Tag: antenna
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2022 News Flash – Yaesu FT-818ND Discontinued
As 2022 draws to a close the amateur radio community was in a bit of shock as Yaesu announced that production of the FT-818ND will cease as well as the FTM-400XDE. Greater minds than mine have paid homage to a classic: K4SWL at QRPer.com OH8STN recounts his feelings here A thread on the SOTA.uk board…
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CQ Satellite!
I took the plunge into operating the amateur radio linear satellites a few weeks back and it has been a fantastic experience. My plan here on the blog is to share a few “blow by blow” accounts about what worked and what didn’t, what I have improved and how, and what’s next. Phase One –…
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The Well Tuned Eggbeater
I’m taking some initial steps toward working satellites this fall, and part of that crossed paths with dialing in my APRS setup, which led to me working the ISS digipeater with my homebrew copper cactus. While that worked, I was having deep fades and dropouts due to the vertical polarization of the J-Pole being incompatible…
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That went about as well as I expected
About a year ago I really thought I would be making my blog a vibrant living thing. But here’s the reality: You know those people who buy gym memberships and never go to the gym? This is like that except without the drain on my personal credit, and without the guilt. For myself and many…
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Lightweight Antenna Roundup 2 – Chameleon MPAS Lite v Wolf River Coils SB1000 TIA
When I was running mobile HF in the 1990’s and early 2000’s I accumulated a bunch of 3/8-24 mount antennas. There were hamsticks, Hustler coil-loaded whips, an Outbacker Perth, plain whips… Outbacker sold a metal tripod that was marketed as a ground plane and antenna mount in one. I didn’t spring for that. I just…
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The Resonance
The reason why I would bother with this topic is twofold: One: I think better antenna systems are actually better; and Two: Technical concepts are central to amateur radio and should be understood and employed as often as possible. I’m discussing these antenna concepts in simple terms in the interest of keeping it accessible. Hopefully…
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Lightweight Antenna Roundup – Episode 1 -The PAR TF 402010
My first HF transceiver was a Ten Tec Triton IV with analog dial, followed by a TT Argo, A Yaesu FT101, and then one of the original, “shack in a box” radios, the ICOM IC706 (and later a MKIIG). For reasons mentioned in the previous post on this blog I moved on to running a…
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Always Loud Somewhere
I’ve been a licensed amateur radio operator (ham) for almost 30 year and have had both runs of heavy involvement and runs of “doing other things”. I’ll delve more into these details, but hams in the USA are licensed by the FCC and have access to some very nice chunks of the electromagnetic spectrum. The…
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