Foundations of Amateur Radio

With computers becoming more and more ensconced within the confines of our radio shack the variety of information available is increasing regularly. The introduction of …

The other week I participated in a contest. This particular contest was on the 80m band, around 3.5 MHz. The contest itself, while worthy of a mention, the Harry Angel M…

Previously I've talked about leaving your shack and setting up your station in a different location. I have my car configured as a mobile shack of sorts, that is, it's g…

In the past I've talked about the Standing Wave Ratio, the SWR, and how it describes some of the characteristics of your antenna system. I say system because it's not ju…

Last week during F-troop something very interesting happened. If you're not familiar with F-troop, it's a weekly net for new and returning amateurs and every Saturday we…

If you read it on the Internet, it must be true, but what happens if you read it and there are 700 different answers?

In my day job I search countless times a day for a…

During the week a friend reminded me that the process of determining what's happening within a shack comes with experience. In my day job my whole skill-set can be summe…

In Volume 6 - Joy of discovery - read about microphone technique, the dead band, propagation maps, melting coax, amateur radio satellites,…

Have you ever considered the infrastructure that exists to make it possible to tune to 7.090 MHz, call CQ and make contact with anyone on the planet?

In a world where w…

Recently I spent some time discussing the losses associated with connectors between your radio and your antenna. The traditional wisdom, and I use the word "wisdom" iron…

In Volume 5 - Getting on air - read about the perfect SWR, how to become a better operator, what batteries to use, the difference between a…

A question that comes up regularly is one about loss, specifically loss in the coax and connectors between your radio and your antenna. The general wisdom is that better…

The ultimate radio shack is a nirvana that most amateurs I've met strive for all their life. One of the many views I've heard on the topic keeps speaking to me, one of m…

In Volume 4 - Just get started - follow my journey through the amateur radio community, how to use QSL cards, mobile antennas on HF, licen…

There is some truth in simplicity. I've mentioned in the past that "suck it and see" is a perfectly valid solution to figuring out if something is going to work or not.

…

From time-to-time people move and their shack tends to move with them. For me that move is happening right now, I'm moving all of 900m up the road, a long story in itsel…

In Volume 3 - Share the fun - follow the third year of my journey, how to make contacts on HF, how to go on-air QRP, propagation planning,…

Recently I was asked: "What do you know now that you would have liked to have known when you started in amateur radio?"

The hobby of amateur radio is one filled with ge…

The act of telling someone about something is promoting it, not in a marketing sense, just an awareness sense. The act of not telling someone is keeping a secret.

Radio…

In Volume 2 - Find the spark - follow the second year of my journey through the hobby of amateur radio, what's the point of Morse code, ma…