Brian NR7Y: Bringing 2m CW to the Quansheng | Sofas on the Air Ep. 13

Brian NR7Y is our very first DX guest. He flew into Los Angeles today just for this episode, and we’re tremendously excited to welcome him to this Sofa. There’s a funny story behind how he got here - stay tuned for that! In this episode you’ll hear Brian give a deep dive into his ‘NR7Y mod’, which enables amazingly good morse code on affordable VHF/UHF radios. We’ll also hear from Ara on the continuing pick ‘n place machine installation journey, and the upcoming release of the new N6ARA TinyFilters. If you make it to the end, we’re giving away an NR7Y mod’ed Quangsheng radio! Listen carefully & enter to win in the comments! As always, the Sofa was captained by Mark KD7DTS and Ara N6ARA. 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!   / sofasontheair   Are you audio-only? We're on most of the Podcast services! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nCqdV4... Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... SHOW NOTES Buy your own Quansheng: K5: https://amzn.to/3QCj36W K1: https://amzn.to/43TcHDc (These are affiliate links that support the Pod) The NR7Y Mods: K5v1 Mod_: https://github.com/briand/uv-k5-firmw... K5v3/K1 Mod_: https://github.com/briand/uv-k1-k5v3-... NR7Y's YouTube channel:    / @brianmaybemedia   The BKG site: https://www.bkg.club/ Ara’s TinyFilter for 2m: https://n6ara.com/product/tinyfilter-2m/ HRCC Live Mod of Josh's 'Sheng:    • Get In Nerds We're Doing Morse Code On A H...   CORRECTIONS 4:30 Carol KE6SRN is not just #1 in California for the 2026 2m weak-signal SOTA challenge... she's also #1 in the USA and #2 in the WORLD! CHAPTERS 0:00 Welcome to the Sofa 9:45 The N6ARA Tinyfilter & Pick 'n Place Machine 25:58 NR7Y Mod, Chapter 1: The Original Hack 34:28 NR7Y Mod, Chapter 2: First Firmware Mod (K5v1) 44:15 NR7Y Mod, Chapter 3: Firmware for the K5v3 & K1 1:12:26 NR7Y Mod, Chapter 4: Feature Expansion, Limits & What's Next 1:18:00 Special BKG Event 1:23:01 Question from KI6NAZ/HRCC 1:38:49 What CAN'T be done with the Quansheng?!? 1:44:04 Just for the Listeners 1:47:13 W6TRW Field Day Plans 1:57:42 Thanks to our NR7Y-enabling Patreons & Outro THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Umesh KK6TXI - outro music Di KO6BTM - intro/outro graphics and cover art QUANSHENG GIVEAWAY RULES & DISCLAIMER No Purchase Necessary : Entry is 100% free. A purchase or payment of any kind will not increase your chances of winning. Eligibility : Open to participants worldwide who are 18 years of age or older. (Note: If outside the US, the winner is responsible for any local customs, duties, or import taxes required by their country). Giveaway Period : Entries open at the time of this video's publication and will close on 7/31/2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Winner Selection : One (1) winner will be chosen at random from the eligible video comments using a certified random comment selector tool. Commenter must provide valid amateur callsign to claim their prize. YouTube Release : This contest is run entirely by the @SOTA-Plus channel. YouTube is not a sponsor, co-sponsor, or administrator of this giveaway, and is completely released from any liability related to this contest. Compliance : All entries must comply with the YouTube Community Guidelines. Entries that do not comply will be disqualified. You can review the guidelines here: https://www.youtube.com/howyoutubewor... Privacy : Any personal information (shipping address, email) collected from the winner will be used solely for the purpose of shipping the prize and will not be shared or stored.