About

On this page...

  • Publishing Transition Note
  • Other Zero Retries Resources
  • Zero Retries Elevator Pitch
  • Zero Retries Background
  • Amateur Radio “Meta” (Big Picture) and Zero Retries
  • Back Issues of Zero Retries
  • Frequently Asked Questions About Zero Retries
  • Zero Retries Assumed Audiences
  • Limitations of Zero Retries
  • Buzzwords Used in Zero Retries
  • Accolades for Zero Retries
  • Zero Retries Interesting Relevant and Interesting Quotes
  • Media Inspirations for Zero Retries
  • N8GNJ Seminars, Articles, Interviews
  • About the Editor - Steve Stroh N8GNJ
  • Zero Retries Pseudostaffers
  • Assistant Late Night Editors (In Training)
  • N8GNJ / Zero Retries Labs
  • Bellingham, Washington, USA

Publishing Transition Note

In early 2026, publication of Zero Retries is in transition between publishing platforms and domains, from:

www.zeroretries.org published on Substack,
to:
www.zeroretries.radio published on Ghost.

Long term, all Zero Retries content will be migrated to the latter.

Other Zero Retries Resources

Zero Retries Elevator Pitch

The original description of Zero Retries in every issue:

Zero Retries is a unique, quirky little highly independent, opinionated, self-published newsletter about technological innovation in Amateur Radio, for a self-selecting niche audience, that’s free (as in beer) to subscribe.

That was distilled down to:

Zero Retries is an independent newsletter promoting technological innovation in Amateur Radio, and Amateur Radio as (literally) a license to experiment with and learn about radio technology.

It was expanded a tiny bit concurrent with Zero Retries 0200:

Zero Retries is an independent newsletter promoting technological innovation in and adjacent to Amateur Radio, and Amateur Radio as (literally) a license to experiment with and learn about radio technology. Radios are computers - with antennas! Now in its fifth year of publication, with [3500]+ subscribers.

The addition was “… in and adjacent to…” to acknowledge that a significant amount of information that I cover in Zero Retries isn’t actually Amateur Radio, but it is adjacent to Amateur Radio, such as Meshtastic operating in unlicensed spectrum.

In August 2024, shortly after beginning its fourth year of publication, Zero Retries hit 2000+ subscribers, and in February 2025 hit 2500+ email subscribers. In November 2025, the subscriber count hit 3300+. Sometime in January 2026, the total email subscriber count went above 3500+. There are hundreds more readers that follow Zero Retries via RSS feed, and mentions on social media, and email forwards.

Zero Retries Background

Zero Retries began publishing in July, 2021 and is generally published every Friday, and attempts to publish by 15:30 Pacific. For an overview of the genesis and goals of Zero Retries, see Zero Retries 0000 - The Introduction Issue.

In Zero Retries, I try to highlight some of the incredible technological innovation that is occurring in Amateur Radio in the 2020s. Zero Retries was created to try to offset the “same old, same... old...” perspective of “the Amateur Radio Publishing Industrial Complex” that hides most of its content behind paywalls, and on the rare occasion it features an innovation in Amateur Radio, portrays it as a one-off innovation instead of explaining that it’s just one innovation of many in this era.

I decided that if I was going to do Zero Retries, I was going to write conversationally, unapologetically, and a bit fearlessly, from personal perspective (rather than bland neutrality) about the things in Amateur Radio that I find interesting and fun.

Amateur Radio “Meta” (Big Picture) and Zero Retries

One of the dangers facing Amateur Radio in the 2020s and beyond is that general society, when it's aware of Amateur (Ham) Radio at all, is that it's considered irrelevant, quaint... "something Grandpa did". As in “what is the actual use of Amateur Radio - why should society care?” And the subtext to that question, applicable only to Amateur Radio, is “Why should valuable radio spectrum be allocated mostly or exclusively to Amateur Radio?”.

From the US FCC's Part 97 Regulations governing Amateur Radio in the US:

§ 97.1 Basis and purpose.

The rules and regulations in this part are designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles:

(a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.

(b) Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.

(c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communication and technical phases of the art.

(d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.

(e) Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill.

§ 97.1 (e) is from an era where Amateur Radio was the only media that individual citizens of antagonistic countries (US vs USSR) could communicate directly and legally without government permission. This has been entirely supplanted by the Internet, obliterating previous barriers to international communications and personal friendships across borders. Thus this basis and purpose is no longer relevant.

§ 97.1 (a) is the most well-known justification of the continuation of Amateur Radio - emergency communications in a disaster. Unfortunately, three technology evolutions have combined to render Amateur Radio nearly moot for emergency communications:

  • Iridium is medium-speed data and voice via Low Earth Orbit satellite network. Iridium user terminals can be as small as a handheld radio - think “walkie talkie” that works anywhere on the planet and doesn’t require any ground infrastructure. Thus Iridium is an ideal voice / low speed data system for use in emergency communications. In 2019, Iridium completed replacement of their satellites with new, much more capable satellites, which allowed much faster data speeds and made Iridium much less easy to saturate in intensive use.
  • FirstNET is First Responder Network Authority, a program of the US Government with AT&T as the infrastructure / service provider. FirstNET provides dedicated capacity, prioritization, and hardened cellular network capacity specifically for first responders and government agencies on AT&T’s cellular network. Unlike previous voluntary efforts of cellular service providers for emergency communications offered, FirstNET has enforced and monitored metrics for reliability, capacity, and features and thus is much more reliable than “civilian” cellular infrastructure and services.
  • Starlink is a low earth orbit satellite system that provides Broadband Internet Access (roughly 200 Mbps downlink, 20 Mbps uplink) nearly anywhere on Earth. Current and future Starlink satellites work much like Iridium with inter-satellite links that will considerably reduce the requirement for regional earth stations for Internet service in a specific area. Example - there’s little demand in the middle of a desert (or ocean) so instead of an earth station, the traffic for those few users can be “handed off” to another satellite until there is an earth station within range. Starlink became a very viable option for emergency communications with the introduction of the Starlink Mini terminal which is a single integrated unit, can fit in a backpack, and be powered by 12 volts or USB-C.

All three services evolved in the late 2010s and are now mature enough to integrate into emergency planning and depend upon during disasters. The combination of the technical capabilities of FirstNET (local voice and data), Iridium (regional / worldwide voice and data), and Starlink (regional / worldwide Broadband Internet) provides a good mix of emergency communications

In addition, a new organization - Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC) has evolved to provide emergency communications based on Information Technology services (rather than two way radio), such as providing Wi-Fi at disaster relief sites. ITDRC is centralized and supported by major corporate sponsors. ITDRC seems to appeal to a younger, technical demographic - “just bring your IT skills and you can help” instead of a requirement of an Amateur Radio license and the unique, hyper-local organizations common in Amateur Radio emergency communications.

The primary trend working against Amateur Radio providing emergency communications is that the Amateur Radio population is rapidly aging and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to rely on Amateur Radio Operators to turn out in an emergency. Amateur Radio, especially data communications via HF bands, remains a very viable option for personal emergency communications.

That's a long-winded explanation for why emergency communications via Amateur Radio won't generally be featured in Zero Retries. Of course, there are some Zero Retries Interesting aspects of EMCOM such as off-grid power systems, sharing one's Starlink connectivity when there's a major communications disruption, etc.

§ 97.1 (b), (c), and (d) have all become more relevant than ever before in the 2020s. I posit that those are now the primary justification for continuation of Amateur Radio, and continued allocation of dedicated (or shared) spectrum for Amateur Radio use.

In this era of Software Defined Radio, radio mesh networking, and society's overwhelming reliance on radio-based communications (such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, mobile networks, Starlink, etc.) versus wireline-based) communications, radio technology capabilities matter more now than they ever have. Simply put, society needs more radio technologists than ever before, and hands-on experience with Amateur Radio can play a role in developing such expertise, careers, and new radio technology.

Back Issues of Zero Retries

All previous, and future issues of Zero Retries are available to read for free. There are no paywalls / protected content for Zero Retries.

The recommended archive for previous Zero Retries issues is the Zero Retries Collection on Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications (Internet Archive). In that collection are PDFs, text-only, and other "versions" of Zero Retries issues.

Per the above section, until the transition to publishing solely on Ghost is complete, issues of Zero Retries prior to 2026 are available at https://www.zeroretries.org. Issues of Zero Retries beginning in 2026 are already found on this site.

Frequently Asked Questions About Zero Retries

For some background, Zero Retries 0000 published 2021-07-09 was the Introduction Issue.

Q. What’s the deal with the weird name “Zero Retries”?

A. This is the most frequently asked question about Zero Retries. 😀

In Amateur Radio Packet Radio, a data transmission is divided into “packets” and each packet is tagged with a “checksum” that is unique to that packet. When the packet is received, the receiving station compares the checksum to the data received. If the checksum is correct (for the data received) the packet is assumed to be good. If the checksum is not correct, the receiving station sends a request to the transmitting station to re-transmit the packet (a Retry). The most ideal state of packet radio communications is that no (zero) retransmissions (retries) are required. Thus Zero Retries is the ideal state of a packet radio data transmission, and a goal I strive for to explain things I write about well enough that few “retries” (follow up explanations) are needed by readers.

(Admittedly, this is an imperfect analogy, but hey, it’s not a boring name like Steve Stroh N8GNJ’s Newsletter about Things, Mostly Digital, That He Finds Interesting in Amateur Radio.)

The name Zero Retries as a name for a newsletter was created by Budd Churchward WB7FHC for the newsletter of the now-defunct Northwest Amateur Packet Radio Association (NAPRA) based in Western Washington, USA. More than three decades after our participation in NAPRA, WB7FHC and I found ourselves both living near Bellingham, Washington where we are now occasional collaborators in various projects involving Amateur Radio data communications.

Q. What is your background / qualifications to publish Zero Retries?

A. The primary qualification I have to publish Zero Retries is that I decided to try publishing an independent newsletter about technological innovation occurring in Amateur Radio and see if it was interesting enough for readers to subscribe. I started Zero Retries in July 2021 (Zero Retries 0000), and to date, the experiment seems to be working out.

For additional information, see About the Editor - Steve Stroh N8GNJ (way) below.

Q. What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen (in Amateur Radio)?

A. I think that the coolest thing I’ve seen in Amateur Radio… the most Zero Retries Interesting thing… is the QO-100 payload in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) that provides nearly total hemispheric coverage of the Eastern Hemisphere. Its coverage extends into Antarctica! I wish we had an equivalent for the Western Hemisphere! Promoting and working towards that is a recurring theme (add zeroretries.radio link tk) in Zero Retries.

Q. Is Zero Retries Free as in Beer?

A. Yes. Much of my inspiration and background for Zero Retries is the "generosity of spirit in sharing knowledge" that I've been given over my Amateur Radio career. Thus Zero Retries is paying it forward to current and future generations of Amateur Radio Operators. The primary content of Zero Retries will always be free and publicly available.

In July 2023, in response to requests from enthusiastic Zero Retries readers, paid subscriptions for Zero Retries began. As of early 2026, there are nearly 200 paid subscribers to Zero Retries. Revenue from paid subscriptions offsets some expenses incurred in operating Zero Retries. I explain the payment options decision in a special issue of Zero Retries - Zero Retries Administrivia - Activating Payment Options. Paid subscriptions to Zero Retries are entirely optional. There is no difference in the content that the paid, and the free subscribers receive.

The back issues of Zero Retries are not sequestered behind a paywall. Beginning in 2026, there will (finally) be some "perks" available to paid subscribers, such as early and discounted options to Zero Retries events such as Zero Retries Digital Conference, video presentations, and early access to Zero Retries developed YouTube videos.

Q. What is N8GNJ Labs / Zero Retries Labs?

A. N8GNJ Labs / Zero Retries Labs is my name for my big shop building (at least the 75% of it that I'm allocated) which incorporates a 3-season office, a workshop area, radio area, and vast (too much... way too much) storage of all kinds of computer, electronics, and radio ephemera. For more detail, see the N8GNJ / Zero Retries Labs section below.

Zero Retries Assumed Audiences

  • Techies (which encompasses Amateur Radio Operators) interested in data communications via radio,
  • Students, especially college students interested in data communications via radio, often for engineering and research projects,
  • Regulators trying to understand Amateur Radio and “hobbyist” radio communications and the technology used there.

For a detailed explanation of these various Audiences, see Zero Retries 0089’s Request To Send.

(Future development marker - Discuss NewTechHams (and OldTechHams) tk)

Limitations of Zero Retries

There are four significant limitations of Zero Retries:

  • Trying to keep up with technological advancements in Amateur Radio is a “drinking from a firehose” exercise; there is so much going on that inevitably, some significant developments don’t get mentioned in Zero Retries because new developments occur continuously. One example is that I don't have much background in Amateur Radio Over Internet (AROI) such as repeater / radio hotspot networks such as Brandmeister and AllStar. Fortunately a colleague (and Zero Retries Pseudostaffer - see below) Tom Salzer KJ7T does a great job covering AROI in his newsletter Random Wire and EtherHam.
  • Zero Retries is primarily an email newsletter. The publishing system for Zero Retries is Ghost (formerly Substack). While Ghost doesn't limit the size of email newsletters like Zero Retries, issues that run larger than 100 kB (pretty much ever one, to date...) will cause large email service providers such as Gmail to truncate the display of the entire newsletter, especially in mobile devices. There’s only so much room in each edition of Zero Retries given this limitation. For that reason, I provide an easy to find link to the web version, which allows you to read the entire issue in a web browser.
  • Zero Retries content is primarily generated by one person. I’m gratified that other authors contribute to Zero Retries. A lot of the content that appears in Zero Retries was originally published elsewhere. Such content is republished in Zero Retries, with attribution, clearly marked as external content, and published with permission or with the intent of fair use.
  • Zero Retries is written by an Amateur Radio Operator who has lived his entire life in the United States, no real world exposure to Amateur Radio in other parts of the world (only what I read). That’s not from lack of desire or interest to cover technological innovation in Amateur Radio in other parts of the world - I’d love to. Want to help with that? Please contact me.

Buzzwords Used in Zero Retries

In Zero Retries, some “buzzwords” from Amateur Packet Radio are playfully used.

  • Feedback Loop is a term from electronics, where a portion of the output signal is fed back into a circuit regulating the input. That seemed an appropriate and techie label rather than a mundane functional title such as “Comments to the Editor”. One inspiration for that name was "RTTY Loop" was the title (I think - rusty memory) of a column in 73 Magazine about Radio Teletype technology (precursor of Packet Radio technology). That section has now been deprecated due to Zero Retries always running too long, and the introduction of the Zero Retries email list that can be used for direct discussion of Zero Retries content.
  • NewTechHams (and the corollary OldTechHams) - to be more fully developed - tk)
  • Pseudosponsor - Pseudosponsors (a name created by me) were an experiment in early Zero Retries issues to put "advertisements" for projects, or organizations but those project or organizations never paid anything (or even requested it). I ran the experiment, sporadically, for no more than six months before deciding it was too much work / too little reward 0verall, with no appreciation for that work. Zero Retries content also started expanding so there was less and less room for Pseudosponsor advertisements.
  • Pseudostaffer(s) - See the Pseudostaffers section below.
  • Request to Send is the Editorial section of Zero Retries, and is derived from the RS-232 data communications standard where one of the signals in RS-232 is “Request to Send” so that the Data Transmission Equipment (DTE) (modems) and Data Communication Equipment (DCE) (terminals) stay in synch because DTEs typically had small buffers. So, Request to Send is a playful way of saying “May I please have your attention?”. Prior to Universal Serial Bus (USB), RS-232 was the primary serial communications standard, including on Packet Radio Terminal Node Controllers (TNCs).
  • Zero Retries Interesting (ZRI) is a term I created to characterize that a particular project, or product, development, or technology fits is interesting to me and the Zero Retries audience in general.
  • ZR > BEACON is Zero Retries’ “short news blurbs” section of news items I judge to be “Zero Retries Interesting” but not long enough (or not enough space for) a full article. In Packet Radio, a beacon is a brief “announcement” transmission, not directed to any station in particular.

Accolades for Zero Retries

  • Cale Mooth K4HCK - Amateur Radio Daily 2025-05-19:
    No one else is doing the in-depth exploration of cutting edge technology in the world of ham radio like Steve is. Zero Retries should be required reading for all hams interested in the future of ham radio.
    K4HCK is a Zero Retries subscriber and a Zero Retries Pseudostaffer (see below).
  • Randy Smith WU2S:
    Thanks for bringing a strong dose of twenty-first century reality to amateur radio.
    WU2S is a Founding Member of Zero Retries.
  • Eric Guth 4Z1UG — QSO Today Podcast www.qsotoday.com:
    I am very interested in the evolution of amateur radio and its future. It has a huge impact on civilization and I am proud to be a part of it.
    4Z1UG is a former Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Scott Nacey KK6IK:
    [Zero Retries] is the best, most leading edge commentary on today's Ham Radio. Keep it up.
    KK6IK is a Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Chuck Till K4RGN:
    [Zero Retries] is a great source of leading-edge info. I remember Don Lancaster and Popular Electronics!
    K4RGN is an Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Anthony Good K3NG
    Kudos for a great newsletter. You're one of the bright lights in amateur radio these days.
    K3NG is a Zero Retries subscriber.
  • Phil Marquis K6HSV:
    [Zero Retries] beats the heck out of reading QST.
    K6HSV is an Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Chris Osburn KD7DVD:
    Zero Retries is the content I’m looking for, summarizing new tech and providing pointers to this generation’s innovators.
    KD7DVD is a Founding Member of Zero Retries.
  • Witold Kinser VE4WK:
    Thank you very much for your effort in delivering an excellent Amateur Radio newsletter. I always find something very interesting in each issue.
    VD4WK is a Zero Retries subscriber.
  • Florian Lengyel WM2D:
    A challenging read. Lack of commercials. Seems like a balanced presentation. Exposure to new (to me) areas of radio. Zero Retries is easily the best of the amateur radio newsletters I've read since I became a ham in 1988.
    (2025 update) Zero Retries is the only ham radio periodical I read.
    WM2D is an Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Jason Milldrum NT7S — Applied Etherics:
    Excellent source of news about cutting-edge digital amateur radio.
    NT7S is a Zero Retries subscriber.
  • Edward Mitchell KF7VY:
    I've known Steve for a long time. He writes well about an important subject for amateur radio. Happy to support his work.
    KF7VY is an Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Jon Pearce WB2MNF — President, Gloucester County (NJ) ARC:
    Great ideas for supporting development of amateur radio amongst an ever-aging group of hams. We need new technologies to attract different groups of technically-minded hams.
    WB2MNF is an Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Tom Salzer KJ7T — Random Wire℠ / EtherHam℠
    N8GNJ authors a unique, quirky little highly independent, opinionated, self-published newsletter about technological innovation in Amateur Radio.
    KJ7T is a Zero Retries subscriber and a Zero Retries Pseudostaffer (see below).
  • Josh Walton KK4LGZ:
    I get so excited when I see you have posted! Love your work, your style, and the subjects you cover. Keep up the great work and keep me excited every time you post!
    KK4LGZ is a former Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Richard Keller:
    I got my ticket in 1950 when I was 13. After reading your blog I have found a renewed interest in amateur radio. You are a resource that I need to help me reconnect with ham radio.
    Keller is a former Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Prefers to Remain Anonymous 80:
    Zero Retries is the best technology forward news source I’ve ever encountered in Amateur Radio. This is the kind of thing that excites me about Amateur Radio. First learned of RADE and IP400 here. Keep up the great work!
    PTRA 80 is an Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Prefers to Remain Anonymous 86:
    I find what you report on to be unique and interesting. It's stuff I'm not hearing about unless I stumble upon it on the web. Then it's usually old news.
    PTRA 86 is an Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.
  • Prefers to Remain Anonymous 91:
    I'm a recent subscriber (starting with Issue 0210) and have just caught up with all the received issues to date (0214). I've enjoyed them all and want to support you in your efforts.
    PTRA 91 is an Annual Paid Subscriber of Zero Retries.

Zero Retries Interesting Relevant and Interesting Quotes

  • Ultimately, amateur radio must prove that it is useful for society.
    Dr. Karl Meinzer DJ4ZC.
  • The Universal Purpose of Ham Radio is to have fun messing around with radios.
    Bob Witte K0NR
  • We are confronted by insurmountable opportunities!
    Pogo
  • Nothing great has ever been accomplished without irrational exuberance.
    Tom Evslin
  • Irrational exuberance is pretty much the business model of Zero Retries Newsletter.
    Steve Stroh N8GNJ
  • What’s life without whimsy?
    Dr. Sheldon Cooper
  • Amateur Radio is literally a license to experiment with and learn about radio technology!
    Steve Stroh N8GNJ
  • Radios are computers - with antennas!
    Steve Stroh N8GNJ

Media Inspirations for Zero Retries

There are numerous media inspirations for Zero Retries, thus it’s only fair that I try to cite them given the inspiration they have provided to me.

Some things I’ve learned, collectively, from these media are:

  • The courage to “dive deep” on a subject,
  • Explain acronyms at least the first time used in a story. This is my perspective as a reader of technical material - it's frustrating to read acronyms without an understanding of what they mean.
  • Use a conversational style… even if it takes longer. It’s likely some readers don’t understand the subject well and are grateful to you taking the time to explain it.
  • Have some fun, don’t take yourself too seriously.
  • These are your words, it’s your publication, do what you think is needed.

ARRL Gateway Newsletter - You’d never know that this newsletter ever existed (1984 - 1990) by browsing the ARRL website. It’s inexplicable to me that there’s no longer any mention of Gateway by ARRL because Gateway was the newsletter that knitted the disparate groups, developers, and networks together and progressing more or less in unison during the early to middle years of the birth and growth of Amateur Radio Packet Radio. Each biweekly issue of Gateway brought interesting, useful, and often actionable news about Amateur Radio Packet Radio.

TAPR Packet Status Register (PSR) - The PSR newsletter (1982 - present) was a profound influence on my knowledge of "Zero Retries Interesting" Amateur Radio developments. Over the decades, I've written a number of articles for PSR, and was Editor of PSR for a few issues. I used one article I wrote for PSR as a writing sample in my application for a columnist position, and that getting that "writing gig" changed my life.

Packet Radio Magazine and Digital Digest Magazine - Until I rediscovered them as part of my ongoing project to donate almost all of my archives of Amateur Radio printed material to Internet Archive’s Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications, I had forgotten these two very focused publications. I had not realized / remembered how much they shaped my worldview of Amateur Radio Packet Radio until I began rereading them after DLARC digitized them and posted them online.

Ham Radio Online - Ham Radio Online was the first blog about Amateur Radio that I considered informative and on-target about the issues in Amateur Radio that I was interested in, such as data communications in Amateur Radio. HRO was particularly interesting to me because I knew its author, Edward Mitchell KF7VY, who also lived in the Seattle, Washington, USA area and the activities in the Seattle area were reflected in HRO.

SMART Letter - It’s almost two decades since the last issue, but David Isenberg’s The SMART Letter was another profound influence to me on what, and how good, a newsletter with a solo, profoundly competent voice could be. Isenberg was famously the author of a profound essay called The Rise of the Stupid Network which foretold the rise of the Internet and the inevitable decline of the Public Switched Telephone Network - PSTN (as the be-all-and-end-all of telecommunications). The SMART Letter illustrated to me just how much influence one voice can have.

Boardwatch Magazine was a profound inspiration to me, and I unexpectedly became a columnist for Boardwatch. My Wireless Data Developments column launched my professional writing career. In particular, Editor Rotundus Jack Rickard’s editorials and his “skewer, don’t suffer the foolish folks” that were ill-advised but wrote to Boardwatch anyway were absolutely inspirational on how effective (and fun) an independent publication could be. Rickard’s replies to such folks were practically poetry. Boardwatch was one of the few publications where the ads were as informative and interesting as the editorial content. (Byte was another.)

Micro Cornucopia was the epitome of a publication with narrow niche, but diving very deep into that niche. I discovered Micro C less than two years before Editor David Thompson decided to fold it. Micro C was simultaneously an inspiration for how much one person could accomplish with an independent publication… and the dangers of one person becoming too successful with an independent publication (it takes over your life).

Midnight Engineering Magazine was a highly eclectic magazine that highlighted solo or very small technical ventures. It was notable, and influential to me, because its Editor / Publisher / Printer / Janitor, William E. Gates, literally did it all on that magazine, including physically publishing it on a printing press that he bought used and resurrected. ME was an inspiration about just how much one person can accomplish with very focused effort.

Jerry E. Pournelle (Users Column / Computing at Chaos Manor) and Steve Ciarcia (Circuit Cellar) were both columnists in Byte Magazine. Both wrote in a conversational style that I really enjoyed. Pournelle especially wrote about how he used microcomputers and along the way offered commentary about the microcomputer industry.

N8GNJ Seminars, Articles, Interviews

(Needs more work - tk)

I’ve been interviewed and given various presentations in the past few years, and written articles elsewhere than Zero Retries.:

2024-10-19 - Pacificon 2024 seminar:
Tracking Technological Innovation in Amateur Radio

Pacificon 2024 Presentation N8GNJ100KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadEditReplaceDownloadDelete

About the Editor - Steve Stroh N8GNJ

See also my QRZ.com page - https://www.qrz.com/db/N8GNJ

Professional
My professional background(s) included:

  • Trained as an electronic technician at the (then) Ohio Institute of Technology (DeVry) where beyond basic electronics, I learned the wonders of microprocessors and assembly language programming.
  • Maintaining seismic exploration systems on ships at sea (Doodlebugging) in the Gulf of Mexico and Bering Sea.
  • Creating new digital brake-by-wire systems for heavy vehicles.
  • Many odd electronics / computer / sysadmin jobs, some under SECRET security clearance (glad I don't have that anymore). I almost accidentally became a self-taught system and network administrator, partially on the basis of having learned the basics of TCP/IP networking in Amateur Radio.
  • Just in time for the 2000 dotCom bust to obliterate lucrative freelance writing careers in the technology magazine industry, I renounced regular paychecks to try to become a freelance writer, blogger, and independent newsletter editor covering the emerging Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) industry... until paying the mortgage became an issue with that career phase.
  • My last paycheck job involved technical support and documentation for avionics systems for home built (experimental) aircraft.
  • In the 2020s, I’m (happily!) retired from paycheck work, though I'm willing to consider short term consulting gigs that could benefit from my unique perspective and writing skills.

Amateur Radio
A few bits about my career as Amateur Radio Operator N8GNJ:

  • I was originally licensed in the Cleveland, Ohio area in 1985 with the callsign KA8WCL, which I happily left behind when I upgraded to Technician class and checked the box for a new "Technician" callsign. The callsign N8GNJ has no personal significance, other than it was a heckuva lot better than my originally issued callsign, and was an easy-to-pronounce 1x3 format. By the time I relocated to the Seattle, Washington area in 1987, the FCC no longer required a change of callsign to reflect the callsign area you lived in, so I didn't change my callsign after I relocated. I still get some odd looks for my "8" callsign in the midst of "7 land" here in the Pacific Northwest (but not as many as "3s" or particularly "6s" (California).
  • My passion in Amateur Radio has always been data modes and other technology oriented activities in Amateur Radio. Although I had a latent interest in radio technology, if Amateur Radio Packet Radio had not emerged in Amateur Radio in the early 1980s I may not have become an Amateur Radio Operator. Computers! Radios! Data Communications! All of those combined in my mind for Amateur Radio to be cool... though at that time, there were only a few Amateur Radio Operators in the Cleveland area that shared my passion for Packet Radio.
  • A major part of my knowledge base about Amateur Radio data communications was from being involved with a very bright bunch of folks, variously called NAPRA (see above), WETNET, Puget Sound TCP/IP Group (and Network) in the Seattle, Washington area when I relocated there in 1987. I learned from those folks like a sponge. My favorite title of this nefarious group was (insert photo of badge tk)
WETNET MAFIA

Zero Retries Pseudostaffers

When I began Zero Retries, KE9V, KB6NU, KB9MWR, and W7NWP encouraged me as I developed Zero Retries. I paid close attention to their respective blogs and other writing that often featured “Zero Retries Interesting” subjects. Thus they, and others, were named as a (entirely imaginary title) Zero Retries Pseudostaffer.

W7NWP seems to have retired from blogging and I only hear from him once in a while via email.

W6BI is not a blogger, but very active in promoting AREDN activities as an AREDN Ambassador, and was named a Pseudostaffer in August, 2023.

K6KJN was named a Pseudostaffer in January 2024 for their continuing contributions to Zero Retries about the Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications (DLARC).

K4HCK was named a Pseudostaffer in September 2024 for his unique contribution to Amateur Radio (and significant inspirations to Zero Retries) with his weekly compliation Amateur Radio Weekly.

KJ7T was also named a Pseudostaffer in September 2024 for his unique contribution to Amateur Radio with his weekly newsletter The Random Wire. I particularly value KJ7T’s writing as, similarly to Zero Retries, he writes longer, explanatory pieces in a conversational style. KJ7T delves into technical areas of Amateur Radio, usually from a hands-on perspective, that I just don’t quite have the bandwidth to cover in Zero Retries.

K7JB, N0FPF, and N2IRZ were all named Pseudostaffers in Zero Retries 0214, 2025-08-08. All of them have Zero Retries Interesting experience in Amateur Radio data communications similar to mine. K7JB and N0FPF are local, long time friends from the days of the Puget Sound Amateur Radio TCP/IP Group and Network. N2IRZ is the former columnist in CQ VHF and CQ Magazine about Packet Radio and data communications / Internet (and I hope his columns become available online).

Assistant Late Night Editors (In Training)

Jack Stroh, Zero Retries Assistant Late Night Editor (Emeritus), was profiled in Zero Retries 0031. Jack is now a Silent Keyboard (Zero Retries 0042) and prior to his death had retired from his role as Late Night Assistant Editor due to illness (Zero Retries 0038).

Fiona Stroh and Shreky Stroh, Zero Retries Assistant Late Night Editors (In Training) is still working on defining their roles in the Zero Retries production process beyond keeping me company during late night and wee hours editing sessions of Zero Retries.

N8GNJ / Zero Retries Labs

N8GNJ Labs / Zero Retries Labs is my name for my big shop building (at least the 75% of it that I'm allocated - Tina KD7WSF is in charge of the other 25%). Inside is a (three season) office, workshop area, radio area, and vast (too much... way too much) storage of all kinds of computer, electronics, and radio ephemera. And many books and magazines, including nearly complete collections of Byte, 73, and other technology magazines which are now kind of irrelevant thanks to Internet Archive.

Experiments / and Projects - Lots and lots of projects - more than I have remaining lifetime.

To be updated - tk.

Bellingham, Washington, USA

In 2019, my wife Tina Stroh KD7WSF and I decided to relocate out of the Seattle, Washington metro area and ultimately settled in the beautiful Bellingham, Washington, USA area. Bellingham is nestled in the far Northwest corner of Washington, about 120 miles North of Seattle, about twenty miles South of the US / Canada border, and about 50 miles South of Vancouver, British Columbia. Being in the great Pacific Northwet, this area is rainy in the September - June rainy season, but temps are moderate, with very occasional (and very occasionally, intense) snowfall. The biggest climate issue in this area are the "Wicked Whatcom (County) Winds" which have cost me one 30' radio mast irrevocably bent, now replaced with a more modest 20' radio mast.

Some notable attributes of Bellingham:

  • Bellingham was (fictionally) obliterated by the launch of a spacecraft powered by detonation of nuclear bombs in the 1985 Larry Niven / Jerry Pournelle science fiction novel Footfall.
  • Bellingham's catchphrase is the City of Subdued Excitement. After living here for some time, it really fits.
  • The Northern terminus of Interstate 5 is in nearby Blaine, Washington (Canada border). I-5 runs the entire length of the US West Coast, with the Southern terminus in San Diego, California (Mexico border). One of these days I hope to do a leisurely road trip along the entire length of I-5. If we lose access to I-5, Bellingham is pretty effectively isolated from the rest of the US as our East / West access terminates at the peak of Mount Baker (no mountain passes this far North).
  • Bellingham was mentioned in an episode of the Freakonomics podcast as being home to the northernmost Trader Joe's store. Bellingham now has two Trader Joe's stores, and both are a regular pilgrimage for TJ fans from nearby Vancouver, BC and occasionally Alaska residents passing through.
  • Bellingham is the Southern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) (ferry system). The canonical AMHS experience is to pitch your tent overnight on the deck of one of the AMHS vessels (or you can rent a cabin for the several day transit to Alaska).
  • Even before the COVID pandemic, the Bellingham area was becoming a "bedroom community" for the Seattle area for those that could mostly telecommute to their tech jobs based in Seattle. It's a two hour drive to Seattle and its burbs (on a reasonable traffic day).
  • Bellingham has its own airport - Bellingham International - BLI.
  • Whatcom County produces nearly 85% of the nations red raspberries! In June through mid-August, my consumption of fresh strawberries becomes a daily habit thanks to nearby Barbie's Berries.
  • Our big, beautiful local mountain is Mount Baker, which on a clear day we can view from our upstairs picture window (see below). One of the many canonical jokes about living in Western Washington is that if you ever really miss winter, you can go "visit Winter" in the mountains within an hour or two. If you're into skiing, there is the Mount Baker Ski Area. Mount Baker is also a hiking destination.
  • Bellingham is a port on Bellingham Bay, which is just one small portion of the vast and beautiful Puget Sound. As you'd expect, there are a number of pleasure craft / commercial marinas in the region, and All American Marine builds larger, specialized aluminum boats here.
  • Bellingham is definitely a college town, blessed with three significant educational institutions that offer significant technology curriculums:
  • Interesting technology attractions in the Bellingham area include:
  • Beyond the Alaska Marine Highway System, Bellingham is the closest US port to Alaska, so this region has three oil refineries in the region (for receiving Alaska crude oil), and vast cold storage facilities for receiving frozen fish and crab harvested in Alaska. Bulk cargo destined to Alaska is generally shipped from the Port of Seattle.

We like it here.

(Insert personal photo of Mount Baker - tk)

Steve Stroh N8GNJ
Last updated 2025-11-18

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