My latest QSL commission came from John, K0WIT, whose Colorado QTH is practically in the shadow of Pikes Peak. That meant I had to draw the mountain from a specific vantage point — as it would be seen from Woodland Park – to keep the card accurate. I also drew his specific antenna, an Alpha Delta Fan Dipole.
I got to cut loose and cartoon in the lower left corner, where his shack (literally a shack) is guarded by one of his three cats – saying “MEOW” in Morse code, of course.
Actually, he’s not a lumberjack, but David, VK2CDG, does chop wood for a living. David’s business card has cartoon clip art on it showing a man madly chopping logs, and he wanted it adapted for his QSL. This seemed like the obvious way to draw it. Note the sulphur-crested cockatoo and the koala, both native to Australia and both suggested by David to give his QSL some local flavor.
What do ham-radio operators do when watching TV and movies? Why, we look for ham radios used as props, of course!
In this week’s episode of “Marvel’s Agent Carter” titled “Life of the Party,” Peggy Carter and SSR Chief Sousa monitor an undercover operation from inside a van filled with retro-looking radio equipment – including two Astatic D-104 microphones.
Using those microphones as props actually makes sense: First manufactured in the 1930s, the Astatic “lollipop” microphones were used by the military during World War II and for decades afterwards by hams. They could have been used by Agent Carter, too.
But then Peggy reaches to flip a switch on some radio doohickey that’s actually an old piece of Heathkit test equipment – and you’re reminded that this is a TV show based on comic-book characters.
It’s a pretty good show, actually. My XYL and I watch it religiously. For now, it airs Tuesday nights on ABC. You can catch up with it on Hulu or Netflix.
The operating position of Joe, KN2A, is half radio, half workbench. I’m not sure I did justice to the workbench part, but I made sure his latest radio acquisition — a Heathkit HW-8 — was front-and-center at his operating position. Joe liked it; as he said they say in the Bronx when he saw the finished art, “You the MAN!” Thanks, Joe.
This cartoon QSL was fun to draw. Pete, K0BAK, operates a lot from the road and wanted an all-purpose card usable for any activity from any QTH. Because it’s best to operate from as high as possible, I placed him and his Honda van on top of a plateau. Maybe the mountain goat on the other plateau knows how he got there.
Attorney and long-time ham Dan, K0FD, had been off the air for 30 years when the bug bit him again. When he contacted me to create a new QSL for him, he wanted it to show his other passion: kayaking.
Using reference photos Dan sent, I drew him in his specific kayak, albeit with liberties taken for proportions and dimensions to keep it cartoony. His finished cards arrived in the mail just a few days ago, an early Christmas gift.
Recently my XYL (wife for you non-hams) and I have been watching reruns of “King of the Hill,” Mike Judge’s wickedly funny cartoon series about middle-American life in Arlen, Texas. When I watched it the first time, I thought it was one of the best-written sitcoms, animated or not, on TV. Watching it a second time hasn’t changed my opinion.
One thing I have realized since then, though, is how much the cast of “King of the Hill” is like every amateur-radio club I’ve ever belonged to. Just about every cast member could be a ham.
Do these people look familiar? What kinds of ham would other cast members make? Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.
Shawn, KG7PKA, is a new ham who says his primary station will be in the Jeep Rubicon he drives offroad, so he wanted the vehicle with a map of Washington behind it on his QSL. It was an easy card to compose and fun to draw. I used to spend hours as a kid drawing cars. Can you tell?
I drew this cartoon some years ago to advertise a phone-patch-related product marketed by j-Com. It sure brings back memories of the way hams used to connect with the phone system. Does anyone still use a phone patch or an auto patch? For that matter, does anyone still use a landline phone?
Nathan, N7NAN, wanted a QSL that showed both his sons and his longtime profession as a police officer, so I came up with the idea of making his call sign into a badge. Nathan is also big into emergency communications and is president of the National Tribal Amateur Radio Association.