Sofas on the Air – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

Sofas on the Air

Mark and Ara

Leisure

Frequency: 1 episode/32d. Total Eps: 12

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

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RSS

Apple

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇫🇷 France - hobbies
08/06/2026
#71
🇫🇷 France - hobbies
23/04/2026
#99
🇫🇷 France - hobbies
22/04/2026
#76
🇨🇦 Canada - hobbies
05/04/2026
#85
🇨🇦 Canada - hobbies
04/04/2026
#58
🇫🇷 France - hobbies
01/03/2026
#91
🇫🇷 France - hobbies
28/02/2026
#93
🇫🇷 France - hobbies
21/12/2025
#75
🇫🇷 France - hobbies
20/12/2025
#73
🇫🇷 France - hobbies
04/11/2025
#94

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://n6ara.com/
5 shares
https://hackaday.io/superconference/
1 share
https://backyardbeans.com/products/process-pairing-colombia-black-condor
1 share

https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir
10 shares
https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAirAre
1 share

RSS feed quality and score

Technical evaluation of the podcast's RSS feed quality and structure.

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RSS feed quality

To improve

Score global : 53%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

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

Season 1 · Episode 2

Thursday, June 26, 2025 • Duration 01:07:06

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.

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Ara's SOTA Goat Day

Season 1 · Episode 1

Thursday, June 12, 2025 • Duration 58:57

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.

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

Season 1 · Episode 4

Thursday, July 24, 2025 • Duration 01:36:51

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

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Field Day, Radio Telescopes, and Learning CW

Season 1 · Episode 3

Friday, July 11, 2025 • Duration 01:01:01

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

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

Season 1 · Episode 7

Saturday, October 11, 2025 • Duration 01:09:20

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

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

Season 1 · Episode 6

Saturday, September 13, 2025 • Duration 01:21:45

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

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

Season 1 · Episode 5

Wednesday, August 20, 2025 • Duration 01:56:05

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 Reposado
The 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

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

Season 1 · Episode 9

Tuesday, December 16, 2025 • Duration 02:12:38

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

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

Monday, November 3, 2025 • Duration 01:52:49

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

The TinyGawant lives! (plus a SOTA DXpedition and Winter Field Day) | Sofas on the Air Ep. 10

Season 1 · Episode 10

Monday, February 16, 2026 • Duration 01:38:20

If you’re a regular listener, you may have noticed we’ve been - dare I say - a bit radio silent. Well, today we’re back - and Ara and I are going to catch up on all the shenanigans that kept us out of the studio! Stay tuned to hear about Ara’s newest product - the TinyGawant - along with Mark and Di’s SOTA DXpedition to Australia, Winter Field Day, and a few spoilers from Ara on upcoming product concepts!

As always, the Sofa was captained by Mark KD7DTS and Ara N6ARA, with Di KO6BTM running the studio system.

__PATREON__

We strongly believe that in-person chats are more fun! Want to help us fly SOTA icons out for in-person interviews? Join our Patreon (and Discord) community!https://www.patreon.com/c/SofasOnTheAir

__SHOW NOTES__

Ara N6ARA on YouTube:⁠ @N6ARAElectronics ⁠

The N6ARA Store: https://n6ara.com/

Drink tastings:

- Hi Dez by Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.

- Opt Outside by Chapman Crafted Beer

__CHAPTERS__

0:00 Mark and Ara catch up

6:43 The TinyGawant Antenna

26:59 SOTA DXpedition in Australia

43:48 Winter Field Day with W6TRW

57:27 Ara gets a surprise!

1:04:56 Ara’s Future Products?!?

1:33:11 Thanks to our Patreons

Sofas on the Air – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Sofas on the Air – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other20

Youtube11

Patreon2

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other20

Youtube11

Patreon2

Apple Podcasts

Spotify