Radio Art
I decided to call this blog “KE8MUJ Radio Art” initially as a joke, but like so many things in life, we joke about things we don’t yet understand, or are trying to make sense of
I named it that because I thought one question on the USA ham test was rather funny
Q: Which of the following is a purpose of the Amateur Radio Service as stated in the FCC rules and regulations?
A: Advancing skills in the technical and communication phases of the radio art
I saw “radio art” and chuckled, what a zany idea. I know many artists, they’re often my friends, and I wish I had more artistic talent. Whatever, I shrugged it off, but the question stuck with me, in the back of my mind.
Round about Halloween when I was listening to pirate radio, and Radio Gaga by Queen came on, it suddenly hit me: this is absolutely “art”, art with radios, art about radios! And since then I’ve found my focus on the hobby is increasingly directed at becoming a “radio artist”, an artistic outlet for someone who’s nerdy-minded! It’s not a joke at all, it’s genius!
I’m working on several projects right now that are going to take some time, but I’m very excited about them and I think they count as art. I’ll post more about them in the coming year
I listen to the HRCC Podcast and Nathan from Southern Vermont Ham Radio does some really fun song covers, and turns the lyrics into being all about amateur radio and I absolutely love it!!! More “radio art”!
(“A Whole New Rig” is my favorite! :) )
Lately I’ve been listening to VORW International, the radio show put out by YouTuber TheReportOfTheWeek / ReviewBrah, on 7850 KHz / 7.85 MHz, Thursday-Sunday at 9pm Eastern, I’ve been really enjoying his sensible, reasonable takes on the news.
I’ve also noticed that, outside of the 80 meter ham band at night, amateur radio tends to be almost the opposite of the sort of angst you all too often encounter, on the internet. The vast majority of hams, and I really do mean upwards of 90% here, are very nice and easy to talk to, tend to keep topics upbeat and light-hearted. As someone whose day job involves the internet, I find this very refreshing.
Last but not least, I just can’t stop listening to Arctic Outpost Radio, AM1270, a small radio station from the arctic island of Longyearbyen, Norway. I keep trying to pick up their AM signal on far-northern WebSDRs, but so far none are far-north enough! No worries, until then we always have the TuneIn radio link
And on that bombshell, it’s time to end. Thank you so much for reading, and on behalf of myself and the whole gang here at Possum Hollow… keep your stick on the ice!