Sofas on the Air

Mark and Ara
  • 5.0 (1)
  • HOBBIES
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Ham radio talk about Summits on the Air... but from a sofa. There are sometimes guests, and beverages.

Episodes

  1. 12/16/2025

    Josh KI6NAZ: Crash Course in SOTA, YouTube and Testing Antennas | Sofas Ep. 9

    Friend of the 'pod Josh KI6NAZ, from the little-known  @HamRadioCrashCourse  drops by the sofa to get nerdy... and share how he entered the SOTA-verse! This episode covers Josh's disastrous first SOTA activation and Mark's theories on the importance of balancing technical, physical, and mental skills for success. Ara shows hardware for his nearly complete "Antennode" project, which uses Raspberry Pis and LoRa to automate antenna A/B testing and provide a scientific method for evaluating antenna performance without expensive equipment. Josh dives deep into the challenges of content creation, emphasizing the need for consistency over perfection. Finally, the whole team gets passionate about building sustainable ham club club leadership, and how to empower new members to take the initiative in gettin' stuff done! As always, the Sofa was captained by Mark KD7DTS and Ara N6ARA, with Di KO6BTM running the studio system and Ormoo noshing on kibbles. Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun! https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir __SHOW NOTES__ Josh KI6NAZ on YouTube:  @HamRadioCrashCourse  Ara N6ARA on YouTube:  @N6ARAElectronics  The N6ARA Store: https://n6ara.com/ Drink tasting: Elysian "Contact Haze" __CHAPTERS__0:00 Welcome & beers 3:07 Josh's hot takes on AI 8:30 Josh's first (failed) SOTA, and need for "Intro to SOTA" days 30:27 Mark's principles of "SOTA Success" 36:07 The "Antennode" - antenna science! 1:02:13 Developing ham club leaders 1:17:19 Patreon questions! (YouTube... how does that work??) 1:45:34 Turning the tables - Josh's questions for Ara & Mark __THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS__ Umesh KK6TXI - outro music Di KO6BTM - intro/outro graphics

    2h 13m

  2. 11/03/2025

    Justin K5EM - Building Community through Radiosport | Sofas on the Air Ep. 8

    Ara's friend Justin K5EM drops by the sofa to share his pro tips on how friendly radio events (including SOTA!) can build community both locally, and around the world. As always, this episode was captained by Mark KD7DTS and Ara N6ARA, with Di KO6BTM running the studio system. Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun! https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir __SHOW NOTES__ Drink tasting: Sake - Kunoichi by Moon Bloom Supercon: https://hackaday.io/superconference/ Salmon Run QSO Party: https://salmonrun.wwdxc.org/ Palau DX: https://www.qrz.com/db/T88WA SOTAMAT: https://sotamat.com/ Non-Ormoo SOTACAT: https://store.invertedlabs.com/product/sotacat/ __Chapters__ 0:00 Intros 8:00 Mark's SOTA Goat activation 19:50 Justin's ham journey 42:51 DXpedition in Palau 1:09:01 Salmon Run QSO Party 1:30:51 SOTACAT 1:42:12 Thanks to our Patreon supporters __THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS__ Umesh KK6TXI - outro music Di KO6BTM - intro/outro graphicsNote: Amazon links, if any, are affiliate links

    1h 53m

  3. 10/11/2025

    N7KOM - What is a 'Pseudotachylyte', and how to play SOTA Royale | Sofas on the Air Ep. 7

    Tim N7KOM returns to the Sofa to share his Oregon campout experience, drop some cool geology knowledge, and take a speed-round of Patreon questions! Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun!https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir __SHOW NOTES__ Drink tasting: Nikka - From the Barrel Tim's Etsy Page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/N7KOMPortableRadio Tim's Dank Meme Page: https://www.instagram.com/n7kom_mtntop/ K6ARK's W7O First Activation Video: https://youtu.be/p5zHlpZ3jbQ?si=eoqnDGwMAMP3tkqJ Learn about Pseudotachylytes: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191814113000436/pdfft?md5=2cfbe5aed237c265df9b7ed67a158d81&pid=1-s2.0-S0191814113000436-main.pdf __Chapters__ 0:00 Intros... and Tim's wedding! 2:56 Whiskey tasting & catching up 11:23 Tim's W7O Experience 17:44 Dank Memes - HOW? 19:55 SOTA Royale 43:14 Patreon Questions - Pseudotachylytes?? 58:17 Speed Round! 1:05:23 Thanks to our supporters __Thanks & Acknowledgements__ Umesh KK6TXI - outro music Di KO6BTM - intro/outro graphics Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this show possible! Note: Amazon links, if any, are affiliate links

    1h 9m

  4. 09/13/2025

    Patreon Questions, NT6E’s Activation Day & Ara's Antenode | Sofas on the Air Ep. 6

    Mark & Ara catch up on the Sofa, answer a few questions, and get some Ormoo prints on their laptops. Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun! https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir __SHOW NOTES__ Drink tasting: Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey __Chapters__ 0:00 Mark & Ara catch up 2:31 Beverage Tasting 7:00 Patreon Questions 41:03 NT6E Activation! 49:19 Ara's Antenode Update 59:15 Contests (and a viral microwave video) 01:18:00 Wrap up, & thanks to our Patreon supporters! __THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS__ Umesh KK6TXI - outro musicDi KO6BTM - intro/outro graphicsNote: Amazon links, if any, are affiliate links

    1h 22m
  5. Custom Batteries, SOTA Campouts, and Mark's Car-tastrophe

    08/20/2025

    Custom Batteries, SOTA Campouts, and Mark's Car-tastrophe

    Umesh KK6TXI visits the Sofa to share his expertise in custom batteries for portable ham radio, including QRO SOTA and a mountaintop Field Day! We catch up (finally) with stories from the W7O and W6 SOTA campouts, and Mark waxes poetic about an activation that went oh-so-wrong. Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun!https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir SHOW NOTES Drink tastings: G4 Tequila Blanco High Proof 108, G4 Tequila ReposadoThe NR7Y Hardware Mod: https://youtu.be/zi35aTjEppQ N6ARA Electronics - the TinyPaddle, and more! https://n6ara.com/KK6TXI's Battery Field Test - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBzJ3BqniDE Chapters 0:00 Hi Umesh! 3:36 Tequila Tasting 9:02 Batteries! 01:11:28 Mark's W7O Campout 01:24:38 Ara's W6 Campout 01:30:11 SOTA Car-tastrophe 01:52:54 Thanks to our Patreon supporters! THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Umesh KK6TXI - studio space and intro/outro music Di KO6BTM - audio engineering Note: Amazon links are affiliate links

    1h 56m

  6. 07/24/2025

    Secrets of Microwave SOTA, and an Antenna Test Quest | Sofas on the Air Ep. 4

    Devin W6DVN visits the Sofa to share his expertise in ultralight microwave SOTA activations... including how to build the gear! Mark nerds out a bit over a Quansheng CW mod, and Ara gets into his never-ending quest to better understand the behavior of real-world antennas.Patreon: Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun!https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir__SHOW NOTES__Coffee choice: "Process Pairing - Colombia Black Condor" from Backyard Beans Coffee Company https://backyardbeans.com/products/process-pairing-colombia-black-condor Quansheng Radio: https://amzn.to/45f4pXH (mod'able for CW)Quansheng IJV Firmware Mod: https://domox.org/home.htmlCorrection: feed horn from Rochester not Syracusehttps://rvhfg.org/wpr/w1ghz-dual-band-dish-feed/__Chapters__0:00 Hi Devin! 2:01 Coffee tasting 5:49 Devin loves microwaves 49:15 Mark's new CW radio 60:05 Ara's antenna test challenge 87:39 New microphones! 91:05 Thanks to our Patreon supporter!__THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS__Umesh KK6TXI - audio Elmering, and outro musicDi KO6BTM - audio engineeringNote: Amazon links are affiliate links

    1h 37m

  7. 07/11/2025

    Field Day, Radio Telescopes, and Learning CW

    Mark and Ara share their Field Day experiences, along with an epic trip to the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) and hot takes on Di's new Morse Code learning video. __PATREON__ Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews, and support our audio upgrades? We believe strongly that in-person chats are more fun!https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir __SHOW NOTES__ HRCC Field Day Livestream video: "Field Day Live! Five stations, QRP!!!"Field Day After-action video: "You Can't Cram More Radios and Fun Into A Weekend!"Umesh's Tour video: "OVRO 2025 - 360 Tour of 40 Meter Dish!"Angelina's CW contact short: "YL Angelina's FIRST EVER Morse Code contact!" SOTA+ Morse Code video: "How to Morse Code (in 10 Minutes!)"Ara's TinyMIDI product: the perfect companion for Learning CW (and more)Book recommendation: The CW Way of Life __THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS__ Umesh KK6TXI - microphone loan, audio Elmering, and outro musicDi KO6BTM - audio engineering Note: Amazon links are affiliate links

    1h 1m

  8. 06/26/2025

    Tim N7KOM: From College Rock Show Host to Climbing Mountains with Radio

    In this wide-ranging chat with Oregon SOTA guest, Tim N7KOM covers his unusual introduction to radio, the Oregon campout, preparedness for 'radio first aid', activation shenanigans while visiting LA... and tastes some delicious local brews from Far Field.

    1h 7m

  9. 06/12/2025

    Ara's SOTA Goat Day

    In this first-ever episode of Sofas on the Air, Mark and Ara sit down to discuss Ara's SOTA Goat day (250 QSOs on a livestream!) and Mark's ARRL Field Day plans.

    59 min
  • 9 Episodes

About

Ham radio talk about Summits on the Air... but from a sofa. There are sometimes guests, and beverages.

Information

  • Creator
    Mark and Ara
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mark and Ara
  • Show Website
    Sofas on the Air