I just finished up my project, Collapsible Fabric Yagi Antenna for Make: Online. You can learn how to make one for yourself on the website.

A lot of people have been asking about my fabric color choices. I was inspired by the bright colors of Japanese hip hop clothing company Bathing Ape, and Kid Robot. I’m planning on putting a big Hello Kitty iron-on on the side of the carrying case… And adding some dangly bling. Then it will my sort of tongue in cheek “Hello Yagi.”

Starting this week, I will be writing Ham Radio articles for Makezine.com .  My posts beging with coverage of my trip to Dayton’s Hamvention this past weekend.

At the convention I started getting into vintage radios. WA3CEX had a awesome restored 1964 Collins Radio Company Communications Van.  Then I found a Heathkit Twoer in the flea market. Heathkit was one of the first companies to make electronic kits right after WWII. They started with oscilliscopes and later made many kits including radios. Since Heathkits were kits, they eliminated the cost of assembly and were able to sell electronics much cheaper, making them accessible to everyone. The Twoer was part of the Benton Harbor Lunch Box series, cute little portable radios with a handle like lunch boxes. There were four versions the first was for CB, Citizen’s Band which anyone could operate on without a ham license (back in the day when getting a license was more difficult and required knowledge of morse code). Then there was a 10 meter (the Tener), 6 meter (the Sixer) and 2 meter (the Twoer) radio.  The one at the flea market had some damage so I am going to scour the internet and ebay for a better one. All of the Benton Harbor Lunch Box series have the same case, so I am looking for a Tener,  Sixer, or Twoer. I have not yet decided if I will restore the radio or gut it and put a new radio inside. Either way I like to operate from the park and it will be cute to sit in the park with my Benton Harbor Lunch Box radio while I am operating picnic table portable.

Like radio, ham radio has different frequencies on which you can talk to other ham radio operators. But you can direct where your radio signal goes. You can bounce it off of the atmosphere and talk to people all over the world. You can direct it towards satellites and the international space station. Working satellites is one of my favorite things to do because you have to trace the path of the satellite as it orbits the earth with your antenna.

I recently returned from a ham vacation operating from rare location VP5 in Turks and Caicos.