Ham Nation is now on Ham Radio Crash Course

Ham Nation started May 24, 2012 on the TWiT network.  After 8 years and 485 episodes, the show moved to the Ham Radio Crash Course YouTube channel.  January 6, 2021 was the first episode on HRCC.

The transition has brought many changes to the show and ways to view the show.  This post will try to break down those changes.  There are no changes to the nets, scheduling or locations.

Hosts & Show

Bob Heil – K9EID and George – W5JDX are no longer with the show but have made appearances.  It is now produced by Josh Nass – KI6NAZ.  Randy – K7AGE is now a regular on the show.

Previously, the show recorded weekly (unless a holiday).  The show is now recorded biweekly.  First episode was Jan 6, 2021, next will be Jan 20, Feb 3, Feb 17, and so-on.

Shows will no longer be given an “episode number.”

“Show Notes” exist in the form of the video description.  There will not be a separate Wiki and will not include net check-ins.

Platform

For all the ways to view and download the show offered by the TWiT network, the only way to watch the new show is through YouTube.  Love it or hate it, that’s where the show now resides.  It brings some advantages:

  • YouTube has many “apps” on different platforms including desktop, mobile, smart TVs, video devices like Roku.  Not all platforms have the chat functionality available, though.
  • Once the show starts recording, it’s posed to the HRCC channel.  There is no more waiting for the show to be “posted” to view or download the show hours later.
  • Additionally once the show starts recording, any part of the show can be replayed or the whole show can be restarted from the beginning – even while the show is being recorded.  Parts can be replayed immediately.
  • Past episodes on HRCC are available from the Ham Nation playlist
  • Chatroom is available when the show is recording live and is integrated on the same page as the live stream.  The new chatroom doesn’t utilize IRC instead uses the YouTube chat feature.  To post in the chat requires a Google account.  Watching or viewing the show does NOT require an account.
  • Integrations with Discord and Facebook chat allow users to cross-post messages into the YouTube chat.
  • Subscribing to the HRCC channel on a mobile device will notify when the channel is recording live
  • Josh uses monetization systems to support his work. Please purchase from his shop, donate or become a patron.
  • Downloads?  There is no way to “download” a YT video without additional software.  (Technically, downloads are against TOS and could cause copyright infringement.  You have been warned.)  On Windows, YTD (YouTube Downloader) worked well – the PRO version is NOT required to download videos.  A free and open-source command line tool for Windows & Linux, check out youtube-dl.

TWiT

Shows produced and recorded on the TWiT network will remain online.  TWiT generally doesn’t remove past shows, however it has occurred.  It is recommended to download any past episodes of interest.  Links are available under “Old TWiT HN Links.”