Tag Archives: Ears To Our World

Looking back: 2019––and ETOW–– in review, and the dawn of a new decade

Yes, I’ll admit it:  I’m  happy to say “Goodbye” to 2019 and “Hello!” to 2020.

While a lot of wonderful things happened last year, one event in particular will always be present in my mind when I recall 2019.

The End of an Era: Remembering ETOW

Most importantly, however, last year will be remembered as the bittersweet year that we closed Ears To Our World (ETOW) as a formal non-profit organization.

I founded ETOW––a mission of the heart––in 2008, and I would never have guessed that it would be so successful.  We’ve spent the past eleven years building up and supporting rural and remote communities throughout the world with appropriate technologies, like self-powered radios.

I’m incredibly proud of and humbled by all that ETOW has accomplished.  It’s touching that we’re still receiving photos from the field, documenting projects we completed over the past two years.  (It’s often taken months for our intrepid partners to get our radios and gear to the end-users…but they get it there!).

Our radios finally reached the remote area of Cameroon served by the amazing community-driven FM station, Radio Taboo. Hooray!

It’s been such an honor and a labor of love to serve as ETOW’s director.

ETOW had a great run, too. I knew going in that all-volunteer NGOs have a dismal survival rate, typically not making it beyond two, three, or maybe four years. It requires an enormous amount of organization, work, and dedication to insure the mission has meaningful and strategic impact. I’m very proud of the fact that we topped a decade with ETOW. No doubt, we were able to accomplish so much because of our amazing supporters and volunteers, many of whom are here as a part of the SWLing Post community. Thank you!

But…if ETOW was successful, why did we close shop?

As I mentioned in our annual letter to donors, I have always believed that charity begins at home. And at this point in my life, I must acknowledge more pressing needs in my home and extended family, some members of whom are more in need of my care than ever before.

However, there’s a happy ending.  Closing ETOW as a formal non-profit does not signal the end of our humanitarian work. Ironically, without all of the administrative overhead of running a formal organization, I have the freedom to continue doing the work we’ve been doing, and even possibly even do more of it In fact, at this very moment, I’m working on three different projects through partners in Haiti and South Sudan.

Basically, in closing ETOW, I’ve simply changed “hats:”  instead of being a volunteer non-profit director, I am now essentially a volunteer non-profit tech consultant. And, really, that’s okay with me.

Another silver lining is that I may now also have more dedicated time for the Radio Spectrum Archive––yet another project near and dear to my heart.

Resolutions and plans for 2020

If I can, I would like to play more radio this year––and of course, spend quality time with my wonderful family.

I’m truly passionate about field-portable radio, so, as I travel to visit and assist family, I plan to activate more state and national parks via the Parks On The Air (POTA) program.  I’d also like to make a few Summits On The Air (SOTA) activations, if time allows.

Now that I have a capable portable SDR system, I also plan to capture radio spectrum recordings as I travel back and forth.

In a national forest with my portable SDR system, my hammock, and dog, Hazel, on the alert for black bears (and squirrels). Does life get any better?

2020 will also be the year that I re-invest in my antennas.

If time permits, I’d like to re-build my sky loop antenna, install a LOG (loop on ground), and (hopefully!) install a hex beam. I may not be able to hit all of these, but I’m going to try.

Schedule

I do have a few conventions and events on the calendar this year:

The DoubleTree hotel where the Winter SWL Fest is held.

February 27-29, I’m planning on attending and presenting at the 2020 Winter SWL Fest in Plymouth Meeting, PA.

April 3-4, I’ve been invited to speak at the Ozarkcon QRP Conference in Branson, Missouri. I’ve wanted to attend this conference for years, so I’m really looking forward to making the pilgrimage!

May 15-17, I’ll again try to attend the 2020 Hamvention in Xenia, Ohio. This is always a highlight of my year as it gives me a chance to meet with so many radio friends. I hope to also attend the full Four Days In May QRP conference which is held in conjunction with Hamvention.

September 25-26, I plan to attend and help at the W4DXCC conference.

I’ve also been invited to speak at a number of regional ham radio clubs––I love doing this because it always gives me an excuse to engage in a little shortwave radio “evangelism.”

Of course, I realize that family concerns can always change my plans. But having fun things to look forward to gives me positive energy and direction…Radio is my happy place.

Thank you so much!

If you’ve been reading the SWLing Post for a while, you’ll know that my posts don’t typically get this personal. A lot happened this past year, though, and I wanted to share this with my radio family and friends.

Thanks, especially, for understanding when it’s taken days or even weeks for me to reply to email.

Thank you for your support of the SWLing Post through the Coffee Fund and Patreon!  Thanks, too, for your comments, tips, guest posts, and active interest in the SWLing Post.  And, no worries: I definitely plan to continue hosting this website, as I can work on it in and around whatever else may be required of me. The SWLing Post is a true labor of love.

I truly appreciate your support!

What are your resolutions?

I’m looking forward to 2020, and I hope you are too.

What are your resolutions, goals and objectives this year? Inquiring minds want to know! Please comment and share!


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Going to the 2019 Hamvention? Stop by booth 6510!

For the tenth year in a row, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW), at the Hamvention now in Xenia, Ohio.

You can find us at booth 6510. (Click here for a map.)

I always enjoy meeting SWLing Post readers who stop by our booth to introduce themselves!

If you’re not familiar with Ears To Our World and our mission to empower children and teachers in the third word through radio and other technologies, check out our website.

Note that this year we will also give away our HumanaLight kits to those who donate $10 or more to ETOW (while supplies last). 

Look forward to meeting you in Xenia!

-Thomas (K4SWL)

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Radio Taboo: An amazing community radio station in rural Cameroon

Radio Taboo (Source: Issa Nyaphaga)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares this Radio France International article and interview with Issa Nyaphaga, the tour de force behind Radio Taboo.

Here’s a video of the interview:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Thank you so much for sharing this, Alan.

Some of our initial radios received by Radio Taboo.

Readers: what Alan didn’t know is that I’ve been working with Issa via Ears To Our World and can confirm that this station is having a most positive impact on its community!

I was originally introduced to Issa via one of ETOW’s long-time supporters and friends a couple years ago.

At ETOW, we wanted to help establish more Radio Taboo listener groups, so we sent an initial batch of radios to be used in this very rural and remote part of Cameroon.

The radio we sent to Radio Taboo is the Tecsun GR-88 (or “Green-88”). This radio used to be branded by Grundig as the FR200, but Grundig no longer markets this model so we purchase them from Tecsun.

In fact, in a recent email to friends and supporters of Radio Taboo, Issa shared the following photo and noted:

“This man next to me is one of the first beneficiaries of the crank radios donated by Thomas Witherspoon, the founder of “Ears To Our World” a U.S. non-profit. They donated a dozen of these radios to some Radio Taboo’s listers. Radios made it in the Cameroon this week.”

I should mention it’s a logistical challenge to get radios to this part of the world (especially in the summer when the roads are nearly impassable due to rains) but we’re looking into a service that might be able to help in the future with a much larger donation of radios.

Alan, thanks again for sharing this story and giving me an opportunity to tell about our first-hand experience working with Radio Taboo!

Check out the full article about Radio Taboo at Radio France International by clicking here.

Click here to check out the Radio Taboo website.

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Presentation at The Circle of HOPE conference next week!

Dear Post Readers,

If you live near or are planning travel to New York City next week, I would encourage you to check out the HOPE (Hackers On Planet Earth) conference at the Hotel Pennsylvania (July 20-22, 2018). The location couldn’t be more accessible: across the street from Penn Station and down the block from the Empire State Building.

The HOPE conference is diverse with an incredibly wide range of topics spanning technology, culture and so more. We’re talking about “hacking” in the best sense: those with the technical knowledge and ingenuity to overcome problems and better understand/explore the world around us. HOPE always has a strong contingent of radio enthusiasts as well–many of whom also attend the Winter SWL Fest in Plymouth Meeting, PA.

This will be my first HOPE conference so I’m especially honored to have been selected as a presenter.

HOPE Presentation

My presentation is titled: Creating a Radio Time Machine: Software-Defined Radios and Time-Shifted Recordings–here’s the description:

Since the earliest days of radio transmitting, individuals and organizations have made an effort to record and preserve radio signals in the form of broadcasts and other over-the-air communications, especially those of historical significance. Now low-cost software-defined radios (SDRs) coupled with today’s faster memory-enhanced computers allow us to record not just individual signals from one radio station at a time, but an entire broadcast band – a wide swath of frequencies – all at once. Each recording from a particular day and time can easily contain dozens, if not hundreds, of stations broadcasting and communicating simultaneously. Later, via a software-defined radio application, recordings can be tuned and listened to (decoded) as if they were live. This talk will discuss how you can build your own “radio time machine” which supports such virtual time shifts by utilizing an inexpensive ($25-$100) SDR, and also show how you can – for free – virtually “travel” through recent history on radio archivists’ preexisting radio time machines.

Time & location: Saturday 1900 Booth

My two main goals with this presentation are to bring more radio converts into our hobby by showing how accessible and dynamic radios are today and also to give The Radio Spectrum Archive some exposure.

HOPE Workshop

I’m also excited to co-host workshop with my good friend, David Cripe (NM0S). Our workshop is titled: Build the HumanaLight: A “Green” Lamp from Trashed Batteries–here’s the description:

This mini-lamp developed for use in impoverished regions where there’s no electrical grid is powered by a surprising, but ubiquitous, waste product – the residual energy in depleted (used) AA batteries. Workshop attendees will build a HumanaLight on a high-quality printed circuit board. The kit includes all necessary parts, even a “dead” AA battery! No experience required. There is a $15 fee for the kit, with the proceeds going to the nonprofit organization Ears To Our World, which developed this valuable and important technology.

Time & location: Friday 1900-2030 Hardware Hacking Village (Mezzanine)

No kit building experience is necessary! We’ll help and guide you as you build an incredibly useful tool!

HOPE Radio

 

In my spare time, I also plan to help with HOPE’s special event amateur radio station W2H. If you can’t attend the event, consider trying to work us on the air! Here are the details:

Amateur Radio Special Event Station W2H and 70cm Repeater

If you’re an amateur “ham” radio operator, you’re part of a hacker community that goes back over a century. Bring your handie-talkie to QSO with the many hams at HOPE to keep up with what’s happening. Visit Special Event Station W2H and operate on several HF/VHF/UHF bands in various voice and data modes to freely communicate with hams around the globe – sans telecom infrastructure! Our 70cm repeater input is 442.875 MHz (PL 167.9) and the output is 447.875 MHz which W2H operators will be monitoring. We also encourage simplex ops on 147.545 MHz and 433.545 MHz (PL 77.0).
More details at http://ham.hope.net.

Time and Location: Friday through Sunday – 18th Floor (next to the 2600 store)

If you can’t tell, it looks like an action-packed weekend! I’m super excited and (admittedly) a little intimidated! Should be lots of fun.

Come join the fun!

Full details can be found at The Circle of HOPE conference website.

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Going to the Hamvention? Stop by booth 6509!

For the ninth year in a row, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW), at the Hamvention now in Xenia, Ohio.

You can find us at booth 6509. (Click here for a map.)

I always enjoy meeting SWLing Post readers who stop by our booth to introduce themselves!

If you’re not familiar with Ears To Our World and our mission to empower children and teachers in the third word through radio and other technologies, check out our website.

Note that this year we will also give away our HumanaLight kits to those who donate $15 or more to ETOW (while supplies last). 

Look forward to meeting you in Xenia!

-Thomas (K4SWL)

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ETOW distributes radios to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico through amateur radio network

In November, we posted an update on the Ears To Our World website with information about our most recent work in Puerto Rico.

After Hurricane Maria left the majority of Puerto Rico without power and basic services, at ETOW we waited for the right opportunity (after food, water and medical supplies were rushed in) to send self-powered radios to those still living without power and in need of basic community information.

Once US Postal Service delivery was restored to the island, we turned to our amazing volunteer (and SWLing Post contributor) Robert Gulley (AK3Q) to coordinate the process.

Robert contacted the Lares Amateur Radio Emergency Service (LARES) in Puerto Rico and asked for their assistance. Nelson Santiago (WP3B) with LARES enthusiastically volunteered to venture out into the community and distribute radios to those who needed them the most–families still lacking mains power. The LARES club distributed the radios effectively and efficiently–they also photo-documented everything.

The whole process was simply amazing to watch unfold.

Many thanks to Universal Radio who helped us quickly procure 15 self-powered radios for our initial pilot shipment. As of December, we’ve now sent and distributed an additional 40 radios–totaling 55 units to 55 families.

This whole project became a reality through our network of radio enthusiasts. We’re so grateful to everyone involved.  Thank you!

Click here to view photos and read about this project at Ears To Our World.

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Going to the Hamvention? Stop by our booth!

For the eighth year in a row, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW), at the Hamvention now in Xenia, Ohio.

Note that this is the first year the Hamvention will take place in Xenia–a major change for the largest amateur radio convention in the world.

Please note that we will be at booth 6508. (Click here for maps.)

I always enjoy meeting SWLing Post readers who stop by our booth to introduce themselves!

HumanaLight-FrontIf you’re not familiar with Ears To Our World and our mission to empower children and teachers in the third word through radio and other technologies, check out our website.

Note that this year we will also give away our HumanaLight kits to those who donate $15 or more to ETOW (while supplies last). 

Look forward to meeting you in Xenia!

-Thomas (K4SWL)

Spread the radio love