Ham and Shortwave Radio
In the Antennas category, we include articles about the various aspects of ham and shortwave antennas. From best practices to construction and testing.
Radio-Hobbyist is a personal blog run by Canadian amateur radio operator Rick Blythe (VE3CNU), offering approachable guides, tutorials, and equipment reviews for ham radio beginners, shortwave listeners, and scanning enthusiasts. Perhaps you’ve come across my YouTube channel: The Radio Hobbyist, with over 9,000 subscribers. Common Challenges for Beginners in Ham Radio – And How This … Read more
Let’s be real: 99 % of us will never own a 100-ft tower with stacked SteppIRs.Most of us have a normal backyard, trees if we’re lucky, an HOA if we’re not, and a budget that tops out somewhere south of a used car. So here is the “real-people” ranking of DX antennas — the ones … Read more
This article explains the two main types used in HF ham radio — voltage baluns and current baluns — their differences, advantages, disadvantages, and how to pick the correct one for your antenna. The wrong balun (or no balun at all) can turn a great antenna into a mediocre one with high SWR, RF in … Read more
Welcome to your no-BS playbook on the best SWR meters—handpicked from the ham trenches of eHam rants and Reddit deep dives. We’re ditching the dry specs for real talk: Tools that save your finals, supercharge your QSOs, and fit budgets from “beer money” to “splurge-worthy.” Grab your coffee (or that emergency thermos of joe), and … Read more
Let’s Dive In! Hey, fellow radio enthusiasts! If you’re anything like me, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of pulling in a distant signal—DX hunting at its finest. Today, I’m excited to break down one of my all-time favorite compact antenna solutions: the MFJ-1786 Magnetic Loop Antenna. This isn’t just gear; it’s a game-changer for … Read more