If you’re wondering why I am posting this instead of an Amateur Radio story, then please read the full article and you will understand. But for now, I am posting a clip and a link to my full article on the Q103Albany website, and it has already been picked up by the station I used to work at in Utica as well. Here is a clip:

I have been trying to write this story for hours now. It’s not hard to talk about someone like Steve Jobs and recite facts about him. Yes, he pioneered how we consume digital content and how we buy our digital music as well as how we use computers and much more. And while it could be considered corny by some for me to say this, he touched lives all over the world. Just look at Twitter and Facebook. One of those lives he touched, is mine.

To read the full article, check out my Tech Thursday story for today.

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Courtesy of Gawker.com

Now this app has been in the iTunes app store for some time. But I’m sure there are a few people with iPod Touches, iPhones or iPads that didn’t know about it. I mean come on, there’s over 200,000 apps in there. So I figured I would just post some apps here and there that I have downloaded and tried out for Ham Radio on iOS devices.

Screen Shot of Echolink for iOS

When you start up Echolink for iOS, you of course are met with a login for your account, which you must have setup before you can use the program on any platform. That’s done at the main Echolink site. It takes a little time to be validated, as the program connects to Amateur Radio repeaters and nodes all over the world. So they have to be sure you’re licensed to use Amateur Radio frequencies. When I first signed up, it only took about 48 hours, but that was because it was also a weekend.But your mileage may vary on how long it takes to validate.

But once you’re in, you have the entire list of available nodes to choose from just like on the PC and Mac versions of the client. You can choose by Locations, Node Types or Recent QSOs to find somewhere to ragchew. Plus, a search field at the top can help find stations or repeaters too. You can also setup favorites if you have some repeaters that you like that you may have found. The interface isn’t “flashy” by any means, but it is functional. You can get on easily enough and start making calls. It’s also pretty impressive when you can whip out your iPhone or iPod touch and be able to connect to a repeater in Tel Aviv or Greece, right where you’re standing. Not a bad demonstartion for Ham Radio I would say. Even more impressive when you connect via your HT.

The app was developed by Synergenics, LLC, and requires an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, with iOS 3.0 or later. It’s free on the iTunes app store and is also available for the Android platform as well.

If anyone would like to wrote up a review of the Android version, please feel free to email it to me and I’ll be happy to post it. Also, if you have an app for Ham Radio that runs on iOS you would like to share with us, please feel free to post the link in the comments below.

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