad Arts Hotel: 3550 Samuel Shepard, 314-561-0033Wrapped at Cocina Latina in CWE: 508 N. Euclid, – New in 2025! Delmar Maker District:CANE at Steve’s Hot Dogs Delmar: 3145 S. Grand – New in 2025.The Ice Fountain at Fountain on Delmar: 5242 Delmar, 314-226-9269 – New in 2025.Clayton/Maplewood:The Chalet at Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton: 7730 Bonhomme, 314-863-0400*Polar Patio Pop-Up at Side Project Brewing: 2657 Lyle, South City:Frosted at Tower Grove Park: 4257 Northeast, 314-771-2679Miracle at Small Change: 2800 IndianaSippin’ Santa at Planter’s House: 1000 Mississippi, 314-696-2603 Webster/Kirkwood/Frontenac:Cocktails & Claws at 4 Hands + Peacemaker Kirkwood: 150 W. Argonne – New in 2025!Shack the Halls: 731 S. Lindbergh (Shack), 314-736-5900Winter WINEderland at Robust Wine Bar: 227 W. Lockwood, 314-963-0033 West County/St. Charles County:Bling at The Wolf Cafe: 15480 Clayton, Ballwin, 636-527-7027Bormio at Noto: 5105 Westwood, Suite A, Saint Peters, 636-244-0874 Dasher’s Dive Bar in New Town: 3544 Galt House, Saint Charles, 314-575-2240Toasted Chestnut in Cottleville: 5546 Chestnut, Cottleville, 636-720-1905Up on the Rooftop 360 Westport: 111 West Port Plaza, Suite 1200, 314-683-2337 Other mentions:12 Bars of Charity: Together Credit Union Plaza, Ballpark VillageSalume Beddu: 7118 Oakland, 314-645-2050Steve’s Hot DogsO+O Pizza: 102 W. Lockwood, Webster Groves, 314-721-5422Public School House: 5546 Chestnut. Cottleville, 636-720-1905 You may also enjoy these articles: Over 25 holiday pop-up bars in St. Louis “Winter WINEderland” returns to Robust Bistro & Wine Bar Your ultimate guide to family-friendly holiday activities in St. Louis Arch Eats: Home (or not) for the holidays Arch Eats: STL’s Most Delicious Holiday Traditions More episodes of Arch Eats See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this raw and unfiltered episode of Shack of Sit, Crystal sits down with her daughter, Taytum, for the first real mother–daughter conversation about what it was like growing up as the child of an addict. Together, they peel back the layerschildhood memories, fear, anger, strength, forgiveness, and the long road from chaos to sobriety. It's their story of resilience, reconnection, and the unbreakable bond that addiction tried... but failed to destroy. If you've ever loved someone struggling with addiction, or you're healing from your own past, this conversation will sit with your soul.

Here is my annual lounge music recap from last year. This is all the non-house stuff, filled with soul, rn'b, hip hop, a ton of edits (including a handful of my own), nudisco, daytime disco, amapiano, kaytranada type beats, retro remixes, boogie edits, even some drum & bass...all the good stuff! Not all necessarily released in 2024, but I discovered the songs last year.So fix yourself a drink, sit back and enjoy the vibes (or lets be real, throw it on in the background while working or doing your household chores lol!)And if you hate how late these mixes are getting posted here on Podomatic, head over to Mixcloud where they're all posted on time!Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id306968245Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dj_j_meBookings & Merch: jamiewichartz @ yahoo.ca

Daniel and Wilbur travel to the National Poultry Show to check out the best birds in the country! Wilbur has never been to a bird show of this caliber so sharing his thoughts on the whole ordeal. We will travel back to the SHACK next week.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Our next guests are preparing to open a highly anticipated burger restaurant in Park Ridge in partnership with Mikerphone Brewing. They met at the highly coveted Bavettes in Chicago and went through many iterations of what life could look like during and after the pandemic. They both were seeking stability and it wasn't until several pop ups when Phil from Super Goode stopped by and left them a raving review. The stars began to align and they will be opening Brennan's Gourmet Burger Shack in early 2026. Please enjoy my conversation with Alyssa and Conor Brennan. https://www.brennansgbs.com/https://www.instagram.com/brennans.gbshttps://www.instagram.com/simple_delicious_foodhttps://www.instagram.com/kid_at_heartt

Welcome back to the Shack fellas, Shaun and the crew are tackling Hideo Kojima and Playstation's Death Stranding.Check us out at our links: linktr.ee/sytycfanon

Send us a textMikey sits down with Craig Caudill of Nature Reliance School live at the Georgia Bushcraft Fall Gathering and queries Craig about his childhood, the pillars of NRS and his catalog of work!https://www.naturereliance.org/https://ltwrightknives.com/https://www.woodsmonkey.com/Support the showSupport the show

Daniel and Wilbur are back in the SHACK to destroy the narrative. We are ending the public propaganda propagation. SUBVERT THE DOMINATE PARADIGM. One day man will live free and not under the boot of oppression. Join the SHACK and our mission to free humanity from the shackles of indentured servitude!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

A radical leftist group called, “Free the 901” is targeting and bullying businesses around Memphis that are feeding federal law enforcement officers and members of the National Guard. On their boycott list are Slider Inn, Bardog Tavern, Ms. B’s Sub Shop, Elwood’s Shack, Aldo’s Pizza and Mortimer’s. Be sure to give those restaurants a call and show your support by ordering some food! Listen LIVE Weekdays 7AM Central on the KWAM app, or Mighty990.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.