TWiT to Add Ham Radio Show

Leo Laporte is adding a little ham flavor to his online techie stewpot.

Netcasting network TWiT.tv will have a new show called “HamNation,” hosted by microphone maker and ham radio enthusiast Bob Heil. It will launch on Tuesday May 24.

If you attended the ham reception at the recent NAB Show, you may have seen Laporte. He was the one followed by the gaggle of admiring fans.

And if you know Bob Heil and ham radio, you won’t be surprised to learn that the first guest on “HamNation” will be rock star and fellow amateur Joe Walsh.

“This Week in Technology,” or TWiT, was inspired by an earlier network called ZDTV or TechTV. The first program launched after radio host Leo Laporte got a strong response to audio commentary he posted online about Macworld Expo in 2005.

Early on, fans provided money to pay for equipment and web hosting; the netcast network now is supported by donations and advertising. Laporte later began to produce other shows for the network, in both audio and video formats, all focusing on some aspect of technology. Shows are free and can be subscribed to via iTunes or other netcast/podcast programs.

(The producers prefer the term “netcasting” over “podcasting” because no iPod or other MP3 player is required; you can listen or watch on a computer too.)

“In time we hope to make TWiT a CNN for geeks, with 24-hour live streaming video and downloadable audio and video so you can watch and listen where and when it’s convenient for you,” it states on the site.