Ham and Shortwave Radio
Amateur radio—commonly known as ham radio—is one of the most versatile and rewarding areas of the radio hobby. Whether you’re interested in emergency communications, long-distance DXing, or local repeater conversations, this category brings together practical guides, equipment recommendations, and operating tips for all experience levels.
If you’re just getting started, begin with our complete guide to Amateur radio, where we break down licensing, essential gear, and how to get on the air quickly. From there, you can explore topics like choosing your first handheld transceiver, setting up a base station, selecting antennas, and understanding common operating procedures.
Looking to get into Ham Radio?
Communicate locally and globally, get licensed, and build your own station:
Explore our complete Ham Radio Guide
Browse the articles below to learn from my experiences, and deepen your knowledge and build your station with confidence.
Finding a reliable ham radio repair shop today is far more difficult than it was 20 years ago. Many local electronics repair businesses have disappeared. Others no longer work on RF equipment, vintage transceivers, or modern SDR-based ham radios. Even worse, some of the best repair technicians barely advertise online at all. That means searching … Read more
If you operate FT8 and regularly chase DX, antenna efficiency matters more than almost anything else in your station. I recently compared my long-time magnetic loop antenna against a simple 31-foot vertical wire setup, and the results were more dramatic than I expected. In this real-world FT8 antenna test, the vertical antenna consistently outperformed the … Read more
If you have been researching compact SDR transceivers for portable or desktop amateur radio use, the ELAD FDM-DUO is probably already on your radar. In this unboxing and first-look review, I walk through exactly what comes in the box, the radio’s physical design, included accessories, and my early impressions after powering it up for the … Read more
If there is one upgrade that consistently improves handheld radio performance, it is replacing the stock antenna. Many factory antennas supplied with budget and mid-range HTs are compromise designs intended for portability rather than maximum efficiency. A quality handheld radio antenna can improve receive sensitivity, increase effective transmit range, and provide better overall VHF/UHF performance. … Read more
If you spend enough time on the air listening to hams, shortwave broadcasters, or utility stations, you’ll eventually hear someone say things like “You’re 5 by 9” or “SINPO 45444.” These signal reports are one of the most important parts of radio communication because they help operators understand how well a transmission is being received. … Read more
Software defined radio changed amateur radio forever, and this FlexRadio demo playlist does an excellent job showing why. Watching through the videos, you can clearly see how SDR technology improves signal visibility, filtering, and overall operating efficiency compared to traditional HF rigs. In this article, I’ll summarize the key lessons from the playlist from my … Read more
What I Learned Using This Classic SDR Setup If you’ve been curious about older software defined radio setups that might now be on the resale market, the combination of the FlexRadio FLEX-3000 and PowerSDR still has a lot to offer. After watching this playlist of demo videos, it’s clear why many hams continue to use … Read more
One of the constant battles in ham radio and shortwave listening is noise. Not just interference from power supplies or nearby electronics, but the endless layer of hiss, static, fading, and atmospheric noise that makes weak HF signals tiring to listen to for long periods. That is why DSP noise reduction devices continue to attract … Read more
If you are getting into amateur radio, one of the first things you quickly realize is that there is no single “ham radio frequency.” Instead, ham radio operators have access to multiple frequency bands, each with different propagation characteristics, equipment requirements, and communication styles. In this ham radio frequency guide, I’ll walk through the most … Read more
If you recently bought a used Icom IC-756 Pro, are troubleshooting strange behavior, or simply want to wipe old settings from the radio, performing a factory reset is one of the fastest ways to return the transceiver to a clean default state. In this guide, I’ll walk through exactly how to factory reset the Icom … Read more