Foundations of Amateur Radio

With the growing availability of new ways of communicating across the globe, from digital voice such as CODEC2, through weak signal modes like WSPR, JT65, MSK144 and FT4…

A while ago I set up a WSPR, or Weak Signal Propagation Reporter at home. Before I go into the details, WSPR is an amateur radio protocol that allows stations to transmi…

Putting a radio in a car.

As you might recall, most of my radio activity is done away from my shack. I tend to operate portable, camping, sitting on a jetty or using a …

The other day we were aligning an antenna for a contest. It had slipped on the rotator pole during a recent storm and when the rotator was set to zero it was pointing so…

An interesting question came up the other day. It's there such a thing as a solo contest? At the time I answered with examples like talking to a hundred countries to ach…

The other day I looked in my diary and noticed that it was the anniversary of my first solo flight. If that's not familiar to you, it means I got in an aeroplane on my o…

The other day I accidentally learnt something new. I know, it's crazy, sometimes I surprise myself.

I received an email that announced an activity from something called…

As you might know I enjoy doing contests, actually that's an understatement; I LOVE doing contests. I think that they represent an excellent way to learn about operating…

About a year or so ago I received a message from a friend of mine. The message asked if I would have or could find a use for some amateur radio gear from their active am…

Lessons Learnt

Learning to me is an ongoing process. For some reason that's not a universal experience. I've met people who cram for an exam, pass their test, get the c…

Going on an outing

After my fun and games working out how to manage power for a temporary radio set-up, away from my shack and normal infrastructure, I had the pleasure…

Planning for an outing

Recently I had the opportunity to use a new radio whilst I was far away from my shack. It wasn't unexpected, I took the radio with me, planned fo…

Boating adventures

The other day I was on a boat. That's right, me, on a floating thing, on the water, the ocean actually, steering and everything. I should confess tha…

Gate-keeping, special people and bullies.

One of the recurring topics in my experience of amateur radio is that associated with people who use the hobby as an excuse to…

New Entrants are Everywhere

The hobby of amateur radio has been around for a long time. It was here before I was born and it will be here after I become a silent key. T…

What's in a Watt?

We need more power. I'm giving her all she's got, Captain! She cannae take anymore.

I'm sure your Scottish ancestors are rolling in their graves righ…

It broke and now what?

Imagine you're a new amateur. You've woken up in the middle of the night because insomnia seems like a good way to use amateur radio as an excuse…

What's in a word?

When you join a new community you learn very quickly that each community has its own language. A word in one community has a different or extra meanin…

How far can I talk on radio?

A question that regularly hits the enquiring minds of people who are not (yet) radio amateurs is one about distance. For both amateurs and …

Recently there was a discussion on social media about the legality of various types of transmissions. Before I get into the specifics, it's worth looking at some of the …