As I have written in the past, my home station is very modest. Nearby neighbors and antenna restrictions mean no powerful antennas at home are in my future. I compensate somewhat for this by using modes such as FT8. Another way of coping is by using remote stations on RemoteHamRadio.com. The problem in using WSJT […]
After calling a station on Nauru using FT8 for some time with no response I was left with a question. Is my signal getting out at all? Is the target station deaf? How would I know? Navigating to the PSK Reporter website I was able to quickly determine that no station anywhere was receiving my […]
The American Radio Relay League’s (ARRL) Worked All States Award (WAS) is one of the most prominent domestic awards in Amateur Radio. To obtain the award applicants must submit proof of having worked another Amateur Radio station within each of the 50 states that make up the United States of America. I recently achieved WAS […]
CLACKY-CLACKY-CLACK! I’ve owned an LDG Electronics AT-200Pro Autotuner for years. It’s done a great job tuning up various antennas I’ve owned over the years. I’m not sure I could be more happy with it. So it was a little bit of a surprise recently when I fired up the rig to make an FT8 contact […]
The old saying that timing is everything applies to many facets of life. Sports, comedy, etc. But it also plays a critical role in Amateur Radio. We all know about the use of UTC to avoid issues of time zones for Hams spread around the world. But precise timing is critical for some of the […]
I just received a new operating award, Grupo DX Cuba’s the Diploma Caribe. To earn the award contacts must be made with a number of Amateur Radio stations around the Caribbean Sea. There are several classes of award, each requiring contacts with a number of unique countries. The different classes provide an easier and quicker […]
As Penny and I have settled into our home in Sonoma I’ve taken on an increasing interest in getting more active in Amateur Radio once again. Getting a station back on the air was a critical step. This new site is also part of that effort. I’ve never had an impressive personal station and that […]
I have an extremely modest station that consists of an end-fed wire HF antenna, an end fed 6M antenna running down a length of wooden privacy fence and a dual band 1/4 wave VHF/UHF vertical on top of my garage. It’s not much and won’t break many pileups. But it’s been great to finally get […]