Videos
Many new ham radio operators spend hours researching antennas and transceivers but give very little thought to the coax cable connecting them together. That can be an expensive mistake. Your feed line affects both transmit and receive performance, and the wrong cable can waste valuable RF power before it ever reaches your antenna. The good … Read more
If you have an SDRplay RSPdx connected to your computer, you don’t necessarily have to be sitting at that computer to use it. With the right setup, you can access the RSPdx from an Android device over your local Wi-Fi network, giving you a convenient way to listen to radio signals remotely. In this guide, … Read more
FT8 is a digital ham radio mode designed for making reliable contacts using extremely weak radio signals. Created by Joe Taylor (K1JT) and Steve Franke (K9AN), FT8 has become one of the most popular amateur radio operating modes because it allows operators to communicate over long distances even when band conditions are poor. Using software … Read more
In an era saturated with digital information streams, the humble shortwave radio, a technology that has been around for over a century, continues to offer a unique and often vital pathway to international news. As of 2026, shortwave broadcasting, while not as mainstream as it once was, remains an indispensable tool for many seeking unfiltered, … Read more
For generations of Canadian radio listeners, hearing the steady tones of CHU was part of the soundscape of shortwave radio. Whether you were a ham operator checking propagation, a shortwave listener tuning the bands late at night, or simply someone fascinated by precision timekeeping, CHU represented something uniquely Canadian: a direct connection to the nation’s … Read more
One of the most misunderstood controls on modern receivers is bandwidth. I see a lot of beginners — and even experienced operators — running filters far wider than necessary, especially on SDR software. The result is usually the same: more hiss, more adjacent-channel interference, and less intelligible audio. In the video, I demonstrate a simple … Read more
Shortwave receiver comparisons are always interesting because real-world listening conditions rarely match lab specifications. In this video, I compare four very different receivers while monitoring the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 9720 kHz. The test highlights how each radio handles weak international broadcast signals, audio intelligibility, and varying antenna conditions. Let’s deal … Read more
If you enjoy shortwave listening, you may eventually wonder whether you really need a dedicated shortwave receiver or whether a ham radio transceiver can do the job just as well. Modern amateur radio equipment has become remarkably capable on receive, while dedicated communications receivers continue to offer features and operating characteristics that appeal specifically to … Read more
If you are researching the Tytera TYT MD-390 and wondering whether it is a good entry point into DMR radio, this review should help. After unboxing and setting up the radio for the first time, I quickly realized that digital mobile radio (DMR) is very different from traditional analog ham radio. In this article, I’ll … Read more
If you’ve ever struggled with limited antenna space, HOA restrictions, apartment living, or noisy RF environments, magnetic loop antennas quickly become interesting. In this video, I demonstrate the MFJ-1786 Super Hi-Q Loop Antenna and show something that surprises many newer operators: just how incredibly narrow the tuning bandwidth really is. Using my Flex Maestro bandscope, … Read more
If you’ve been researching compact SDR receivers for portable listening, the CommRadio CR-1a is one of those radios that keeps appearing in discussions among serious hobbyists. After spending time with this receiver, I can understand why. It combines excellent build quality, SDR flexibility, internal battery operation, and true portability in a very compact package. The … Read more
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
