Zero Retries

Zero Retries

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Zero Retries About

By Steve Stroh N8GNJ
Editor, Zero Retries Newsletter

Last updated 2026-04-06

Index

Publishing Transition Note

Beginning with Zero Retries 0235 on 2026-01-23, I attempted to transition Zero Retries from publishing on the
Substack newsletter / blog platform and the URL of www.zeroretries.org
to publishing on the
Ghost newsletter / blog platform and the URL of www.zeroretries.radio

That transition didn’t work out.

See The Long Story of the Attempted Conversion of Publishing Platforms (and Domains) for Zero Retries if you’d like more details.

As of Zero Retries 0245 on 2026-04-03, I have resumed publishing Zero Retries on Substack / www.zeroretries.org.

All content created / updated on Ghost / www.zeroretries.radio is being transitioned to Substack / www.zeroretries.org.

After that content transition is complete (no later than mid-May 2026), Zero Retries on Ghost / www.zeroretries.radio will be shut down and the zeroretries.radio domain will become a redirect to www.zeroretries.org.

Use of “TK / tk” On This Page

TK / tk is a commonly used marker for “To Come” in text editing. There are a number of mentions on this page that are not fully developed, and the use of TK / tk allows me to easily search for those areas as I update the content on this page.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions About Zero Retries

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

Q. Please explain 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 at least 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. A lot of “buzzwords” are used in Zero Retries. Please explain the significance.

A. I playfully use a number of terms from Amateur Packet Radio as an homage to my primary background for Amateur Radio data communications and writing Zero Retries.

  • I-Frame (IF) is the “Least I Think You Need To Know - Tersely“ section at the beginning of each issue of Zero Retries. IF debuted in Zero Retries 0243, to replace the Request To Send (Editorial) section - see below.

    In Amateur Radio Packet Radio (AX.25 protocol) an I-Frame is an Information Frame; frames are one of the fundamental unit of transmission in Amateur Radio / Packet Radio and it seemed a suitable term for the “Least I Think You Need To Know” about an issue of Zero Retries. Two other common types of frames are S-frames (Supervisory), and U-frames (Unnumbered).

  • Request to Send (RTS) 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 Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) (terminals / computers) and Data Communication Equipment (DCE) (modems / TNCs) stay in synch because DTEs typically had small buffers. Thus, 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).

    In response to a number of readers providing feedback that I sometimes discuss too much of the mechanics of publishing Zero Retries in RTS at the beginning of each issue, beginning in Zero Retries 0243 I relocated RTS towards the end of each issue. That makes reading my commentary more optional for readers that don’t care to read it.

  • ZR > BEACON (ZRB) 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.

  • 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) - (in development in 2026) 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.

  • 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.

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 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 one for the Western Hemisphere! Promoting and working towards that goal is a recurring theme 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.

In 2026, paid subscribers will receive access to new premium features of Zero Retries 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 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 innovative, 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 basis and purpose 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 basis and purpose, and many consider it the primary justification for continuation of Amateur Radio - emergency communications (EMCOM) in a disaster. In the 2020s, Amateur Radio EMCOM is… “in transition”. See Zero Retries Perspective on Emergency Communications (EMCOM) Capability in Amateur Radio for more detailed discussion of this perspective.

§ 97.1 (b), (c), and (d) have all become more relevant than ever before in the 2020s. I posit that those three basis and purpose elements have effectively become the primary justifications 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 / Archive of Zero Retries

All previous issues of Zero Retries (and future issues) are available without restriction (no paywalls).

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

If you see something interesting mentioned in Zero Retries and would like to search all the Zero Retries “Back Issues”, just click:

Search Zero Retries

A project in progress is to add keywords to all previous issues of Zero Retries, and then develop keyword pages. (In development in 2026) tk

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.

A dedicated page will discuss NewTechHams (and OldTechHams) is in development in 2026. tk

Limitations of Zero Retries

  • Trying to keep up with technological innovation in Amateur Radio is a “drinking from a firehose” exercise. There is so much technological innovation occurring 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 Substack. While Substack 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 on 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 of each issue, 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.

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 thenewsletter 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.

About the 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).

About the Assistant Late Night Editors

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).

Shreky Stroh and Fiona Stroh, Zero Retries Assistant Late Night Editors In Training are 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.

Seminars, Articles, and Interviews

Zero Retries, Technological Innovation in Amateur Radio, and Steve Stroh N8GNJ

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

Apologies - this section needs a lot of additional work in 2026. tk

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

Pacificon 2024 Presentation N8GNJ
100KB ∙ PDF file
Download
Download

About 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 digital (and analog) electronics, microprocessors and assembly language programming.

  • Maintaining seismic exploration systems on ships at sea (Doodlebugging) in the Gulf of Mexico and Bering Sea.

  • Helping to creating new digital brake-by-wire systems for heavy vehicles.

  • Repairing Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Game Decks.

  • 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 (at the time, there was no public / consumer access to the Internet).

  • 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.

  • Technical support for vinyl sign cutters.

  • 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.

N8GNJ Amateur Radio Career

My passion in Amateur Radio has always been data modes and other technology oriented activities in Amateur Radio. In the 2020s, I’m semi-retired and working on passion projects like Zero Retries and dabbling on projects in N8GNJ / Zero Retries Labs. Although I’m not yet active in Amateur Radio satellites, I plan to do so. Ditto microwave (mostly networking). A project that’s continually in progress is to get more antennas installed, getting on the Amateur Radio HF (shortwave) bands, and a major secret project.

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) get.

  • 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.

  • As of early 2026, I am licensed as General, but similar to getting an Amateur Radio license at all, I only upgraded from Technician to General when data communications modes on HF became sufficiently interesting, such as VARA HF. Upgrading to Extra is on my short list, but when I sit down at the keyboard most evenings to wind down… I end up writing more verbiage for Zero Retries.

  • 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 WETNET MAFIA.
    (Insert photo of badge.) tk

  • In 2021 and 2022, I was a volunteer at Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC)‘s Grants Advisory Committee (GAC) .

  • From 2021-09 through 2022-08 I was President of the Mount Baker Amateur Radio Club Digital Group (DG). To my surprise, I was asked to be President of the DG again from 2023-09 through 2024-06.

  • In 2022 through 2023-09, I was a Board member of the Whatcom Emergency Communications Group (WECG), an Amateur Radio group focused on emergency communications in Whatcom County, Washington.

  • In the mid 2020s, I now work on passion projects like Zero Retries and dabbling on projects in N8GNJ / Zero Retries Labs (see below). Although I’m not yet active in Amateur Radio satellites, I plan to do so. Ditto microwave (mostly networking). In 2026, my major focus will be getting more antennas installed, getting on the Amateur Radio HF (shortwave) bands, and a major secret project.

  • Previous Amateur Radio clubs I’ve been involved with during my time in Washington include:

  • My Amateur Radio affiliations in 2026 include:

  • My other writing outlets formerly included my personal Amateur Radio Blog N8GNJ.org and Superpacket.org, a blog about the big picture of Amateur Radio (something of a precursor to Zero Retries). Both of those were taken offline with the closure of the blog hosting platform Typepad. I hope to resurrect them in some form. For my N8GNJ.org, SuperPacket.org and some other Amateur Radio related domains I control, I created a temporary landing page.

  • I have other Amateur Radio related newsletters in imagined or in active development… if I ever consider that I’m “caught up” with Zero Retries.

  • In April 2024, Kay Savetz K6KJN began a joint podcast about the past and future of amateur radio called Store and Forward, which we try to publish biweekly. K6KJN discusses their work at the Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications at the Internet Archive (Store), and I discuss hot topics about Amateur Radio technological Innovation from recent issues of Zero Retries (Forward).

N8GNJ / Zero Retries Labs

N8GNJ / 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.

N8GNJ / Zero Retries Labs needs its own web page - in queue for 2026. 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. All American Marine builds larger, specialized boats with aluminum hulls in Bellingham.

  • Bellingham is definitely a college town, blessed with three significant educational institutions that offer significant technology curriculums:

  • 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. Bellingham also has 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

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Privacy Policy (Substack Blanket Privacy Policy)

Substack has a well developed Privacy Policy for all newsletters published on its platform - https://substack.com/privacy. Substack, as the platform, is in control of what information is collected, thus I defer to that policy.

See also:

Solely for reference - Zero Retries Old Privacy Policy from Ghost.

About the Substack Email Newsletter Publishing Platform

Substack is a email newsletter publishing platform for authors to create and publish email newsletters. Substack is stable, well-supported, and incorprates a well-developed subscription fee mechanism that can be optional and multi-tiered.

However, there is also the Substack problem.

A Substack author can optionally use a custom domain name for their Substack newsletter. From my experience, I recommend that every Substack author do so to preserve their options if they build an audience and later decide to migrate off Substack, rather than continue to use a Substack domain name such as clevernewslettername.substack.com that isn’t portable to a new hosting system.

Some of the basics about Substack that I came to appreciate in comparison with the Ghost Email Newsletter Publishing Platform:

  • Substack supports inline links; Ghost does not.

  • Substack supports footnotes; Ghost does not.

  • Substack supports the strikethrough character; Ghost does not.

  • One subtle thing I like about Substack is that the quoting (indenting) feature is more mature and usable in Substack than in Ghost.

Substack has one primary recommendation for publishing an Amateur Radio newsletter - you can get started for free. Unlike most “free” tiers of a hosted service, you can use all of Substack’s features, and scale to thousands of email subscribers (I did). Substack’s revenue is to take a small portion of paid subscription fees - if you choose to offer paid subscriptions.

As I gained experience with Substack, I don’t feel it’s well suited to Amateur Radio newsletters because Substack strongly encourages “community involvement” which doesn’t align well between Amateur Radio and the vast majority of other writers using Substack. Substack is a good fit for writers whose subjects are popular culture, sports, finance / investing, politics, general technology, etc.

Deprecated Sections

Zero Retries Store

We created a Zero Retries Store in 2025, but the platform we chose was not great, and the reception (sales) were tepid, so we discontinued it.

We intend to relaunch the Zero Retries store in mid-2026 with branded merch.

The Zero Retries Store was activated in February 2025. It sells a variety of Zero Retries branded merchandise - hats, T-shirts, etc. Primary customer service of the Zero Retries Store is provided by Tina Stroh KD7WSF.

Over the course of 2025, the Zero Retries Store will also feature one of a kind ephemera being retired from Steve’s N8GNJ Labs that he’d like to find a new home for. Revenue from these items will provide some additional funding for continuing to publish Zero Retries and related expenses.

Think of the N8GNJ Labs items as a friendly, personal flea market, slowly liquidating Amateur Radio (mostly) and electronic ephemera to a friendly crowd. All N8GNJ Labs items will be priced to sell and find a new home, not to make exorbitant or even market rate profits.

The Zero Retries Store is a secondary priority to Zero Retries - we’re not professional sellers (but we strive to provide friendly, professional, courteous, prompt service).

The Zero Retries Store was originally going to be called the Zero Retries Unabashed Merchandizing Division. but that’s just a bit too unwieldy. Before that unwieldy name, it was going to be named something else that was popularized by a certain radio show about “cars”, but turns out they were smart enough to copyright that phrase. 🙁

!!!! end !!!!

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