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 looking for a comprehensive guide to operating FT8, look no further than the official FT8 Operating Guide. Many thanks go out to Gary Hinson, ZL2iFB, for creating this best practices guide to operating FT8 mode, the very popular digital mode for making ham contacts. FT8 mode is an increasingly popular digital dialogue mode … Read more
My answer… Very, very good. FT8 is a fairly new digital mode that many hams are trying out. Is it worthy of the hype? The answer is a resounding – YES! I am testing out FT8 on my Flex 6300 SDR. Without going into all of the details, FT8 is similar to its elder siblings, … Read more
When hurricanes threaten coastal regions and severe weather begins disrupting normal communication systems, amateur radio operators often become one of the few remaining sources of real-time information flowing in and out of affected areas. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) is one of the best-known emergency communication networks in amateur radio. During tropical storms and hurricanes, … Read more
JTDX supports JT9, JT65, T10, and FT8 digital modes for HF amateur radio communications. It is very similar to WSJT-X, but it has different features and may have a performance boost over WSJT-X on HF. JTDX is a software application designed for amateur radio operators, created by Igor Chernikov, UA3DJY, and Arvo Järve ES1JA. The … Read more
Well this is big news! Fred and Barbara Osterman have decided this is a good time to retire. I can’t fault them for that but Universal Radio has been a Juggernaut in the space for many, many years. Sad to see them go. Their message- Dear Friends Of Universal Radio, Time waits for no one, … Read more
I use a Par End-Fedz antenna at my QTH, in particular, the EF-20. Par Electronics calls these antennas ‘dipoles’. They are nothing of the sort. Just because an antenna is a half-wavelength long, does not make it a dipole. Here’s what they say- “The Par End-Fedz are a full length half wave dipoles, but with … Read more
The earchi.org antenna is a type of antenna designed for amateur radio use. It is also known as the End-Fed Half-Wave (EFHW) antenna, and it was first developed by Steve Yates (AA5TB) in the early 2000s. The earchi.org antenna is a simple and lightweight antenna that can be easily deployed in the field. It consists … Read more
The ELAD ASA-15 is an antenna splitter designed for use in radio communication systems. It allows multiple radio receivers to share a single antenna without interfering with each other or degrading the quality of the received signals. If you have more shortwave radios than you have antennas this is the solution for you. This is … Read more
The main focus of this file is on SSTV because information on this mode is so scarce. I keep trying to ignore WEFAX and ATV because they are even larger topics already well covered by various handbooks and magazines. However, some WEFAX and ATV information sneaks in when it is closely related to SSTV, for … Read more
If you like practical Yaesu tips, here is one that is quick to try and easy to undo if you do not like it. On the Yaesu FTdx1200 and FTdx3000, the Contour feature can be a lot more useful than the factory setup makes it seem. Out of the box, I find the default setting … Read more
